2.1

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
73,478 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL320:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #7

Oct 012015

GL320

  • 136,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes Benz GL320. The contact noticed oil leaking from the vehicle while it was parked. While driving 60 mph and making a turn, an abnormal noise was heard from the steering wheel. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 08V682000 (steering) the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,000.

- Jaskconville, FL, USA

problem #6

Jan 162015

GL320 6-cyl

  • 53,000 miles
I was making left hand turn, suddenly the power steering assist failed and it was impossible to steer the vehicle to bring it to safety. This happened just prior to us entering the freeway. If we were to enter the freeway and this failure would occur on the freeway, we would end up in a crash. We contacted Mercedes. They sent a tow truck and the vehicle was towed to beverly hills Mercedes. We contacted Mercedes usa to inform them of the incident. Their customer service called us back and stated that even though the power steering failed we should had been able to maneuver the car to safety ( which we were not able to do). Mb representative did not give us any assurances that the underlying problem of the vehicle being unsafe in case of power steering failure will or can be addressed since this was the way the vehicle was designed. We have 4 little kids and we feel it is extremely dangerous to drive this type of the vehicle with this steering design defect. There are thousands of Mercedes gls on a road.

- Beverly Hills, CA, USA

problem #5

Jul 182013

GL320 6-cyl Diesel

  • 81,981 miles
Coming home from work steering started acting funny and making weird noises. Pulled in garage and fluids all over floor. Took to dealer - had to replace rack and pinion steering unit for the second time.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

problem #4

Nov 122012

GL320 6-cyl Diesel

  • 74,545 miles
Stop and go traffic. Car stalled and was almost rear- ended. Got to side of road some fluid, restarted after 20 minutes. When restarted weird noise when turning but close to dealer.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

problem #3

Jun 182012

GL320 6-cyl Diesel

  • 25,820 miles
I found fluid under my vehicle on the floor of my garage. I am sending this because I have been told by both the manufacturer and the dealer that this is the result of a defect. I checked and there were recalls but my vehicle VIN was not included. There were also service bulletins which were not called to my attention mbusa rep admitted defect, was sympathetic but said he would make a note of it, but that was all. Dealer did grant me a "good will" discount, but my cost was $600 for a repair that has been endemic.my warranty had expired after 48 months, but only 25817 miles.

- Marana, AZ, USA

problem #2

Sep 212011

GL320 6-cyl

  • 64,000 miles
Power steering fluid leak. Was told it was a leak at the rack and would cost over $1000 to replace. I have never heard of a steering rack leaking after less than 65000 miles. Sounds like manufacturing error and should be repaired by the manufacturer.

- Enterprise, AL, USA

problem #1

Mar 042011

GL320

  • 79,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes Benz GL320. While driving approximately 5 mph and making a turn, the steering wheel locked up and the power steering stopped functioning properly. The contact restarted the vehicle and the power steering functioned. The failure continued to occur intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact of recall 08V682000 (steering: Hydraulic power assist system). The manufacturer was contacted and they stated that the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

- Allen, TX, USA