1998 Mercedes-Benz ML

No clear pattern

20.6% of complaints about the 1998 Mercedes-Benz ML arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1998 vehicle, but with only 155 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is engine cooling (30 complaints), typically at 5.9 yr or about 79,279 miles.

Covers 1 variant: ML320 (200)

Complaints: 155
Median age at failure: 4.8 yr
Median mileage: 97,615 n=61
Crash / fire / tow: 22.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 3 mo in service

THE CONSUMER HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION/MOTOR/ POWER WINDOWS/ DOOR HANDLES AND PANELS, AND SUSPENSION SYSTEM. CONSUMER HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING THESE PROBLEMS EVER SINCE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 3.8 yr in service

IGNITION KEY DID NOT WORK. HAD TO USE SPARE KEY IN ORDER TO TURN VEHICLE ON.*AK CONSUMER STATES WITHOUT WARNING, AT STARTUP, WHILE STOPPED, OR MOVING, VEHICLE WILL STALL, CONSUMER STATES IF YOU HAVE A SPARE KEY, SOMETIMES IT WILL WORK. *SLC

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1.8 yr in service

VEHICLE HAS BEEN STALLING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS SINCE PURCHASE, DEALER HAS EXAMINED VEHICLE NUMEROUS TIMES, BUT CANNOT REMEDY THE PROBLEM.*AK *TT

Electrical system mileage not reported 1.3 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING DRIVER NOTICED THAT THE AIR CONDITIONER/POWER WINDOWS/POWER SEATS/POWER LOCKS/SIGNAL LIGHTS AND HAZARD LIGHTS WOULD NOT FUNCTION. RIGHT AFTER THAT DRIVER TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND IT WOULD NOT RESTART. THE TRUCK WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALER COULD NOT DETECT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. THE SUV IS BEING HELD AT THE DEALERSHIP. *AK

Other ML 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.

1998 Mercedes-Benz ML

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other ML model years

How to read this