AutoUtility currently tracks 89 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 30 complaints (33.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 6 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 4 report one or more injuries. The 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class belongs to the 4th Generation (W212) platform.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 89 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Air Bags & Restraints (30 reports • 33.7% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (10), Steering System (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 4 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #17V627000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #17V177000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Steering System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #16V899000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
Body & Structure
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The rear subframe is defective and subject to premature corrosion and failure of parts that connect to the rear suspension. Due to the fracturing of the joints connecting to the suspension, my car was at risk of going out of control when needing to brake at higher speeds. The way the suspension..."
"Passenger seat capacity sensor fault. Will not activate passenger side air bag. Checked with obd scanner"
"Fuel odor is very apparent (while idle) but difficult to identify location. Same models seem to have recalls for fuel injectors/rails but not this specific VIN. I believe the issue might be of similar recall. I will have the car diagnosed soon."
"The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated that water was leaking inside the vehicle through the seal around the windshield. The contact stated that upon manually pushing the windshield, the windshield was movable. Additionally, the contact stated that there was a windy sound..."
"The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz E400. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was a knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The automatic brake and Adaptive Cruise Control warning lights were illuminated. The emergency braking..."
Complaint History for Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 57 | 5 | 6 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Current Page | 89 | 6 | 5 | Current |
| 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 166 | 3 | 20 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 66 | 2 | 6 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 54 | 4 | 20 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 20 | 0 | 14 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 25 | 0 | 18 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 21 | 2 | 8 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 24 | 0 | 5 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 25 | 3 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 2 | 0 | 2 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 37 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,COMMUNICATION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.