2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350 Transmission and drivetrain Problems

“The car was on an incline in my driveway. It has the transmission shift lever on the column, and I had been backing down the driveway. I stopped placed the car in park and got out with the engine running to move something. The car sat in place for approximately 10 seconds and then spontaneously took off at approximately 5miles/hour. Fortunately my daughter was standing on the driver side of the car in front and saw the car rolling forward, jumped in and hit the brakes just as the car struck one of other cars on the driveway. …”

“When car comes to a stop, and the driver pushes the button to put the car in park , the car does not go into park, but stays in drive or reverse . Driver leaves car, and because driver is unaware that the vehicle remains in drive , and did not switch to park , the car can begin to idle forward while driver leaves or has left the vehicle, or idles in reverse, as driver leaves or has left the vehicle, as the park position is not activated. This can be quite dangerous to the driver, or to passengers or pedestrians. …”

“With the gear selector in park and the passenger side front seat occupied, the vehicle rolled backwards from a 4.4 percent grade and overturned as it proceeded downhill. Inspection of the transmission parking gear revealed that the parking pawl had been activated but did not engage a parking gear slot. This incident was attributed to excessive angle on the parking gear slot sides, an underpowered pressure spring in the park interlock mechanism, or a combination of both of these conditions. …”

“The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled. In addition, the srs and ABS warning indicators illuminated, and the side view and blind side indicators were inoperable. The gear shifter failed to engage in the park position. The vehicle was towed to a friend's residence. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 95,000. The VIN was not available.”

“The contact owns a 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350. While accelerating from a stop, the engine jerked and the vehicle lost acceleration. Also, the check engine indicator illuminated. The contact restarted the engine and was able to regain acceleration. On one occasion, while exiting traffic at 40 MPH, the vehicle lost acceleration. When the vehicle was shut off and restarted, the contact was able to regain acceleration and drove to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that the transmission was sleeping . The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. …”