2007 Mercedes Benz GL450

I HAD BEEN NOTICING THAT THE FRONT OF MY CAR HAD BEEN DROPPING DOWN AND RISING UP SPONTANEOUSLY. WHEN THE FRONT OF THE TRUCK DROPPED DOWN THE CAR BEGAN TO VIOLENTLY BOUNCE UP AND DOWN TO THE POINT THAT I NEARLY HIT MY HEAD ON THE ROOF. THE CAR WAS BARELY DRIVABLE UNTIL IT ROSE UP AGAIN. ON 2/18/2011 I PULLED MY TRUCK OUT OF THE GARAGE AND HEARD AN EXPLOSION AND THE RIGHT FRONT SIDE DROPPED DOWN AND WOULD NOT RISE UP AGAIN. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND HE SAID THAT THE AIR STRUTS WERE GONE. THE RIGHT SIDE HAD EXPLODED. HE CONTACTED MANY OF HIS PRIOR EMPLOYEE'S WHO WORK AT MERCEDES BENZ DEALERSHIPS AND THEY TOLD HIM THEY HAD BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS PART. THEY EVEN HAD THE PARTS IN STOCK DUE TO THE DEMAND. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE AND IF I OR MY WIFE WERE ON THE HIGHWAY TRAVELING AT 70 MPH AND THIS OCCURRED, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A FATAL ROLLOVER. I ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY POWERSTEERING LOCKING UP WHEN I TURN THE WHEEL.. MY MECHANIC ALSO SAID THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE AND A RECURRENT PROBLEM PART. I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE FOR SAFETY AND IT TURNS OUT THIS IS THE FARTHEST FROM IT. I ALSO HAD TO HAVE MY DRIVER'S SEAT REPLACED BY MERCEDES AS IT BURNT A HOLE THROUGH THE LEATHER NEARLY CATCHING MY WIFE'S COAT ON FIRE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. *TR

I OWN A MERCEDES GL450 THE FRONT END STARTED RIDING LOW AFTER DRIVING IT AND WOULD THEN ADJUST ITSELF, WHICH WAS VERY NOTICEABLE NOT THE MINUTE AMOUNT IS SUPPOSED TO DO JUST FOR AERODYNAMICS. THEN IT STARTED OUT LOW FROM A PARKING POSITION AND ONCE ON THE ROAD IT WOULD RAISE A LITTLE TO WHERE IT WAS DRIVABLE THAT WENT ON FOR TWO DAYS I HAD AN APPOINTMENT TO GET IT INSPECTED AND ON THE THIRD DAY THE FRONT END JUST LOWERED ITSELF AND THE WHOLE CAR WAS VERY UNSTABLE JUMPED UP AND DOWN BECAUSE OF TBE GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FRONT AND BACK I WAS DRIVING ON A ONE LANE ROAD ON A MOUNTAINOUS REGION WHICH IS WHERE I LIVE AND HAD NOWHERE TO PULL OVER. I MADE IT AFTER DRIVING AT 10MPH ON A 50 MPH ZONE WITH 10 CARS IN BACK OF ME! THE SHOP TOLD ME IT WAS THE TWO FRONT AIR SUSPENSION STRUTS THAT WERE LEAKING AND TOLD ME THIS CAR WAS NOTORIOUS FOR THIS PROBLEM. I NEED YOU TO PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS O BELIEVE IT IS A HAZARDOUS DANGEROUS PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WITH MY GL 450 SEAT WARMER TURNED ON IN THE DRIVERS SEAT. I STARTED SMELLING SMOKE & THOUGHT IT WAS FROM OUTSIDE. I OPENED MY WINDOW, AND SMOKE STARTED SWIRLING INSIDE MY CAR AND STARTED GETTING THICKER WITHIN MINUTES. I PULLED THE CAR OVER TO THE STREET CURB, TURNED MY IGNITION OFF AND DISCOVERED A MELTED HOLE ABOUT THE SIZE OF A QUARTER BURNING & SMOKING. THE SWEATER I WAS WEARING ALSO HAD A MELTED HOLE IN IT. THE HOLE IN THE CAR IS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DRIVERS SEAT. WE CONTACTED MERCEDES BENZ SERVICE HERE IN SAN DIEGO, AND WERE JUST TOLD TO BRING IT IN ON MONDAY - IT HAPPENED ON THURS. MORNING. SO WE ARE WAITING FOR MONDAY, BUT IN THE MEANTIME I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR AND WANT TO REPORT THIS INCIDENT, DUE TO THE EXTREME SAFETY FACTOR OF THE SITUATION, BUT DON'T KNOW WHAT AGENCIES TO CONTACT. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY BEEN A MORE DANGEROUS SITUATION AS IT WAS A BURNING ELECTRICAL FIRE. THANK GOODNESS I COULD SAFELY PULL OVER AND TURN OFF THE POWER TO THE CAR. THANK YOU *TR

I TURNED ON MY IGNITION AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEATED SEAT AND IMMEDIATELY STARTED TO DRIVE. I TRAVELED ABOUT 500 FEET AND STARTED TO SMELL SOMETHING BURNING. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY NEIGHBOR'S FIREPLACE, SO DROVE LESS THAN 1 MILE BEFORE I FELT INTENSE HEAT ON MY LEFT SIDE AND SAW SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE SEAT. UPON EXITING THE CAR, I SAW THAT MY SEAT WAS ON FIRE. I TURNED OFF THE HEATED SEAT BUTTON AND THE SMOKE AND FLAME DISSIPATED AND THEN DROVE RIGHT TO THE DEALER, WHO ACTED LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL WHATSOEVER AND SAID THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE OF THE DESIGN OF THE WIRING AND IS CAUSED FROM WEAR AND TEAR ON THE WIRING FROM GETTING IN AND OUT OF THE VEHICLE. WHILE AT THE DEALERSHIP, I ENCOUNTERED AN MB S320 OWNER WHO CAME IN AT THE SAME TIME I DID WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY SO THE DEALER WANTED TO CHARGE US FOR THE REPAIR BUT WE TOLD HIM TO TALK TO HIS MANAGER BECAUSE WE WERE CALLING THE NEWSPAPERS OR THEY WERE GOING TO COVER IT. THEY AGREED TO REPLACE THE HEAT ELEMENT AND THE SEAT BACK BUT REFUSED TO DEAL WITH THE PASSENGER SEAT. THEY HAVE ORDERED THE PART AND ARE SUPPOSED TO CALL US IN 3-4 DAYS WHEN THE PART COMES IN BUT WE'LL SEE IF THAT HAPPENS. THE FIRE ORIGINATED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SEAT. I'M SHOCKED THAT THE DEALER DIDN'T DISABLE THE HEATING MECHANISM BEFORE WE LEFT THE DEALERSHIP. I GOOGLED THIS ISSUE AND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. I'M NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR, ESPECIALLY WITH MY KIDS AND DOG WHO MAY HAVE TROUBLE ESCAPING A FIRE THAT MAY VERY LIKELY HAPPEN. ALSO, ONCE THE REPAIR IS MADE (USING THE SAME PROTOCOL AS THE CURRENT DEFECTIVE WIRING), SINCE THE CAUSE OF THE SHORT HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED, THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN IN ANOTHER 2 OR SO YEARS. *TR

I WAS ON MY WAY TO DROP OFF MY DAUGHTER FOR SCHOOL. I STARTED TO SMELL SOMETHING BURNING THEN I STARTED FEELING A BURN ON MY SEATING AREA. I PULLED OVER LUCKY I WAS NEXT FIRE DEPARTMENT, MY DAUGHTER AND I GOT OFF THE CAR AS WE GOT OFF THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT WAS ON FIRE. EVERY ONE FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME OUT, THEY DISABLED THE SEAT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES GL450. THE CONTACT WAS ATTEMPTING TO TURN INTO A PARKING LOT WHEN THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED AN UNUSUAL CLANKING NOISE. THE STEERING WHEEL THEN LOCKED UNEXPECTEDLY. THE CONTACT STATED THERE WAS A LARGE AMOUNT OF POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR REPAIRS. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WERE NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH THE CONTROLS FOR THE FRONT POWER SEATS. THE REAR PASSENGER DOOR WOULD NOT CLOSE CORRECTLY AND THE MANUFACTURER ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR THE DOORS SEVERAL TIMES TO NO AVAIL. ALSO, THE FRONT DRIVER?S DOOR WAS IMPROPERLY ALIGNMENT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING COLUMN WAS REPLACED ABOUT TWO YEARS PRIOR TO THE MOST RECENT FAILURE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 37,500.

2007 MERCEDES BENZ GL450, DID ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE AT DEALER, ONLY 36000 MILES, THE 'BRAKE WEAR' MESSAGE JUST CAME UP ON THE CONSOLE. DEALER CHECKED AND SAID ALL BRAKE PADS, FRONT BRAKE ROTORS NEED TO BE REPLACED. SO ONLY 36K MILES AND WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE, WHEN THE BRAKE SENSOR JUST INDICATED 'BRAKE WEAR' PROBLEM, NOT ONLY ALL PADS ARE BAD, BUT ALSO THE ROTORS WERE DAMAGED ALREADY? IT SEEMS TO BE DEFECT OF BRAKE SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE BRAKE SENSOR. *TR