2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS Complaint Log

On June 1 2023 at 6:24 pm, driving at around 40 mph, the car suddenly braked hard and lurched to the left. There were no cars or other obstructions in front of the car. This braking and lurching to the left lasted a few seconds, but almost came to a complete stop. After a few seconds it resumed normal operation.

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Around 5:48 pm Pacific time today, May 8, 2023, traveling westbound on Sunset Blvd (near the Drummond street intersection), the brakes suddenly engaged hard for a few seconds and then released and continued. Speed was around 35 mph and there were no obstructions around. This is the second incident of phantom braking that has occurred in 2 months. Luckily there was no car behind that could have collided into us from the sudden phantom braking.

I experienced a phantom braking incident yesterday in my 2023 EQS450+ SUV at 3:11 pm PST. Traveling at around 30 mph, no cars within 20 feet ahead or behind us, the car suddenly engaged the automatic brakes very hard with a loud beep but this condition lasted only a couple of seconds. The impact was hard enough to jolt all passengers in the car. The sound was as if something hit us from behind. Cruise control was not being used at that time. The car then continued to operate normally after that. I have set up a service appointment for this Friday, April 14 at the WI Simonson dealership in Los Angeles, CA. I have reported this to MErcedes Benz using their "contact me" feature on their website. From my research, it sounds like phantom braking is prevalent somewhat widely in the EQS cars but nothing seems to have been done about it so far.

We were driving locally, and the car stopped abruptly for no reason. There was no one and nothing in front of it, no animal around, and no reason for the stop. Had there been someone behind us, we would have had a big problem. We called the salesperson at the dealership only to learn that he had moved to Germany. We were told that another representative would return my call in about six minutes. No one called. A week later, we were on the highway and, also for no reason, the car slowed abruptly, and then resumed its speed. It happened a third time on a local street. We called the dealer and alerted the corporate headquarters but they did not respond. They do not seem to care.

Experienced phantom braking on car. Date: 2/28/23. No car's in front. Sunny day. I have video dash cam proof but it is 70 mb. I can give it to you guys if needed for proof.

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes Benz EQS580. The contact stated while his wife was driving 40 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking without another vehicle nearby. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to her destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS580 4Matic. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with Level 2 Semi-Autonomous Driving System and was purchased brand new. The contact stated that the first failure had occurred in the first month of purchase. The contact stated that while driving with the Adaptive Cruise Control with the Stop-and-Go Mode engaged, the set speed changed radically. The contact stated that while the speed was set to 60 MPH, the speed decelerated to 20 MPH unintendedly. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated that a staff at the dealer advised the contact that it was a known issue with similar vehicles. The contact stated that the failure recurred while the dealer was test-driving the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle back to several dealers on several occasions and the contact was provided a loaner vehicle; however, the same failure occurred with the loaner vehicles. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200.

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on January 8, 2023 I, and three passengers (my wife, and another couple), were completing a one hour drive returning from an event in southern California. We traveled on the freeways as we headed home. The speeds on those freeways average between 65 and 75 miles per hour with the flow of traffic. I exited the freeway and pulled up to a traffic light. I made a right turn at the light, then traveled up the road. The weather was clear and dry, and there were no cars either behind, in front of, or beside me as I drove up a cleanly paved and level road at a speed of approximately 35 – 40 MPH. During the drive up the road, the car inexplicably and suddenly stopped, hard, as though I had run into a dense hill of sand. It was a violent and sudden jolting stop, and all four passengers’ seatbelts activated, firmly tightening and restraining us in our seats. My wife’s head whipped back and forth, resulting in an enduring headache for her through the rest of the evening. No one knew what had happened, or why, as there was absolutely no obstruction in the road and no traffic around us. We pulled over and inspected the car and it was in pristine perfect condition with no evidence of any contact of any kind. We looked in the road and it was clear, paved and level. No animals; no objects; no obstruction. When I arrived home I searched online to determine if this had ever before been reported, and it turned up several “hits,” apparently filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) on this very issue, apparently involving both the 2021 and 2022 EQS. My model year is 2023. The discussions I have read point to a possible defect in the Autonomous Emergency Braking System (EBS). It might be the car is sensing something that is not there, and reacting as though it were. At 70 MPH on a freeway, this could be fatal, should the EBS activate suddenly, with no cause to do so, with an ensuing rear-end collision. PLEASE ADDRESS THIS.

The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS. The contact stated that while reversing, the collision avoidance system inadvertently activated, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop. Additionally, while driving forward, the failure occurred, causing unknown messages to be displayed and alarms to be activated inside the vehicle. Also Additionally, the system also erroneously activated while using the turn signals to switch from one lane to the other even though there no vehicles nearby. While the adaptive cruise control was activated, another vehicle switched into the same lane and the alarm sounded and unknown messages were displayed even though the vehicle was several car lengths ahead. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and the local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

To be clear, there has been no incident with my vehicle due to the lack of a hood latch safety release. This report is being made to call attention to a possible safety issue. The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is fitted with two typical hood release latches, one on each side, operated by a single hood release lever in the cabin attached to the latches with a cable. The hood is NOT equipped with a hood latch safety release normally found on automotive hoods. The lack of a safety release increases the possibility that the hood will fly open if the primary latch mechanism fails while driving. The EQS SUV is also NOT equipped with a dashboard indicator light or message warning that the hood is not fully latched when in the closed position.

On two occasions I was driving on city streets, 35-45 miles per hour without any vehicles nearby and all of a sudden the vehicle applied a hard brake, as if the vehicle had sensed a pending collision or something, but nothing was around. I purchased the vehicle new in October of 2022. The first time this occurred was a couple of weeks after I had bought the vehicle. I had changed the recuperation mode setting, so when it occurred the first time I thought that might have affected it. This occurred on a clear, dry, sunny day. The second time it occurred it happened for no reason at all. I had thought perhaps because my collision avoidance settings were set to the max sensitivity levels that perhaps it's seeing things that aren't there. It was very scary, it was so violent I thought I had hit something in the road, but it was a clear, dry, sunny day with no road hazards, obstacles or anything else that would have caused it. The problem has not been reported to the dealer, but I feel that when it happens again I will take the vehicle in to see if they are aware of what could be causing this problem. Nothing has been reported to the manufacturer, police, insurance or others. There were no warnings prior to the hard braking that I can recall. It just happened unexpectedly and immediately. I get a little nervous now every time I get behind the wheel because I wonder if/when the next occurrence will be.