Feb 8, 2019 vehicle was southbound on i-45 south of houston all windows closed and sunroof closed. vehicle speed approximately 75mph. moderate traffic but nothing forward of vehicle for several car lengths. no high profile vehicles or trucks. car had been on the road approximately 3.5 hours without stopping all highway speed. at approximately 11l30am the sunroof exploded up and out of the vehicle without warning. fortunately i did not lose control of the vehicle. i was able to get the vehicle immediately to the mercedes dealer who was within 4 miles of the incident area. the service manager matt was very quick to tell me that i had to contact mercedes national customer svc to file a report because they wouldn't reimburse the dealership as a warranty issue ( indicating to me that this has happened frequently as the answer was immediate) images show the glass remnants pushed up and outward. most glass went out of vehicle.
Electronic shifter stays in neutral after turning off the vehicle and taking foot off the brake while parking. this is a serious design flaw and often causes a dangerous rolling condition after parking until the driver is aware the vehicle is not stopped and in park. no audible alerts or safety warnings are trigged if you do not press park. in one case our vehicle rolled across a parking lot causing serious damage totaling $4,213.95 and could have easily killed someone.
When backing out of my garage at 2 mph i struck a trash receptacle that was located toward the passenger side of the vehicle. the mercedes benz (mb) parktronic sensor did not sound an audible alarm until it was too late to react. following the incident i tested the audible alarm sensor four times and discovered that the alarm did not sound until the vehicle was 3", 9", 9", and 12" from the trash receptacle. the owner's manual states that the rear corner sensor activates at 32" - but it does not state which type of sensor activates, i.e. visual (flashing lights) or audible. i brought the vehicle to the dealership to replace a broken tail light cover and test the system. i was informed that the system was working as designed, and that the audible system does not sound until you are extremely close to striking an object. this information is not clearly identified in the owner's manual other than to state that the rear corner sensor activates 32" from an object. since i rely on the audible sensor and not the flashing lights on the dashboard, the lack of clarity is quite serious. had there been a child in the driveway and not a trash receptacle, i would have potentially struck the child causing serious injury. at no time was i ever informed of the difference in distances between the visual and audible systems. further, the owner's manual does not differentiate between visual and audible distances when describing the parktronic sensors. after testing the parktronic system the dealership informed me that everything was operating as designed, yet the dealership did provide a "software update" although i do not know what was updated. i believe the potential for serious injury exists if a driver relies on the audible sensor when backing up the vehicle. mb dealers should inform all drivers whose vehicles are equipped with the system of this inherent danger.
Since leasing this vehicle on december 1, 2016, there have been numerous safety issues with the seat belt, erroneous warning alarms, and the windshield wiper. first, while driving in a snow storm in january 2017, the driver's side windshield wiper went flying off the vehicle. the dealership repaired the windshield wiper. second, while driving on various dates/times, the car began sounding an alarm and a message appeared that the key was not in the vehicle. please see the attached video. the vehicle has been brought into the shop on two different occasions. during the first occasion, the push button was replaced. on the second occasion, the dealership indicated they could not replicate the problem. this is a significant safety concern because the car displays this alarm at random times despite the fact that the key is in the vehicle. the alarm is distracting while driving. lastly, on another occasion, the seat belt went into the seat mechanism preventing the driver from using the seat belt. this was also repaired by mercedes-benz.
There is a strong smell of mold coming from the air conditioning ducts of my vehicle, which mercedes will not permanently fix. complaints to the dealer result in the dealer cleaning the a/c system and replacing the filter, but the smell returns within one month. i am advised that the a/c system is not allowing the condensation to drain and it remains in the system and does not evaporate causing the mold smell. i am further advised that the system is defectively designed to try to evaporate the condensation within the system without a drain tube, which is not working. there have been two class-action lawsuits filed against mercedes to compel it to rectify the situation, but no resolution has been reached. in the meantime the occupants of my vehicle and other mercedes vehicles are exposed to a substantial health hazard as they are required to inhale air with mold in it. mercedes continues to deny the a/c system is defective and refuses to permanently fix this problem.