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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
4about this part
Share
11%of 36 total for the year
Median mileage
—not reported
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450, 11% of the 36 complaints for this model year. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

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.

“On numerous occasions the transmission does not fully down shift to the next lower gear and then when I have to accelerate quickly it will drop down to the lower gear like it’s supposed to but won’t shift out to the next higher gear and when I let my foot off the accelerator the truck slows down quickly like applying the brakes which almost had me rear ended a few times and now the adaptive cruise control is malfunctioning”

NHTSA complaint #11653819, filed 2025-04

“On numerous occasions, when either slowing down or in a slow turn, the engine dies and will not reengage until I have turned off the vehicle, exited, then reentered an started the vehicle. I have had passengers in the vehicle who will attest to this occurring, in fact, the last time it happened, I was almost broadsided when the vehicle stopped in the middle of a left-hand turn, crossing three lanes of oncoming traffic. The vehicle has been to the dealership at least three times and it's either a software update requirement or we can't duplicate the issue. …”

NHTSA complaint #11465253, filed 2022-05

“We were driving the vehicle at about 30 MPH on a road when suddenly the engine completely shut off. There was no more power steering and no warning that it turned off. We got the car slowed down and once we came to a stop the car put itself in Park. After that we could restart it and keep driving with the car acting very different. This then happened again later on in the day going about 20 MPH up to a stop light. It shut itself off and luckily we were able to come to a stop with the brakes without running into the intersection and no one hitting us from behind. …”

NHTSA complaint #11427911, filed 2021-08

“This incident occurred around 5:50pm on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. I was driving on a merge connector between two freeways in San Francisco at about 60mph, when the vehicle threw a series of error codes and warnings on its displays, culminating with “shut down engine immediately”. The first error was a 48V battery system charging failure, and the second was a warning that coolant was too hot. The instrument panel and steering and brakes did not lose power, but the accelerator no longer worked, and the vehicle slowed down to about 35mph. …”

NHTSA complaint #11486139, filed 2022-09

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202113%
2020411%
2019312%
201817%
201726%

Other parts of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450

Electrical system
18 complaintsEngine
9 complaintsForward collision avoidance
7 complaintsFuel system
7 complaintsOther or unknown
4 complaintsAir bags
2 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
2 complaintsBrakes
2 complaintsBody and structure
2 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
2 complaintsSeats
1 complaintsSteering
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450

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