2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 7about this part
- Share
- 18%of 40 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 44,500miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 7 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350, 18% of the 40 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 44,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“After fully stop with pressing brake pedal, try to shift the gear from D (Drive) to R (Reverse) but cannot shift the automatic gear position from D to R (reverse) gear. In order to shift to R gear position, I needed to shutdown and restart the engine. This has been clearly recurrent since 3 years ago and mostly happen in front of my garage to park backward, but sometimes very dangerous in the middle of road, when needed to make tight U-turn. Please take care of this issue. Thank you.”
NHTSA complaint #11668375, filed 2025-06“Transmission gear does not shift into R or N or D, from P. How to reproduce: Drive several minutes, then brake/stop, shift into R, pull back 10~20 ft. Gear cannot shift to either R or N or D. Gear can only shift into P. Shutdown the car, restart the engine then able to shift into R or N or D. This has been intermittent but getting more frequent.”
NHTSA complaint #11533144, filed 2023-07“Was not able to change automatic transmission gear to R (Reverse) w/o restarting the engine. (the brake pedal is firmly pressed for sure) For all three cases: 1) D (Drive) to R or 2) P (park) to R or 3) N to R. The only way to change to R was: 1) move gear to P 2) shutoff the engine, 3) restart the engine, 4) and then able to change the gear to R. This has happened several times in this year, 2023.”
NHTSA complaint #11522545, filed 2023-05“After 60,000 miles the seal of the the cylinder head cover starts to leak. It takes around $1800 to fix and the reseal. The material use to release is way better and lasts longer compared to what car comes with. This I found out from the Mercedes Benz service department. Due to this leak the car starter gets soaked in the engine oil and car is enabled to even start up. Lots of customers end up toeing their cars to Mercedes dealer. …”
NHTSA complaint #11580242, filed 2024-03“The contact owned a 2018 Mercedes-Benz 350 GLE. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light at an intersection, the vehicle began to lunge forward while the brake pedal was still depressed. The vehicle lurched into the intersection and struck another vehicle. The contact stated he did not notice any warning lights being illuminated. The contact's vehicle struck a vehicle on the driver's side door with his front end. The vehicle's grill was crushed and shattered all the windows on the other vehicle's driver's side. There were no injuries. The police were on the scene and wrote a report. …”
NHTSA complaint #11464519, filed 2022-05, 44,500 milesRelated service bulletins
- 11035780Aug 4, 2026Complaint Mercedes-Benz USA is currently experiencing limited availability of transmission fluid specification ATF 236.17 due to a global supply constraint. 236.17 ATF 1L and 5L…
- 11035005Jul 14, 2026Single throttle lift-off clunking noise from the side shaft when moving off (audible at the outboard end). The noise is heard once in each instance when changing direction of…
- 11028270Feb 3, 2026Complaint Only vehicles with a variable transfer case are affected. This can be identified through control unit N45 or N15/7 in the quick test. When accelerating with light load…
- 11026833Dec 20, 2025Complaint (Original LI document #: LI27.35-P-079039) Clicking noises from the electro-hydraulic control unit (EHS) when the vehicle is stationary and ECO Start/Stop is active…
- 11025648Nov 15, 2025Complaint Single throttle lift-off clunking noise from the side shaft when moving off (audible at the outboard end). The clunk is heard once when changing from forward to reverse…
- 11025471Nov 10, 2025Complaint Possible complaints about shift quality, issues with learning the park lock, and slipping/rinse entries in the EEPROM or Transmission Health system following the…
- 11025100Nov 3, 2025Complaint Only vehicles with a variable transfer case are affected. This can be identified through control unit N45 or N15/7 in the quick test. When accelerating with light load…
- 11019018May 21, 2025Complaint Single throttle lift-off clunking noise from the side shaft when moving off (audible at the outboard end). The clunk is heard once when changing from forward to reverse…
- 11016043Mar 24, 2025Complaint A clicking/ticking/taping noise from underneath the vehicle with engine off during ECO stop event or after parking See video for example Cause Noise originates within…
- 11013298Jan 16, 2025Complaint Single throttle lift-off clunking noise from the side shaft when moving off (audible at the outboard end). The clunk is heard once when changing from forward to reverse…
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350
6 complaintsElectrical system
6 complaintsFuel system
5 complaintsOther or unknown
5 complaintsExterior lighting
4 complaintsBody and structure
3 complaintsTires
3 complaintsVehicle speed control
3 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
2 complaintsElectronic stability control
2 complaintsSteering
2 complaintsWheels
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology