Oil leaking and wicking into camshaft position sensors, camshaft magnets, O2 sensors, engine wiring harness and ultimately, the ECU is destroying all electronic components connected to the engine causing misfiring and seizing. The issue is quite prevalent via internet research as potentially thousands of owners all experience the same issue. Our local Mercedes Benz dealer indicated this issue "just popped up" immediately outside the warranty period (1 yr) for our used purchase, and would require a replacement of the camshaft, sensors, magnets, and wiring harness to the tune of $14,000. This is a design flaw of the engine that placed these components in locations predisposed to contact with engine oil. The root cause of the oil leak is unknown and even Mercedes Benz can not tell why the oil is leaking on these components. If this issue is so prevalent with thousands of owners with the GL450's, as evidenced by internet searches via Mercedes Benz fan sites, why has no service bulletin or recall been instituted? The overall issue is starting to cause issues with the safety features of the vehicle as well, with alerts (driveline assist, etc) either misfiring or not going off at all.

- Centennial, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL450. While operating the vehicle, several messages displayed regarding the parking brake release, transmission, and the vehicle being inoperable. Also, several electrical features malfunctioned. The vehicle was towed to world wide motors Inc. (3900 East 96th St, indianapolis, in) where it was diagnosed that the main vehicle wire harness was damaged due to water that drained from the sun roof into the panels of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,000.

- Carmel, IN, USA