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Well, after 26,500 perfect carefree miles and 4 road trips up and down the East coast, I received the dreaded battery message today! What is different from the older car batteries was that the doors unlocked with the remote, the screens inside lit up as usual, the seat moved as it should, but when I tried to start the engine…nothing! DEAD! Funny how the message comes up that says “Stop vehicle” when it was parked and wouldn’t start! It gets towed to the dealer in the morning. 😡
100% there is new 48V battery in your future. My 22' GLE 580 48V battery gave me a yellow warning sign once at 2K miles 6 weeks ago (still started again after) and upon my 5K oil change at the dealer, service advisor told me they had to replace the battery.
I plan on asking when I pick my car up on Monday but for multiple data points I implore you to ask as well. Can you ask if the 48V battery is a normal, warrantied item for the life of the vehicle? Or if there is an expected service life to it, after which you are SOL? Curious what you hear, Mercedes has been vague on the issue. There's been talk that the 48V battery is not covered under the extended warranty - obviously the one through MBUSA.
Well, after 26,500 perfect carefree miles and 4 road trips up and down the East coast, I received the dreaded battery message today! What is different from the older car batteries was that the doors unlocked with the remote, the screens inside lit up as usual, the seat moved as it should, but when I tried to start the engine…nothing! DEAD! Funny how the message comes up that says “Stop vehicle” when it was parked and wouldn’t start! It gets towed to the dealer in the morning. 😡
Sorry to hear, it must be an inconvenience. And at this price point, you probably expect better, and would be right to do so.
Well, after 26,500 perfect carefree miles and 4 road trips up and down the East coast, I received the dreaded battery message today! What is different from the older car batteries was that the doors unlocked with the remote, the screens inside lit up as usual, the seat moved as it should, but when I tried to start the engine…nothing! DEAD! Funny how the message comes up that says “Stop vehicle” when it was parked and wouldn’t start! It gets towed to the dealer in the morning. 😡
On reflection I’m glad I purchased the lowly 350. Meets all my needs and has been reliable. With all manufacturers moving to EVs I’m sure they will get the battery reliability figured out eventually.
On the positive side, thanks for being an an early adopter. Not what you want to hear but it’s an accurate statement.
Unfortunately, you’re helping Mercedes figure it out.
We had the car built by order and received it January 2021. Build date is very late Dec. 2020. It was just before the craziness started with not being able to get the options you ordered. The car has been awesome all this time and we have used it in many areas, climates and weather conditions. It is a very advanced impressive machine. I wouldn’t “throw this car under the bus” because of this battery issue. It still performs much better than most other cars on the road. Thanks Jzegel about the heads-up after warranty - good point. I’ll let you all know what I find out.
One more great tip I learned today…the tow driver did NOT have to drag the car! There is a trick where you step on the brake, press the start/stop button and then you have a very short couple second window of time where you can shift the transmission lever into N. It may take a few tries to catch it in time. Once in Neutral, the GLE can be rolled up to/onto the tow truck with NO DRAGGING!! My technician said there is another way to do it too. I’ll have to find out what that is too.
Good outcome…mine had to be drug out of my garage and even putting cardboard under the skids damaged my floor finish. There was a post about a year ago about a method but it required staying in the car. Opening a door put the car back in Park.
Not something I want to hear on a car we use exclusively for long road trips.
Having only put 700 miles from when I bought it new, I went on a 1,400 mile round-trip without issue. I have about 13,500 miles now on and have not had any issues with the 48v.
While this seems to be primarily an issue with Q4 21 and Q1 22 GLE builds it’s not restricted to just Mercedes. Any car with a Lithium battery has a small chance of Battery Management system failure or worse yet a vehicle fire. A recent recall by another brand started with “park your vehicle outside notice”. Possibly a Porsche Taycan EV fire sunk a boat load of vehicles. (Felicity Ace 2/2022) A Cadillac EV reduced to a frame and melted pile. Several Tesla’s…. The risk seems low but it’s still there-from getting stranded to a vehicle fire. ICE vehicles have combustible fuel but I feel safer with one parked in my garage.
What I find interesting is the total silence from government agencies and news media reporting on the subject. You might see an occasional individual report but nothing on the trending issues or safety. To some extent the evidence is destroyed in an EV Fire but in most cases there is at least an educated guess of the few possibilities.
Having only put 700 miles from when I bought it new, I went on a 1,400 mile round-trip without issue. I have about 13,500 miles now on and have not had any issues with the 48v.
We also went on multiple long distance road trips and the car performed flawlessly. We now have about 12K miles. The OP also states he had trouble free miles then BAM it happened. I'm not so concerned about this happening around town near home even though it'll be inconvenient. I'm just afraid this happening when we are far away from home.
While this seems to be primarily an issue with Q4 21 and Q1 22 GLE builds it’s not restricted to just Mercedes. Any car with a Lithium battery has a small chance of Battery Management system failure or worse yet a vehicle fire. A recent recall by another brand started with “park your vehicle outside notice”. Possibly a Porsche Taycan EV fire sunk a boat load of vehicles. (Felicity Ace 2/2022) A Cadillac EV reduced to a frame and melted pile. Several Tesla’s…. The risk seems low but it’s still there-from getting stranded to a vehicle fire. ICE vehicles have combustible fuel but I feel safer with one parked in my garage.
What I find interesting is the total silence from government agencies and news media reporting on the subject. You might see an occasional individual report but nothing on the trending issues or safety. To some extent the evidence is destroyed in an EV Fire but in most cases there is at least an educated guess of the few possibilities.
I have a Q-1 22 build and I cringe every time I see one of these posts.
Hope MB has finally resolved the issue with the replacement battery.
Before, the new battery is put in make sure the dealer checks the ground post the 48 volt battery is hooked up to in the floor under the passenger seat. Mercedes found in production the ground post was painted causing a poor contact for starting.
My dealer has been checking every 48 volt car that arrives as new stock to make sure the negative posts are not painted and there’s a good contact by cleaning the post before selling.
They have not had one car back since doing this.
It is believed Mercedes had now realized this problem and have issued a recall some months ago.
I have a Q-1 22 build and I cringe every time I see one of these posts.
Hope MB has finally resolved the issue with the replacement battery.
I had over 15,000 additional miles on mine after the failure when I sold it recently. But to appease my wife and maybe a little myself, we changed our travel plans. Avoided secondary roads in winter and carry a supply of emergency cold weather protective clothing, blankets, gloves, etc. Like with any EV, there is no heater when the battery fails and Roadside could be hours away!
Good luck OP. This was the one reason that made us stick with 350. 450 and others sound nice but this battery thing scared us off. It's for the wife too. So it's not bad. A little more power would be nice but not a too bad trade for peace of mind.
Originally Posted by Ron.s
I had over 15,000 additional miles on mine after the failure when I sold it recently. But to appease my wife and maybe a little myself, we changed our travel plans. Avoided secondary roads in winter and carry a supply of emergency cold weather protective clothing, blankets, gloves, etc. Like with any EV, there is no heater when the battery fails and Roadside could be hours away!
Speechless. I would have ditched it for a different vehicle so I know we would make to the ends safely and have fun. I can't imagine constantly having that uncertainty in my mind driving. But I guess you must love this particular vehicle enough to do so.
@Ron.s that is a crazy photo! im shocked there is no other way to get it out of there. and what if your garage setup is such that the flatbed can't back in right at the garage opening?
@Ron.s that is a crazy photo! im shocked there is no other way to get it out of there. and what if your garage setup is such that the flatbed can't back in right at the garage opening?
This was May/21. There was a “work around developed” not long after but it required remaining in the car because the car went back in Park when the door opened.
I didn’t worry that much about it happening again…likely going to be a small percentage going forward. Bad batch of Batteries, Paint on the terminals, or whatever seemed to affect a lot of GLE 450, 53, 63’s built late 2020 & early 2021. It’s probably a glimpse into our future with EV’s until the battery technology matures. ICE weren’t all that dependable early in the cycle but then there wasn’t a mandate.
I had over 15,000 additional miles on mine after the failure when I sold it recently. But to appease my wife and maybe a little myself, we changed our travel plans. Avoided secondary roads in winter and carry a supply of emergency cold weather protective clothing, blankets, gloves, etc. Like with any EV, there is no heater when the battery fails and Roadside could be hours away!
I haven't had a problem in 20,000 miles. I hope that doesn't mean I am due!
Living in Colorado, I've always carried winter gear, probably from September to April. Including sleeping bag, gaiters and hand warmers, warning flashers and a tarp.
Also have a good Weather app and try to stay in cell range along planned trips.
So nothing new there.
But I have to admit that it's in the back of my mind.
Had a breakdown in Northern Idaho with our C240, and enjoyed a week at a B&B at Lake Pend Oreille. M-B Travel Interruption paid for a nice interlude.
Down time from having a 48 volt malady, and having to live with a loaner would be my biggest problem.
Edit- even a flat tire is a challenge anymore. 21 inch tires are a lot more throw around then 16's, so I'd probably be waiting for roadside assistance in just about any case.
11-04-2022, 09:44 PM
The dreaded Dead 48V battery
