2003 Mercedes Benz E500: jerking or lurching

5 of the 125 complaints about the 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 4%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 10 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

What owners say

Filed Jan 13, 2013 · Transmission · 175,000 miles · VA

Back in july of 2012 my car started to get sluggish , missing and jerking I took it to the dealer they told me they could not get the car to repeat the problem, then after talking with them they said yes they could feel it then told me it was suspension almost 5k to repair , so I decided to do some research and to find out this car had trans problems where the radiator was leaking into the trans , (a problem they know about) so I called my service adviser to discus the problem to hear them say oh yeah its a problem , really? You were just gonna charge me 5k to fix something that wasn't a problem now its the trans really, well it turns out it will cost 10k plus to fix this and benz USA will not pay for this or the dealer first you cant trust any dealer they will try to rip you off also the dealer or benz USA should be fixing this problem its a hazard when driving then will leave you stranded and they want to make you pay big dollars that is a benz problem not the consumer , what can we do to make these guys fix this / these cars?? Please help

Filed Jul 31, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 120,000 miles · MS

Recently purchased this 2003 mb e500 while driving along the vehicle began to stutter and shake @ around 1500 RPM, this occurred continually. Made it home and googled this problem and found out that this is a common problem for this vehicle due to a leak in the coolant system that somehow gets into the transmission,causing it to become contaminated which produces this fierce/potential dangerous stutter/jerking. To my surprise, mercedes benz is fully aware of this hazard and has not had a recall/bulletin to fix this common problem, leaving this expensive repair cost on the consumer. The vehicle cost is expensive enough and to have to make this costly repair is unfair.

Filed Dec 19, 2010 · Engine · 43,000 miles · CA

While driving, radiator fluid leaked into the transmission which causes vibrations from the rear of the car. The leak also created a jerking problem while accelerating in the low gears. The issue with the faulty radiator is going to take over $10,000 to repair.

Filed Jan 6, 2009 · Transmission · 46,050 miles · MD

The original radiator for the 2003 mercedes benz e500 leaks coolant into the transmission and torque converter, causing the car to jerk and jump. The coolant in the transmission acts as an containment and ruins the transmission and torque converter, which later will need to be replaced, along with the radiator. These three major part including gaskets, hoses, and labor are extremely expensive. Nothing has been done to correct this problem. The dealership is stating that the only thing that can be done to fix this problem is to replace all three components at owner's expense.

Filed Jan 30, 2008 · Acceleration · CA

I own a mb 2003 e500. When applying the accelerator pedal the car would jerk back and forth like the car is stalling for no long than couple secs or less. I've only noticed this happens at low rolling speeds. This has happened randomly numerous times and I have yet to find a pattern. I brought this to the dealership and they can't reproduce the problem.