Three problems related to car stall have been reported for the 2006 Mercedes Benz ML350. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Mercedes has produced several thousand engines with defective balance shaft seen in model years 2005-2007 in the m272 and m273. The decided use of soft metals for engine components, such as the balance shaft, lead to a rapid deterioration over time and renders the engine unusable and a potential hazard as the camshaft and crankshaft will not turn, potentially causing the vehicle to break down on the roadway, lose power steering or even lock the steering column, heat excessively, or possibly even catch fire. Mercedes has accepted a settlement offer in 2015 covering many plaintiffs, but denied responsibility. It is obvious that the consumer had nothing to do with the choice of materials used to make the balance shaft, and therefore the manufacturer is clearly responsible, and must know it. Upon replacement of the balance shaft, the issue seems to go away, indicating that the manufacturer made a fix for an issue they knew they were responsible for, covered it up, and denied responsibility. The newer balance shafts are reliable as mercedes knew of issues with their previous faulty ones. Mercedes has only offered to cover up some of the damages, in most cases less than 38% or none at all, only gave customers a few months to file a claim, and almost none were notified of the issue or the settlement, and had come to realize it when it was too late. Many vehicles still well within warranty have been affected by the defective balance shaft, which means that older vehicles with the same issue prevails on the basis of the initial defect. The balance shaft issue has caused my vehicle to stall on the roadway on many occasions, and in one instant, my vehicle's steering column locked as a result. I have reached out to mbusa for a resolution, only to be told that since the vehicle is too old, it's not their responsibility. Vehicles 3 years old have had this issue. Age is no factor.
The balance shaft on my Ml350 has gone bad. The vehicle was in motion on a local street when it suddenly started to stall and eventually cut off. The steering wheel got stiff and I had to forcefully turn it to pull to the side of the road. After attempting to start it again it would only repeat what it's done before which is stall and cut off. After having it towed to my mechanic I was told that the balance shaft is bad. My mechanic advised me to call mercedes to see if they would fix it out of good faith but that got me no where. There are countless blogs about mercedes owners who are having the exact same issue with the m272 engine. A rep for mercedes admitted to me that they are aware of the issue but still refuses to recall. The repair quote is @ about $5000 which is out of my range so the vehicle remains parked. I understand that there was a class action lawsuit but the time frame has expired by the time I purchased this car.
My car stalled on the street. This is a safety issue. Called dealer, they said turn off and turn on to reset. This worked, however it continued to happened until I brought it to the dealer. They said it was the balance shaft and cost $6000. I called corporate and gave them law suit documentation, ,emails, testimonials and bulletins showing the issues of this vehicle. Because of the miles and car not covered under warranty, they would reduce cost by 25%. That is still to high. This car at the time should have been covered and the dealer recommended turning off/on the car to reset. For a new car to be given that advise is insane. There should be a recall on this vehicle because their tons of information on the web,emails and etc. Regarding this issue. I need my car fixed ASAP. I can't afford this high repair.