The latest Consumer Reports automaker reliability rankings are out, and right down in second-to-last place sits one of the world’s most prestigious automakers: Mercedes-Benz. For everyone who lived through Y2K, this whole scenario will feel eerily familiar. For everyone else, this could signal a second slump for the illustrious brand.
Now, it’s easy to take reliability reports with a grain of salt, but Consumer Reports‘ are better than most. They’re based on historical data from hundreds of thousands of vehicle owners, and the organization has admirably transparent and strong policies around editorial independence. To many consumers, the publication’s advice has been gospel.
As Consumer Reports claims, “Every single Mercedes model is predicted to be below or well-below average” in long-term reliability. The publication then zooms in on the GLE midsize SUV, stating that owners report “build quality issues with body hardware, noises and leaks, and electrical accessories.” Apparently the keyless entry system has been particularly troublesome, as that gets its own bullet point.
It should go without saying that if you’re paying for a luxury car, you’d expect superb build quality. However, many newer Mercedes-Benz models don’t make the greatest impression. Hell, for the past decade or so, creaks have been common. I’ve been in creaky C-Classes, creaky E-Classes, creaky GLEs, and creaky GLAs. Hell, here’s someone complaining about a dome light trim rattle on their brand new S-Class. That’s not the sort of thing you want to find on your six-figure sedan.
Oh, and this isn’t just a “European cars unreliable” thing. In this latest report, Porsche ranks as the eighth-most reliable marque, and BMW ranks as the ninth-most reliable marque. Mercedes-Benz? It’s down in 29th position, ahead of only Chrysler. It was only a decade ago that most BMWs were hideous maintenance nightmares, with N20 four-bangers that ate timing components, N63 V8s that ate everything, and the improved yet still occasionally problematic N55 inline-six in between. Now though? It seems like roles have swapped.
This isn’t the first time Mercedes-Benz has been accused of a quality slide. After Lexus introduced the incredible LS400, strategies at Mercedes-Benz changed immensely. The cost-no-object quality of the ’80s gave way to downgraded, cost-cut models in the late ’90s, and everything suffered. Materials were cheapened, strange quality issues such as ML320 seat dye transferring to occupants’ clothes were reported, and the golden reputation of the brand started to tarnish. It was a long road of design changes and material improvements to recover with models like the 2008 W221 S-Class.
Even with a reliability slump, other concerns cast a shadow over several Mercedes-Benz models. Looking to the future, it doesn’t help that none of Mercedes-Benz’s EVs seem obviously class-leading. The BMW i7 is a better electric flagship than the Mercedes-Benz EQS, the EQB isn’t competitive on pricing and range, the EQE just doesn’t feel as luxurious as a Genesis G80 Electrified, and the larger electric SUVs are up against some stiff competition. In addition, moving to a four-cylinder engine in the Mercedes-AMG C63 seems to strip that car of its chest-beating muscle tendencies, so we’ll have to see what that does to sales.
So, what can save Mercedes-Benz now? Well, the brand will just have to build better cars. It’s worked for Mercedes-Benz in the past, it’s working for Nissan, and it should work for just about every automaker on the planet. Greater attention to build quality is paramount because as electrification substantially improves the quietness and smoothness of regular cars, luxury will be all about how well a car’s screwed together.
(Photo credits: Mercedes-Benz)
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A Mercedes Benz CLK 320 was the only new car I’ve ever had… when I read that MB was going to offer a middle-sized coupe, I put down a deposit and waited two years for it. It looked and smelled lovely. The AMG Monoblock wheels with Bridgestone Potenza rubber didn’t hurt either (an extra $3K, give or take).
However, it was the worst car ownership experience I’ve ever had: the car was back to the dealer (Calabasas Mercedes) seven times the first year, two of those times to fix things the dealership’s techs had damaged during other visits. Once, I got a C230 Kompressor loaner, which I drove back and forth to San Francisco in a day, and I couldn’t believe how much better it felt than my CLK, despite costing almost $20K less… sure, the four-cylinder engine didn’t sound great, but the whole car just felt and worked the way I thought a Mercedes ought to. I know that gen of C-Classes (W196 maybe? I’m not sure… the last one with rectangular headlights) have their own issues, including with the transmission, but that loaner made an impression on me.
In the end, after a year, I persuaded the dealership to resell the car on consignment and that was the first and last time I’ll ever own any modern Mercedes. The only ones I’d even consider are pre-mid-80s or so, and even then, I’d want one of the less fancy/complex models. I see that the RegularCarReviews guy on Youtube is currently doing a giveaway for an early oughts AMG Sledgehammer and though I assume every single (of the half-million) button and feature and system works now, I feel sorry for the wallet of whomever owns it over the coming years.
Not a BMW enthusiast (quite the opposite actually, their drivers have a terrible reputation down here) but there seem to be some serious quality improvements in their offerings as of late. Recently Auto Bild tested the new M3. After driving 100k kilometers (and punishing it a bit more than your usual Corolla because autobahns) the damn thing was reported to have almost no signs of wear. And it’s the first car in the 30-year history of these tests to receive the perfect mark of 0 penalty points. Granted, it’s a single unit, but I find it quite remarkable that such a monster would be basically as new after 100k.
They’ve actually reassembled it from these parts and want to check if and what breaks after another 100k km.
> Mercedes-Benz? It’s down in 29th position, ahead of only Chrysler.
The “Mercedes” is silent.
Creepin’ ’round ‘da hood, Benzo style.
Well now we know why that new Mercedes AMG coupe looks so angry.
If you’ve spent any time working on a modern BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, you quickly notice that Mercedes and Audi are not very mechanic-friendly. The engineers at those companies truly do not care how easy the vehicle is to service, and it shows. BMW, for all the grief that people give them, still has relatively serviceable vehicles that aren’t horrendous to work on (as far as luxury cars go).
To me the chart at the end is very interesting:
https://consumerreports.org/cro/interactives/auto-reliability/images/electrified-powertrains.png
It scores EVs as significantly less reliable than gas vehicles.
I wonder why. I wouldn’t think they should be. My theories would be:
A. Reporting bias. I wonder if EV owners have a different threshold for “issue.” They are supposed to be quieter and smoother than their ICE counterparts and it makes me wonder if owners would be more sensitive to vibrations and noises. I would imagine ICE luxury cars would suffer from the same issue. Example: the S-Class forum post. I feel like if that was a Kia the owner would care less and complain less.
B. The prevalence of new manufacturers in this space means that they actually do have a lot of problems.
C. Other manufacturer driven reasons like the apparent need to make EVs really complex, trying to rush getting them to market, cutting costs to increase profit margins.
P.S- Sorry Mercedes! What article did you write about CR that brought out such an aggressive and public reaction?
Weird cooling pumps and valves (EV were not supposed to be cooled since they are not burning fuel) that look like pipes screen savers in windowsCoolant thru battery. Everyone knows electricity and liquids do not mixTouch screen sucksSomehow door handles do not workStart on fire even when they are not Italian.Tires do not last from torque and weightNone of the assist work properly as advertised12V batteries going flat somehow while cars are charged dailySlow charging (8 hours of chargin to drive 60 miles, 1 hour driving vs 8 hour charges)Radios breaking from writing so much data gathered from spying on owners to upload to the manufacturers and being told it is normal wear $8000 item
I don’t think most of the things you’re talking about would contribute to the consumer reports scores. Worn flash storage was one of the dumbest blunders in recent automotive history but a relatively isolated incident. Slow charging is just a negative of EV ownership. Torquey cars tend to eat tires. Probably not reportable unless we’re talking about the Tesla air suspension tire wear issues I’ve heard about recently.
12v batteries go flat on ICE cars too. Not an issue inherent to EVs, but could perhaps be lumped in the “rushing to market” category.
Same with assists.
I hate touch screens but ICE vehicles have them too.
Charge times-complaint about ev ownership but not a defect.
Fire- There is no good study on how often they go up in flames but it’s probably less often than ICEs.
EVs need a very complex cooling system. When they don’t have one you end up with DT’s Leaf. The batteries must be kept in a relatively tight temp. range for performance/longevity. Modern ICEs also have a very complex cooling system. Generally they are controlled more simply due to having an engine driven water pump and thermostat but they probably have similar room for failure.
People don’t care about your “excuses” and won’t put effort into understanding any of it.
Just like when my cousin found out he has to pay $600 to change oil in automatic transmission in his VW R32. None of his previous automatic cars needed that every 30,000 miles.
All they know is that tires in their Camry/Explorer lasted way longer than in Model 3, ID.4.
These are not being cross shopped with Mustang, Camaro, Charger owners.
What I’m saying is that I’m not sure CR would count tire wear as a reliability item. Or short oil change interval in the Golf. Maybe I am wrong.
Not inherent, but there’s also a learning curve to power management systems that just about every single EV maker has screwed up at least once. The 12V batteries used in EVs are nearly universally smaller than in ICE vehicles, mostly because you don’t need a ton of cold cranking amps if you don’t have a starter. A lot of these batteries are smaller than what you’d find on, say, an ’82 Corolla.
As a side effect, the 12V power reserve on an EV is MUCH smaller. If you turn off the car and run the radio for a while, it CAN actually run the power down low enough that the computer can’t fire up on restart. There’s also some evidence that certain vehicles might be programmed to recharge their 12V systems only once too much energy has already been discharged, cutting into the battery’s life expectancy. (I happen to own one such model, and am one of only a handful of people on the owner’s forum whose 12V battery DIDN’T puke at 36 months of age)
I think I read that they can pull 30-50 amps on start. Kinda crazy!
Seems insane that they can’t get it right. A quick google suggests a car battery is something like 500 watt hours, I guess that’s actually a few miles of range so I guess it makes some sense to have a very complex BMS to maximize charge rate/range.
> Start on fire even when they are not Italian
Lol
♫ Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive
ParshesPorsches, I must make amends.Warranty for my lifetime, ’cause breakdowns now trend
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz? ♫
Um…..MINI WAS #3 BEHIND TOYOTA AND LEXUS. How was that not a headline here yet?
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/
Wow, list is definitely bogus, considering all the issues I hear about from my mini friends, one who ditched it for a Miata and another to get an Accord PHEV. As a BMW fan I still openly question how high they have been on the lists in recent years.
Especially because Mini was dead last on the Consumer Reports list like two years ago.
Mini was was 10th, the highest rated Euro brand in 2021 and 2022. They jump around a lot – maybe the sample size is small.
FWIW, my wife’s ’19 Cooper S ‘vert 6MT has been flawless for 30k miles. I was surprised too. It leads a charmed life though – garaged at home and work and my wife does not drive hard.
I would rather have a car that is well built and problem free than one with every gizmo under the sun.
How dare you question our unquenchable thirst for shiny objects!
About a year and a half ago we had a ’21 GLE63 AMG come in for an oil service with less than 10k miles on it. One of the “Turbo” badges was already falling off.
I thought it was common knowledge that reliability isn’t a reason to buy a Mercedes.
I’m convinced that for the most part there is no such thing as a particularly luxury car that is also particularly reliable and long lasting.
For at least 20 years now, potentially a lot longer, cheap economic cars have been quiet enough, smooth enough, powerful enough, ect. to do anything most people need. A Rolls Royce doesn’t actually have any driving-related abilities a Honda Fit doesn’t: they’ll both get you where youre going just as quickly, safely, and efficiently, and almost as comfortably.
So “luxury car” increasingly means the car has boondoggles. It has power heated windows, power heated seats, an air freshener in the dash, a computerized fart smeller, doors that open themselves, a more expensive kind of fake wood in the dash, a more expensive kind of fake leather in the seats, ect. Luxury car manufacturers try to make their drivetrains noticeably nicer than cheap cars’ drivetrains, and mostly fail(is a 2.0 turbo in a BMW or Audi really special in any way a 2.0 turbo in an Accord isn’t?), and make then significantly less reliable in their efforts to be fancy.
The only Mercedes models famous for being reliable are the ones made before the brand was really all that fancy.
Lexus proves otherwise.
That’s why I said “for the most part”.
However, I think my principle here holds partly true even with Lexus. The legendarily LS400 was a luxury car, but even it wasn’t super duper fancy. They had power and heated seats, but really the fanciest thing on them was adaptive shocks. They also used a fairly conventional drivetrain.
Lexii have gotten much fancier in the last 30 years, and I think they have also become considerably less reliable and long lasting. I’m sure a new Lexus is a quality and reliable car, but I seriously doubt that in 25 years Matt Farah will be writing an article about an RX350 that made it to 1,000,000 miles with extremely few repairs or unusual maintenance of any kind.
Ah yes, I overlooked that part.
When it comes to pure gizmos, I’d say the Germans are in the lead there, but yes at the expense of reliability.
But then there’s the whole definition of luxury. Is it having a reliable car? Or is it the number of features? Or is it sheer price alone?
It also doesn’t help that even a mass market brand is offering a vehicle that closes the gap between mainstream and luxury. Heck we’re almost to the point where just being able to buy a new car is a luxury.
That said, I consider Bentleys and the like to be a luxury car. I could include a BMW 7 series or Mercedes S class too, while the test of their offerings are simply premium cars.
“But then there’s the whole definition of luxury”
Low NVH. Comfortable regardless of what mayhem is going on outside. Room to spread out. All with styling that lets the poors know you are better than they could ever dream of.
Gray Poupon in its own special refrigerated holder is optional.
2L turbocharged outputs:
VW 241 HP (but at the wheels so about 270ish)
MB 416 HP
BMW 305 HP
Alfa 280 HP
Acura 272 HP
Chevy 228 HP
Ford 250 HP
I bet if you sort them by output power, the least reliable will be the most powerful
I bet you’re right.
You skipped Honda 315 HP (Civic Type R) which will most likely break your correlation.
Yeah, but I lost interest in it when I saw fake air intakes in the rear bumper.
Also new CR-V engines are breaking down because of oiling problems, and my friend changes transmission in Hondas attached to V6 once a month.
Does anyone really expect Mercedes to be as good as Toyota/Lexus?
Back in the day? Abso-fuckin-lutely.
Yeah but that expectation was always a little wack. As famous as w123s are for being extremely reliable and long lasting, many Toyota models have equally stellar reputations, or more so.
Yeah, Mercedes back when were very well built with a reasonable amount of luxury in a austere Teutonic kinda way…but they were primarily well-built. Toyotas focused on producing just the well-built part so they could sell at a lower price point.
Toyota isn’t as reliable as it used to be, sadly.
You’d expect the Germans to excel at wurst.
Oooh puns
I, for one, think that Mercedes is very reliable. They always manage to get to their destination. They have all sorts of interesting cars in stock, and seem to add often. They reach for their goals. How dar consumer reports publish libel! And on top of that, Mercedes is a fantastic writer for the autopian!
I traded in my 2022 GLC AMG-line for a 2024 GTI 380. I didnt have a ton of issues with the Benz, but it did come out of the gate missing some stuff that was on the build sheet they had to put on, and the service bays were stacked with late model year cars. And, it was booooring and really not that much more luxurious than anything else out there. Tech was okay, but my previous CX-5 had better functionality, like HUD standard, than the GLC, and since they dont make cars anymore I can get for 5 figures that are anywhere near as fun as a GTI, it was a no brainer. Point is, I wasnt impressed enough to want to consider the three-pointed star again.
Ooouuuuuch.
And I assume they’re only ahead of Chrysler because it’s a brand with a single model, the Pacifica, and the PHEV variant has an awful lot of issues. Soooooo yeah, congrats to Mercedes on beating out a brand that sells a single problematic van.
They still sell the 300, which you’d think should be sorted seeing it is in its like 20th year of production.
I believe the 300 is officially dead? But I suppose they still have it’s corpse for display on the website for now.
A merger of equals!!
As several have noted below it does seem Consumer Reports is more a Customer Satisfaction report than reliability report.
THIS!!!!…
This is very interesting – MB and other luxury brands cough (Land Rover) cough have been able to get away with poor long-term mechanical quality because the problems didn’t impact the first owners who generally get rid of their vehicles before the warranty expires. However, it would appear that MB has allowed the quality drop to impact that first owner now. THAT is going to hurt their customers loyalty a lot more and a lot faster than a drop in resale value.
A frustrating interface system annoys the driver constantly, and rattles and squeaks in his $70K car embarrasses him or her in front of guests or clients.
This is going to be fun to watch over the next few years since interest rates and the economy generally are going to make buyers more selective.
So…what’s the German word for popcorn?
Even first owners under warranty would rather be using their vehicles than regularly parking them in a service bay.
If I remember correctly from my high school German classes, the German word for “popcorn” is “poopfelschlammenhauffer”
“So…what’s the German word for popcorn?”
Schadenfreude
And it’s delicious!
Yeah I’ve known a M-B buyer who ditched it within a year because it was in the shop so often. So if they get bad enough, even the first owner with their warranty will stop buying Mercedes.
Are all problems weighted equally? I’m curious to see these reliability rankings split between annoyances and things that would strand me on a road trip.
Yeah, I wish they would do a better job of this too.
The quality ratings that relied on customer feedback always seemed skewed by older buyers being unable to use the modern infotainment controls; maybe that’s been improved.
It’s so tough, because if most cars of a given model are rattly inside, that should still count negatively for something. But yeah, still less of an issue than, I dunno, a year-old recall on Chevy Traverses because some of them might kill you with shrapnel instead of deploy an airbag, still not resolved by the family member that has one because GM is still mid-lawsuit with the airbag manufacturer.
Completely agree. And one person’s idea of a minor issue isn’t going to be the same as another’s.
It’s a tough problem.
Here’s what CR says:
If you don’t care to read the whole thing, they say that they do weight things.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/
While I am not a huge fan of CU, what else is there? It sure ain’t JD Powers. Seriously, I’d love to have a quality review I could be more comfortable with.
Reading that, did the Chrysler Pacifica, entirely on its own, drag down the average reliability of PHEVs by a significant margin?
Lokki just digit in game of statistical analysis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfdvSD6yRck
Pretty sure that it wrecked the minivan category, too.
This makes me question the data even more in some ways. It says they have data from cars dating back to 2000. So does that include major issue cars from past eras that have been fixed in the newer ones? Which may not be reflective of what you get overall from a brand.
And what’s curious to me always is how high Subaru ranks, but I never have to ask far to find someone with a Subaru that had an issue it shouldn’t have.
They break reliability down by model year, so no.
Ah okay I see. I’ve only skimmed some of it because without a subscription you can’t see the full data.
> They break reliability down
I bet the Germans have a word for that kind of semi but not really self contradicting turn of phrase.
Most of the failures I hear about are on cars with the turbocharged FA engines, but the vast majority of units sold in the use are using the naturally aspirated FB. Guesstimating with the sales numbers from last year, it looks like the ratio is about 5 FBs for every car sold with an FA in the untied states.
I think there’s some psychology involved. Subarus are perceived as “reliable” despite legendary head gasket problems. Luxury brands probably get more complaints because owners expect expensive cars to be perfect.
The fanciest car I’ve owned is a Mazda CX-5, which has been more reliable than than my in-law’s Audi Q3 over a similar age and mileage. They still like it but I would never buy one.
A big yup to this. If two cars go into the dealership service five times in the same period, but one is for a faulty dome light and the other needs an engine and transmission replaced, they’re graded the same, unless the the latter is offered cappuccinos in the waiting room and a step up loaner.
However, from personal experience from Mercedes from 2003, a lot of CR’s findings ring true.
Mercedes-Benz has become too much about glitz and badges recently.
Now that the E Coupe and Cabriolet are dead – I can’t think of a single new model that I really want.
For the money, I’d rather go to Bring A Trailer and get an old R129 these days.
Mercedes has absolutely become a fashion brand as much as an actual car company. They continue to make their new models as flashy, ostentatious, and aggressively tech forward as possible to appeal to a younger “new money” crowd that has no reference for what a truly well built luxury car is. Gone are the days of the absurd engineering efforts for cars like the W201 being as good as an S-class in the size of a compact, in are the days of utter piles like the CLA250 with terrible ride quality, little power, but a LOT of ambient lighting, screens, and importantly, lots and lots of three-pointed badges everywhere
Don’t forget the light-up grille star.
All their ambient lighting inside is absolutely craptastic. It’s so low rent looking.
When they lit up the star on the grill I was out. Mercedes have become the Kardashians of cars.
That thing is so tacky.
Too much feature creep, coupled with reduction in quality control both in terms of design AND production of components, has led to this. It was also intentional. They build to last the warrantee, and try to minimize any reliability that occurs after. Of course, mistakes get made along the way and sometimes parts don’t last the warrantee.
The old W123 and W126 Mercedes, as long as they are maintained properly, will last a lifetime. They were designed to. After buying it at 250,000+ miles, the 300 SDL I owned withstood over 100 hours of abuse at triple-digit speeds, without failure. Most of that car could be fixed with basic tools, and when fixed, the component fixed was generally as good as new. It also was able to get 30 mpg doing 70 mph on the highway, impressive for being such a big and comfortable car. Mercedes stopped building them like this in the early 1990s, and will very likely never build them like that again.
I had a rental C-Class in Scotland early this year, and it was bizarre. The interface was absolutely abysmal, the driver aids were unusable, and the car felt like it was designed and built on a Yugo budget. It’s the only time I’ve remembered what make and model my rental car were after the end of a vacation, and it’s because of how show-stoppingly bad it was.
Modern Mercedes-Benz, in summary.
> The old W123 and W126 Mercedes, as long as they are maintained properly, will last a lifetime.
The W116 as well.
That last sentence is well-said.
My 2012 Prius v is pretty nice volume-wise, but I did get a tech to apply NVH tape to stop the center cupholder’s trim from rattling on occasion.
Very little (if anything) rattles at this point. Not bad for 147,000 miles.
The Prius V can really be beat to absolute shit and you won’t notice. They are the go-to taxi in a lot of places, and the only way you can tell that they’re not new is that the vinyl wraps and stickers are getting rough. And it’s not like taxis live an easy life.
Had a couple moments last time I was in a taxi where I went “I thought they stopped importing these five years ago? Guess I was wrong.”
And I was wrong, because it was six.
30-50 year old diesel Mercedes are also favored as taxis in 3rd world countries for this same reason. The same can also be said for certain old Toyota trucks, and for Ford Crown Victorias(and the rest of the Panther platform cars, for that matter).
ALL cars should be built to this standard of reliability and reparability. Couple that with a focus on aero drag reduction to go with it, plus an EV drivetrain with a battery pack designed to be easily replaced/repaired if something goes wrong, and we could have “forever” cars everywhere that minimize ecological impact and will be reliable enough to daily half a century after they are built and rack up 7-digit mileages before they’re ready for the crusher, while minimizing repairs and all the inconveniences/headaches that they entail through the entirety of their service life.
It’s mostly modern safety and efficiency standards that stop us from building a next gen W123 or equivalent.
It’s easy to overbuild every component when weight and safety aren’t critical concerns.
Well, that and it’d cost 6 figures for a dowdy car that would take 15 years to pay off when most people like to jump ship every 3 years to something shiny and new.
Dowdy? Those 1970s-1980s are the pinnacle of style and brawn and still command attention and admiration today. Timelessly hip.
To us, sure.
But to Johnny Q. Public? The people who make up the lion’s share of revenue for these multi-billion dollar companies? Not so much.
Hm. Idk. When I hear dowdy, I think of 1990s Cadillacs, or Mercurys, Buicks, Lincolns, even some Jags, not the classic ’70s and ’80s MBs (or BMWs of that era, for that matter). But I’m admittedly biased. People of all ages have started conversations and expressed admiration and excitement when I’m driving the SL around.
Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. When I was still on Reddit and more active on PriusChat, they were rife with stories of gen 3 Priuses (which includes all v’s) developing EGR blockages and then quickly blowing the head gasket, all typically below 200,000. That plus oil problems, and also apparently it’s many thousands to fix if the brake accumulator breaks, which is also known to happen.
But then, we’re going to see more of the problems when we’re in forums for people more dedicated to keeping these running, aren’t we? It’s nigh impossible to use those tragic tales to extrapolate if they’d affect the “average” driver of that vehicle.
Mind you, I had not looked up any of that stuff before I bought mine, and in the miles I’ve had mine (between 116,000 and 147,000 so far), the only unexpected problem was some kind of inverter component breaking, which Toyota covered under a technical service bulletin.