Owners have filed 557 complaints on the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, covering 2007–2016. The system named most often is Electrical System (1 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2011, 2008; cleanest: 2016, 2009, 2015. 25 reports describe a crash, 38 a fire. On average the car was 6.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 557 GL-Class complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 1 Read
Water intrusion into the spare tire well compartment and the battery compartment affecting the battery and starter
Engine 1 Read
I was driving along in my 2013 MB GL450 with the M278 engine when the engine stopped. I had it towed to my home and checked it out. I had a suspicion the engine was seized. I eventually had to towed to my closest MB dealership for evaluation. The engine was seized. Their further investigation revealed that a wrong oil…
Suspension 1 Read
Air compressor fail
Service Brakes 1 Read
The contact owns a 2010 Mercedes-Benz GL450. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact depressed the brake pedal harder, and the vehicle responded as intended. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken…
GL-Class years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control | 1 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Electrical System,engine | 1 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 4 | 28 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 229 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.4 |
| Worst single series | 13 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.6 years |
A model average of 2.4 hides a worst series at 13. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the GL-Class?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2011, 2008 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which GL-Class years are the cleanest?
2016, 2009, 2015 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class have?
557 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2016. Of those, 25 describe a crash and 38 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.