2003 Mercedes Benz E320 Problems: Fuel system (211 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2003 Mercedes Benz E320 is Fuel system (38% of 211 owner reports). There are 2 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Fuel system — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 211 complaints · 2 recalls

What problems show up on the 2003 Mercedes Benz E320?

80 of 211 filings named Fuel system (38% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Brakes (55 reports).

There are 2 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Glass / wipers / cameras. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2002 has 23 reports on file; this year has 211. Older years collect more reports just by being on the road longer. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2003 Mercedes Benz E320

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 2 campaigns on file below.
  2. Fuel system. Check for fuel smell, leaks and whether it starts and idles cleanly.
  3. Brakes. Have a shop check pads, rotors, fluid and whether the pedal feels firm.
  4. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Fuel system. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Fuel system 80 complaints · 37.9% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 7
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 8
  • Deaths 0
All Mercedes Benz E320 years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) appears in 80 of 211 owner complaints (37.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 80 complaints, 37.9% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 fire reports 80 · 37.9% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 55 complaints, 26.1% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 3 crash reports 55 · 26.1% Airbags (AIR BAGS): 14 complaints, 6.6% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 1 crash reports 14 · 6.6% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 14 complaints, 6.6% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 14 · 6.6% Suspension (SUSPENSION): 11 complaints, 5.2% of reports Suspension (SUSPENSION) 11 · 5.2% Engine (ENGINE): 7 complaints, 3.3% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 7 · 3.3% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 5 complaints, 2.4% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 5 · 2.4% Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 4 complaints, 1.9% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 crash reports 4 · 1.9% Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING): 3 complaints, 1.4% of reports Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 3 · 1.4% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 59 complaints, 28.0% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 5 crash reports 59 · 28.0% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 80 37.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 55 26.1% 3 crashes · 0 fires
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 14 6.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 14 6.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Suspension (SUSPENSION) 11 5.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 7 3.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 5 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 4 1.9% 2 crashes · 0 fires
Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 3 1.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 59 28.0% 5 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2003; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 2019. 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2013-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2013-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2015-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2003 Nov 2024 Recall campaign 19V918000 ◆ Recall campaign 19V918000 Recall campaign 24V874000 ◆ Recall campaign 24V874000 Investigation EA13003 ● Investigation EA13003
  • Campaign 24V874000 was reported 1,611 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 4
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 4
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 4
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 4
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 5
2012-Q4 Owner reports 4
2013-Q1 Owner reports 9
2013-Q2 Owner reports 17
2013-Q3 Owner reports 6
2013-Q4 Owner reports 6
2014-Q1 Owner reports 11
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 11
2014-Q4 Owner reports 7
2015-Q1 Owner reports 11
2015-Q2 Owner reports 6
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2015-Q4 Owner reports 4
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 4
2016-Q3 Owner reports 9
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 4
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 4
2020-Q2 Owner reports 3
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 Owner reports 3
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 19V918000
Recall campaign 1 24V874000
Defect investigation 1 EA13003
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (2)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Glass / wipers / cameras.

  1. Recall campaign 19V918000

    Glass / wipers / cameras

    Report date
    Component:
    Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY)
    Consequence:
    A detached glass panel can separate from the vehicle and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the glass panel bonding and replace the sliding roof, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 10, 2020. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2020040011.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Recall campaign 24V874000

    Glass / wipers / cameras

    Report date
    Component:
    Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY)
    Consequence:
    A detached sunroof panel can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and replace the sunroof panel as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2025. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. This recall is an expansion of previous NHTSA recall number 22V-954. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2024120001/2/3.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 10 of 211 complaints · page 1 of 9
2024-11-30Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
NHTSA ODI 11628014
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I inherited my dad's 2003 Mercedes Benz E320 when he passed away last year. He kept the car in pristine condition. About a month ago while driving it, I noticed a strong smell of gasoline in the cabin of the vehicle. The odor is strong just after filling the tank, and then it disappears at appox. 3 quarters of a tank. This issue has been physically challenging for me, making me dizzy and giving me migraines. I'm also very concerned about the safety issues relating to gasoline fumes inside the car... My understanding is that this is a common issue for the said Mercedes Benz model and year. It is a dangerous parts defect that is unacceptable.
2024-07-15Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
NHTSA ODI 11602322
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E-320. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the braking system became inoperable. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated after the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: [redacted]. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the failure was due to the sensotronic brake control (SBC) braking system. The manufacturer was contacted and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
2024-07-15Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
NHTSA ODI 11602318
CrashFireInjuryDeath
MB USA is not honoring Recall [redacted] for 25 years per NHTSA Bulletin. The Mercedes Benz Representative said that the recall is closed for a 2003 car, but which should not be closed until 2028 for my car. The Mercedes Benz Representative agreed that she does see the car matches the 2003-2006 E class with chassis of A336226 falling between A0- and A7- for the recall. The Mercedes Benz Representative gave no explanation as to why the 25 year recall has closed prior to 2031. The faulty SBC has caused numerous problems. If the recall is not honored, I plan to file a lawsuit against Mercedes. A formal complaint is being filed with the NHTSA for MB USA's lack of adhering to the recall for the full 25 years.
2023-07-25Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11534246
CrashFireInjuryDeath
REPORT NUMBER: CAL-03-07 NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (NCAP) FRONTAL BARRIER IMPACT TEST
2023-07-07Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11530938
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E320. The contact stated that there was an abnormal fuel odor throughout the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact discovered a fuel leak coming from underneath the vehicle, above the fuel tank. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 202,800.
2023-03-05Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11510219
CrashFireInjuryDeath
*1. The Fuel Tank and components and/or system failed or malfunctioned. *2. After filling the gas tank, the odor of strong pungent gasoline fumes fills the cabin of the and lingers for some time in the car and garage until the gasoline level goes down after being driven for a few miles. *3The car has been taken to a certified Mercedes Benz Dealership Service Center and was told that the problem was the gas tank and system/components. *4.The car was inspected by a certified Mercedes Benz Dealership Service Center Mechanic *5. There were NO warning lamps or messages on the dashboard or message center on car. The only symptoms of the problem was the strong odor of gasoline fumes after fuel fill ups.
2022-11-08Airbags (AIR BAGS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11492801
CrashFireInjuryDeath
System restraint malfunction seems like it the passenger side airbag won’t let you no if on or of
2022-09-15Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
NHTSA ODI 11484657
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Everytime I get in my car, the battery is dead! I have purchased several brand new batteries, and the same thing! I purchased a new battery, and my wife and I went on vacation, and as we was headed back home, we began to smell a real foul oder! We stop to the gas station, and looked everywhere, but didn't see anything! As we continue to drive, and turned in the drive way the battery light came on! I opened the trunk, and there was the foul smell, and the battery was so hot it could have caught fire, luckily we was home
2022-07-15Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
NHTSA ODI 11474110
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Brakes failed
2022-07-11Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11473415
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E320. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle there was an abnormal gasoline odor inside the vehicle. The contact removed the rear seat where the fuel tank was located and discovered that fuel was leaking into the vehicle underneath the rear seat instead of going into the fuel tank. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2003 Mercedes Benz E320?

Owners named Fuel system most often — 80 of 211 reports (38%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2003 Mercedes Benz E320?

NHTSA lists 2 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Glass / wipers / cameras. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 2003 Mercedes Benz E320?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Check for fuel smell, leaks and whether it starts and idles cleanly. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources