2001 Mercedes-Benz ML

Typical pattern

4% of complaints about the 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2001 vehicle — around the middle of the 216 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 9.9 yr in service. The most-reported system is electronic stability control (esc) (38 complaints), typically at 12.6 yr or about 118,714 miles.

Covers 2 variants: ML320 (196), ML430 (65)

Complaints: 253
Median age at failure: 9.9 yr
Median mileage: 97,950 n=205
Crash / fire / tow: 11.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Electronic stability control (esc)

38 reports · 118,714 mi

12.6 yr

2.6%

Service brakes

36 reports · 134,850 mi

14.4 yr

2.8%

Service brakes, hydraulic

30 reports · 82,686 mi

9.0 yr

10%

Steering

29 reports · 72,839 mi

2.9 yr

17.2%

Electrical system

22 reports · 82,000 mi

8.8 yr

22.7%

Speed control

20 reports · 125,000 mi

9.8 yr

10%

In owners’ own words

Electrical system mileage not reported 9 mo in service

SECURITY SYSTEM DOES NOT LOCK VEHICLES DOORS. *AK THE REMOTE KEYS DOES NOT OPEN OR CLOSE THE DOOR DUE TO IGNITION LOCK ASSEMBLY FAILURE, IT TOOK DEALER THREE TIMES TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *YH

Electrical system mileage not reported 11 mo in service

THE BAS/ESP LIGHT TURNS ON ON THE DASHBOARD. TOLD BY THE MANUFACTURER TO STOP A CAR, TURN COMPLETE LEFT, AND THEN COMPLETE RIGHT, SWITCH OFF THE ENGINE FOR 10 SECONDS AND START THE ENGINE. FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES THE LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD DISAPPEARED. ON THE 3RD OCCURRENCE, THE LIGHT STAYED ON. CALLED THE DEALER TO HAVE THE LOOK AT THE CAR.*AK

Electrical system mileage not reported 3.0 yr in service crash / fire / tow

WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE, SMOKE AND FLAMES CAME FROM THE DASHBOARD. THE DEALER REPLACED ALL ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, BUT THE VEHICLE STILL HAD ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. *AK THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BURNED OUT WHILE DRIVING. THE LIGHTS CAME ON CONSTANTLY, THE AIR BAG LIGHT WOULD STATE THE AIR BAG WAS OFF, THE ALARM WOULD GO OFF CONSTANTLY IN THE DRIVEWAY, WHEN THE BRAKES WERE OFF, THE VEHICLE BEEPED. THE DEALER CLAIMED THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG. *SCC *JB

Speed control mileage not reported 1.5 yr in service

THIS IS MY SECOND ML 320 AND BOTH CARS DEVELOPED THE SAME PROBLEM AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. THE FIRST ONE WAS A 1999 ML320 AND THE CURRENT ONE IS A 2001 ML320. WHEN DRIVING ON TRIPS OF OVER 150 MILES, THE CAR STOPS RESPONDING TO THE ACCELERATOR. IT BEGINS BY JERKING AND THEN FAILS TO RESPOND TO ANY PRESSING OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AT TIMES, THE RESPONSE RETURNS AFTER SEVERAL JERKS, OTHER TIMES, THE CAR SLOWS AND FAILS TO RESPOND.*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.