2023 MERCEDES-BENZ EQE 500 — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic traveling West on Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh, PA. The weather was clear and cool, and the pavement where I was driving was dry. I was proceeding through the Fort Pitt tunnel outbound. Given that traffic was stop and go and moving very slowly, I switched my recouperation setting from “normal” to “strong” to enable one-pedal driving using the paddles on the sides of the steering wheel. Immediately after doing so, traffic was inching forward just West of the Fort Pitt tunnel, starting up Greentree Hill. I saw the truck in front of me starting to move forward so I took my foot off my brake (up to that point it had functioned correctly) and the car started moving forward slowly. When the brake lights of the truck in front of me illuminated, I placed my foot on my brake. The brake pedal depressed but the car brakes did not function. I immediately noted that the brakes had not functioned and as a result I pressed harder with my foot on the brake pedal. Nothing happened–the brakes did not function. I then used both feet and pressed as hard as I could against the brake pedal. Again, nothing happened–the brakes did not function. I continued to press as hard as I could with two feet as the car proceeded forward into the back bumper of the truck in front of me. The collision occurred at approximately two miles per hour and the damage to my car was mainly caused by the rear hitch on the truck, which went into my front bumper. Mercedes-Benz USA has inspected the car and stated it did not malfunction, but they did not perform any tests in a manner to recreate the settings of the car that were in place at the time of the incident. The car is currently in their control and that of my dealer. No warning lamps or other symptoms of the problem appeared prior to or during this incident.

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes- Benz EQE 500 equipped with Pirelli Tires, Tire Line: P-Zero All Season, Tire Size: 255/40/R20, and DOT Number: 1931H811J. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed over a bump, the tires had either experienced a blow out or blisters. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on all four original tires and had recurred on several of the same replacement tires. The cause of the failures were not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The vehicle failure mileage was approximately 5,000. The tires failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

At 0820 AM on Monday, 23 SEP 24 while traveling South on interstate 95/495 in rush hour traffic the vehicle lost complete power and 3-4 messages appeared in the display. I recall one saying the rear differential is inoperable. I turned on the emergency flashers and was fortunate to allow the car to coast to the highway’s left shoulder without causing an accident. I don’t remember the other warnings as I was preoccupied trying to get the car safely off the highway. I was able to restart the vehicle after allowing it to sit for a minute or two. I have an appointment to have it inspected on Thursday at Mercedes of Annapolis, MD. This is the second time the vehicle has lost power while traveling on the beltway. A recall was eventually issued a few weeks after the first incident. I convinced my wife to purchase this vehicle to replace her 20 year old car thinking it would provide safe, reliable transportation. To the contrary the car has had to be towed twice, has lost power on the highway and was in the shop almost a month for a noise complaint. I was told the noise issue was due to 3 bad tires, likely due to potholes, and charged $1741 to replace them. I am totally convinced the issue was not related to potholes but had no recourse other than to pay the $1741. My wife feels totally unsafe driving the car, particularly when I am out of town for work.

At 0820 AM on Monday, 23 SEP 24 while traveling South on interstate 95/495 in rush hour traffic the vehicle lost complete power and 3-4 messages appeared in the display. I recall one saying the rear differential is inoperable. I turned on the emergency flashers and was fortunate to allow the car to coast to the highway’s left shoulder without causing an accident. I don’t remember the other warnings as I was preoccupied trying to get the car safely off the highway. I was able to restart the vehicle after allowing it to sit for a minute or two. I have an appointment to have it inspected on Thursday at Mercedes of Annapolis, MD. This is the second time the vehicle has lost power while traveling on the beltway. A recall was eventually issued a few weeks after the first incident. I convinced my wife to purchase this vehicle to replace her 20 year old car thinking it would provide safe, reliable transportation. To the contrary the car has had to be towed twice, has lost power on the highway and was in the shop almost a month for a noise complaint. I was told the noise issue was due to 3 bad tires, likely due to potholes, and charged $1741 to replace them. I am totally convinced the issue was not related to potholes but had no recourse other than to pay the $1741. My wife feels totally unsafe driving the car, particularly when I am out of town for work.

At 0820 AM on Monday, 23 SEP 24 while traveling South on interstate 95/495 in rush hour traffic the vehicle lost complete power and 3-4 messages appeared in the display. I recall one saying the rear differential is inoperable. I turned on the emergency flashers and was fortunate to allow the car to coast to the highway’s left shoulder without causing an accident. I don’t remember the other warnings as I was preoccupied trying to get the car safely off the highway. I was able to restart the vehicle after allowing it to sit for a minute or two. I have an appointment to have it inspected on Thursday at Mercedes of Annapolis, MD. This is the second time the vehicle has lost power while traveling on the beltway. A recall was eventually issued a few weeks after the first incident. I convinced my wife to purchase this vehicle to replace her 20 year old car thinking it would provide safe, reliable transportation. To the contrary the car has had to be towed twice, has lost power on the highway and was in the shop almost a month for a noise complaint. I was told the noise issue was due to 3 bad tires, likely due to potholes, and charged $1741 to replace them. I am totally convinced the issue was not related to potholes but had no recourse other than to pay the $1741. My wife feels totally unsafe driving the car, particularly when I am out of town for work.