Buyer Research

2018 Mercedes-Benz E-Class — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $18,000–$25,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 15 Mercedes-Benz E-Class years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Sixty-seven complaints, which is a quarter of what the 2017 carries, and the same two headline clusters: the engine and the electrics, thirteen filings each. The engine complaints repeat the 2017's crankcase vent valve story — code P052E, a $3,000 quote, oil where it should not be — plus three reports of fire. The electrical ones centre on the digital instrument display going dark, with one owner quoted $6,100 by a Mercedes dealer at 43,000 miles. Then there are the AMG wheels, which several E43 owners report cracking on ordinary roads. Scan it, watch the screens through a cold start, and inspect the inside face of every wheel.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 67 owner complaints for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and 5 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is the engine at 19%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

5 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Crankcase vent valve failure and camshaft timing faults — code P052EHigh — wallet impact

Owners report a yellow check engine light with code P052E, then a stall on the road, then a dealer confirming a leaking crankcase vent valve at around $3,000 with oil having leaked further into the engine bay. One separately reports a variable valve timing camshaft defect at 100,000 miles. Three of the thirteen engine complaints involve fire, including a car that began smoking in a garage with children aboard. An OBD scan before purchase is the cheapest insurance available on this car.

Repair cost (estimate): $900–$3,000 for the crankcase vent valve; more if the camshaft work follows

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (13).

Digital instrument display goes blank at speedHigh — wallet impact

An owner with 43,000 miles describes the digital dash — speed, mileage, temperature, fuel level — going dark, returning for a few seconds and going dark again, with the dealer calling it not uncommon on this car and quoting $6,100. Another reports every dashboard light coming on at once and the car showing itself as inoperable mid-lane-change. Sit with the car through a full cold start and then drive it long enough to get everything hot before deciding.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$6,100 for a replacement instrument cluster — about 28% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (13).

AMG wheels crack on the inner rim and lose air slowlyMedium

Eight wheel complaints, mostly from E43 owners on the large-diameter AMG wheels: one had three front wheels and four front tyres destroyed in 13,000 miles, another found a transverse crack along the inner rim that a tyre shop spotted in a water bath. A slow puncture no one can find is the usual first sign. Have each wheel's inner face checked with the tyres off, or at minimum check tyre pressures cold and again a week later.

Repair cost (estimate): $600–$1,400 per wheel

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under wheels and bearings (8).

Collision assist and stop-start leave the car stationary in trafficMedium

An owner reports the stop-start system malfunctioning so the car stopped in the middle of traffic until the dealer finally addressed it, and the forward collision cluster holds five filings including one crash. These systems are camera and radar dependent, so a past windscreen replacement or front-end repair without recalibration is a common cause. Ask whether the windscreen is original, and use the adaptive cruise on a quiet road during the test drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$300 for a recalibration; $900–$2,000 for a radar or camera module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (5).

Wheel bearing and steering column noises the dealer will not act onLow

One owner reports axle grease repeatedly appearing on the carport floor with the dealer declining to look at the wheel bearings, alongside a clunk from the automatic steering column adjustment. Neither is expensive on its own, but both are the sort of thing a seller has learned to live with and you will pay for. Listen for a rumble that changes pitch when you swerve gently at 40 mph, and cycle the powered steering column through its full travel.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$900 per wheel bearing

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A check engine light, or P052E stored when a scan tool is plugged in
✗The digital dash flickering or going dark, even briefly
✗A tyre that needs topping up every couple of weeks with no puncture found
✗Kerb damage on the inner edge of a wheel, or a repaired AMG rim
✗Any burnt smell from the engine bay after a hot run

Good Signs

✓A clean scan with the engine at operating temperature, taken while you watch
✓An invoice naming the crankcase vent valve as already done
✓All four wheels checked off the car with photographs of the inner rims
✓Both screens booting fully and staying lit through a cold start and a long drive
✓Remaining factory warranty or an extended plan with the paperwork attached