2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Body & Structure Problems

Panaramic glass roof exploded while traveling on highway sending glass all over the car and highway. Sounded like a gun shot right above my head. Fortunately the sunshade was closed at the time and I was able to safely exit the highway to clean up the mess and no one was injured but it could have been very dangerous!

Sunroof part behind the windshield came off due to the bond adhesive deteriorating and cause part coming off and causing road hazard

The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes Benz AMG GLE43. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, there was a whistling sound coming from the sunroof. The contact stated that while taking an exit, the roof panel detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that the roof panel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (STRUCTURE); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 63,754.

My safety and others safety was put at risk when I was driving on the freeway. The front glass panel between the windshield and panoramic sunroof detached from the vehicle. It sounded as if the entire sunroof shattered and something crashed into the vehicle causing myself to swerve, duck for cover and nearly crash into the median causing a near accident with my passenger as a witness. The car directly behind me was noted to swerve almost hit the median following the noise. In the moment I had no idea what happened until I had to pull off the freeway to assess what happened. This is when noted the the front panel between the windshield and panoramic sunroof was noted to be broken off. The vehicle was recently inspected by an official Mercedes Benz service department prior to this and then by an official Mercedes Benz Body Shop following the damage. There was no warning lamps or any symptoms or signs of damage prior to this failure. There is several noted recalls on other VIN models for Mercedes GLE 43 for this exact same issue of failure to this specific front roof panel but for some reason my vehicle VIN is not included. It is noted that the front roof panel between the windshield and panoramic roof may not have been bonded on correctly or the bond can deteriorate and can detach from the vehicle causing a road hazard and increasing risk for a crash.

NHTSA Campaign ID: 23V854000 is an expansion of campaign ID 21V197000 but is still too narrowly focused and needs to have the investigation re-opened. While driving at highway speed the glass panel on the body that is attached between the windshield and panoramic sunroof experienced an unexpected and total adhesive failure causing the glass body panel to become airborne and projectile at highway speed. Luckily it landed on the highway and shattered without injury. The two recall campaigns reference this exact failure on cars where the panel has been previously replaced, however there is no information to suggest the original need for a previous repair. In this case, the vehicle did not have a previous repair on record, yet Mercedes claims this problem only exists in previous repair scenarios and refuses to complete the repair under the recall. Logically, one of these two things MUST be true: 1.) The adhesive failure is born from the assembly process in the factory, in which case the recall should be expanded under the same safety concerns as the previously cited campaigns and Mercedes should be compelled to make the repair. 2.) There was a previous repair done to this glass on the vehicle and proper records were not maintained by Mercedes, in which case it falls into the scope of the previously cited campaigns and Mercedes should be compelled to make the repair. I attempted to work directly with Mercedes on this but after escalation, they denied the request for repair under courtesy repair or under recall scope. I'm hoping for help from the NHTSA as simple logic suggests that either the vehicle should already be in scope of the recall, or that the recall scope is too narrow and was not properly investigated. Mercedes attempted several illogical excuses in an attempt to avoid responsibility, but they strained credulity at best. This same complaint even appears several times on the NHTSA page for this vehicle make/model, and the report doesn't list VIN.

Car caught fire in the engine compartment and was extinguished by the fire department

The glass panel between the windshield and sunroof became detached wile driving on the highway appears to be a factory defect where that the adhesive used failed and allowed this to fall off . This narrowly missed a vehicle behind me avoiding a catastrophic accident. This should be replaced and recalled by the Dealer . Thank you

Body panel above windshield that is attached with adhesive had an adhesive failure and broke in half while driving. My insurance company concluded that it was not impact related, and that it was caused by an adhesive failure. This is a known issue, but no recalls were issued for the 2019 GLE model. Documentation available upon request.

I PURCHASED MY 2019 IN 2023. LEASE RETURN. I HAVE OPENED THE SUNROOF MAY 5 TIMES SINCE PURCHASING. THE SUNROOF NO LONGER OPENS DUE TO A DEFECTIVE RAIL SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM IS NOT READILY ACCESSIBLE AND HAS TO BE FIXED BY REMOVING THE THE CEILING INSIDE. THE PARTS AND LABOR CHARGE HAS BEEN QUOTED AT $3400. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO 2 DEALERSHIP AND CALLED A 3RD TO GET AN PHONE ESTIMATE. EACH SERVICE ADVISOR TOLD ME THAT THIS HAPPENS TO MOST OF THE 2019 GLE COUPES BUT HAS BEEN RESOLVED IN THE NEWER MODELS. I ASKED IS THIS SOMETHING I COULD HAVE CAUSED AND THEY EACH SAID NO, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE RAILING SYSTEM. A FAILING SUNROOF RAIL SYSTEM COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE INTERNAL WATER DAMAGE OVER TIME DUE THE SUNROOF NOT CLOSING CORRECTLY. EXTENDED WARRANTIES DO NOT COVER THE RAILING SYSTEM ONLY THE MOTOR OF THE SUNROOF.