There are 5 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML-Classin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The driver's seat belt is locked and the retractor is not working without any reason. The front adaptive cruise control radar is also not working, along with the crucial blind spot sensor. Because of this, the vehicle cruise control (even without adaptive mode) is not working at all. This is a big safety issue and it is illegal to even drive this car without the seat belt working.
SEAT BELTS WILL NOT EXTEND. WHEN TRYING TO BUCKLE SEAT BELT, THE BELT RETRACTOR LOCKS AS YOU TRY TO EXTEND, PREVENTING YOU FROM BUCKLING YOUR SEAT-BELT. AFFECTS BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT-BELTS. INTERMITTENTLY HAPPENS AND SEEMS TO BE TEMPERATURE RELATED. MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN WHEN IT IS WARM.
MY VIN IS NOT PART OF THE TAKATA RECALL, ALTHOUGH SIMILAR MODELS I.E ML350 4MATIC 2012 IS. MY CAR WAS INVOLVED IN A HIGH IMPACT CRASH IN WHICH IT WAS TOTALED. THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND RESULTED IN SERIOUS NECK AND BACK INJURIES. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY ON THE HIGHWAY AS TRAFFIC SLOWED. A FAST ONCOMING VEHICLE (70-80 MPH) FAILED TO SEE MY STATIONARY VEHICLE AND REAR ENDED MY VEHICLE WITHOUT BREAKING CAUSING IT TO CRASH IN THE CAR IN FRONT. THE INCIDENT WAS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO CAUSE MY ENGINE TO DROP AND THE FRONT CRUMBLE ZONE WAS FULLY UTILIZED. A WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD "LEFT SRS AIRBAG MALFUNCTION" SEE THE PICTURE ATTACHED. THIS IS POSSIBLY A WIDESPREAD ISSUE AFFECTING MULTIPLE CLASSES OF MERCEDES BENZ CARS.
MY VEHICLE CAME WITH ERROR MESSAGE "FRONT LEFT SRS MALFUNCTION SERVICE REQUIRED". DEALER CLAIMS THAT THE AIR BAG MIGHT NOT DEPLOY. LEFT IT FOR SERVICE. EL CABLE, CABLE CONNECTORS AND LOCKING MECHANISM WERE REPLACED. LOOKS LIKE THE ELECTRICAL CABLES WERE DAMAGED/DEFECTIVE IN THE MECHANISM. BEING A CAR WITH NO MORE THAN 4 YEARS AND UNDER 43000 MILES, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE PARTS REPLACED WERE DUE TO MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. FURTHER THIS PROBLEM HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH REGULAR VEHICLE MAINTENANCE. I DO NOT KNOW THE IMPACT WHICH IT WOULD CAUSE IF NOT SERVICED. PAID $444 FOR THE SERVICE AND I AM REALLY DOUBTFUL ABOUT THE RELIABILITY IN SAVING LIFE USING AIRBAGS ON MERCEDES. ATTACHED BILLS FOR THE SERVICE. APPRECIATE IF YOU COULD LOOK INTO THE MATTER AND FOLLOWUP. THANK YOU
SEAT BELT ON THE DRIVER SIDE WILL NOT PULL OUT TO LATCH, I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER FIVE TIMES OVER THE COARSE OF 2.5 YEARS AND THEY SAY "THIS IS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE", MY WIFE HAD TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH NO SEAT BELT. *JS
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