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Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Every model year 2016–2027: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

12 Model years 2016–2027

126 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

509 Complaints owner reports, all years

A Newest grade 2027 Safety Signal

2018 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2027 E-Class →Which years to avoid Compare it

Mercedes-Benz E-Class — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Mercedes-Benz E-Class · Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Active NHTSA advisory on 1 model year of the E-Class — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Mercedes-Benz E-Class model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2027	Hybrid	A	0	0	—	28 mpg
2026	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid	A	1	6	—	28 mpg
2025	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid	C	3	10	—	28 mpg
2024	Hybrid	D	5	12	—	27 mpg
2023	Hybrid Gas	F	5	24	★★★★★	26 mpg
2022	Hybrid Gas	F	7	23	★★★★★	26 mpg
2021	Hybrid Gas	F	19	25	★★★★★	26 mpg
2020	Hybrid Gas	F	16	24	★★★★★	26 mpg
2019	Hybrid Gas	F	22	59	★★★★★	25 mpg
2018	Gas	F	19	71	★★★★★	25 mpg
2017	Gas	F	20	167	★★★★★	25 mpg
2016	Gas	F	9	88	★★★★☆	23 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2018

On the filed record so far, the 2018 is the cleanest E-Class year we hold, and the 2017 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2018	F	2.4	9	1 critical
2020	F	2.7	4	1 critical
2023	F	1.7	8	2 critical
2022	F	1.8	6	2 critical
2019	F	3.1	8	2 critical
2021	F	3.8	5	2 critical
2016	F	0.9	9	3 critical
2017	F	2.2	19	4 critical

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2027: dropped plug-in hybrid; 6 → 4 EPA configurations
2026: 5 → 6 EPA configurations
2025: added plug-in hybrid; best combined mpg 27 → 28; 3 → 5 EPA configurations
2024: dropped gas; best combined mpg 26 → 27; 13 → 3 EPA configurations
2023: 11 → 13 EPA configurations
2022: 13 → 11 EPA configurations
2020: best combined mpg 25 → 26
2019: added hybrid; 11 → 13 EPA configurations
2018: 9 → 11 EPA configurations
2017: best combined mpg 23 → 25; 16 → 9 EPA configurations

Compare

All E-Class head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2026 E-Class vs Ford Mustang · Coupe	E-Class +3.7

Common questions about the Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Mercedes-Benz E-Class year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2018 E-Class comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade F (43/100), 19 recalls and 71 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Mercedes-Benz E-Class years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every E-Class model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have?

Across model years 2016–2027, NHTSA has posted 126 recall campaigns for the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.