2003 Mercedes-Benz M-Class ML 350 from North America - Comments

Things that have gone wrong:

1. At 33 miles - Front passenger door did not open - dealer replaced motor unit

2. At 40 miles - Engine shakes and seems to almost stall when in a stop condition

- have taken to the dealer 6 times to no avail. Dealer has replaced the fuel filter system twice stating that the filter was leaking explaining that this part is extremely unreliable. The computer system was also replaced. The dealer explained that an incorrect computer system was installed at the factory. Adding to the problems, the code for the system took a week to obtain and when received was the wrong code (dealer explained that this code comes from Germany). Result- the engine still shakes in a stop condition.

3. At 50 miles - the window trim paint peeled off - dealer replaced all trim. They explained that this was a frequent problem with the ML's.

4. At 1800 miles - the home link system failed. The dealer replaced the unit however the problem now seems to occur periodically.

5. At 33 miles - noticed chips in the paint on the side doors. Assume that chips occurred when parked at the dealership lot. Dealer refused to correct stating that it is impossible to fix the small paint chips.

General Comments:

1. The ML 350 seems to have too many problems for such an expensive vehicle.

2. The dealer seems to try to fix the problems, however do not seem to solve the problems. The problems could be inherent in the manufacturing of the vehicle and therefore could be described as a lemon.

3. The dealer has given me a loaner ML 350, however this vehicle also has a problem of a shaking engine in a stop condition. In fact, my hold hand and foot shakes in a stop condition due to the shaking engine. Has anyone else with an ML350 had this problem? Anyone able to diagnose.

4. I do enjoy the vehicle when it is not in with the dealer; however at this point could not recommend this vehicle to anyone.

I have recently picked up this vehicle in early 2004. It was build in June 2003 so it's a good 7 months old. The first thing I noticed was the window trim paint peeling and wear and tear that would indicate the car maybe a lot older. However, it is not the case. It is just poor manufacturing as indicated, but the comments above, so I definitely can relate to the point 3 in regards to the window trim.

AS for the other faults, I pray to GOD that it doesn't happen to me as MB is suppose to build quality cars. If I wanted a Lemon, I would have gotten one with a lot more change in my pocket that's for sure. This is my first MERC and I'm already a bit skeptical.

If I have known these problems, I would have gone LEXUS or BMW X5.

I have never had any problems with my ML 350. It's perfectly fine and it runs smoothly with no engine shaking or anything. It might depend on where you buy the actual car because some Benz manufacturing companies aren't as good as others.

We recently purchased a Mercedes-Benz Financial off-lease 2003 ML 350 w/about 60,000 miles on the odometer. Thus far, we are extremely impressed with its solidity and drive-ability. Last weekend on a 400 mile round trip it averaged 22.5 mpg. My wife loves it and that is good because that is why we purchased it!

Our ML 350 Special Edition which is a 2005 also has the problem of stalling engine when coming to a stop. Recently the car has began stalling while cruising at around 50 mph. It has been back the the dealer 4 times with only 28000 miles on the odometer. Does anybody have an answer because MB answer is to trade it in on another new one and sell it to another poor customer. So if any one can help us sort this problem out, your help would be appreciated. The software on the computer was just replaced and the car stalled within 2 miles of leaving the dealership.

I've bought a pre-owned 2003 ML350 inspiration edition back in Aug 2008 with 46000. Runs perfect. Just don't like the wind noise when sunroof and windows open. Also don't like the automatic music volume adjustment, even though it's a Bose system. Otherwise it runs smooth, great handling, comfortable.

I have a 2003 ML 350 and the paint is chipped on the left and right side of the back window. I just saw an ML 350 with the same damage and wonder if this is common?

I also had the engine stopping and a reset helped, but that's not normal.

My 2004 ML 350 Inspiration is displaying the paint problem (actually, it seem to be some sort of a plastic coating) only in the past few weeks. Just reading the comments on this site alone shows to me that this could be common.

I've also experienced some engine shaking and the sound of a stall coming up, but it actually never did, but I'd say this happened only about three to four times in the five years that I had mine.

A few months ago, I had to replace the battery which was fine based on the age of my vehicle, however, the alternator had to be replaced as well!! Not good...