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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 1
Average Mileage:
82,487 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 engine problems

engine problem

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2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #27

Mar 272017

E350

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have a Benz E350 2006 with 60K miles. My check engine light went on and I was told it was the balance shaft gear problem. Mercedes-Benz had a class action lawsuit complaint filed for this issue for some of their cars with this problem as well as faulty engines & idle gears. There are more than 100000 cars from 2005 to 2007 model years with this problem and they managed to get away without issuing a recall. What surprises me is even with the class action suit, they pay only 30% of the repair cost. Dealership estimate for this repair is $7500. They have to remove the entire engine/motor and open it up to replace the small part. www.classactionrebates.com/settlements/mercedes_engine/ you are a member of this class action if you purchased or leased Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the United States that are model years 2005-2007 equipped with M272 (V6) or M273 (V8) engines bearing serial numbers up to 2729..30 468993 or 2739..30 088611, respectively. You can verify your serial number by checking your past repair orders. Class members may also enter the vehicle identification number (VIN) on the settlement website to see if their vehicle qualifies for benefits from this Mercedes class action settl I now have to replace the balance shift gears so my car will pass emissions inspection. Mercedes Benz is not worth buying. Mercedes Benz needs to be responsible for faulty equipment. Mercedes Benz does not have the reputation it used to have.

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

problem #26

Mar 202017

E350

  • 180,000 miles
Strong fuel smell coming from the outside of vehicle

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #25

Feb 012017

E350

  • miles
I went to a hardware store and parked the car in the store parking lot. About 10 minutes later somebody came in and asked me if I was driving a silver Mercedes; I told him yes and he told me that it was on fire. When I got out of the store I saw my car's engine compartment on fire. By the time the fire department arrived on the scene the whole engine compartment had been gutted and the fire had spread to another car which was parked infront of mine.

- Fairfield, CA, USA

problem #24

Dec 062016

E350

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The engine light indicator came on and was checked at the dearlership and showed to replace shaft. It seemed a lot of problems with same indication. Cost to repair was quoted at $5,500.

- Keyser, WV, USA

problem #23

Sep 072015

E350

  • 129,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350. While driving approximately 45 to 50 mph, the vehicle approached a ramp and applied the brakes. Messages on the instrument panel illuminated that read "reduced brake pressure and depress brake fully", "traction control", "ABS", and "check engine lights". in addition, the steering wheel locked up when the brakes were applied. The vehicle was pulled over, turned off, restarted, and driven home. The failure recurred. The vehicle was driven to a mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 129,000.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #22

Jul 162015

E350

  • 75,000 miles
Engine jerks and sputters while driving. I appears that the vehicle will shutdown immediately. Cannot drive over 25 mph or go up hills.

- Fort Washington, MD, USA

problem #21

Apr 242016

E350

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Check engine light goes on....car vibrates (shakes!)...I pull over, stop the car, turn off the engine and the problem does not occur again...in ten years this episode has occurred three or four times. I brought it in the a local mbz warranty facility and they could not find anything wrong...and the problem did not happen again until 2 weeks ago when I brought it to a different mechanic who was able to diagnose the probem as the "intake manifold actuator linkage broken" Mercedes Benz usa will not pay to repair it...my mechanic in san diego said I was the eigth car mbz 2005 to 2007 that has had the same issue. The vehicle was in motion when the shaking occurred. It happened both on highway and street...I was not turning.

- La Jolla, CA, USA

problem #20

Sep 122015

E350 6-cyl

  • 117,000 miles
I am reporting a very serious, disturbing, shocking and tragic accident on 9/12/2015 on randall road in elgin, il usa at 2:35 pm just after big timber road signal.my southbound 2006 Mercedes Benz E350 car was hit by the high speed out of control northbound 2014 Toyota corolla, which had crossed/swerved the center line and resulted in a head on collision/crash.....updated 10-27-15

- Hoffman Estates, IL, USA

problem #19

Sep 182015

E350

  • 107,000 miles
The engine of my car stalled suddenly, braking power was reduced dramatically. I was about to get into a serious crash but likely this happened in a local street at a traffic light when everyone was ready to slow down and stop. My dealer told me the engine stalled due to a broken vacuum intake manifold linkage which controls air in and out in the system. The only way to fix is to replace the entire manifold ($2100) and Mercedes Benz does not offer an extended warranty on this component. I was surprised with the quality of mb especially when I checked the internet to find out hundreds with the same incident and with many unpleasant customers. The broken intake manifold linkage is 100% design issue. My car has 107K miles, I had my extended warranty up until 100K, so I can't believe these 7K miles caused this linkage to be broken. It is a design issue (probably cheap plastic part that aged over time). Mb had several extended warranty on other major components such as: Gas tank ($2,400) and sbc pump ($2,000) due to fatal incidents, so I am not sure how many people have to die in car crashes before mb offers this extended warranty. I can't believe I am saying this about mb quality, but just go online and you will find out more and more about these issues. The problem with this component is the fact that it is unpredictable because it depends on the position of these flabs (closed, semi opened, opened position). Which makes it scary to drive the car when you know that this may happen at any time and it could impact your life and the lives of your beloved ones and probably others who would be driving around you.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #18

Jul 072015

E350

  • 112,000 miles
For several times now I can smelling a strong odor of gasoline inside and outside of the car, even more so after pumping gas on the car. Sometimes I can see a small leak into the parking space.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #17

Jan 272015

E350 6-cyl

  • 103,586 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Dorchester, MA, USA

problem #16

Dec 202014

E350 6-cyl

  • miles
Gearing mechanism suddenly failed while driving thus causing the vehicle to stall. Was unable to move forward until the car was shut off, restarted and then car moved forward with a very jerky motion situation posed a dangerous hazard to passengers as well as other vehicles in the flow of traffic.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #15

Dec 022013

E350

  • 120,000 miles
Balance shift worned

- Rowlett, TX, USA

problem #14

Aug 012014

E350

  • 87,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes Benz E350. While driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle jerked, stalled, and the check engine warning light illuminated. In order for the vehicle to be restarted, the key had to be taken out of the ignition and re- inserted. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the balance shift and crank shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

- Mineral Springs, AR, USA

problem #13

Dec 032012

E350 6-cyl

  • 93,000 miles
Check engine light comes on and when check indicates cam sensor problem. I was told that Mercedes knows about this problem.

- Norfolk, VA, USA

problem #12

Nov 012014

E350

  • 92,000 miles
PO16, PO17 needs to replace balanceshaft timing chain will cost 8-10K. Engine will fail if not replaced. There is a notice on this. Check engine light stays on. Mercedes refuse to pay, cover cost when it is manufacturer defect. The engine should last longer.

- New Windsor, NY, USA

problem #11

Oct 142014

E350

  • 91,000 miles
Balance shaft manufacturing defect causes gear teeth to wear prematurely. This is a internal engine component. Poor materials caused the camshaft sprocket teeth to wear out " thus this is a manufacturing problem. Internal engine components like balance shaft sprockets are meant to last at least 150000 miles on mb cars " thus they are difficult to replace & repairs so expensive. Symptom starts with camshaft position related check engine light - repair costs $7000. This occurs for many many many cars with that M272 engine. This is a environmental and safety hazard. Mercedes should be forced to do a recall. Ref: mbworld.org/forums/E-class-W211/442004-dreaded-M272-balance-shaft.html ref: mbworld.org/forums/C-class-W203/376585-P0016-P0017-camshaft-position-sensor-location-please-help.html.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #10

Aug 012014

E350 6-cyl

  • 113,000 miles
Check engine light comes on shortly after fill up of gasoline. Light goes out when tank is about 1/2. repeats at next fill up. Check engine code is P0456: Evap system very small leak.

- Herndon, VA, USA

problem #9

May 012013

E350 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
About a year ago (May 2013) we noticed gas smell in the compartment of the car. Initially it was sporadic. We thought it was from outside of the car or may be under the car, or gas tank cap was not tightened properly. After I took my car to Mercedes Benz dealership on 9/6/13, I found out that the smell was not from either of the above scenarios. It was indeed from inside the cabin and the Mercedes Benz technician told me that it was from fuel leakage under the back seat and it would cost $1380 to fix it. Additionally he said that he had seen numerous cases like mine, and some were so bad that they would not be able to drive it in, and had to tow the car in. Because of the high cost in addition to the other repairs that I had to do worth $1,200, I decided to delay this repair. Now we can not even drive the car because of the intense smell and will cost me probably more that $1,380 to fix it. I believe strongly that this is a manufacturer defect and should be fixed and paid for by Mercedes Benz.

- Glendale, CA, USA

problem #8

May 072012

E350 6-cyl

  • 87,000 miles
After refueling, I noticed a strong odor of gasoline in the garage where I park my car. After driving the vehicle a few miles and parking in the garage, the odor was no longer there. I started noticing a pattern that whenever I refueled the vehicle, there was a strong odor of gasoline in the garage that dissipated once the vehicle was driven a few miles. Right after I started noticing the gas smell, the vehicle check engine light came on. I recently had the vehicle checked by an authorized Mercedes Benz service center who stated gas tank has crack at the top and is leaking fuel. The entire tank and all the components will need to be replaced at $3,000. I mentioned that there are a lot of other vehicles with this problem and a couple of class action lawsuits and it appears that the vehicle's gas tank is defective. The service technician refused to repair the components under any campaign or recall.

- Riverside, CA, USA

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