2012 MERCEDES-BENZ ML350

The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 30 - 35 MPH, the message "Do Not Drive Vehicle" was suddenly displayed. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic, and the brake fluid reservoir was topped off. The mechanic was unable to find any leaks. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The message turned off and was displayed again 4 hours later. The contact was called by his wife, and the vehicle was driven to the residence after the brake fluid reservoir was refilled. The contact stated that a half mile later, the message was displayed again. The vehicle was driven to the residence and parked. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that there was no recall associated with the VIN related to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.

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.

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 steering column does not operate properly. The column no longer adjusts positions and more importantly, the turn signals work ad-hoc. When you start the vehicle, the turn signals tend to operate properly; however, after driving for approximately 15 minutes, the turn signals operate sporadically. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN as it's impossible to know when the turn signal will operate correctly or not, thus creating a hazard to me and others on the road. It is my understanding from investigating this online that this is a systemic issue with this model and not unique to my vehicle (just google "2012 Mercedes ml350 turn signal problems"). I discussed this with Mercedes Benz USA and they told me that the only way to resolve this issue is to replace the steering column (part #: 166-460-62-00) at the cost of $3,373.81. I hope that the NHTSA investigates this further as Mercedes-Benz has decided to ignore this safety issue that may cause harm or death. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES-BENZ ML350. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME INOPERABLE AND THE ENTIRE STEERING WHEEL AND ELECTRICAL MOTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT A CASE MANAGER WOULD CALL THE CONTACT BACK WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 16,000.

WHILE TRAVELING AT 55MPH THE STEERING SUDDENLY FELT VERY STIFF AND HARD TO MOVE. HAD TO APPLY BRAKES WHEN IT SEEMED I COULDN'T NEGOTIATE A CURVE IN THE ROAD. THE STEERING RETURNED TO NORMAL SHORTLY AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKES. THE STEERING PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN IN A LOCAL SHOPPING CENTER PARKING LOT AT SLOW SPEED. RETURNED THE CAR TO THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER. THEY PERFORMED A SOFTWARE UPDATE AND STATED THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING. WITHIN 3 DAYS THE PROBLEM REAPPEARED AT SLOW SPEED WHILE STEERING THROUGH BARRIERS ENTERING A LOCAL AIR FORCE BASE. THE NEXT DAY (4 DAYS AFTER DEALER SERVICE) THE WIFE HAD THE STEERING LOCK UP AT SLOW SPEED IN A LOCAL GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT. SHE COULD NOT MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL AT ALL. SHE SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, RESTARTED THE ENGINE, AND THE STEERING RETURNED. THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN ON THE WAY HOME AFTER GROCERY SHOPPING. SHE IS NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY. RETURNED THE CAR TO THE LOCAL DEALER FOR SERVICE. WE HAVE ONLY HAD THE ML350 THREE WEEKS. COULD NOT BELIEVE THE PROBLEM HADN'T BEEN DISCOVERED BEFORE BY THE PREVIOUS OWNERS OR THE SALES MANAGER THAT WAS USING IT AS A DEALER VEHICLE. *TR

I AM GOING TO UHAUL TO RENT TRAILER. UHAUL IS AROUND 8 MILES FROM MY HOUSE.AFTER 7 MILES OF DRIVING ON THE ROAD SUDDENLY SHOWING ERROR MESSAGE " POWER STEERING MALFUNCTION REFER TO OPERATOR'S MANUAL" AT THAT TIME STEERING WAS SUPER SUPER SUPER HARD TO TURN. IMMEDIATELY I TURNED ON THE HAZARDOUS LIGHTS. APPLIED FULL AMOUNT OF POWER WITH MY 2 HANDS TURNED STEERING WHEEL TO RIGHT TO EXIT THE ROAD. SLOWLY IT MOVED AND CHANGED LANES AND TOOK VEHICLE TO OFF THE ROAD IT TOOK AROUND 5 MINUTES TO OFF THE ROAD. I REFERRED, MANUAL NOTHING MENTIONED IN MANUAL. TRY CHANGE MODE FROM POWER MANUAL, BUT NO LUCK. CALLED EMERGENCY ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE. THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE AND EVEN PROBLEM, BUT THEY AGREED THAT ITS TOO HARD TO STEER WHEEL WHEN U GET THIS MESSAGE. MY ML350 TOWED TO NEAREST DEALER AND ALSO TOWING GUY ALSO SURPRISED AND HE FELT IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS. AFTER 2 HOURS MERCEDES SERVICE ADVISOR CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THAT THEY DID NOT FOUND ANY MECHANICAL FAILURE, BUT THEY HAVE TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE. AND ALSO THEY ARE OBSERVING MY VEHICLE FOR 2 DAYS. IF IT HAPPENS ON HIGHWAY WITH THE SPEED OF 70-80MPH HOW SHOULD I CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND I WILL BE IN THE ACCIDENT AND IT WILL LEAD TO ANYTHING, MY WIFE IS TOO AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. I SPEND 60K ON IT. I AM ALSO TOO SCARE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. *TR