Brake failure due to leaking brake fluid after dealership conducted rear sub frame extended warranty coverage replacement and recent brake fluid services and after two (2) multi point inspections including video and reported “no items failed” and “no items cautioned.” Vehicle was released to me both times Vehicle was inspected and is available for further inspections. My safety was jeopardized due to brake system failure while traveling at high speed on public highway. The problem was confirmed by two (2) dealerships. “ Please see below for recommended repairs on your 2012 E350, VIN - [XXX] Inspection by a different Mercedes Benz dealership reported the following: [XXX] Concern – vehicle is leaking brake fluid from behind the drivers front wheel / tire Cause – Confirmed concern, installed vehicle on lift and found brake fluid dripping from plastic side panel under the drivers door. Brake fluid flush recently completed on vehicle by Portsmouth MB, verified bleeding valves on calipers are tight and not leakingRemoved paneling and found fluid is dripping from wheel well area. Removed left front wheel well cover, and found rear brake lines are leaking due to heavy corrosion and bubbling (see attached photo). Correction – Rear brake lines need to be replaced to repair. Due to corrosion, will require brake hoses due to rotted connections. Lines are formed, fitted and secured by technician during repair (they do not come pre-formed to vehicle). Repair Estimate – Labor ($199.88 / hr) 9 hours (includes diagnostic time), $1798.92 Parts, estimate $690 if no further connections are needed (tax included) Shop supplies, $26.95 Estimate $2520 total repair **Tech notes there is a fuel line running in an area of the brake lines that is showing bubbling in the metal, not yet leaking. Additional $375 parts and labor to replace if we replace with the brake lines. MB parts states there are only 2 of these lines remaining globally.” INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)
2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 brakes problems
20 complaints (9% of all complaints for this car).
- owner complaints
- 20
- of this car's complaints
- 9%
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Pedals and linkages1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Mercedes-Benz E350 brakes problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Rear brake line failure
On April 10, 2020, the federal safety agency's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a defect petition from Mr. Surjit Singh alleging premature corrosion of the rear brake lines in his 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan. The petitioner states that he was recently informed by a Mercedes dealer service department that his car had severely rusted brake lines that need[ed] to be replaced immediately at a cost of about $3300. He further stated that the dealer service advisor informed him that he had seen the issue on many cars like his. The petitioner requested ?that the federal safety agency launch an investigation into this serious issue of rusting brake lines on [his] 2013 Mercedes E350.? The brake line corrosion reported by the petitioner did not result in brake line leakage or any compromise in brake system performance before it was detected in a dealer vehicle inspection. The petitioner submitted a complaint to the federal safety agency documenting his experience (the federal safety agency ID 11319024).On April 24, 2020, ODI opened Defect Petition DP20-004 to evaluate the petitioner?s request. ODI conducted a search for all consumer complaints and Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data related to allegations of brake line corrosion or leakage in 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedans and similarly equipped vehicles. The 2013 E350 is a fourth-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicle (W212 platform), which was first sold in the United States in 2009 as a 2010 model. Mercedes-Benz sold approximately 245 thousand model year 2010 through 2015 E-Class sedan and wagon vehicles in the United States with the same brake line design as the petitioner?s vehicle.ODI?s search for complaints and EWR data in 2013 Mercedes E350 vehicles found no additional records related to the alleged defect. Expanding the search to all W212 platform vehicles identified just one incident, a complaint alleging unspecified brake line corrosion and leakage in a 2011 Mercedes-Benz E550 (the federal safety agency ID 10902081). The complaint did not allege that the brake line leakage resulted in reduced brake performance, crash, or injury. The resulting failure rate of 0.4 failures per hundred thousand vehicles is extremely low for a population that includes vehicles that have been in service for over ten years. After reviewing the available data, ODI has not identified evidence of a defect trend in the subject E-Class vehicles that would support opening a defect investigation into premature brake line corrosion failure. the federal safety agency is authorized to issue an order requiring notification and remedy of a defect if the Agency?s investigation shows a defect in design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle that presents an unreasonable risk to safety. 49 U.S.C. ?? 30102(a)(9), 30118. Since the information before the Agency is not indicative of a vehicle-based defect, it is unlikely that any investigation opened because of granting this petition would result in an order concerning the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect. Therefore, upon full consideration of the information presented in the petition and the potential risks to safety, the petition is denied. The denial of this petition does not foreclose the Agency from taking further action if warranted or the potential for a future finding that a safety-related defect exists based upon additional information the agency may receive.A Federal Register notice further detailing the federal safety agency?s reasons for denial of the petition will be forthcoming.
DP20004
What 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The brake lines on my car rusted out from the brake booster all of way to the rear calipers. This is the third time it’s happened to me as I’ve owned multiple E classes. If Mercedes-Benz covers the subframe, why is the brake lines which are located right above said subframe not covered?
The rear subframe got separated from chassis. I was driving to work and had to hard brake to void a collision with another vehicle all of a sudden vehicle shifted to the left and I ended up on a curb. Further inspection vehicle`s rear subframe rotted out due to rust. Also, both rear brake lines from abs module to calipers are damaged due to corrosion. I ended up replacing both brake lines and did not think too much of it and now I see a lot of people complaining about both brake line corrosion and subframe separation or excessive rust, casing rear subframe to fail. It is a very serios safety issue and Mercedes should hold accountable for these failures. My vehicle is 2012 Mercedes E350 and only has 118k miles on odometer. I have attached pictures for the rear subframe for your review, but I did not take any pictures of the brake lines due to limited space to get my camera between the body and the rear subframe.
Brake line is thoroughly corroded, went to a repair shop, when they brought it back down, the Subframe collapsed. Mercedes has a 20 yr warranty on the subframe so they will cover that but want another $3K to fix the brake line that was obviously tied to the same mfr issue that the sub frame was in regards to rusting. Dealer won't take any responsibility for anything but the subframe.
I recently took my 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 to an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership after experiencing corrosion of the rear subframe. The dealership confirmed and is servicing the vehicle under an active recall notice that extended the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty from 4 years/50,000 miles to 20 years /unlimited miles. After removing the subframe for repair, they observed serious corrosion of the brake lines. There had been no warnings or symptoms to alert me to any corrosion problems with the brake line prior to this. Most likely, the issue would not have been discovered if the dealership had not removed the subframe. The dealership advised me that this issue requires immediate service due to safety concerns (potential failure) as the braking system could fail while driving the vehicle. The cost to have the work done is $5800. Beyond the dealership service center, I'm not aware if brake line has been inspected by others (engineers) in Mercedes-Benz. However, this issue appears to be frequently observed in vehicles experiencing the rear subframe corrosion issue.
2012 e350 both rear brake metal lines rusted out January 2025 brakes gave out. This is definitely connected to the rear subframe rusting too.
Rear subframe corrosion and in addition, rear break line corrosion.
Rusted/leaking brakes lines to rear of vehicle.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated while driving at various speeds; when the brake pedal was depressed, the brake pedal failed to return to the original position. The contact stated that upon inspection, the brake pedal felt abnormally loose and there was a brake fluid leak present. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was lifted and was noticed that the sub-frame was rusted. An appointment with the dealer was scheduled to inspect the vehicle as a second opinion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
The rear brake lines on my 2012 Benz E350 has a lot of corrosion and one of the blowout while stopping from 25mph to a complete stop. Upon further inspection, it was completely rusty in many places. Mercedes needs to address this issue because its unsafe rather danger to drive.
Questions about the 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 brakes
Does the 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 20 complaints about the brakes of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350, 9% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 brakes problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 brakes?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Mercedes-Benz E350 have bad brakes?
The Mercedes-Benz E350 model years with the most brakes complaints are 2006 (54 complaints), 2014 (50 complaints) and 2013 (32 complaints).
Other 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 problems
Airbags 84Fuel system 35Engine 21Electrical 19Suspension 14Transmission 10Steering 9Body 8Seats 8Driver assistance 5Seat belts 4Tires 4Wheels 4Visibility 1
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