2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE problems, complaints & recalls
NHTSA has received 92 owner complaints about the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE, or 15.9 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.39, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 85 model-year 2021 vehicles we track, it ranks #34 of 85 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Mercedes-Benz models its rate is 61% higher; against other Luxury SUVs it is 12% higher.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2020-12-20 and 2026-10-06. Median delay from incident to filing: 10 days.
Analysis
The previous model year (2020) drew 18.3 complaints per year, more than this one. The following model year (2022) drew 14.6 per year, fewer than this one. In its first two years on the road the 2021 model collected 27 complaints, 56% lower than the average vehicle of the same model year.
The most common problem area is Engine (43.5% of complaints), followed by Electrical (17.4%) and Body & structure (10.9%). Engine complaints are 1.9 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 6 reports (6.5%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 6 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 46 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (40% of incidents). In the last 12 months 28 new complaints were filed, versus 21 in the 12 months before — up 33%.
NHTSA lists no safety recalls for this model year.
Complaint index
- vs. all tracked vehicles0.39
- vs. other Mercedes-Benz models1.61
- vs. other 2021 models0.41
- vs. other Luxury SUVs1.12
- Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (27)0.44
- #34 of 85 · 2021Rankings ›
1.00 means the same rate as the comparison group. 2.00 means twice as many complaints per year on the road.
What owners complain about
vs. all vehicles: 1.00 = All-vehicle average
Problem areas: Engine · Electrical · Body & structure · Unspecified or other · Transmission / powertrain
When complaints were filed
- Crashes reported: 3
- Fires reported: 3
- Injuries: 6
- Deaths: 0
Vehicle age at incident
Median age at incident: 46 months
What owners report
I purchased my vehicle 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 from Mercedes Dealership in Ontario, and had it for only about 4 months before it catching on fire while parked at the doctors office. I purchased it [XXX], and it caught fire on [XXX] while at the doctors.
Not sure vehicle was parked and caught on fire from the drivers side completely burning
1. The Factory Assembly Defect During production of the 2020–2021 GLE and GLS line (V167 platform), Mercedes-Benz factory assembly workers improperly secured or seated the air conditioning evaporator condensation drain hoses.
The central MBUX display has gone completely blank- no communication with control panel head unit. It is not receiving data because the MBUX is frozen. Technician tried to perform a software flash update, but Mercedes own server-side security is locked.
While driving on the highway on three separate occasions the blind spot warning will pop up and show as inoperative, next the active break assist warning flashes as inoperative, and then the entire vehicle shows as inoperative and loses all acceleration and…
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Segment peers · 2021 · Luxury SUVs
| Models | Complaints | Complaints per year on the road | Complaint index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Lexus NX | 17 | 2.9 | 0.07 |
| 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLC | 67 | 11.6 | 0.29 |
| 2021 Lexus RX | 71 | 12.3 | 0.3 |
| 2021 Audi Q7 | 75 | 13.0 | 0.32 |
| 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE | 92 | 15.9 | 0.39 |
| 2021 Audi Q5 | 103 | 17.8 | 0.44 |
| 2021 BMW X5 | 110 | 19.0 | 0.47 |
| 2021 BMW X3 | 112 | 19.4 | 0.48 |
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year.
Investigations
No NHTSA investigation covers the tracked model years.