Total Complaints
4 filings
MERCEDES-BENZ E550 · model year
4 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2009MERCEDES-BENZE550 carries 4 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2009 E550 is vehicle speed control with 1 filings, followed by wheels (1) and fuel system, gasoline (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 15 investigation files overlapping the 2009 E550. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
4 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| WHEELS | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
JOYSTICK AND CENTER CONSULT IS ALWAYS EXTREMELY HOT
PLEASE REFERENCE NHTSA ACTION# PE12001. AFTER FILLING THE CAR WITH GASOLINE, THERE IS A VERY STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE. THE SMELL OF GASOLINE GOES AWAY AFTER USING ABOUT A 1/4 OF THE TANK. I AM AWARE THAT THIS IS A WIDESPREAD ISSUE WITH E CLASS (W211) VEHICLES AND MERCEDES BENZ HAS BEEN DENYING ANY RESPONSIBILITY. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALER YET AND WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ALLOW THE NHTSA TO INSPECT MY VEHICLE. *TR
Mileage: 41,000
I WAS TRAVELING AT ABOUT 40 MILES PER HOUR ON A MAJOR STREET AND WENT OVER A SMALL POTHOLE. THIS RESULTED IN MAJOR FRACTURES ON BOTH OF THE PASSENGER'S SIDE WHEELS. ALL THE EQUIPMENT ON THIS CAR IS ORIGINAL FROM MERCEDES BENZ. THIS IS THE FIRST INCIDENT IN LATE 2010. RECENTLY, I WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 35 TO 40 MILES PER HOUR AND WENT OVER A SMALL POTHOLE ON THE STREET THAT IS ABOUT 6 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND LESS THAN 2 INCHES IN DEPTH, AND RESULTED IN ANOTHER WHEEL FAILURE. I UNDERSTAND THAT POTHOLE DAMAGE IS A NORMAL PART OF WEAR AND TEAR. BUT THIS IS A MAJOR STREET THAT HAS TRAFFIC COUNT OF 75,000+ CAR PER DAY. IF MY CAR IS THIS EASILY DAMAGED IN A PERIOD OF 1 YEAR, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGING HOW MANY CARS WOULD GET DAMAGED ON THIS STRETCH OF ROAD. THEREFORE, I BELIEVE WHEEL FAILURES SUCH AS THIS AT RELATIVELY AVERAGE SPEED AND SMALL POTHOLES, CAN'T JUST BE A RESULT OF NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. I BELIEVE THIS IS EITHER DEFECTIVE DESIGN OR POOR PRODUCT QUALITY CONTROL. IF MY WHEELS GET DAMAGED AT T
Mileage: 20,000
UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OF MERCEDES BENZ E 350 4 MATIC 2009 MODEL BARELY 3 MONTHS OLD-JUMPED THE CURB WHILE PARKING AND HIT THE WALL 4 FT OVER THE CURB CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE MEDICAL OFFICE WALL AND THE RIGHT FRONT END OF THE CAR. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT. REPORTED TO ALLSTATE CLAIMS, CAR REPAIRED AND INSPECTED BY BENZ DEALER. BOTH THE MB DEALER AND MB HEADQUARTER LETTER STATED THE CAR IS SAFE TO DRIVE. ACCORDING TO MERCEDES BENZ THE CAR CHECKED OUT FINE. THEY SENT ME A LETTER STATING THAT AS WELL. *TR
Mileage: 2,500
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.