2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Typical pattern

3.4% of complaints about the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2004 vehicle — around the middle of the 236 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 9.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is fuel / propulsion (145 complaints), typically at 9.8 yr or about 98,000 miles.

Covers 4 variants: E320 (243), E500 (173), E CLASS (19), E350 (11)

Complaints: 445
Median age at failure: 9.8 yr
Median mileage: 90,000 n=371
Crash / fire / tow: 5.4% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Fuel / propulsion

145 reports · 98,000 mi

9.8 yr

Fuel system

72 reports · 89,100 mi

9.5 yr

1.4%

Service brakes

61 reports · 106,000 mi

12.4 yr

13.1%

Suspension

28 reports · 98,500 mi

9.9 yr

Electrical system

23 reports · 84,000 mi

9.7 yr

4.3%

Service brakes, hydraulic

20 reports · 75,847 mi

6.7 yr

15%

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 4,900 mi 7 mo in service

INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF THE DISTRONIC RADAR-CONTROLLED CRUISE CONTROL. IN EXTREME WET CONDITIONS THE CAR IN FRONT IS INTERMITTENTLY NOT SEEN BY THE SYSTEM CAUSING THE CAR TO ACCELERATE INTO THE BACK OF THE CAR IN FRONT. THIS FAULT PERSISTS FOR SOME DAYS AFTER THE WET CONDITIONS SUBSIDE. THE CAR'S FAULT DETECTION SYSTEM SOMETIMES DETECTS THIS AS A FAULT, BUT RESETS ITSELF AUTOMATICALLY LEADING TO THE DANGEROUS CONDITION RECURRING RANDOMLY. *AK

Electrical system 84,000 mi 6.4 yr in service

THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILED ON MY 2004 MERCEDES E320 WAGON WHICH ONLY HAD 85K MILES. IF IT HAD FAILED AND JUST WOULD NOT WORK, THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH AN ISSUE, HOWEVER, WHEN IT FAILED IT LEFT THE ENGINE ON REQUIRING ME TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY TO GET THE CAR TO SHUT DOWN. STEPS TO REPRODUCE: 1) PUT ELECTRONIC KEY IN CAR 2) TURN KEY TO FULLY ON AND START CAR 3) TURN KEY TO OFF POSITION AND REMOVE KEY FROM IGNITION ENTIRELY NOTE CAR IS STILL ON AND WILL NOT SHUT OFF EVEN AFTER AN HOUR. *TR

Electrical system 56,000 mi 9.3 yr in service

THE SUNROOF LEAKS CAUSING ELECTRICAL DAMAGE. I RARELY USE THE SUNROOF. MAYBE I HAVE USED THE SUNROOF 5X. THE SUNROOF SHOULD NOT LEAK AFTER RARE USE. THE ELECTRICAL SHOULD NOT BE DAMAGED. APPARENTLY, THE DRAINS IN THE SUNROOF GET CLOGGED AND THE WATER DRAINS INTO TRUNK. THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. I NOTICE THE SAME ISSUE WITH MANY OTHERS ON LINE. THANK YOU. *TR

Service brakes, hydraulic 900 mi 8 mo in service crash / fire / tow

WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT THEY BRAELY FUNCTIONED. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO HIT A BUS. UPON IMPACT, BOTH FRONTAL AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A SIGNAL FLASHED ON THE DASHBOARD INDICATING AIR BAGS MALFUNCTIONED. NO INJURIES REPORTED. CONSUMER HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY. *AK NOT ONLY DID THE AIR NAG FAIL TO DEPLOY BUT THE DASH INDICATOR ILLUMINATED INDICATING A MALFUNCTION WITH THE RESTRAINT SYSTEM *NM

Other E-Class model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.