2001 Mercedes Benz Ml430: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 65 complaints
65
Total Complaints
109,000mi
Median Mileage
SERVICE BRAKES
Top Issue
3
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

82,343 25th Percentile
109,000 Median Mileage
138,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES
11
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
8
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
6
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
3
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
3
STEERING
3
POWER TRAIN
2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
1

Severity Assessment

3
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"LEFT WINDSHIELD WASHER SPRAY HITS BOTTOM OF GLASS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND DOES NOT CLEAN GLASS, DRIVER MUST STOP VEHICLE AND PHYSICALLY CLEAN WINDSHIELD IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN SAFE VISIBILITY, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM. CONTACTED DEALER AND WAS TOLD "THEY ARE ALL LIKE THAT>" "WE CANNOT FIX IT." ..."
"CONSUMER CONTINES TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITH THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM, NAVIGATION SYSTEM EITHER GOES OFF COURSE, TRACKS INCORRECTLY, GIVES INCORRECT INFORMATION OR GOES OFF COMPLETELY, CAUSING THE RADIO, CD AND ALL OTHER SYSTEM WITH REGARDS TO MUSIC OR INFORMATION NOT TO OPERATE, THIS PROBLEM HAS BEE..."
"AT THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF HUMIDITY, SIDE WINDOWS FOG UP TO THE POINT THAT YOU CANNOT SEE OUTSIDE NOR USE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS. FOLLOWING MANUAL INSTRUCTIONS ON DEFOGGING JUST IS TOO LATE. THIS FAILURE OF PROPER DEFOGGING IS THE WORSE THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY 50 YEARS OF DRIVING AND GOD KNOWS HOW M..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

SERVICE BRAKES 11 complaints
25th: 120,000 mi Median: 131,200 mi 75th: 170,000 mi
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 8 complaints
25th: 66,950 mi Median: 80,500 mi 75th: 101,547 mi
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 6 complaints
25th: 115,250 mi Median: 139,050 mi 75th: 157,325 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 complaints
25th: 109,000 mi Median: 117,000 mi 75th: 150,000 mi
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 complaints
Median: 153,100 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 11 TX: 9 FL: 8 GA: 6 MD: 4 MA: 4 LA: 4 NY: 4 DC: 3 WA: 2

Who Files Complaints?

13.8%
Original Owners
86.2%
Second+ Owners

Mercedes Benz Ml430 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1999594
2000695

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28