2012 Mercedes-Benz ML

Typical pattern

9.5% of complaints about the 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2012 vehicle — around the middle of the 201 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 9.2 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine (22 complaints), typically at 6.3 yr or about 42,500 miles.

Covers 1 variant: ML350 (95)

Complaints: 95
Median age at failure: 9.2 yr
Median mileage: 49,000 n=57
Crash / fire / tow: 14.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Engine 200 mi 8 mo in service

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES BENZ ML 350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START UNTIL AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO LOSE POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS, WHO STATED THAT THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE PISTONS IN THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 800.

Engine mileage not reported 1.8 yr in service

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES BENZ ML350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE SOFTWARE NEEDED TO BE UPDATED. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE FRONT ROTORS AND BRAKES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN, BUT THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 24,882. *TR

Engine 3,600 mi 2.1 yr in service

I STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT. THE 2012 ML350 ENGINE STALLED. I COULD HAVE BEEN IN A ACCIDENT. LUCKILY, THE CAR BEHIND ME DID NOT HIT ME. I HAD TO START THE ENGINE AGAIN. *TR

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.

2012 Mercedes-Benz ML

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other ML model years

How to read this