What 193 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Mercedes-benz CLA

THE PRE SAFE MODE HAS HAPPENED 5 TIMES ON MY CLA 250 SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR LAST JANUARY. I THINK THE PRE SAFE MODE IS NOT SAFE AT ALL. ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR JUST LOST POWER, NO ANY FEEDBACK WHEN I STEPPED THE GAS PEDAL, THE BEST THING IS THE BRAKE STILL WORKED. AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR, THE CAR WENT WELL BUT THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. HOWEVER, AFTER TWO DAYS, THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS OFF SO I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A CHANCE TO SHOW TO THE DEALER. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE THIS CAR ON HIGH WAY, ESPECIALLY IN TRAFFIC JAM. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10671213

VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION & THROTTLE RESPONSE IS JERKY & UNPREDICTABLE. ROTORS WENT BAD AT 5,000 MILES, BEGINNING TO GO BAD AGAIN AT 12,000. NUMEROUS UNKNOWN INTERIOR RATTLES.WINDSHIELD WIPER COMPLETELY FLEW OFF VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING IN HEAVY RAIN - VISIBILITY INSTANTLY REDUCED TO NEAR-ZERO. ON TWO OCCASIONS, THE CAR DISPLAYED "PRE-SAFE FUNCTIONS LIMITED/ESP INOP" MESSAGE FOLLOWED BY ENGINE IMMEDIATELY LOSING POWER ON FREEWAY, WHICH COULD HAVE ENDED VERY BADLY. NOT ONLY IS THIS VEHICLE OF POOR QUALITY, IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING PURSUING STATE LEMON LAW. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10669906

PULLING OFF FROM A COLD START, THE CAR SLAMS INTO 2ND GEAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES, EACH TIME FROM A COLD START. A LOUD BANG IS HEARD INSIDE THE ENGINE. THIS SEEMS VERY DAMAGING TO THE CAR. I TOOK IT TOO THE DEALER THE 2ND TIME IT HAPPENED AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO REPLICATE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10650752

DRIVING ON INTERSTATE AT 70-75 MPH ENGINE LOST POWER WITHOUT WARNING AND SPEED REDUCED TO 30 MPH WITH NO RESPONSE FROM GAS PEDAL. A SEMI RAN UP BEHIND ME AND SWERVED TO THE FIRE LANE. THIS IS THE THIRD INCIDENT IN ONE MONTH. THE OTHER TWO WERE AT 45 MPH. EACH TIME I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND STOP THE CAR. ONCE IT IS STARTED IT RUNS AT FULL POWER, UNTIL IT DECIDES TO STALL AGAIN. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND WILL NOT DRIVE AGAIN. I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I AM IN DISCUSSION WITH GM AT DEALERSHIP TO WORK SOMETHING OUT. I WILL BE UNABLE TO SELL THIS CAR LATER IN MY OPINION BASED UPON THE COMMONALITY OF THE PROBLEM, YET THE DEALER ACTED LIKE THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF IT. I SHOULD HAVE GOOGLED IT FIRST AND THEN REMINDED THEM OF THE ISSUE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10650866

ON OCTOBER 17, 2014, VEHICLE 'PRE SAFE FUNCTIONS LIMITED, INOPERATIVE' LIGHT CAME ON THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE AT APPROXIMATELY 50-60 MPH. VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE SO COASTED TO SIDE OF INTERSTATE AND CAME TO A STOP. TRIED TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, CAR WOULD ONLY MOVE AT A FEW MPH AND THE TRANSMISSION FELT LIKE IT WAS STUCK IN THE HIGHEST GEAR. TURNED CAR OFF AND BACK ON. PROBLEM SEEMED TO RESET AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE HOME. DID NOT TAKE TO DEALERSHIP FOR THIS INCIDENT DUE TO READING ABOUT OTHERS' EXPERIENCE AND THAT DEALERSHIPS ARE UNABLE TO REPLICATE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10648491

ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 AND SEPTEMBER 21, 2014, VEHICLE 'PRE SAFE FUNCTIONS LIMITED, INOPERATIVE' LIGHT COMES ON THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER. BOTH TIMES DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50-60 MPH. FIRST TIME DRIVING ON STREET AND WAS ABLE TO COAST HOME. SECOND TIME I WAS ON MAJOR HIGHWAY....VERY DANGEROUS! UNABLE TO ACCELERATE BOTH TIMES. TOOK VEHICLE INTO LOCAL DEALERSHIP ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, THEY WERE UNABLE TO REPLICATE ISSUE AND RETURNED CAR. DID NOT DRIVE VEHICLE FOR 1 WEEK DUE TO TRAVEL, RETURNED AND WITHIN 2 DAYS OF DRIVING THE CAR, ERROR MESSAGE RETURNED AND I WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE CAR. TO GET THE CAR TO FUNCTION, MUST TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON AND THEN IT DRIVE-ABLE. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY BACK AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. THIS ISSUE ACTUALLY OCCURRED SEVERAL WEEKS PRIOR BUT I DID NOT REPORT TO THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE THE LIGHT CAME ON AND QUICKLY WENT BACK OFF. ALSO EXPERIENCED SLOW ACCELERATION ISSUES WHEN MOVING FROM A COMPLETE STOP. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10638117

I WAS DRIVING ON A MAIN ROAD WHEN SUDDENLY THE CAR SHUTS OFF COMPLETELY. I COULD NOT GET IT TO START, NOR PUT IT ON NEUTRAL GEAR, TO AT LEAST PUSH IT AWAY. A MESSAGE IN RED POPS UP ON THE SCREEN THAT SAYS "SERVICE REQUIRED, DO NOT SHIFT GEARS, VISIT DEALER". I COULD NOT PUSH THE CAR AT ALL, BECAUSE THE GEAR SHIFTED AUTOMATICALLY TO PARKING AND IT WON'T MOVE TO NEUTRAL. I WAS STUCK ON THE MAIN ROAD FOR 15 MINUTES. I WAS LUCKY NOT TO GET HIT OR RUN OVER BY THE INCOMING TRAFFIC. I CAUSED A PANIC ON THE STREET BECAUSE I WAS BLOCKING IT. FORTUNATELY, A POLICE CAR SHOWED UP, AND THE OFFICER HELPED ME BY DIVERTING THE TRAFFIC AWAY FROM ME. I HAD THE CAR CHECKED TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT AT THE DEALER, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, AND THAT THEY HAVE UPDATED ITS SOFTWARE TO THE LATEST VERSION. I HAD THE CAR TOWED BACK TO MERCEDES-BENZ NOW, AND WILL WAIT THE RESULTS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10628620

TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 15MPH AND SLOWLY ACCELERATING, VEHICLE BECAME COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE TO THROTTLE INPUT, AND ENGINE REMAINED AT IDLE SPEED. DISPLAYED SHOWED THE MESSAGES "PRE-SAFE INOPERABLE" AND "SEE OWNER'S MANUAL." AFTER THE ENGINE WAS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED, THE CAR DROVE NORMALLY. IT WAS TAKEN INTO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND REPAIR, AND WAS RETURNED TO ME AFTER THE SERVICE ADVISER ADVISED ME THAT THEY COULD "FIND NO CODES." THE VERY SAME ERROR OCCURRED A FEW DAYS LATER. THIS TIME THE SERVICE ADVISER SAID THAT ERROR CODES WERE FOUND, THAT THERE WAS A "CONFLICT IN THE PROGRAMMING", THAT ALL OF THE HARDWARE CHECKED OUT, AND THAT "REPROGRAMMING THE MODULE" WILL FIX IT. 36 HOURS LATER IT OCCURRED AGAIN. THIS TIME THE ADVISER SAID THAT A MERCEDES BENZ SERVICE DATABASE INDICATED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS WITH A WIRING HARNESS IN THE THROTTLE, AND THAT REPLACING THAT HARNESS WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10628705

I WAS TURNING ON TO A BUSY 3-LANE ROAD DURING RUSH HOUR, SPEED LIMIT 45 MPH WITH MOST CARS TRAVELING AT 50 MPH. WHILE ACCELERATING AFTER MAKING A RIGHT TURN ON TO THE STREET, MY CAR SUDDENLY RECEIVED A "PRE-SAFE" ERROR TO THE DASHBOARD AND STOPPED ACCELERATING WHILE HEADING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH. AS I HAD JUST SHORTLY MADE THE TURN, I HAD NOT CAUGHT UP TO THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC AND THE SUDDEN STALL CAUSED THE CAR TO DECELERATE. THE ABRUPTNESS OF THE MALFUNCTION NEARLY CAUSED ME TO GET INTO TWO REAR END ACCIDENTS WHILE JUST USING MOMENTUM TO REACH A SPOT ON THE ROAD WHEREBY TO SAFELY STOP THE CAR. THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE DESPITE RESTARTING AND REQUIRED A TOW. THE CAR IS 3 WEEKS OLD AND WAS BOUGHT BRAND NEW. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10611126

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE CAR SUDDENLY WENT INTO PARK. THE PARK BUTTON WAS NOT TOUCHED, NOTHING WAS NEAR IT, AND IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED. THE CAR SLAMMED INTO PARK ON IT'S OWN. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10610631

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER AND BARELY HAS ANY ACCELERATIONS. THE WARNING SIGN SAID INOP SEE OWNERS MANUAL. I HAD TO PULL OVER, RESTART CAR THEN IT WAS BACK TO NORMAL. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE AT THE EXACT SAME ROAD. I WAS AT A STOP LIGHT, MADE A LEFT TURN, DROVE ABOUT HALF A MILE THEN THIS STARTED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS! *TR

NHTSA ODI 10610627

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 MERCEDES BENZ CLA250. WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION. THE INOPERABLE POWER WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED DURING THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES. AFTER EACH FAILURE, THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND RESUME NORMAL FUNCTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER MULTIPLE TIMES, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER CONCLUDED THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,800.

NHTSA ODI 10597069

CAR COMPLETELY SHUTOFF TONIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY AND LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO GET PULLED OVER WITHOUT INCIDENT. I HAD NUMEROUS MESSAGES ON THE DISPLAY, INCLUDING "SERVICE REQUIRED, DO NOT SHIFT GEARS, VISIT DEALER" AND "ESP INOPERABLE, SEE OPERATOR'S MANUAL". THE CAR WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING ONCE I PULLED OVER, NOTHING HAPPENED WHEN I TURNED THE KEY, NO NOISES, NOTHING. MB ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE CAME AND TRIED TO JUMP START AND DISCONNECT THE BATTERY TO NO AVAIL. SO, OFF ON THE TOW TRUCK IT WENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10588401

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY THE ACCELERATOR STARTED TO HAVE A DELAYED RESPONSE. PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING FOR BETWEEN 3 TO 5 SECOND AFTER THE CAR WAS STOPPED. AFTER THE DELAY, THE CAR WOULD RESPOND AND WAS DRIVABLE, BUT AFTER EVERY SUBSEQUENT STOP, THE 3 TO 5 SECOND DELAY WOULD RETURN. THIS CONTINUED FOR THE 20 MILES THAT I DROVE TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THEM LOOK AT THE CAR AND REPAIR IT. I BELIEVE THIS UNRESPONSIVENESS OF THE ACCELERATOR TO BE A DANGEROUS CONDITION AS IT PREVENTED ME FROM BEING ABLE TO DRIVING NORMALLY AND COULD HAVE PREVENTED ME FROM MOVING MY VEHICLE IF IT WAS STOPPED AND A SITUATION REQUIRED IT TO BE MOVED QUICKLY. AT THIS TIME THIS OCCURRED THE FOLLOWING WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED ON THE DASH. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE ESP WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, THE ESP SYSTEM "OFF" LIGHT CAME ON, AND A MESSAGE STATING THAT "PRESAFE FUNCTIONS WERE UNAVAILABLE" APPEARED ON THE DASH BOARD COMPUTER SCREEN. THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED TO ME. THE FIRST TIME WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF APRIL. I PULLED THE CAR OVER. RESTARTED THE CAR AND THE CONDITION FIXED ITSELF. THIS TIME, RESTARTING THE CAR DID NOT CLEAR THE CONDITION. *JS

NHTSA ODI 10585415

THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES STARTING IN JAN. 2014 AND MOST RECENTLY APRIL 15, 2014: COME TO A STOP AT RED LIGHT (OR STOP SIGN) AND WHEN I STEP ON GAS TO GO WHEN LIGHT TURNS GREEN, ETC., NO POWER OR, AT MOST, CAR BARELY COASTS TO SHOULDER OF ROAD. IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE THE ENGINE ENGAGES. I TURN THE IGNITION OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AND THE CAR RUNS. THIS HAPPENS WHEN ECO STOP/START FUNCTION IS ON AND ALSO HAPPENS WHEN IT IS OFF. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE THIS HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. I COULD BE DRIVING THE CAR FOR A WEEK WITH NO PROBLEM AND THEN IT HAPPENS.

NHTSA ODI 10583356

I HAVE PARTIAL VIDEO IF THIS INCIDENT. INCIDENT OCCURRED AT 991 ODOMETER MILES. AFTER DRIVING APPROX. ~300 MOSTLY CONTIGUOUS, FLAT, RURAL HIGHWAY MILES IN-BETWEEN LINCOLN, NE AND ST. LOUIS, MO (HEADING TO ATLANTA, GA) IN APPROX. 30 WEATHER ON DRY PAVEMENT, THE ENGINE STOPPED PRODUCING ENOUGH ENGINE POWER TO PROPEL THE VEHICLE AT THE 70-75 MPH THAT I WAS TRAVELING. AT APPROX. 60-65 MPH, I APPLIED ADDITIONAL PRESSURE TO THE GAS PEDAL WHICH WAS NOT EFFECTIVE. PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR DID NOTHING EXCEPT, OCCASIONALLY, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD SWITCH QUICKLY IN-BETWEEN THE SAME TWO GEARS, WHICH REGISTERED SLIGHTLY ON THE TACHOMETER BUT DID NOTHING TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE OR MAINTAIN SPEED. IT ALMOST FELT AS IF THE TRACTION CONTROL WAS ACTIVATING (BUT MALFUNCTIONING) DESPITE THE GROUND BEING TOTALLY DRY. BY APPROX. 50 MPH I WAS BEING FLANKED AND TAILGATED BY TWO CLEARLY DISGRUNTLED SEMI-TRUCKS AS I TRIED TO PULL OVER TO THE RIGHT. THE VEHICLE SEEMINGLY WOULD MAINTAIN A MAX. OF 35 MPH. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR (NORMAL START), LETTING IT IDLE (NORMAL IDLE), AND THEN ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE TO A SAFER LOCATION, ITS ACCELERATION FELT RESTRICTED AT LOWER RPMS, BUT IT DID BACK UP TO HIGHWAY SPEED AND THE RESTRICTED FEELING ENDED UP BEING TEMPORARY. THE NEAREST DEALER WAS MB OF MARION, IL., APPROX. ANOTHER 200-300 MILES AWAY. ON THE WAY TO THIS DEALERSHIP, THE SAME MALFUNCTION OCCURRED AGAIN ABOUT 50-75 MILES LATER. I WENT THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. AT THE MARION, IL DEALER, THE MECHANIC FOUND THE FOLLOWING CODE IN THE COMPUTER: PO29921 - BOOST PRESSURE OF TURBOCHARGER TOO LOW. THE MECHANIC AT THE MARION, IL DEALER AND, LATER, AT ANOTHER DEALER CLOSER TO WHERE I LIVE (MERCEDES OF SOUTH ATLANTA) WAS NOT ABLE TO REPLICATE THIS CODE AND THEREFORE NO REPAIRS HAVE EVER BEEN ATTEMPTED OR MADE. THIS ISSUE HAS NOT RE-OCCURRED HERE IN GEORGIA. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10578246

1ST- ON FEB 11TH & 12TH MY 2014 CLA WHICH WAS PURCHASED AT THE MB OF PEMBROKE PINES HAD BEEN TOWED TO THE MB OF POMPANO, FL DEALERSHIP BECAUSE OF THE EPS LIGHTS, "INOPERATIVE" WARNING MESSAGES THAT WERE COMING UP AS WELL AS THE STALLING AND DELAYED ACCELERATION, WHICH I TOOK PHOTOS OF. IT WAS TOWED TO POMPANO FORM MY JOB, MY CAR WAS KEPT AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR 4 DAYS (AS OPPOSED TO THE FEW HRS I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD TAKE TO FIX THE COMPUTER ISSUES). NOT ONLY WAS MY CAR IN THE SHOP FOR 3 DAYS, BUT A PART THAT HAD BEEN ORDERED,WHICH MEANS SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY WASN?T FUNCTIONING PROPERLY SO IT HAD TO BE REPLACED. 2ND - I PICKED UP MY VEHICLE ON SAT FEB 15TH FROM THE POMPANO, AFTER GETTING ONTO THE I95 AND DRIVING 2 MINS, THE SAME WARNING SIGNS CAME BACK UP. I EXITED DRIVING 15MPH AND TRYING TO KEEP THE VEHICLE STABLE. MR. MIKE RODRIGUEZ WAS INSTRUCTED TO TEST DRIVE THE VEHICLE, HOWEVER, WHEN HE DID SO THE WARNING SIGNALS WERE GONE. WHY? BECAUSE A SERVICE GUY RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DROVE IT INTO THE SERVICE AREA. BEING THAT THE SIGNAL WAS NO LONGER VISIBLE, THE GM SUGGESTED THAT IF THERE WAS EVER A SIGNAL SENT TO THE VEHICLE IT WOULD SHOW UP IN SOME SORT OF READING THEY WERE ABLE TO DO ON THE VEHICLE. WHEN THEY RETURNED, BOTH THE GM AND MR. RODRIGUEZ INFORMED US THAT THE VEHICLE SHOWED THEM THERE WAS NO SIGNAL THAT WAS SENT TO THE VEHICLE ALL DAY. I LITTERALLY JUST SAW IT NOT 30 MINS AGO. WE LEFT & ABOUT 2 MINS FROM MY HOME IN BOCA RATON, THE SIGNAL WAS BACK WITH VENGEANCE! AT THIS POINT I TOOK PICTURES. I PULLED INTO MY DRIVE WAY, BUT THIS TIME I LEFT THE VEHICLE RUNNING. 3RD -ON MARCH 2ND AT AROUND 2:45PM, AFTER ABOUT A WEEK OF HAVING MY VEHICLE BACK, I WAS DRIVING WHEN THE SAME WARNING SIGNS AND ACCELERATION PROBLEMS WERE BACK. I LEFT IT RUNNING WITH ALL THE SIGNALS UP AND IT HAD TO BE TOWED BACK. THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE INCEDENTS.THIS HAS TO STOP! NOT SAFE! *TR

NHTSA ODI 10573053

ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, AND TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013, MY VEHICLE LISTED ABOVE HAD WARNING LIGHTS COME ON THAT STATED, "PRE SAFE, FUNCTIONS LIMITED, INOPERATIVE." IN ADDITION TO THE WORDS, THE ESP AND ABS LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO PENSKE MBZ IN WEST COVINA, CA, ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30. THEY REPAIRED THE VEHICLE BY DOING A SOFTWARE UPDATE. ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2013, THE CODES RETURNED AND I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO WHERE I BOUGHT IT, ENCINO, CA, MBZ. I WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE CODES AND THEY FOUND NO PROBLEM. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! THE VEHICLE IS STILL AT ENCINO MBZ AS THEY ARE TRYING TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. WHEN THIS MALFUNCTION OCCURS, THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER AND HAS VERY LIMITED ACCELERATION. IT HAS OCCURRED TWICE ON CITY STREETS AND TWICE ON THE FREEWAY, BOTH IN ECO AND SPORT MODE. ON THE CITY STREETS I AM ABLE TO JUST PULL TO THE CURB. ON THE FREEWAY, IT BECOMES A POSSIBLE LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY. THERE IS ONLY VERY GRADUAL ACCELERATION, AND AT 65MPH, LIMITED ACCELERATION IS VERY DANGEROUS. THESE FOUR OCCURRENCES HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN LESS THAN A 10 DAY PERIOD AND NO LONG TERM REPAIR HAS YET BEEN ACCOMPLISHED! *TR

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