Buyer Research

2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $28,000–$38,000. 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

Twenty complaints in total, which is far too few to draw a pattern from, and we are not going to pretend otherwise — a short file on a six-year-old luxury car mostly means its owners were still under warranty and took problems to the dealer instead of to NHTSA. Two of those twenty report a fire in the engine bay, one on a car with 18,000 miles parked under a carport, and one owner found the engine wiring harness corroded by an oil leak at 50,000 miles with a repair over $4,000. That is the thing to check on this car: oil creeping out of the camshaft sensors and into the loom. Everything else on file is glass, cameras and door hinges.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 20 owner complaints for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and 3 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. 30% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

3 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 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

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

Oil from the camshaft sensor creeps into the engine harness and destroys itHigh — wallet impact

An owner reports the engine electrical harness completely corroded at 50,000 miles, with oil from the camshaft sensor having worked its way through it, and a repair over $4,000 — and notes there was no warning light, so it only surfaced at a service after the warranty ended. Another had an inoperative oil pump valve flagged as code P06DA00 at low mileage. Ask any inspecting mechanic to unplug a camshaft sensor connector and look for oil inside the plug before you commit.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$4,000 for the engine wiring harness

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (6).

Two engine-bay fires on file, both with the car stopped or idlingHigh — wallet impact

Two of this year's twenty complaints describe fire: one car smoking and then burning at a stop light with under 15,000 miles, another catching fire in the engine compartment while parked under a carport at 18,000 miles, 25 miles after a service. Two reports is not a pattern and we will not call it one, but on a record this small it is a third of the engine cluster. Treat a hot-electrical or burning smell after a drive as a reason to walk, not a quirk.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$1,200 for a wiring or connector repair found early

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (6).

Panoramic roof glass shatters, and convertible rear windows delaminateMedium

The small structure cluster holds three distinct complaints: a panoramic sunroof on an E63 S exploding with a loud pop on a clear morning and showering the interior with glass, a convertible whose rear window was separating from the soft top under 8,000 miles, and door detents so weak that the heavy doors swing shut on people's legs. Inspect the roof glass and the soft-top rear window closely, and open each door on a slope to see whether it holds.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,000–$2,500 for a panoramic glass panel; $1,500–$3,500 for a convertible rear window

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (3).

Reversing camera goes black or freezes on screenMedium

All three back-over prevention complaints say the same thing in different words: the camera image freezing, failing to appear, or showing for about ten seconds and then going black while still in reverse. It is one of the easiest faults to verify and one of the easiest for a seller to avoid demonstrating. Shift into reverse repeatedly during the test drive, once from cold and once after twenty minutes, and confirm the picture appears promptly and stays up.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$300 for a software update; $400–$900 for the camera module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under back over prevention (3).

Nine-speed automatic can develop harsh or delayed shiftsMedium

Not something this year's tiny public record supports — we are flagging it because the 9G-Tronic gearbox across this era of Mercedes is known for valve body and conductor plate wear that shows up as a clunk into Drive or a hesitation between the lower gears, and a buyer should check for it. Drive the car from cold through stop-start traffic for at least fifteen minutes, then ask when the transmission fluid and filter were last changed, since Mercedes intervals are longer than most specialists recommend.

Repair cost (estimate): $700–$2,000 for a valve body or conductor plate

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Oil visible inside a camshaft sensor connector when it is unplugged
✗Any burning or hot-electrical smell after the car has been running
✗A rear camera image that freezes or drops out mid-manoeuvre
✗Chips, stress marks or a loose feel in the panoramic roof glass
✗A clunk or a long pause when the gearbox picks up Drive from cold

Good Signs

✓A clean scan of engine and transmission modules taken while you watch
✓Camshaft sensor connectors that come apart dry and clean on inspection
✓Transmission fluid and filter changed on an invoice with a date and mileage
✓The reversing camera appearing instantly on every shift into reverse
✓Remaining factory or certified pre-owned coverage with paperwork to prove it