MBE3502

Posting this to see if anyone else is having similar quality issues. The GLE is my stepmothers. It is just about a year old with 7,500 miles on it and the front seat is torn. Pictures are attached. The interior already has multiple squeaks and rattles as well. I am so disappointed in MB. I recently got rid of my c300 due to it being in the shop 5 times in 6 months for sunroof issues. Wanted to trade it for a c43/c63 coupe but ended up with a 2021 Supra due to being afraid of long term quality and reliability. My fathers Range Rover Sport that is 5 years old does not have 1 tear or scratch in the interior. For a 70,000 car this is pathetic. Her previous 2012 E350 has 116,000 miles on it and the interior looks great.

chassis

Sorry to hear. It is pathetic, your choice of words is accurate. Pathetically low quality from MBAG. Selling the C-Class was probably a wise choice because of your experience with the panorama roof and also likely piston cracking down the road. Piston cracking hasn't shown up yet on the V167 GLE350 yet, but keep an eye out because the GLE350 M264 engine is based on the piston cracking M274.

Read through this section of the site to see what other owners have done to try to get a remedy from the low quality manufacturer which is MBAG.

MBE3502

I appreciate the advice and will look through the forums to see how others are coping. Thankfully this GLE is a lease, she will definitely not be buying out the lease. I never heard about the piston cracking. Makes me even happier I got rid of my c300. My family has had at least 10 MBs over the past 20 years and I think this will be our last.

CMFUSA

I had/have the same problem of the cracking seat covers on my 2020 GLE and my current 2021 GLE. The 2020 got fixed under warranty and on the 2021 I am waiting to see if MB comes up with a better material as replacements are mounting.
Have them fix it under warranty. It's unacceptable.

I'd also encourage everybody who has one to check closely. There is a good chance you will find some, apparently...

Aggie57

Mercedes has been using MB-Tex for decades, it’s in literally millions of cars. Maybe they have a bad batch here but if it was a widespread issue there’d be stuff about it all over the interweb.
Personally I’ve had 3 Mercedes with it, done over 100,000 miles in them and no issues.

mikapen

The engines are NOT related, other than the number of cylinders. Very little parts interchangeability, including the pistons.

It's not an issue.
I'm not sure what your agenda is, but please to be more accurate. Thanks.

E55Greasemonkey

Another one-sixty-lemon complaint.... It's been the worst product release from MB in recent memory. Cheaply built with soft plastic interior components and thin sheetmetal akin to an Asian brand. Some of the ML350 four cylinder engines are starting to show problems requiring cylinder head replacement. How many will be affected remains to be seen until more miles are traveled in these cars.

chassis

@mikapen Great to see you on the thread. With your dealer career background, I am surprised that you don’t know about the shared crankshaft, connecting rods and many other components, between the piston cracking M274 and the descendant M264 in the V167 GLE350.

You are right the pistons are not the same. MBAG made a part number change, likely to correct the cracking and engine replacement problem at fewer than 100k miles.

mikapen

The crank and Con Rods are different also. Not just the part numbers. Check the Daimler introduction pages, and you'll see the differences.

RockChips

Mercedes has been low quality for decades.

I bought the GLE because of the pretty computer system.

If I wanted high quality I would have bought a Hyundai Palisade like everyone else.

Lucky 777

A new circle jerk for the resident haters!

Those tears are uncommon and you should bring it up with your service advisor.

places

Welcome to the 167, one of MB's most failed launches. Nothing is perfect but this release has QC issues not typically found on other vehicles.

TexAg91

A few folks on here have had that issue. Take it to the dealership, Mercedes will replace the bad seat covers under warranty at no cost to you. Be advised, with the supply chain issues we’re currently experiencing it may take a few weeks to get the seat covers in.

BenjaminKohl

Well, this thread is going awry. How’s the Supra?

MBE3502

The Supra is wonderful!! No issues whatsoever, super fast, fuel efficient, and is so fun to drive.

MBE3502

UPDATE:
My Father and stepmother decided yesterday that they no longer want the GLE. After reading the responses on this thread and others in the v167 section, we are appalled at the lack of quality at MB. A $70,000 SUV should not rattle and have seat tears at only 7500 miles. After my previous bad experience with my C300, plus a bad experience with a sprinter van, my parents decided they no longer want to own any MB's. They went to a BMW dealer yesterday and bought a 2020 CPO BMW X5. The MB had been offering to buy out the lease on the GLE, so my stepmother is going to return it today. I will agree with many people on here that MB's quality has gone downhill significantly over the past decade. As stated in my original post, the 2012 E350 and 2006 E350 were great cars and never had the type of issues my c300, my stepmothers GLE 350, and my family's company sprinter van had. The 2 dealers we have dealt with and MBUSA should be ashamed of themselves.

places

If MB stuck to building fewer lines and not trying to be everything to everyone I really believe their overall quality issues would lessen and customer satisfaction would be better.

MBE3502

The dealers have to get better too. Both of the dealers near me are absolutely terrible. When I had my C300, they acted like I was annoying them when I brought the car in. It was not my fault that I brought the car in 6 times for the same issue.

monwen

MB fixed mine under warranty. This is a known issue. Good as new now; hopefully it won't happen again. I also wanted the MB Tex because of its durability but apparently there is a flaw here.

Aggie57

I've had BMW's and Mercedes. Both have had issues, all cars do. Granted we are new into this one (a '21 GLE350) but at 1,000 miles it seems solid enough.

dwpfister

I had my driver's seat replaced under warranty a few months ago for very similar cracks. I also get that annoying "place the key" message from time to time. First time it happened I had no idea what to do and was not a happy camper when I couldn't start my car. My car also reaks of antifreeze when it's running for a while - I've brought it back to the dealer twice for it and they think I'm nuts.. at this point, it's documented and it's Mercedes FS problem if anything happens during my lease.

Aggie57

I got that the other day when the key was in the drivers door pocket and the door was open. I moved it to drivers side right and it was fine.

maalox

I noticed that I get the "place the key" message (very rarely) only when I'm not all the way sitting in the seat, but leaning in from outside the door to turn on the car and then step back out to adjust my child's car seat. The small handful of times it did happen, just sitting properly and pressing the Start button a second time worked fine.

I guess the car is sensitive to the key being well inside the car instead of close to the exterior, so you might want to place the key in your right pocket instead of the left (just an example) so that it's closer to the center console as you're sitting down and pressing the Start button.

jaketuff

(BMW)

chassis

Antifreeze/coolant smell is likely the circulation pump (aux coolant pump) “misting” or “sweating” which in MBAG’s view (documented) is “not a problem”. Bollocks. My W166 has sweated coolant from the circulation pump since day 1. The pump is a cheap parts bin component used across many vehicles.