2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 Exterior lighting Problems
- Complaints
- 9about this part
- Share
- 14%of 65 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 40,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 9 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350, 14% of the 65 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 40,000 miles. 2 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.
“My indicators stopped working a month prior to accident, then they started working again. On March 10th the issue happened again where I turned my signal on and no light appeared and no light on the dash with the indicator sound either. Boom, I had sideswipe someone on a major road causing an accident. NHTSA needs to do something about this because corporate won’t do anything!”
NHTSA complaint #11603926, filed 2024-07“Steering column module is intermittently not working as intended, therefore the blinkers will sometimes not work causing it to be a safety concern if I can not signal where I am going. When looking this issue up online I have seen numerous different forums and posts where people have had the same issue. When I took my vehicle to the dealership they had told me that this is very common with the vehicle I have and they do the fix all of the time, just for the issue to happen yet again later down the road.”
NHTSA complaint #11602716, filed 2024-07“Due to water in the spare wheel well, (Recall ID:22V955) our fuel module and fuel pump went out. While driving in traffic on I-5 our car stalled then stopped which put us at risk of a crash.The first time (July 2022) It was repaired by Cooper's Auto Repair), After the 2nd time it failed again in Aug 2022, once again as we were driving, our mechanic at (Boyle's Foreign Car Repair) Aug 2022 & Dec 2022 (replace) decided to do an inspection of the whole car to see why this was happening, upon inspection he found water in the spare wheel well, He pulled out the plug to stop accumulation. …”
NHTSA complaint #11521457, filed 2023-05“When reversing the vehicle the brake pedal jumps with your feet on the brake pedal and a nose rattles,when driving and you have a sudden stop motion the vehicle brakes pedal with your feet on it it’s very hard to push the brake Pedal . Reversing the vehicle very strong nose and the vehicle doesn’t stop right away”
NHTSA complaint #11554614, filed 2023-11“The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350. The contact stated that head light would not illuminate beyond twenty five feet, making night time driving very difficult. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer could not determine that there was a defect. The contact stated that he had to utilize the high beam headlights when driving at night. The failure mileage was 40,000.”
NHTSA complaint #10561349, filed 2014-01, 40,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 11031580Apr 16, 2026Complaint Headlamp, front fog lamp leaky or fogged. Cause Fogging of the headlamps is a natural phenomenon, which can occur under certain climatic conditions. It does not lead to…
- 11029959Mar 9, 2026Complaint Headlamp, front fog lamp leaky or fogged Cause Fogging of the headlamps is a natural phenomenon, which can occur under certain climatic conditions. It does not lead to…
- 11029062Feb 25, 2026Complaint Headlamps leaking or fogged Cause The fogging of the headlamp is a natural phenomenon which can occur under certain climatic conditions. In contrast to a leaky…
- 11029025Feb 24, 2026Complaint Headlamp, front fog lamp leaky or fogged Cause Fogging of the headlamps is a natural phenomenon, which can occur under certain climatic conditions. It does not lead to…
- 11028989Feb 24, 2026Complaint Headlamps leaking or fogged Cause The fogging of the headlamp is a natural phenomenon which can occur under certain climatic conditions. In contrast to a leaky…
- 11017500Apr 28, 2025Complaint Headlamps leaking or fogged Cause The fogging of the headlamp is a natural phenomenon which can occur under certain climatic conditions. In contrast to a leaky…
- 11017496Apr 28, 2025Complaint Headlamp, front fog lamp leaky or fogged Cause Fogging of the headlamps is a natural phenomenon, which can occur under certain climatic conditions. It does not lead to…
- 11010494Nov 13, 2024Complaint Rear lamps fogged up/not leaktight. Cause Fogging of the rear lamps is a natural phenomenon, which can occur under certain climatic conditions. This does not lead to…
- 11007974Sep 21, 2024Complaint Headlamps leaking or fogged Cause The fogging of the headlamp is a natural phenomenon which can occur under certain climatic conditions. In contrast to a leaky…
- 11008323Sep 10, 2024Complaint Headlamps fogged or droplets forming. Cause Due to its outlet openings, the headlamp is an "open system". This means that acidic gases, moisture, dirt and exhaust gases…
Exterior lighting: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 | 2% |
| 2014 | 2 | 3% |
| 2013 | 1 | 2% |
| 2012 | 9 | 14% |
| 2011 | 3 | 3% |
| 2010 | 5 | 5% |
| 2009 | 5 | 5% |
| 2008 | 7 | 10% |
| 2007 | 3 | 4% |
| 2006 | 9 | 5% |
| 2005 | 1 | 4% |
| 2004 | 2 | 6% |
Other parts of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350
21 complaintsFuel system
16 complaintsElectrical system
11 complaintsSteering
7 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
6 complaintsLane departure
4 complaintsBrakes
3 complaintsSeat belts
3 complaintsBody and structure
3 complaintsAir bags
2 complaintsEngine cooling
2 complaintsOther or unknown
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350
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