STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER07/16/2026
Mercedes-Benz E350 Mild Hybrid was purchased new on XXX. Vehicle had approximately 291 miles and had been owned 25 days, when incident occurred on XXX at approximately 9:30am. Incident occurred during normal interstate driving (I-10 between [XXX] and [XXX]) at approximately the posted speed limit of 60mph. Weather was partly cloudy, not raining. A sudden loud explosive sound occurred, similar to a gunshot. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the explosive sound. Neither of 2 occupants in vehicle observed an object strike the vehicle. Sunroof was completely closed at time of incident. Passenger opened inside cover of sun roof and immediately observed shattered panoramic roof glass, with almost half of the sunroof gone. Remainder of sunroof was cracked into very small fragments. Glass appeared to largely disperse outward; interior sunshade prevented glass from entering the passenger compartment, although there were shards of glass lying within the sunshade. Vehicle was safely removed from traffic. No injuries occurred. But half of glass from sunroof was scattered toward other lanes of busy interstate traffic. Passenger safety could've been compromised had the glass torn the soft fabric sunshade. Passenger safety could've been compromised if driver had been distracted by the explosive sound. Glass could've been safety hazard for other vehicles behind mine. Mercedes-Benz denied warranty coverage and refused to provide owner a written engineering explanation of the cause of the accident. Mercedes-Benz field technical rep and dealer service department reviewed the car's damages. Vehicle has since been repaired at owner's expense. Owner has photos of damaged roof prior to repair. Owner plans to sell vehicle on or about XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM06/29/2026
1. Car's computer abruptly shutdown all controls/systems when lightly applying brake to stop at yellow light. Lost Total control of car, steering locked, 4 wheel drive locked all wheels, park brake inoperable, doors locked, windows would not operate, key fob was made inoperable, HVAC was inoperable, no lights worked except for Emerg flashers, wipers activated and went erratic, multiple alarms went off saying what Not to do but gave No advice on "What to do", MB SOS made inoperable. see MB Inv 379224 they determined it was EZS control module. BUT MB gave no diagnostics why the car left driver with control of nothing. 2. My safety was put at high risk. Why? I manually opened driver door, it closed itself car on a slight inclined Rd, manually opened trunk to warn others, returned to car and all doors are locked, plus all retractable handles flush with door body manual key useless. Due to perfect weather day, passenger window down 3in allowing to insert arm to unlatch door manually. Car was in lane 2 of 3 lane traffic light intersection. Very busy major road accessing a 6 lane US Hwy. Luckily Police arrived on their way to work, stressed very dangerous location, stayed until car towed away. 3. MB dealer returned car. Will not confirm they will do a root-cause analysis of the total loss of control when one item (EZS) fails and leaves driver totally unsafe. There must be a software malfunction.....too many alarms. MB cannot assure this E350 or (any other one) will not have this type of shutdown again leaving the driver Unsafe. Reading MB car safety policy this dealer and MB USA Georgia do not comply with the policy. Concerns over Driver safety remain very high despite the replaced EZS, software was not diagnosed 4. Dealer stated on Jun 26, the failed EZS is yet to be analyzed and gave no timeline to do so. I gave 26 days for dealer to comply with MB policy. It is not forthcoming 5. Absolutely No warning lamps, alarms or any operational symptoms prior to total shutdown
UNKNOWN OR OTHER06/25/2026
I wish to respectfully report a safety concern with my new 2026 Mercedes All-Terrain Wagon. Specifically, at certain sun angles under cloudless skies, flaring occurs on the inside of my front windshield. They would appear to be linked to the Heads-Up Display Unit via reflection. The housing and dash can also reflect patterns on the windshield. Again, this occurs under certain sun angles when the sun is anywhere between 11 o'clock and 4 o’clock. Additionally, the density of a flaring pattern can be dense enough to obscure signs, objects, or other hazards. For this reason, I strongly believe this constitutes a safety hazard as well as something that plagues automobile travel: principally distractions. I do agree that flaring on a small level can occur in connection with HUD’s. Nevertheless, on this vehicle, I contend it is excessive and usually appears every day under bright sun conditions. In shade or cloudy conditions, this is not an issue. This was first noticed sometime after 500 miles in winter, under sunny conditions. I now have 10,500 miles with no resolution from Mercedes national. After documenting this case from the beginning, I was notified today, 06/25/26 by the Service Manager at Chico, California, Mercedes, that the national engineers determined this was normal. In fact, one of these engineers came to Chico to inspect my vehicle. Respectfully, I beg to differ and ask you to open a case to investigate further whether this is an anomaly that constitutes a safety concern and/or a distracting issue, which is another threat to safety. For further information, contact Mercedes Benz of Chico Service 530-345-9444. I wish to add credibility to this case, as I am a retired airline captain with 26,000 hours of flying time, including 10,500 hours on the Boeing 777. You can understand my emphasis on safety: anything that impairs visibility and distracts, in my view, is a red flag. I certainly appreciate the work all of you do, with thanks, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS05/27/2026
The contact owns a 2026 Mercedes-Benz. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an SRS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed as having an electrical issue that needed an SRS replacement. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.
AIR BAGS05/12/2026
Restraint system malfunction service required light displayed on dashboard while driving. Vehicle was purchased January 10, 2026. Mercedes Benz E350 4 matic sedan. Safety concerns for operator and public.