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2006 Mercedes Benz ML500

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

31 reports with mileage · 6 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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 5 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 reports5 fire reports4 injury reports

What owners actually said

37 reports
Mileage unknown · Nov 17, 2025
Service BrakesUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed ControlCrashInjury

THE ESP AND ABS MALFUNCTIONED AND THE VEHICLE WENT OUT OF CONTROL AND HIT PARKED VEHICLES CAUSING MULTIPLE DAMAGES AND INJURIES TO ME.

NHTSA ODI #11699958

200,000 miles · Apr 1, 2024
Electrical System

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the passenger's side rear door glass had independently fallen into the door. The contact stated a burning odor was on the interior of the vehicle. The contact stated that after inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed water unde…

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The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the passenger's side rear door glass had independently fallen into the door. The contact stated a burning odor was on the interior of the vehicle. The contact stated that after inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed water underneath the front passenger's seat and the battery compartment was full of water. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed electrical system due to water leaking into the rear taillight assembly. The contact was informed that the electrical system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. The VIN information was unavailable.

NHTSA ODI #11580508

Mileage unknown · Jan 17, 2024
Electrical SystemSeat BeltsService Brakes

I am experiencing malfunctions of the Seat Belt, electrical and breaking system

NHTSA ODI #11565990

125,000 miles · Apr 27, 2023
Service Brakes, HydraulicCrashInjury

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML 500. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undetermined speed, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a tree. The brake pedal was applied but it failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver-side air bag was deployed. The contact sustained b…

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The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML 500. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undetermined speed, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a tree. The brake pedal was applied but it failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver-side air bag was deployed. The contact sustained bruises and injuries to her hands, knees, and shoulder, and medical attention was provided by her primary physician. There was no fire or police report filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. Then towed to another towing lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V315000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact was concerned that he was not notified previously about the do not drive notice.

NHTSA ODI #11519293

132,000 miles · Oct 28, 2022
Electrical SystemService Brakes, Hydraulic

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power whenever the ignition was bumped. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised th…

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The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power whenever the ignition was bumped. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised that the cost to repair the vehicle would be out of pocket. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the brakes were severely corroded and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that she then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V315000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to speak with the dealer, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.

NHTSA ODI #11491372

Mileage unknown · Sep 6, 2022
Air BagsEngineUnknown Or Other

When reviewing the vehicle for purchase I noticed the SRS light on. I brought it to the dealerships attention. They instructed me to bring it back in the morning after signing paperwork so they could fix it. After I brought it back they let me know that they didn't see any SRS lights and would not be servicing the vehicle. There…

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When reviewing the vehicle for purchase I noticed the SRS light on. I brought it to the dealerships attention. They instructed me to bring it back in the morning after signing paperwork so they could fix it. After I brought it back they let me know that they didn't see any SRS lights and would not be servicing the vehicle. There has been multiple mechanical issues with the vehicle including but not limited to the transmission going out, break recalls, engine leaks and now I'm being informed that my passenger air bag is deactivated. I just want a safe vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11482998

Mileage unknown · Aug 31, 2022
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V315000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulics) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the …

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The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V315000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulics) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11482203

200,000 miles · Jul 18, 2022
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The contact stated that the vehicle responded. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact drove to his residence. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V3…

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The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The contact stated that the vehicle responded. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact drove to his residence. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V315000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11474558

Mileage unknown · Feb 3, 2022
Electrical SystemSteering

Car is extremely hard to turn/loss of power steering. Noticed that there was a recall on these vehicles but my vin was not included. Mechanic said Power steering rack is bad. This has been an ongoing issue with this car since purchased with only 70,000 miles - not sure why this VIN was not included in the recall? Car stock radio…

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Car is extremely hard to turn/loss of power steering. Noticed that there was a recall on these vehicles but my vin was not included. Mechanic said Power steering rack is bad. This has been an ongoing issue with this car since purchased with only 70,000 miles - not sure why this VIN was not included in the recall? Car stock radio screen also has intermittent issues with displaying properly.

NHTSA ODI #11450281

140,000 miles · Nov 5, 2021
Air Bags

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the SRS warning light would remain illuminated and a whining noise was present coming from the steering wheel. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The fail…

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The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the SRS warning light would remain illuminated and a whining noise was present coming from the steering wheel. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ODI #11439510

Official recalls

2

24V298000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:power Assist:vacuum

Apr 26, 2024

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2006-2012 ML, GL, and R-Class vehicles. Please refer to MBUSA's recall report for specific vehicle model details. Moisture may accumulate and cause corrosion in the brake booster housing unit, which can result in reduced brake performance or brake failure.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Reduced brake performance or brake failure can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy has been performed. Dealers will remove the rubber sleeve, inspect the brake booster, and as necessary, replace the brake booster. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2024. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MMUSA's number for this recall is 2024050001/2. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-315.

22V315000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:power Assist:vacuum

May 9, 2022

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2006-2012 ML-Class, GL-Class, and R-Class vehicles. Please refer to MBUSA's recall report for specific vehicle model details. Moisture may accumulate and cause corrosion in the brake booster housing unit, which can result in reduced brake performance or brake failure.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Reduced brake performance or brake failure can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy has been performed. Dealers will remove the rubber sleeve, inspect the brake booster, and as necessary, replace the brake booster. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 30, 2022. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's numbers for this recall are 2022050014, 2022050015 2022090006, & 2022090007.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.