Total Complaints
91 filings
MERCEDES-BENZ ML350 · model year
91 NHTSA complaints, 8 crash reports for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2012MERCEDES-BENZML350 carries 91 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 8 crashes, 1 fire, 6 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 2012 ML350 is engine with 21 filings, followed by fuel/propulsion system (11) and electrical system (11). 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 2012 ML350. 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
91 filings
Crashes Reported
8 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 21 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 11 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 11 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 9 |
| STEERING | 6 |
| POWER TRAIN | 5 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 3 |
| SEAT BELTS | 3 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 3 |
| LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION | 3 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 2 |
| AIR BAGS | 2 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL | 2 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
My name is [XXX] My vehicle cut off on me 3 times twice while stationary and once at an intersection. Found oil in engine control module due to failed cam position sensors. Oil has traveled through the engine harness to ECM causing oil to get into module and cause it to shut down but it did start back up. This is very dangerous and could cause serious injury to someone. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My name is [XXX] My vehicle cut off on me 3 times twice while stationary and once at an intersection. Found oil in engine control module due to failed cam position sensors. Oil has traveled through the engine harness to ECM causing oil to get into module and cause it to shut down but it did start back up. This is very dangerous and could cause serious injury to someone. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle stalled without warning, and I was advised by a mechanic that the fuel pump control unit was reporting a fault through the onboard diagnostics port and the check engine light on the dashboard. It was necessary to replace the fuel pump control unit as the defect was intermittent and subject to occur at any time the vehicle was being driven. There is no available solution save the replacement. I had the fuel pump control unit replaced at my cost and after replacing it found information concerning the NHTSA recall campaign online. The defective fuel pump control unit was discarded upon replacement and is not available for inspection. I believe the failure of this fuel pump control unit is a direct result of the recall not being complied with. I believe the manufacturer; Mercedes Benz USA is responsible for my costs expended in repairing this defect under the recall campaign because they did not notify me of the recall. I purchased this vehicle from an authorized Mercedes B
The driver's seat belt is locked and the retractor is not working without any reason. The front adaptive cruise control radar is also not working, along with the crucial blind spot sensor. Because of this, the vehicle cruise control (even without adaptive mode) is not working at all. This is a big safety issue and it is illegal to even drive this car without the seat belt working.
The driver's seat belt is locked and the retractor is not working without any reason. The front adaptive cruise control radar is also not working, along with the crucial blind spot sensor. Because of this, the vehicle cruise control (even without adaptive mode) is not working at all. This is a big safety issue and it is illegal to even drive this car without the seat belt working.
The driver's seat belt is locked and the retractor is not working without any reason. The front adaptive cruise control radar is also not working, along with the crucial blind spot sensor. Because of this, the vehicle cruise control (even without adaptive mode) is not working at all. This is a big safety issue and it is illegal to even drive this car without the seat belt working.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact stated while driving uphill at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The contact stated that the abnormal shaking occurred at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with timing chain failure. The contact was informed that the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Mileage: 65,000
My wife was driving home from shopping and noticed an accumulation of dust on the rear window. She used the rear wiper to clean it but it came right back, she repeated twice and gave up. Approx 3-4 miles later she heard a POP and red lights came on the dash, when she pulled over ASAP in a safe spot smoke started coming from under the hood. She shut the engine off and tried to exit the car to find the hood release under the dash but there was fire coming out from under the car. She closed the door, grabbed her purse and cell phone and got out quickly as possible, burning her ankle and singing her long skirt. She got approx 50 feet away, looked back and the entire car was ablaze, centered mid vehicle, as well as 4-5 spot fires along the road she had just traveled. Previous to the POP the car was driving, steering, and braking normally, no warning lights of any kind. Visiting the site the next day revealed sound deadening/insulation material in and along side the roadway for 2-300 yards a
Turn signals will not operate, dealership quoted me $1400 3 years ago, had the work performed and now the issue is happening again and I am being quoted the same amount of money. This is a safety concern if I cannot signal to others where I am turning!!!!! This could cause an accident!!!!! This is highly unsafe!!! What if my kids were in the car?! Talking to customers in waiting lounge at dealership other people have had same issue!! The one time they stopped working I had a person hit me going 30 mph, could have been much much worse.
Turn signals will not operate, dealership quoted me $1400 3 years ago, had the work performed and now the issue is happening again and I am being quoted the same amount of money. This is a safety concern if I cannot signal to others where I am turning!!!!! This could cause an accident!!!!! This is highly unsafe!!! What if my kids were in the car?! Talking to customers in waiting lounge at dealership other people have had same issue!! The one time they stopped working I had a person hit me going 30 mph, could have been much much worse.
Turn signals will not operate, dealership quoted me $1400 3 years ago, had the work performed and now the issue is happening again and I am being quoted the same amount of money. This is a safety concern if I cannot signal to others where I am turning!!!!! This could cause an accident!!!!! This is highly unsafe!!! What if my kids were in the car?! Talking to customers in waiting lounge at dealership other people have had same issue!! The one time they stopped working I had a person hit me going 30 mph, could have been much much worse.
My indicators stopped working a month prior to accident, then they started working again. On March 10th the issue happened again where I turned my signal on and no light appeared and no light on the dash with the indicator sound either. Boom, I had sideswipe someone on a major road causing an accident. NHTSA needs to do something about this because corporate wonât do anything!
Steering column module is intermittently not working as intended, therefore the blinkers will sometimes not work causing it to be a safety concern if I can not signal where I am going. When looking this issue up online I have seen numerous different forums and posts where people have had the same issue. When I took my vehicle to the dealership they had told me that this is very common with the vehicle I have and they do the fix all of the time, just for the issue to happen yet again later down the road.
Steering column module is intermittently not working as intended, therefore the blinkers will sometimes not work causing it to be a safety concern if I can not signal where I am going. When looking this issue up online I have seen numerous different forums and posts where people have had the same issue. When I took my vehicle to the dealership they had told me that this is very common with the vehicle I have and they do the fix all of the time, just for the issue to happen yet again later down the road.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound and then stalled. Additionally, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly while driving. The contact's husband coasted the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted and driven to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,372.
Mileage: 79,372
When I start the engine, it makes a sound loud and strange
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and lost forward propulsion. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle for a short distance and the failure reoccurred. The vehicle lost motive power and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed of water entering the spare tire wheel well in the trunk of the vehicle. The contact was advised that the spare tire wheel well, was filled with water. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. Per the dealer's records, the work associated with NHTSA campaign #22V955000 and MBUSA recall #2023010002 had been completed in March 2023. However, that recall failed to address the source of the issue where water was improperly entering the spare tire wheel well. The dealer did not maintain any records as to the status of the fuel pump or signs of wat
Mileage: 141,000
I have own this vehicle on July 2023. I have recently noticed the exterior paint is peeling off quickly all over the body.
While driving, vehicle stalled. Mechanic found water in spare wheel Well. And fuel module and fuel pump shorted out. Had vehicle repaired; 07/22. The vehicle stalled again in 12/22. Mechanic found water in spare wheel well. Had to replace fuel pump. In February,2023, Mercedes Benz notified me of a recall, NHTSA Recall I D: 22V955 ; water intrusion in the spare wheel well. And, stated their local dealer would repair vehicle or reimburse me for the cost of repair, if I had the repair done already. I submitted receipts and documents pertaining to the repair. The Mercedes Benz Dealership refused to acknowledge the causal relationship between the repairs and the recall issue. And, refused me reimbursement.
When reversing the vehicle the brake pedal jumps with your feet on the brake pedal and a nose rattles,when driving and you have a sudden stop motion the vehicle brakes pedal with your feet on it itâs very hard to push the brake Pedal . Reversing the vehicle very strong nose and the vehicle doesnât stop right away
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.