2004 Mercedes-Benz ML500 problems
NHTSA has received 26 complaints about the 2004 Mercedes-Benz ML500, and 23% of them involve steering. Next are electrical system (19%) and brakes (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 26 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 20 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 | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 20 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 90,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 97% of model years in our database.
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.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mercedes benz ml500. While driving 35 MPH, the driver seat became extremely hot while the warmer function was activated. The vehicle was pulled over and the seat was red and smoking. The contact parked the vehicle for 30 minutes and then restarted it and drove home. The contact suffered burns on his left side. The dealer inspected the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 50,200. Updated 01-10-08. The dealer stated defroster not working. Updated 12/31/07
2004 mercedes benz ml500 driver seat caught fire while driving. Consumer states that due to the seat catching fire he suffered mild burns on the left hip. The heating pad in the drivers seat shorted out and caused the leather and seat cushion to burn.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mercedes benz ml500. The contact stated that the steering wheel exhibited a loud noise when attempting a turn. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number 08v465000 (steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000 and the approximate current mileage was 80,000.
This could be related to a software problem in all ml class. 1. OBD system cause the check engine light to illuminate incorrectly 2. Stuck fuel-level sensor cause to report incorrectly 3. The speedometer out of tolerance is reporting incorrectly 4. OBD system is reporting incorrectly causing faults in systems.