Sporadically, while driving along on local roads or the highway, the car's transmission does not switch higher than third gear. The problem occurs about once a month. Upon engine restart, vehicle drives properly. My pedal shifters do not work when this problem occurs; I can try to shift gears with the pedal shifters, and the software indicates a change from 3rd to 4th gear, but the actual transmission does not change gears. It remains stuck in third gear whether I speed up or slow down. If I place the vehicle in park and try to reverse, there is no power to the vehicle until I restart the car. This seems to be occurring with more and more frequency. I have a safety concern that I have to pull off the road and restart my car whenever this occurs. This seems to be problematic for several owners on the NHTSA site and online.

- San Diego, CA, USA

Two problems - first, transmission do not switch higher than second speed. Upon engine restart, vehicle drove properly. Second, on another occasion, I was sitting at a traffic light and when I attempted to pull off, the vehicle started driving very slow and rough. I pulled to the side of the road; turned off the engine and waited for a few seconds. When I started the vehicle again and attempted to drive away, the vehicle drove properly. Mercedes dealership is aware of these issues, and also many of people I know who have Mercedes with same transmission type - valve body/electric plate needs to be replaced in auto transmission.

- Sterling, VA, USA

Mercedes 500ml transmission and power steering not safe.

- Park City, UT, USA