AI DamageMercedes-Benz E500: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Mercedes-Benz E500 across 7 model years: 460 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Fuel/propulsion system 34% of all complaints
- 2 Service brakes 23% of all complaints
- 3 Fuel system 18% of all complaints
- 4 Suspension 12% of all complaints
- 5 Powertrain 5% of all complaints
- 6 Electrical system 4% of all complaints
- 7 Air bags 4% of all complaints
- 8 Engine 4% of all complaints
- Fuel/propulsion system: 157 complaints (34% of all).
- Service brakes: 105 complaints (23% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Fuel system: 83 complaints (18% of all).
- Suspension: 55 complaints (12% of all).
- Powertrain: 25 complaints (5% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 460 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel/propulsion system | 157 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 105 | 5 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 83 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 18 | 4 | 0 |
| Engine | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Equipment | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 5 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Per incident was back glass detached from window and broke all over the road and on the back of my car while driving. 2: Sbcc pump goes in and out admittedly and type of a no brake issue at all hard as a rock will not move car only has 180,000 miles on it and itâs been doing that since 140,000 miles Which did cause…
I was making a right turn onto a city street when I heard a click/ crack, the instrument panel lit up, and the steering wheel locked. I was not able to stop the car in time and hit a parked car. The engine did not turn off when this happened.
Tl* the contact owned a 2006 mercedes-benz e500. While driving at an unknown speed, the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. Prior to the crash, the steering wheel suddenly became very loose and failed to turn.
Airbag deployment/inflation impact injures passenger, causing lesion and burn. At a school op sign intersection, my vehical was hit on the driver side (t-bone), between the fender and the driver side door, all the side airbags on the left was deployed, the impact of the airbag deployment severely injured my 9 year old…
The braking system light comes on and message states please stop your, the braking system is defective. This happen several times I was in traffic. I could not stop and when I turn the vehicle on, this message comes on the dash board.
On 12/6/07 my family was involved in a head on collision that caused both front airbags to deploy. My concern is regarding the passenger airbag that should not have deployed according to the dashboard console. When my 7 year old daughter is in the passenger seat the ?passenger air bag off?
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Fuel/propulsion system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Suspension. Wheel alignment, control arms, subframe, even tire wear.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.