There are 1 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL-Classin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The car has started not shifting normally. It can get stuck in gear. So, you may pull to a stop sign and not be able to move because it’s stuck in 4th. What makes this really dangerous is that it will randomly shift into neutral. This can be on a shoulder-less two lane highway (this has happened) and you have no power to even get the car off the road. It also has taken to surging and jumping in and out of neutral, the engine reving without even touching the gas. So far it has only done that for seconds, but if the engine were to be reving, stuck in neutral, and then go back to drive, it would be a guaranteed accident. I think this is a model issue too because I had another Mercedes SUV that started doing the same thing.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026