Hey,

Mine's in the shop and they are having trouble diagnosing the problem; they're focused on the coolant systems. It has 4k miles on it. Has anyone else seen or hear about this one?

Check Engine light is on. Turtle Light is on. Notification says "Performance Extremely Limited"

 

Yes! I have been going back and fourth with the service department since 01/11/2024 trying to get this fixed. Got it back 01/30/2024 and when my wife was driving on 02/06/2024 it wouldn’t let her accelerate and the turtle icon and check engine light were both on. Oh and the Performance Extremely Limited” was on as well.

Every time it’s been in the shop I have been told they can not duplicate the issue. So it’s there now, we’ll see what they say. Planning on talking with MBUSA tomorrow to see what our options out. This is our 5th and worst GLE.

 

Thanks, I'd love to hear how that talk goes with MSUSA, please.

 

I am having the same issue with my 2024 gle 450e. I've had the same message with the turtle, check engine light, and car going into the "turtle mode" without being able to accelerate. Mercedes said they couldn't replicate it at all either. They cleared the fault codes and topped off the coolant which was somehow was low. The car only has 3k miles on it. It was better for a short time but now back to the same issue. If someone gets insight on the issue please share. I did get a recall notice in the mail a few days ago about a software issue that they don't have a remedy for. However this recall seems unrelated.

 

what does turtle mode mean? does gas pedal not work all together and just makes reving noises? what happens if you turn off and turn on engine again?

 

I had the same issue on my 2022 EQS when it was new. Try "System Reset" in the software. Fixed it for me.

 

When the turtle comes on acceleration is extremely limited and it seems like car won't get about about 2200 rpms. Once the car sits for a while turned off then it resets and the turtle is gone. Sometimes the check engine light will go away and sometimes not. Once sitting for longer than 12 hours the check engine light will then go off.

 

Wings can you be a little more specific on this "system reset". My car has been at the dealership for quite some time with no current solutions. The mechanics are familiar with this posting.

Thanks

 

My wife's car is a GLE 450 without the "E" but the fix should work.. The mechanics at the dealership were also unable to suggest a fix when my EQS went into "turtle" mode. They stated the reset would only clear personal settings. There were wrong. Go the the home page, find the car settings icon. Go to "System" and scroll down until you find "Reset" Execute RESET should fix the problem as it did for me.
Turtle mode is caused by the car trying to save the battery from some condition the software thinks is going to damage it, hence it won't let you accelerate or "hurt" the battery.
Hope this helps.

 

Ok, @wings1969 supposing we turn it off and on again, any thoughts on what stops the problem from just recurring after a few days or weeks?

Is that different from "clearing the code" so to speak?

 

I am not sure, but it worked for me and got me home.

 

Is that a common /recurring problem for the GL450e ?

 

Hard to say
We've heard of four, FWIW.

 

What did MBUSA tell you if you don't mind sharing

 

I spoke with my dealer and they said this issue is due to a known software issue that doesn't have a fix yet. They also told me six other people who also purchased 450es from them are also having the same problem. Pretty much all they said was either wait for the software update from mercedes or trade it in with a financial hit.

 

Will Lemon law apply for this issue ?

 

I am not really sure, I am going to email MBUSA

 

Has anyone had any success getting this fixed yet? Mine has been at the dealership for well over a month and apparently there is at least one more car in their possession with the same problem. First about a month ago it was "we're waiting for some parts to come from Germany that should be here at the end of the week", and then last week "waiting on a parts that should be here at the end of March". Perhaps they're not being truthful and it's really a known software issue?

 

My dealership actually told me that they found the issue was related to a faulty coolant pump. They said they are ordering a coolant pump from MB germany

 

Thanks for the update. That sounds very familiar to what I'm hearing.

 

I am so happy to have finally found this thread. 24 GLE450e that was perfect until 5500 miles and then same turtle and performance extremely limited. Took car to MB dealer and they returned a few days later with same story about coolant being low. Very next drive same issue. They came and flatbedded it from work. It has now been at the dealership over 60 cumulative days now. The dealer has "talked to Germany" and "searched the dealer network" and decided a couple of low and high pressure coolant pumps needed to be replaced (sounds familiar). Same failure on their test drive so now they are replacing transmission control modules and some other electrics (after waiting for the parts to arrive from Germany). At first I truly believed it was being caused by the ESP software "soft brakes" issue that impacted about 2700 vehicles, mine of course among them. Dealer says unrelated. Of course that discussion was after I had to prove to him via screenshot that my vehicle was impacted by a recall which they were unaware of. The ESP software fix is now out and downloaded according to my dealer. During the course of this the dealer admitted they have another 450e in the shop for 11 months with the same issue and no resolution. I said all that to say this. My research indicates MB is notoriously difficult when it comes to admitting any issues and or paying compensation. I see many similarities on this thread about coolant pumps and awaiting parts from Germany. BS me thinks. I am in NY which has rather robust lemon laws and I have filed my case with the Attorney General, been accepted into the program, and am expecting an arbitration hearing the first week or two of April. Hoping to get out from under this half baked car! Also please note I went down the road of trying to talk to MB and got not even a courtesy reply. Now the AG's office can handle it!

 

Lemon laws vary dramatically by state and some states do not even have them. Google your state attorney general and lemon law and you should find the information for your particular state. My state has a strong law and I have entered the process and we are awaiting the MB response to my complaint; hearing first half of April.

 

Terrible, for a company like MB.

 

Something is badly wrong when a bunch of sensors determine turtle mode is appropriate, and the dealer techs cannot determine which sensors are responsible. Even worse the design engineers are clueless.

 

Standard behavior. No one accepts fault for anything, if they do it will be used against them in court. I doubt the design engineers are clueless, but they aren't the ones solving issues like this nor do they have the power to fix it. I imagine the process looks something like this:

1. Engineers design something
2. It's too expensive
3. Parts are changed
4. Test to see that most of the time it works for 4 - 8 years
5. Mass produce vehicle
6. Issues arise and customers go to the dealer
7. Dealer techs start changing parts, customers left out to dry

I see a loop on 1-4 continually altering the original design. Then 5 introduces quality control issues. The poor dealer techs are stuck between the customer and sometimes an engineer that likely can't keep track of all the revisions to the original design. And this is ignoring the software engineering that goes into things now days. IMO this cycle isn't limited to MB or even auto manufacturing. It's everywhere a complex piece of equipment is produced and sold to customers.