1998 Mercedes-Benz ML320 problems
Owners have filed 200 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Mercedes-Benz ML320. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. After that come electrical system (12%) and fuel system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 200 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 15 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 28 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 98,000 miles 63 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 63 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 98,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 79,000 miles (17 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 15 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 28 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 80% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Mercedes-Benz ML320 with enough data (100 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Failure of front driver's seatbelt assembly; a gunshot type noise and smoke occurred coming out of the seatbelt retractor area; seatbelt retractor broke causing the seatbelt to keep retracting tightening on person and the release on the seatbelt would not release causing injury; the event occurred within one minute of turning on car in parked position and as soon as seatbelt was put in the buckle.
My car rolled over on klondike highway in yukon, canada. It happened when driven on down slope loose gravel. The road condition was not good on that highway. When the car travel from the paved road condition to loose gravel, it slipped in the beginning then lost control and rollover. I could not stop the car by stepping hard on the brake. My wife got a broken shoulder when it rolled over. I got some cut and scratches on my right hand. The car was upside down finally.
While driving at 50-55 MPH vehicle was involved in a collision that resulted in a roolover. The airbags did not deploy. Manufacturer has been notified.
Apparently, the fuel injection system on the 1998 ml320 fails quite often....even on trucks with low mileage. ***** dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis*****731049.
The harmonic balance that is located in the crankshaft went out and caused the loss of power steering and control. Dealer informed the consumer that the damper pulley had separated.