2004 Mercedes-Benz ML350 problems
Owners have filed 44 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Mercedes-Benz ML350. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 14% of complaints. Next are steering (14%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 44 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 14% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 73,000 miles 31 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 31 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 73,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Mercedes-Benz ML350 with enough data (24 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.
A woman ran a red light and crashed into the front passenger side of my 2004 mercedes benz ml 350. After the impact there was smoke coming from under the hood. A driver coming from the opposite direction yelled out that my car was on fire. When I got out of the car, I saw a big puddle under the car and it ignited. Within a few minutes the car was completely engulfed in flames.
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 mercedes benz ml350. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 15 MPH when she crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed and the driver suffered injuries. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard and the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and the current mileages were 55,000. Updated 01/27/12
The driver seat heater over-heated and caused a minor burn when I took the car to the dealer. The dealer agreed to pay for half the cost of replacement but would not give the defective part back to me even when I specifically asked for it. While searching for more information, I came across other incidents with this car with the exact same problem.
Crack in fron bumper with no other discernible damage. All lights and casings in tact with no markings to indicate crash.
SRS and airbag lights remain on. I won't bother with the dealer because I have seen numerous complaints on various blogs of people with the same issue who have been told that this is a $750 sensor that needs to be replaced. Mercedes should seek recourse with their suppliers and stand behind their "world-class german engineering" and make their customers whole.