MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 · model year

2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL320

7 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2007MERCEDES-BENZGL320 carries 7 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 1 fire, 4 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 2007 GL320 is visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system with 1 filings, followed by suspension:front (1) and engine and engine cooling (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 2007 GL320. 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.

7
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

7 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM1
SUSPENSION:FRONT1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
SEATS1
SUSPENSION1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1

Recent Complaints

20190428SUSPENSION

I WAS DRIVING ON I10 WEST NEAR MOBILE, AL AT NIGHT. I HEARD A LOUD POP NEAR THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AND FEEL IT LIFT INTO THE AIR AND START BOUNCING UNCONTROLLABLY. THE SEATBELT ENGAGED AND I WAS WORRIED FOR MY 10 MONTH OLD IN THE BACKSEAT. I HAD TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP TO REGAIN CONTROL. A PASSERBY STOPPED AND SAID IT LOOKED LIKE THE CAR LIFTED 2 FEET IN THE AIR. AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR MULTIPLE TIMES THE AIR SUSPENSION HAS NOT RECALLIBRATED. MY BACK AND NECK ARE SORE. I CALLED MY FIANCE TO MEET MYSELF AND THE BABY SO WE COULD GET HOME. I WAS NOT GOING TO RISK SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME. AFTER GOOGLING THE ISSUE, IT SEEMS THE AIR BAGS IN THE STRUTS EXPLODED, WITHOUT PROVOCATION OR WARNING. THE CAR WENT TO DRIVING FINE TO TERRIBLE, PAINFUL, AND TIRING. AND IT SEEMS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM.

Mileage: 184,000

20190428UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I WAS DRIVING ON I10 WEST NEAR MOBILE, AL AT NIGHT. I HEARD A LOUD POP NEAR THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AND FEEL IT LIFT INTO THE AIR AND START BOUNCING UNCONTROLLABLY. THE SEATBELT ENGAGED AND I WAS WORRIED FOR MY 10 MONTH OLD IN THE BACKSEAT. I HAD TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP TO REGAIN CONTROL. A PASSERBY STOPPED AND SAID IT LOOKED LIKE THE CAR LIFTED 2 FEET IN THE AIR. AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR MULTIPLE TIMES THE AIR SUSPENSION HAS NOT RECALLIBRATED. MY BACK AND NECK ARE SORE. I CALLED MY FIANCE TO MEET MYSELF AND THE BABY SO WE COULD GET HOME. I WAS NOT GOING TO RISK SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME. AFTER GOOGLING THE ISSUE, IT SEEMS THE AIR BAGS IN THE STRUTS EXPLODED, WITHOUT PROVOCATION OR WARNING. THE CAR WENT TO DRIVING FINE TO TERRIBLE, PAINFUL, AND TIRING. AND IT SEEMS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM.

Mileage: 184,000

20140210FireSEATS

THE SEAT WARMER WAS TURNED ON AND THE SEAT CAUGHT FIRE. SMOKE FILLED THE CABIN OF THE CAR. THE RESULT WAS A HOLE IN THE SEAT OF THE CAR. *TR

Mileage: 104,000

20091029ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

MY GL 320 ? 2007 LOST ALL ELECTRICAL POWER AND THE ENGINE STALLED WHILE BEING DRIVEN. THE POWER COMES BACK ON IN 10 TO 20 SECONDS AND THE CAR CAN BE RESTARTED. THIS HAPPENED 3 TIMES DURING THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF OCT 2009 WHEN THE MILEAGE WAS JUST UNDER 30,000. NOTE THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKE ASSIST GO OUT COMPLETELY AS DO THE HEADLIGHTS. ON ONE ACCESSION AT NIGHT ON A CURVE I WENT OFF THE ROAD BEFORE BEING ABLE TO STOP. ON ALL OCCASIONS THIS HAPPENED 15 TO 20 SECONDS AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKES TO DEACTIVATE THE SPEED CONTROL AND AFTER COASTING TO LESS THAN APPX. 40MPH. THE DEALER COULD FIND NO DIRECT CODE INDICATION FOR THE PROBLEM BUT DID FIND NUMEROUS LOW VOLTAGE CODES AND CHANGED OUT A NUMBER OF FUSE AND REFUSE BOXES AND FUSES. THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN ONLY 100 MILES SINCE THE DEALER WORK AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOR RECURRED. *TR

Mileage: 29,100

20091029ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

MY GL 320 ? 2007 LOST ALL ELECTRICAL POWER AND THE ENGINE STALLED WHILE BEING DRIVEN. THE POWER COMES BACK ON IN 10 TO 20 SECONDS AND THE CAR CAN BE RESTARTED. THIS HAPPENED 3 TIMES DURING THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF OCT 2009 WHEN THE MILEAGE WAS JUST UNDER 30,000. NOTE THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKE ASSIST GO OUT COMPLETELY AS DO THE HEADLIGHTS. ON ONE ACCESSION AT NIGHT ON A CURVE I WENT OFF THE ROAD BEFORE BEING ABLE TO STOP. ON ALL OCCASIONS THIS HAPPENED 15 TO 20 SECONDS AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKES TO DEACTIVATE THE SPEED CONTROL AND AFTER COASTING TO LESS THAN APPX. 40MPH. THE DEALER COULD FIND NO DIRECT CODE INDICATION FOR THE PROBLEM BUT DID FIND NUMEROUS LOW VOLTAGE CODES AND CHANGED OUT A NUMBER OF FUSE AND REFUSE BOXES AND FUSES. THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN ONLY 100 MILES SINCE THE DEALER WORK AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOR RECURRED. *TR

Mileage: 29,100

20090619SUSPENSION:FRONT

DRAMATIC EXPLOSIVE FAILURE OF THE RIGHT ADAPTIVE SUSPENSION STRUT AIRBAG WHILE VEHICLE WAS STANDING IN THE DRIVEWAY WITH THE ENGINE ON. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT WHERE THE STRUT WAS REPLACED AND THE FAILED PART WAS RETURNED TO MBUSA FOR INSPECTION. I HAVE HIGH QUALITY DIGITAL PHOTOS OF THE INCIDENT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL IN THE DRIVEWAY, IF NHTSA WOULD LIKE THEM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY NOT OF THE REMOVED, DAMAGED STRUT. *TR

Mileage: 57,453

20080302VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM

ON THE 2007-2008 MERCEDES GL THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE AC VENT CLOSEST TO THE SIDE WINDOWS ALLOWS AIR TO BE DIRECTED THE VENT ON THE DOOR (WHICH SHOULD BE USED FOR DEFROST ONLY); THIS THEN FOGS UP THE SIDE WINDOWS, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE THE SIDE MIRRORS WHENEVER THE AC IS ON. THIS IS CERTAINLY A HUGE SAFETY PROBLEM IN HOT HUMID AREAS LIKE HOUSTON. I HAVE HAD TO DUCT TAPE THE VENT TUBE IN ORDER TO KEEP THE VENTS FROM FOGGING UP THE SIDE WINDOWS AND BLOCKING THE VIEW OF THE SIDE MIRRORS. THIS WAS REPORTED TO MERCEDES USA A YEAR AGO, ACCORDING TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, BUT MERCEDES USA HAS YET TO FIX THIS DANGEROUS DESIGN DEFECT. *TR

Mileage: 14

Compare 2007MERCEDES-BENZGL320 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 have?
The 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 has 7 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 1 fires, 4 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL320?
The most-complained component for the 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 is VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SUSPENSION:FRONT and ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Is the 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.