This is a known issue with GLE 450 48v batteries over heating and causing loss of power and all function to control the vehicle. , For an unknown reason my vehicle was not part of a recent recall and probably should have been. I experienced the issue today and escaped tragedy. My battery light came on, then off, then a bright red battery light came on across the dashboard…then all of a sudden, my car lost all power with no warning. All while driving on the freeway 394! Luckily traffic was light and I was able to coast halfway up an off ramp. Then I got an overheating message. Reports show all cars were recalled, however mine wasn’t part of the recall!! I would like an investigation to include all cars in the years and models not just some of them.
Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 loss of power problems
10 of the 97 owner complaints about the Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 describe sudden loss of power, most of them for the 2020 model year.
- owner complaints
- 10
- worst model year
- 2020
By model year
- 20231
- 20222
- 20211
- 20205
- 20161
Often reported together
What owners say
I am like many other Mercedes GLE 450 owners, having breakdowns related to the "48V and 12V" battery malfunction issue that Mercedes has been dealing with for the last couple of years. My brand new car (less than 4,000 miles) has broken down twice, leaving me stranded with no power waiting on a flat bed tow to a dealership. The vehicle gives warning messages about the 48V and 12V batteries and then loses power immediately. Once I was stranded in the middle of the road, the other time I was able to get to the shoulder before the car completely lost power.
While driving at highway speed, 48V system malfunction warning light illuminated, then vehicle coolant/overheat light. Vehicle lost all power, or possible entered a "limp" mode, and I was able to coast to a stop. Turned off vehicle. Checked underhood. No obvious overheating or leaks or other problems. Vehicle immediately restarted and has run fine since. This occurred in March 2022 with about 3500 miles on vehicle. Now has about 7500 miles. No further occurrence. I have not had the vehicle examined by the dealer.
The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLE450. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the battery malfunction warning light illuminated along with other unknown warning lights. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and coasted to a stop. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering and braking functionality. The contact was able to shift the vehicle into park(P) and restart the vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence; however, after turning the vehicle off, the contact touched the hood and noticed that the hood was very hot. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,600.
The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE450. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that excessive force was needed to maneuver the vehicle. The power steering malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a certified mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 17V241000 (Steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the Year/Make/Model was not included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
1. First message: 48v battery malfunction 2. Second message: stop the vehicle coolant is not working vehicle is overheating. 3. Lost power, I could only drive 10 miles per hour. I pulled to the side of the road and was almost rear ended by a semi truck. There are several online occurrences reporting these same messages. It is extremely dangerous when a vehicle loses all power while on a busy highway. The vehicle was inspected. Mercedes aware of a bulletin with this issue.
48 v battery malfunctioned, I was advised that it was not charging. Which LED to additional messages including the car was now overheating, to pull the car over and not drive it. At that point I lost engine power and was unable to even drive the car up a slight him.
On two separate occasions recently, the vehicle suddenly lost all power without warning and stopped. Luckily, these incidents did not occur while driving in high speed traffic, and the car restarted once shut off. When it lost power, all warning lights came on at once. After the first incident, dealer "updated the 48v system and esp control modules and The vehicle is operating as designed." The first incident was on November 9, the second incident was on November 29.
Warning light "coolant too hot shut engine off" comes on repeatedly and this is unable to be fixed. Light comes on while vehicle is in motion. Was told by mercedes this was a faulty warning light. Yesterday this came on and my engine shut itself off while the vehicle was in motion on a busy street. I was almost hit by another vehicle as I lost power to the car on a main road. I barely rolled into a parking lot. Could have been a horrible (fatal) disaster had I been on the freeway. "malfunction" "see operator's manual" and "48v battery see operators manual" all came on within rapid succession before the engine shut off on me.
Driving down the highway at 70 MPH and '48v battery malfunction' warning goes off, along with a yellow check engine light. A few seconds later a 'coolant' error message pops up and a red check engine light comes on. Car looses power completely and I'm unable to accelerate at all. Call flashes a message of 'pull over and turn the engine off'. Fortunately no one was behind me and I was able to coast safely to the side of the highway before the car stalled completely. Found out through several blog posts multiple other 2020 gle owners are having the same safety issue and there has been no recall by mercedes-benz and no resolution for the issue. Vehicles are spending months in the shop and eventually being bought back by the manufacturer or dealership. This is an incredibly dangerous issue to lose all power and control of the vehicles speed. I'm lucky no one was on the road near me when this happened, otherwise an accident almost surely would have occurred. Mercedes should be forced to address this safety issue immediately.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 loss of power
Which Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 years have sudden loss of power problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2020 (5 complaints), 2022 (2 complaints) and 2016 (1 complaints).
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