Check a VIN

2006 Mercedes Benz E320 problems

The most common problem on the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 is brakes, typically around 132,998 miles. Its complaint count is close to a typical E320 model year.

Typical yearClose to a typical year
Year score
70/100
Owner complaints
41
Recalls
4
Service bulletins
1062 warranty
Worst area
Brakes

The worst 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 problems

Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.

  • Brakes
    17
  • Fuel system
    9
  • Airbags
    6
  • Lights
    4
  • Electrical
    2

Problems by type

Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.

  • Brakes
    17
  • Fuel system
    9
  • Airbags
    6
  • Lights
    4
  • Electrical
    2
  • Seat belts
    2
  • Suspension
    2
  • Acceleration
    1
  • Driver assistance
    1
  • Locks
    1
  • Steering
    1
  • Tires
    1
  • Visibility
    1

Recalls 4

Visibility: sun/moon roof assemblyReported November 19, 2024 · 33,456 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2001-2011 C-Class, CLK, E-Class, and CLS vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of models and model years. The glass sunroof panel may not be properly secured and can detach.
Risk
A detached sunroof panel can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the sunroof panel as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2025. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1‑800‑367‑6372. This recall is an expansion of previous the federal safety agency recall number 22V‑954. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2024120001/2/3.

Recall number 24V874000 · Recall details

Visibility: sun/moon roof assemblyReported December 23, 2022 · 131,653 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2001-2011 C-Class, CLK, E-Class, and CLS vehicles. Please refer to MBUSA's recall report for specific vehicle model details. The glass sunroof panel may not be properly secured and may detach.
Risk
A detached sunroof panel may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the sunroof panel as necessary free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 3, 2023. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1‑800‑367‑6372. This recall expands the federal safety agency recall number 19V‑918. MBUSA's numbers for this recall are 2023010004, 2023010005, and 2023010006.

Recall number 22V954000 · Recall details

Visibility: sun/moon roof assemblyReported March 19, 2021 · 11,356 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2006-2007 C350, C230, C280, CLK350, E320CDI, E350 Wagon, E350, 2006 C55 AMG, CLK500, CLS500, CLS55 AMG, E500 Wagon, E500, E55 AMG, 2007 CLK550, CLS550, CLS63 AMG, E550, E63 AMG, and E63 Wagon AMG vehicles. The bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame may deteriorate, possibly causing the glass panel to detach from the vehicle.
Risk
A detached glass panel can separate from the vehicle and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the glass panel bonding and replace the sliding roof, as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 7, 2021. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1‑800‑367‑6372. This recall is an expansion of recall number 19V‑918. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2021040012.

Recall number 21V196000 · Recall details

Visibility: sun/moon roof assemblyReported December 20, 2019 · 747,928 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2001-2011 vehicles. The bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame may deteriorate, possibly resulting in the glass panel detaching from the vehicle. For a full list of the affected models visit:
Risk
A detached glass panel can separate from the vehicle and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the glass panel bonding and replace the sliding roof, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 10, 2020. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1‑800‑367‑6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2020040011.

Recall number 19V918000 · Recall details

See all 4 recalls for the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320

Defect investigations

Driver Air Bag Circuit High ResistanceOpened May 14, 2010, closed November 24, 2010

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has reported a high number of warranty claims for air bag warning lamp illumination due to a diagnostic fault code 9103 or 9123 indicating a high resistance in the driver's frontal air bag firing circuit.MBUSA's testing and evaluation have shown that this condition is the result of a faulty connector (specifically, improper wire crimp) but that it will not prevent proper deployment of the driver's frontal air bag.The faulty connector can cause the air bag circuit resistance levels to exceed the threshold that illuminates the air bag warning lamp, but they do not exceed a higher limit at which proper deployment of the air bag may no longer occur.The agency believes that further expenditure of agency resources does not appear to be warranted at this time.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists.The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances.During the investigation, ODI learned that MBUSA will initiate a warranty extension program to address the faulty connectors in subject model year 2005 and 2006 E-Class and other MBUSA model/model year vehicles.This action will extend the warranty coverage for this issue to 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first.MBUSA will notify all affected vehicle owners of this action.A bulletin describing this program is available in the investigative file.

PE10017

Technical service bulletins for the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 106

Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.

See all 106 bulletins for the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320

What 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed May 21, 2021 · Brakes · TX

Vehicle had a blow out on highway. Pull onto right shoulder doing about 60mph. Pressed the brakes and would not stop. Kept pressing brake and pumping the brakes and would not stop. was going around 50mph on the shoulder. After 15 seconds of pressing the brakes, car decided to brake. Checked brake lines, brake fluid and everything was correct and not leaking and drove the car back home slowly with spare on. ESP and ABS error came on. No other warning came on.

Filed Jul 1, 2020 · Visibility · MN

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mercedes-benz e320. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v918000 (visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Feb 26, 2020 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 65,000 miles · ID

While driving, with short beeps , the sbc in my w211 gives a short warning and fails completely. It is very risky to drive after that. With such an expensive car the reliability has been compromised. If there is a recall it would help many owners.

Filed May 7, 2019 · Brakes · 200,000 miles · TX

In january 2018, my car had developed sbc malfunction issues and I took it to the and they quoted me $ 2,700+/- to fix the issue. I then called mb USA and they told me that the sbc unit warranty was extended for 10yrs and that I had just crossed that limit. I then reached out to a private mechanic who agreed to replace the unit for $865 (please see the attached receipt). I was able to purchase the sbc unit from mb of clear lake for $1,045.70 . Thus, I was able to get the car repair and save my self about $1,000 as mb was not covering its repair. On september 2018 I received a letter from mb USA, indicating that the cost of the repair is reimbursable. I reached out to the dealer and provided all the documents that they requested. However, I was told the repair can be reimbursed only if it was done by an authorized dealer. I believe this is not a fairway to resolve the issue when all the relevant documents are available for a legitimate reimbursable. Mb I believe is not acting in good faith and I need your assistance in recovering my due refund for a faulty sbc unit. I have sent a letter to mb USA and they reached out to me with the answer, "not unless repair done by an authorized dealer" thank you.

Filed Oct 10, 2018 · Brakes · 127,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mercedes-benz e320. While operating the vehicle, the service brake indicator illuminated and the vehicle would not immediately stop when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the brake pads and brake rotors, but the failures continued. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 127,000.

Filed Sep 6, 2017 · Airbags, Seat belts · 108,000 miles · TX

My airbags self deployed while I was driving. I had just left work and driving northbound on the west sam houston tollway approaching the toll station at highway speeds. There was an incredibly loud explosion and and hard percussion as the airbags self deployed while I was driving. I thought I had been punched or shot in the gut. The passenger side curtain dropped down and the right rear passenger side door bag deployed. The seatbelt around my waist and shoulder tightened. Fortunately, I kept it together and drove directly to the dealership. I had not hit anything, run over a pothole, swerved or otherwise make any sudden direction change. I was immediately called by an operator on the mercedes emergency system within the car. So mercedes is aware of the incident at the time it happened. She asked if I needed an ambulance or police. I told her that the airbags had deployed on their own and that I was physically ok. Additionally, I drove immediately to star motor dealership where they looked at my vehicle less than 20 minutes after it occurred. The service adviser and some of the technicians quickly looked at the vehicle (it was near closing time). They said they could not read the codes other than the SRS fault. I was advised that it would likely be cheaper to fix at a body shop than at the dealer. I later found that the driver side rear seatbelt had also deployed and was tightened.

Filed Aug 3, 2017 · Brakes · 149,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mercedes-benz e320. The contact stated that the brake warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was manufactured so that after the brake pedal was depressed over 300,000 times, the brakes would fail. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the sbc brake unit failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that it was a known failure and extended the warranty an additional 10 years; however, the contact's vehicle surpassed the warranty extension by six months. The manufacturer advised the contact to have the vehicle towed to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The approximate failure mileage was 149,000.

Filed Jan 11, 2017 · Brakes · 78,000 miles · KS

Car has "sensotronic braking system", sbc, that upon failure renders the car unsafe as only the front wheel brakes will have partial hydraulic power to stop the car. Ref: mb bulletin "s142.46-p-0012a" failure occurs without prior warning or brake degradation. My car has had several transitory failures as I was driving. Only turning off the key and then back on again did I regain normal braking. Also upon sbc failure the brake pedal almost goes down to the floor with a functioning reversion to "hydraulic mode." mercedes benz should immediately recall and replace all sbc units asap to eliminate this "time bomb."

Filed May 16, 2016 · Fuel system · 176,500 miles · TX

Persistent smell of diesel in cabin after filling tank. Leak isolated to right side (passenger side) fuel sender cap under rear seats. Same as gasoline versions, this really happens in the cdi or diesel versions as well. The warranty extension/recall should apply to these cars as well!

Filed Apr 12, 2016 · Airbags · 125,000 miles · KY · crash · 1 injury

I was involved in an accident sat. April 9, 2016. I struck another vehicle that was stopped dead still in the road. My air bags did not deploy . I was traveling at a speed over 30 miles an hour but less than 45 MPH and the impact was dead on, no glancing blow. The accident happened on a state highway about 10 p.m.

Used buying checklistWhat to check on a 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 before you buy

Compare the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320

Other model years

1994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

Questions about the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320

Is the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 reliable?

Owners have filed 41 complaints about the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320, close to a typical E320 model year.

What is the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 year score?

The 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 scores 70 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Mercedes Benz E320: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.

What is the most common problem with the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320?

Brakes, with 17 complaints, typically around 132,998 miles. Next is fuel system (9).

How many recalls does the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320 have?

4 recalls, covering visibility.

What year does the Mercedes Benz E320 have bad brakes?

The Mercedes Benz E320 model years with the most brakes complaints are 2003 (77 complaints), 2005 (54 complaints) and 2004 (50 complaints).

Share your experience with the 2006 Mercedes Benz E320

Tell other buyers what went wrong and what it cost. We review every report before it appears, and we never publish names, emails or VINs.

No names, contact details or links. Reports about a dealer or a person are not published.

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2006 Mercedes Benz E320?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history
Is this car on a recall?Check VIN