2023 MERCEDES-BENZ Eqe 500 4MATIC

On April 15, 2026 at approximately 1:30 PM PT, I entered my 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 500 4MATIC (approximately 20,000 miles) in my garage. The vehicle was not plugged in or charging prior to entry. I opened the car, sat in the driver's seat, and authenticated via the fingerprint scanner. The seat began adjusting to my stored profile position. While the seat was adjusting, I tapped the center console to open Apple CarPlay. The seat stopped moving midway through its adjustment, and what appeared to be every warning light on the instrument cluster illuminated simultaneously. I observed dozens of yellow and red warning icons, including a towing/recovery indicator. A number of warning messages also appeared on the screen. I manually adjusted the seat using the door-side controls. I attempted to shift into reverse to back out of the garage, but the vehicle would not engage. I then tried shifting into drive and the vehicle similarly would not engage. The drivetrain was completely unresponsive. I exited the vehicle, locked it, and re-entered to attempt a restart. All warning and system lights returned immediately and the vehicle again would not shift into any gear. I then connected the vehicle to my home charger. The charge port indicator on the vehicle flashed red, indicating it would not accept a charge. I disconnected the charger and attempted to start the vehicle a third time with the same result. I left the vehicle and took another car. The vehicle sat for approximately 45 minutes. At approximately 2:20 PM PT, another household member started the vehicle. It started normally with no warning lights and was able to drive without issue. The vehicle has been driven twice since this incident. On the following day (April 16, 2026), the Active Brake Assist system displayed a warning message indicating it is not functioning. This system was working normally prior to the April 15 incident.

Vehicle shut down while driving on highway, repeated drive system malfunction, turtle mode. The vehicle has experienced a recurring, unresolved drivetrain malfunction — specifically, a drive system malfunction and battery malfunction causing the vehicle to enter severely reduced-power mode ("turtle mode") — that has persisted through a minimum of three (3) separate repair attempts across two authorized Mercedes-Benz dealerships, totaling more than sixteen (16) calendar days out of service within approximately 47 days of the first failure. Most critically, on March 14, 2026, while driving on a public highway in Ontario, Canada, this defect caused the vehicle to shut down completely while in motion, forcing me to pull over on the highway shoulder. The vehicle would not restart for approximately one hour. This constitutes a serious and dangerous safety hazard.