2011 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class consumer reviews

What a luxury automobile should be, luxurious interior, very comfortable ride, excellent fit and finish, timeless styling but unfortunately very expensive to repair but still worth the money

This is my wife's daily driver / kids taxi and our transport for vacation road trip to grandma's place. We bought it new and drive it about 12,500 mi/yr. It still looks nice but is a money pit. I've replaced the 'air bag' for air suspension on multiple wheels, multiple times at $400 +/- a pop per wheel, the struts leak at about 35k miles ($175 + labor), the door locks and window winders failed on 2 doors (M-B did help me with their replacement cost), annual interval service is well over a grand and the last 80k service interval was quoted at $640 but ended at $1,582. A 'Check Engine' light for irregular miss-fire on Cyl #3 required $300+ replacement of a coil and recommendation for a $1500 replacement of intake air manifold (not a repairable part)... Then Last Saturday I had to have it towed to the dealer as it would crank but not start. Now the dealer says i need to replace the cylinder head for cylinder bank 1,3,5,7 costing another $5,400. I've had to do more maintenance on this 7 year old 'Premium' Mercedes SUV than in a 1992 Chevy or 2007 Acura both with over 120k miles. I'm wondering if there is any 'Premium' other than their pricing. There certainly isn't any German Quality Engineering in the truck.

Very nice vehicle!!! Exallent SUV for the money!!! I highly recommend for some body trying to buy car!!!

I have owned Mercedes-Benz for 20 years. First off, the GL 350 Bluetec Diesel has Amazing Fuel Economy. I average 28 MPG Highway ar 75MPH. City can Get 25 MPG if light foot but rarley less than 20MPG. Considering it is 7 passenger, 7500 lb rated towing, Luxury 5400 lb Mercedes, that is an Amazing MPG. Second, the Factory air springs will fail by 50 K miles BUT Replacement with After Market Arnott brand Air Springs (600 dollars) or maybe Unity air Springs (300 dollars) is Very easy compared to Metal Springs. It can also be done at a good independent shop. Replacement air springs will last a very very long life. Also change the Transfer case oil every 30K with half Quart Transmisson fluid. I owned a Toyota Highlander Hybrid rated at 25 MPG and could barely get 20 MPG and it was only rated at 3000lb towing.... The GL 350 Diesel with a flat Trailer can even replace your low MPG pickup and expenses of having another pickup engine to maintain. Change Engine Oil at 15k and other fluids at 50k and you Get a Very Safe Comfortable Reliable 7500lb towing capable 7 Passenger SUV that gets 25MPG Combined easily. Best of all worlds.

Ok there is quite a bit of bad press on these some definitely warranted and some not. First off this is a great road car, Just eats up the miles in comfort no matter what the speed or road conditions. Its quiet inside and has good but not great power. Fuel mileage in reality is about 18-19 mpg which is a bit thirsty but not out of line considering the size and weight. The very back seats are a little difficult to access. The head rest for the second row can impede this if the front pass seat is moved all the way back or the head rest is raised up. The rear a/c for third row is not good. biggest known problem is the air suspension bags which split and leak causing the front ore rear to sag, the suspension compressor to run until it also fails. The factory parts are junk had to upgrade to Arnott brand which makes excellent replacements. The fact that the factory units are expensive and failure prone is unacceptable in a vehicle of this price. Another known problem is harsh and intermittent trans shifting. Ive read its a valve body issue and you have to pull the trans to access it. Mine was acting up but after a fluid change and a new filter the problem went away. Overall i really like it but the wife doesnt trust it anymore because of the air suspension and trans issues.

This is our first luxury SUV. and we were not disappointed. Very stylish on the outside and comfortable on the inside. The kids love the back seat entertainment center. The third row seat gives us more room for the grandkids and when we don't need the seats, we push a button and they go down automatically. We are in LOVE

I'd recommend this car. It's great for seating up to six passengers. The third row actually serves as a third row. It has a lot of power, and definitely reliable. I loved this car!

Even at 6 yrs old, it's still a great car! I love the comfort and stability driving. Lots of upgrades that make the ride very enjoyable!

For a large SUV, the GL450 is amazing to drive. This feels more like a car than a truck (like the Ford Expedition and GMC Yukon). The smooth ride (airmatic suspension) yet quick steering response, makes for a nice sport-like feel. Plus, though I have gotten 14 mpg in stop-and-go city street driving, I am mostly getting 17 - 18 mpg. I even got 20 mpg! Great mileage from a big SUV! The seats are supportive, yet comfortable over long distances. The V8 responds quickly (also due to transmission) to the accelerator, and the brakes are truly spectacular. The stopping distance from highway speed to zero in an emergency is nothing short of amazing.

Be very cautious of this dealership Premier Auto in Columbia and DO NOT BUY THE 2011 GL450 silver for sale. I live in Charlotte and took off work to drive down to Columbia to check out this car. I scheduled an apt with the Mercedes dealership and got a pre purchase inspection. There is $7k worth of work needed done on this car. If you only drove the car and did not get it inspected you would think there are no issues. Thankfully I paid $159 to confirm and was made aware of the issues. $2800 for the front air suspensions to be fixed. $900 front brake pads need replaced. That will be the 3rd time with only 61,000 miles that the front brakes need replaced. As well as an intake manifold issue that showed up in the computer - that issue may not be as serious as the other 2 though. I went back to the dealership and advised them of this and they were not even willing to drop the price $2000 to at least pay for the majority of the air suspension to be fixed!! I was willing to deal with the other issues. So basically no negotiations on the price and GM Floyd was not helpful at all and very unprofessional. I was seriously considering getting this car and spent my time and $200 + dollars on inspection + gas + rental car and the dealership was not willing to budge on anything. But then again, why would Floyd drop the price when the next person can come in without getting inspected and think it's a great car. $7k worth of work needed. Very unprofessional dealership!! I will say James -who I originally called and spoke to about the car was very polite and helpful. Stay away from this car and be very cautious about the dealership.