IllustrationDISCOVERED BRITTLE, BROKEN AND MISSING WIRING INSULATION ON THE HEADLIGHT WIRING INSIDE THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT ALLOWED THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE WIRES TO COME IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER CREATING A SHORT.
2004 Mercedes Benz ML350
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2004 Mercedes Benz ML350 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 51.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all ML350 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
30–25K
225–50K
1050–75K
475–100K
6100–150K
3150K+
28 reports with mileage · 7 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports3 fire reports3 injury reports
Exterior Lighting complaints
2 reportsDURING A ROUTINE CHANGE OF A HEADLIGHT LAMP, THE MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN DISCOVER THAT THE INSULATION ON ALL FOUR WIRES IN THE LEFT FRONT HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WERE CRACKED, DISINTEGRATING AND MISSING LEAVING THE BARE WIRES EXPOSED. THE MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN WOULD NOT CHANGE THE BULB UNTIL A NEW WIRING HARNESS WAS FABRICATED AND T…
Read full complaint
DURING A ROUTINE CHANGE OF A HEADLIGHT LAMP, THE MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN DISCOVER THAT THE INSULATION ON ALL FOUR WIRES IN THE LEFT FRONT HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WERE CRACKED, DISINTEGRATING AND MISSING LEAVING THE BARE WIRES EXPOSED. THE MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN WOULD NOT CHANGE THE BULB UNTIL A NEW WIRING HARNESS WAS FABRICATED AND THE DISCREPANCY WAS CORRECTED. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE BARE WIRES ARE IN AN ENCLOSED HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY, CONTACTING FLAMMABLE MATERIALS. A SHORT IN THESE WIRES CAN LEAD TO SYSTEM FAILURES, OVERHEATING AND FIRE IN THE HEADLAMP AREA. RECOMMEND A RECALL FOR INSPECTION AND IF THIS DISCREPANCY IS DISCOVERED, RECOMMEND AN IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT OF THE WIRES IN THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.