2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 Steering Problems

“My vehicle is a 2011 E350 mercedes all a & b service from the same dealership parkplace mercedes. We are currently in a pandemic so I start my vehicle and drive it around once or twice a week. I stays in a sheltered parking garage area and last week I started my car drove up to my building ran in to get some gloves because I was going to store and when I returned to my vehicle it would not start. Parkplace mercedes service called back and stated they had to order the part and it would be here in 1-2 days and cost would be $1691 for new esl part & labor. …”

“The steering wheel locks up while driving so that you can't turn the wheel. The column says it is in neutral but you still can't turn the wheel. You have to turn off the car and restart it to be able to turn the wheel. It randomly occurs without warning. It occurs on city streets and on the highway. It has occurred while driving straight. Various speeds. Took it to the mercedes dealer on february 27, 2019 and they could not identify the problem. It has occurred approximately 5 times in the past 2 months.”

“Subject: Safety Concern – Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC (2011) Subframe and Brake Line Rust Dear [Mercedes-Benz Customer Care / NHTSA], I am writing to report a serious safety concern regarding my 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC. Recently, I brought my vehicle in for recall service, and during the inspection, it was discovered that: The rear subframe is broken due to rust. The brake lines are extremely rusted, and I was advised that I could lose braking control if they are not replaced immediately. The estimated repair cost exceeds $4,000. …”

“While driving at approximately 55mph on the highway, I was required to brake for a merging vehicle who decided to make a lane change at the last second. I used my breaks, and my car did not break correctly. Instead, the car pulled the the right and locked up, it felt as though I had lost control of the car. When I went to my mechanic, I thought it was a break issue. Instead, it turns out the whole rear sub frame had rusted. When researching this issue, I found many other similar experiences. The harm that this part failure lead to was extreme. This could have been deadly. …”

“The rear K suspension subframe assembly had to be replaced because of rust internally in the vehicle frame. There was no other rust, internally or externally visible, on the entire car. My mechanic indicated that the car would not pass inspection without major repairs at a cost of over $2800. If the subframe became disconnected, steering control would be lost resulting in a potentially serious injury due to loss of directional control at high speeds. My mechanic has already replaced parts to repair this issue on at least 4 other cars within a short period of time.”