There are 2 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Classin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I FOUND OUT THAT ONLY ON 2018 MERCEDES GLS MODELS, THE CAR LETS YOU TURN OFF THE ENGINE WITHOUT A WARNING AND PUTS THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AUTOMATICALLY. IT DOES NOT PUT THE CAR TO 'P' OR GIVES YOU A WARNING SAYING YOU NEED TO PUT THE GEAR TO 'P' TO STOP THE CAR. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN ANY CAR. BASICALLY YOU BRAKE AND STOP THEN TURN OFF THE ENGINE WITH THE BUTTON. THE CAR SHIFTS TO 'N' INSTEAD OF 'P' AND IF YOU RELEASE THE BRAKE THE CAR SLIDES SINCE IT IS IN NEUTRAL. EVEN OLDER CARS DO NOT LET YOU TURN OFF THE ENGINE BEFORE SHIFTING TO P AR NEVER CARS JUST AUTOMATICALLY SHIFTS TO P WHEN YOU TURN OFF THE ENGINE. SINCE AS DRIVERS WE ARE NOT USED TO THIS, I CAN SAY THAT I HAD THE CAR SLIDE AT LEAST 5 TIMES THIS WEEK -FTER LEASING THIS VEHICLE. I CALLED MERCEDES AND THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE BUT THEY SAY THIS IS HOW THIS PARTICULAR CAR WAS BUILT. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS AND A NEVER BEFORE SEEN ISSUE WITH ANY CARS I HAVE DRIVEN OVER 25 YEARS I HAVE BEEN A DRIVER. THE OPERATING MANUAL ALSO STATES THAT THE CAR SHIFTS TO N WHEN TURNED OFF.
WHILE IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, CAR SHIFTED ITSELF FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL WITHOUT ANY DRIVER INPUT. ALL INDICATOR LIGHTS ON DASH TURNED ON. DRIVER UNABLE TO SHIFT FROM NEUTRAL BACK TO DRIVE TO REGAIN CONTROL OF VEHICLE. DRIVER COULD ONLY SHIFT TO PARK. DRIVER SHIFTED VEHICLE TO PARK AND TRIED TO SHIFT TO DRIVE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO DO SO. DRIVER TURNED OFF IGNITION AND RESTARTED CAR, AT WHICH POINT DRIVER WAS ABLE TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO DRIVE. DRIVER REPORTS NO USER ERROR (I.E. DID NOT ACCIDENTALLY HIT THE SHIFTER, DID NOT HIT ENGINE ON/OFF BUTTON) AND NO INDICATOR LIGHTS WERE PRESENT PRIOR TO INCIDENT. VEHICLE WAS BRAND NEW: OWNED FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 DAYS WITH 199 MILES AT THE TIME OF ACCIDENT. VEHICLE HAD BEEN PURCHASED WITH 6 MILES ON ODOMETER.
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 26, 2026