Buyer Research

2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $48,000–$65,000. 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

The first year of the new W214 E-Class, the one with the screen that runs the width of the dashboard, and nearly half the complaint record is electronics: twelve of twenty-five filings, three of them tagged with a crash. Owners describe the instrument cluster and infotainment freezing and going black while driving after dark, with the exterior lights going out at the same time; cars that will not start after repeated dealer visits; lane-keeping that carries on steering after the driver switches it off; and a door latch that failed three times. Twenty-five filings is a small record for a car this new, so read it as a list of what to test rather than a measure of how likely trouble is. Test the screens, test the driver aids, and buy inside the factory warranty.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 25 owner complaints for the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and 1 recall campaign.

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. 48% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. 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.

One recall campaign covers 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.

Looked at and set aside: the engine (3) — Only three filings sit in this cluster and two of them are not about an E-Class engine at all: one is a duplicate of an electrical no-start complaint, and one was filed by the owner of a 2024 EQB 300, an electric SUV, about a high-voltage battery campaign that has nothing to do with this car. That leaves one filing, which is not a finding. Nothing here says anything specific about the E-Class engine in 2024.

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

Known Issues for the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

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

Instrument cluster and MBUX screens freeze and black out while drivingHigh — wallet impact

Twelve of twenty-five complaints land here and the worst of them happen at night: the cluster and infotainment lock up, both screens go black, and one owner reports the exterior lights going out at the same time, leaving no speedometer and no warning lamps on a dark road. A ten-minute shutdown brings it back. Others describe cars that refuse to start after repeated repair attempts, and one driver reports complete loss of drive power at highway speed with the screens dead alongside it. Sit with the car through two cold starts after dark, run the headlights, and watch whether both displays come up whole and stay up.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$4,500 for an MBUX head unit or instrument-cluster module once the four-year factory warranty has lapsed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (12).

Automatic emergency braking firing with no hazard presentHigh — wallet impact

Three owners report the collision-avoidance system braking hard with nothing around them — one says it has happened three times in a few months, with no warning and a violent jerk each time, and points out that a car following closely would have hit them. Another describes the lane-keeping control continuing to apply steering after being switched off, which is the same family of fault: a driver-assistance system acting against the driver. There is no part named and no bill attached in any filing, so the only way to know is to provoke it yourself on a quiet road with shadows and overhead signs.

Repair cost: Not yet priced — a safety matter first, a repair bill second

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (3).

Driver's door latch failing to hold the door closedMedium

Inside the electrical cluster one owner reports the driver's door latch failing three separate times, alongside an instrument panel and infotainment centre that would not illuminate after startup. A door that will not latch is a cheap part and a genuinely dangerous one to ignore, and it is something you can check standing next to the car in thirty seconds. Open and firmly close each door five times, listen for the latch engaging twice rather than once, and pull on each handle from outside with the door shut.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$900 per door latch actuator fitted

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (12).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Either screen going black, freezing, or rebooting during the test drive
✗Headlights or tail lights dropping out with the dashboard
✗A door that needs slamming, or a latch that does not click twice
✗Lane-keeping or braking assistance that stays active after being switched off

Good Signs

✓Both displays coming up complete and staying up across two cold starts after dark
✓Every door latching firmly on a light push, checked from outside
✓Factory four-year warranty with time and mileage still on it
✓Dealer software update history printed for the VIN