There are 33 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz E-Classin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The engine in these cars are defective and can cause serious harm due to a part that was put inside the motor made of plastic. There was a lawsuit but if you didn’t get in on it you losses out for not knowing. I was recently at Mercedes dealership to fix recalls and they brushed me off. The car can catch fire and I’m already experiencing engine failure after only owning the car for a year. They don’t care because it’s an old car but it’s still being sold to unsuspecting buyers. I’m not the only one there are thousands of us who are at risk driving these cars because Mercedes won’t admit their off the showroom floor mistake.
2006 MERCEDES ML350 BALANCE SHAFT - CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT - DEFECTIVE. WENT INTO LOW GEAR WHILE RUNNING. WILL NOT COME BACK TO NORMAL. CODE FROM DIAGNOSIS STATES THE PROBLEM AS TIMING CHAIN. MERCEDES STATES " MAYBE FIXED IN GOOD FAITH" . BAD BALANCE SHAFT FROM FACTORY. MANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS DEFECTIVE PART. BUT WE NEED MONEY UP FRONT TO FIX WHICH WE DON'T HAVE. FROM MERCEDES REPAIR SHOP.
WHILE DRIVING ON US 50 MY THE SBC FAILED WHILE DRIVING 60MPH I HAD NO BRAKES THE INDICATORS TOLD ME TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND TO DEPRESS BRAKES FULLY. THAT'S HARD TO DO WHN UR GOING 60MPH... SO I HAD TO LET THE VEHICLE DRIFT UNTIL IT CAME TO A STOP ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY... PLEASE GET MB TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE LOSES THEIR LIFE... AFTER THIS INCIDENT MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON HAD THE VEHICLE DIAGNOSED THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC SAID AS A RESULT OF THE ENGINE REVVING SO HIGH WHEN THE BREAKS FAILED I GOT TROUBLE CODES P0016 AND P0017.. RELATED TO THE BALANCE SHAFT... THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN SERVICED... BASED ON THE PRICE I WAS QUOTED IN ORDER TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE I WAS TOLD IT WILL COST BETWEEN 4 TO $5.000 USD FOR REPAIRS.
THIS HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED 2X ALREADY-I WAS STATIONARY AT A LIGHT AND WHEN I WENT TO ACCELERATE THE CAR STALLED AND WOULD NOT START BACK UP. THERE WHERE MANY CARS BEHIND ME AND MY CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. I TURNED CAR OFF AND THEN IT FINALLY RESTARTED AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD . I WAS TERRIFIED. THE SECOND TIME THE CAR WAS ACTUALLY MOVING AND THEN JUST DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER BOTH TIMES AND SINCE NOTHING CAME UP ON MY DASH THEY COULD NOT FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. I AM TERRIFIED THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN WITHOUT A GOOD OUTCOME NEXT TIME. I FEEL MY CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I HAVE TRIED TALKING TO MBUSA AND TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED THEY DID NOTHING. I WROTE A LETTER THEY DID NOTHING. I TOLD HOEHN MERCEDES I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WHO SOLD ME THE CAR NOTHING. 1ST TIME CAR WAS STATIONARY ON CITY STREET, 2ND TIME IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY. GOING STRAIGHT. 2ND MECHANIC SAID HE HAD HEARD OF THAT HAPPENING BEFORE, RANDOM INCIDENT STARTER? I AM THE ORIGIONAL OWNER-PAID $60,000 FOR THIS CAR I CANNOT EVEN GET $5,000 FOR IT.
VIBRATION WHEN CORNERING ALSO AT CERTAIN SPEEDS.
TAKATA RECALL , OIL LEAK ,ELECTRICAL HARNESS
AT 73,480 MILES THIS 2006 MERCEDES HAS A FAULTY CONDUCTOR PLATE VALVE THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS FAULTY CONDUCTOR PLATE/SPEED SENSOR CAUSES THE CAR NOT TO SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR AND INSTEAD SPINS WITHOUT GOING INTO GEAR. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN MOTION WHILE THIS OCCURS. AT STOP LIGHT, TRIED TO ACCELERATE FORWARD AND COULD NOT. SHUT CAR OFF AND RESTARTED. CARS IN BACK OF ME PROCEEDING = DANGEROUS SITUATION TO BE TURNING OFF IGNITION AND RESTARTING CAR ONLY TO MOVE FORWARD! THERE WERE ALSO PREVIOUS OCCURRENCES OF THE SAME INCIDENT.
THE TRANSMISSION CONDUCTOR PLATE SENSOR IS DEFECTIVE. I WAS STUCK IN EITHER FIRST OR SECOND GEAR. I LEARN THAT IT WAS IN LIMP MODE. THE 722.9 TRANSMISSION CONDUCTOR PLATE SENSOR IS KNOWN TO HAVE THESE ISSUE AS I LEARNED FROM MANY MERCEDES OWNER THAT HAVE THE 7SPEED TRANNY. PLEASE ADVISE ON THIS SUBJECT TO TAKE ACTION ON RECALLING THE SERVICE FOR MY CAR. I HAVE 2006 E350,2014ML550,2007 S550. THESE CARS ALL HAVE THE CODE FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THE CODE IS P0717 AND P0718. THANK YOU FOR TAKING ACTION INTO THIS MATTERS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MERCEDES BENZ E350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR A ROUTINE INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR WAS FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,700.
WE, MY WIFE AND 3 SON'S WERE COMING DOWN FROM BIG BEAR WHEN IT STARTED SNOWING. SNOW GOT HEAVY AND I WAS APPROACHING A SHARP CURVE SLOWED DOWN TO ABOUT 8MILES MADE THE TURN ND SLOWLY PRESSED ON THE GAS PEDDLE, THE RPMS WENT UP BUT THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE. I HAD TO STOP PUT THE CAR IN PARK THEN TURN IT OF, TURN IT BACK ON, PUT IT IN GEAR AND ACCELERATE SLOWLY. AS I LOOKED IN THE SIDE MIRRORS, I NOTICED CARS SKIDDING SIDEWAYS AND SOME HITTING THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, THERE WAS A LARGE 4 WHEEL DRIVE IN BACK OF ME SO IT HID THE MAKE OF MY CAR AND LICENSE PLATE.THIS HAS ALSO HAPPENED ON THE FREEWAY WHEN I HAVE TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, THEN THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE BUT THE RPMS REV UP. ALSO IN THE MORNINGS WHEN I GO TO WORK THE CAR DOWN SHIFTS EXTREMELY HARD, SEEMS THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING TO BREAK ALONG WITH MY COLLARBONE. PLEASE SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS MERCEDES BENZ HAS NOW ABOUT THE DEFECTS PLEASE BEFORE PEOPLE DIE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MERCEDES BENZ E350. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED, THE REAR WHEELS SUDDENLY LOCKED UP AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SKID UNCONTROLLABLY. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DOWNSHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO SLOWLY DRIVE IN FIRST THROUGH FOURTH GEARS SUCCESSFULLY. AS SOON AS THE CONTACT SHIFTED INTO FIFTH GEAR, THE VEHICLE PERFORMED AS IF THE BRAKE PEDAL WERE DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THIS FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.
THERE IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WITH 2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E CLASS (MBEC) BECAUSE OF A MANUFACTURER'S AND/OR DESIGN DEFECT WHICH CAUSES THIS VEHICLE TO NOT GO INTO PROPER GEAR AND/OR STALL SUDDENLY PUTTING THE PUBLIC AT RISK. I BARELY ESCAPED BEING SMASHED INTO BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC WHILE MAKING A ROUTINE LEFT HAND TURN INTO A GAS STATION BECAUSE MY MBEC WAS STUCK IN GEAR AND DID NOT ACCELERATE AS IT WAS MANUFACTURED AND DESIGNED TO DO BUT RATHER SPUTTERED AT LESS THAN 5 MILES PER HOUR (MPH). THE ONLY REASON I WAS NOT T-BONED AND LIKELY SERIOUSLY INJURED ALONG WITH OTHER PEOPLE WAS BECAUSE THE OTHER DRIVERS SWERVED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC CAUSING THOSE DRIVERS TO ALSO SWERVE. MIRACULOUSLY NO ONE WAS INJURED, THIS TIME. ALSO, THE REASON WHY I WAS TURNING INTO THE GAS STATION WAS BECAUSE I WAS FORCED TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY BECAUSE MY MBEC WOULD NOT CHANGE GEAR AFTER I GOT ON THE HIGHWAY AND WAS APPROACHING RED-LINING AT AND IT SEEMED LIKE THE ENGINE MIGHT BLOW. THE TIPTRONIC ALSO FAILED DURING THIS MALFUNCTION. I HAD THE AUTHORIZED MB DEALER THAT I HAVE USED SINCE I PURCHASED MY MBEC PICKUP MY VEHICLE TO LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE AND MY ADVISOR TOLD ME I NEEDED A NEW BALANCE SHAFT BECAUSE THE ONE IN MY VEHICLE HAD PREMATURELY WORN (EVEN THOUGH I HAVE ALWAYS STRINGENTLY FOLLOWED MY MB ADVISOR'S SUGGESTIONS) AND IT WOULD COST ROUGHLY $6,500. S/HE ALSO SAID THIS OCCURS IN ROUGHLY 15-20% OF '06 MBEC. BUT MB WOULD NOT FIX THIS SAFETY DEFECT UNLESS I PAID. WORSE YET, MY ADVISOR NEVER MADE ME AWARE OF THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE EVEN THOUGH S/HE PREVIOUSLY KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN AND AS A RESULT PUT THE PUBLIC AT RISK BY NOT ENABLING ME TO RESOLVE THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WITH MY MODEL YEAR VEHICLE UNTIL THE OCCURRENCE OF A NEAR CATASTROPHE. THERE SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL NOW THAT THIS SAFETY DEFECT HAS COME TO LIGHT AND UNLESS THERE IS, THE PUBLIC WILL REMAIN AT SERIOUS RISK. *TR
CARS WILL NOT SHIFT. IT WONT GO PASS 3RD GEAR AND ALMOST CRASHED. BROUGHT CAR TO DEALER AND PER DEALER, CAR IS KNOWN TO HAVE THE PROBLEM BUT NOT RECALL. HAD TO PAY OVER $4000 TO GET THE CAR FIXED
ON THE WAY TO WORK, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON. AFTER A FEW MILES, AT AN INTERSECTION, MY CAR JERKED AND I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE THE SIGNAL LIGHT. I DECIDED TO GO BACK. AFTER I SHIFTED TO REVERSE, THE CAR DIDN'T MOVE BACK AND STOPPED THERE TOTALLY. I HAD TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTED, THE CAR WORKED. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER RIGHT AWAY, IT NEEDS "ENTIRE VALVE BODY/CONDUCTOR PLATE ASSY-REPLACE AND RETEST" AND TOTAL COST IS $2000. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CONTACT HEARD A GRINDING NOISE AS THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE BALANCE SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. *TR
HAVING RETURNED FROM A WEEKEND TRIP, I STARTED THE VEHICLE AND LET IT WARM UP FOR A FEW MINUTES. PUT THE GEAR SELECTOR IN DRIVE AND OFF I WENT, SO I THOUGHT. MY VEHICLE WAS ACTUALLY IN LIMP MODE. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WITH CODE P2725 "PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID E ELECTRICAL". IN OTHER WORDS, CONDUCTOR PLATE AND VALVE BODY. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 722.9 TRANSMISSIONS. I HAD THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED BY A MERCEDES DEALERSHIP ON 6/27/2013, TRANSMISSION FLUSH AND NEW FILTER ($553.38). THREE MONTHS LATER, BOOM! KAPUT! LIMP MODE! VALVE BODY TOASTED! DEALER QUOTE OF $1800 AND $2100 TO REPLACE VALVE BODY. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. MERCEDES SHOULD FOOT THE BILL. *TR
I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE WHEN SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO STOP AND THE TRANSMISSION APPEARED TO BE FROZEN. AS I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR THE CAR WOULD INCREASE SPEED THEN IT WOULD AGAIN SLOW DOWN. WHEN I PULLED OVER I WAS ABLE TO SWITCH OFF THE IGNITION AND RESTART THE ENGINE AND RESUME DRIVING. ONCE I GOT TO MY DESTINATION I WAS ABLE TO PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE WITH NO PROBLEM. WHEN I GOT READY TO TRAVEL BACK HOME I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM. HOWEVER, I WAS NOW ABLE TO ONLY DRIVE THE CAR USING MANUAL SHIFT OR DRIVE IN 1ST OR 2ND GEAR AT 20 TO 30 MPH. I HAD THE CAR EVALUATED BY MERCEDES IN ATLANTA AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS SOME PROBLEM WITH SOME TYPE OF TRANSMISSION PUMP AND THAT I WILL NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. MY CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY MERCEDES SINCE I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE. I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY TROUBLE WITH PREVIOUS CARS THAT I HAVE DRIVEN FOR 10 PLUS YEARS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS MATTER FOR I WAS TOLD THIS IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR THIS VEHICLE. A NEW TRANSMISSION WILL COST ME $6500. I CAN BUY ANOTHER CAR FOR THAT PRICE. I DID HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT IT HAS NOW EXPIRED. *JS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MERCEDES BENZ E350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH AND DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND. THE CONTACT HAD TO SHIFT GEARS FROM DRIVE TO PARK AND BACK TO DRIVE BEFORE THE VEHICLE WOULD RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC WHERE THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD FAILED. THE FAILURE WAS NOT REPORTED TO THE MANUFACTURER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 89,000.
I INITIALLY HAD ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING THEN THERE WERE ENGINE ISSUES COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEM. RE THE TRANSMISSION, MY FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO ENTER A VERY BUSY INTERSECTION AND MY CAR WOULD BARELY MOVE. MY MECHANIC EXPLAINED LATER THAT THE CAR WAS STUCK IN 3RD GEAR SO I COULD NOT GET MY NORMAL FORWARD MOVEMENT. HE TOLD ME IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN TO TURN MY ENGINE OFF, COUNT TO TEN AND TURN IT BACK ON. FORTUNATELY HE TOLD ME THIS BECAUSE THE NEXT TIMES IT HAPPENED I WAS ON LINCOLN BLVD. IN MARINA DEL REY, CA. AND MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL. ONE TIME I WAS AT A RED LIGHT SO HAD TIME TO TURN IT OFF AND ON. THE NEXT TIME I HAD TO COAST INTO A VERY SMALL CENTER DIVIDER THAT WAS GROWING SMALLER AND WITH TRAFFIC FLYING BY ON MY SIDE AND ONCOMING I HAD TO TURN OFF MY ENGINE, COUNT TO TEN AND TURN IT ON. THIS CAUSED A LOT OF ANGST SINCE I HAD CARS FLYING BY AND AT ME WHILE DOING THIS. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER INSTANCES. I AM GETTING NO COOPERATION FROM MBZ. *JS
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND WHEN CHECK INDICATES CAM SENSOR PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THAT MERCEDES KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *JS
Showing 1–20 of 33 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026