What 100 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Mercedes-benz GLA

On the morning of April 28, 2026, at approximately 7:30 AM, I discovered that the front panel of the panoramic sunroof on my 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG had spontaneously shattered while the vehicle was parked at my residence in Meridian, Idaho. When I went out to the vehicle in the morning, I found glass fragments distributed across the rear seat area, the rear floor, and my child's car seat. Looking up, I saw that the front panoramic glass panel had shattered. My husband and I conducted a complete walk-around inspection of the vehicle exterior. We found no evidence of any external impact: no damage to the roof surface, body panels, surrounding trim, or any other glass on the vehicle. There was no debris (rocks, branches, hailstones, construction materials, or any other potential impact source) on top of, beneath, in or around the vehicle. The rear panoramic glass panel was intact. Glass fragments were present both inside the cabin and on the exterior surface of the roof and a few fragments were found on the roadway. The car seat where glass fragments fell is regularly occupied by my [XXX] daughter. On this particular morning, she was not in the vehicle only because of a coincidental change in our family's schedule that day, but typically she gets into her carseat independently, buckles herself, and I check her buckles. Thankfully, she was not injured but her car seat now has glass fragments in the seat. I am filing this complaint to document the incident in support of NHTSA's ongoing collection of safety data for consumers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11734452

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA250. The contact stated that the sunroof panel was tilted on one side and fractured. There were no warning lights illuminated. Upon researching the failure, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V918000 (Visibility); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who confirmed there was no recall coverage on the VIN for the failure. The dealer provided an unknown diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

NHTSA ODI 11700532

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA250. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle was lagging with a loud rumbling sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal excessively to stop the vehicle from hesitating. The failure had become more persistent. The contact stated that the sunroof failed to open, as well. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 133,277.

NHTSA ODI 11615183

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA250. The contact stated that the sunroof failed to close completely as needed. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that a plastic part of the roof panel had detached. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the right and left roof guides, motor glass, and headliners. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V854000 (Structure); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11609498

Panoramic sunroof slider shoes failing, being cracked and stuck in the railing, causing a sunroof malfunction. The main concern of danger is that during closing the sunroof, with a lack of support glass bangs down coming in contact with some metal parts, risk of being shattered and cause injury to passengers. In my specific car, somehow all 4 shoe sliders failed on a car with less than 50,000 miles. While researching, the issue is raised by many other owners and appears to be a wide spread systemic flaw. https://www.glaowners.com/threads/shoe-on-rail-of-panoramic-sunroof-broke.26716/page-5

NHTSA ODI 11491538

2015 AMG GLA-45. Sunroof violently broke, opening from front (normal is back) and sticking up 3-4 inches. Luckily this happened in our garage not moving, while simply pushing Close Sunroof button. If this had happened on the highway, it could have ripped off and killed somebody. Dealer says common problem, as soon as I brought the car in they said “sunroof warranty job” but the car is actually out of warranty. MB Natick Mass dealer is charging $3000 to replace motor, track, hinges, wind deflector. Can’t be closed manually even by dealer so car useless for two weeks while waiting for MB Corporate to review case for recall or complimentary repair due to liability. Today they refused to cover the repair cost or add car to recall list. NHTSA should know this car has ~26,000 miles on it and we’ve only opened/closed the sunroof perhaps ten times since buying it new. The sunroof assembly is obviously defective from the factory and was a “timebomb.” If it broke on the highway, lifting up from the front, it could have flown off and caused an accident and/or killed somebody behind us. Scary.

NHTSA ODI 11471357

Sunroof shoes have deteriorated and panoramic roof has become loose off the rails. This is a highly disturbing erosion putting drivers and other vehicles on the road in danger. I have found hundreds of reported cases of the same issue with no recall in place.

NHTSA ODI 11454683

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA250. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, she heard an abnormal gunshot-like sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact then heard glass cracking and realized that the panoramic sunroof had shattered without incident. The contact was able to drive home despite the failure. The contact then contacted the dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed her that a claim would be filed. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11446121

WAS DIVING ON A LOCAL INTERSTATE AT POSTED SPEED LEVEL AND THE FRONT HALF OF THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF SHATTERED WITHOUT ANY VISIBLE/OBVIOUS REASON (NO IMPACT, PRIOR DAMAGE, ROAD CONDITIONS, ETC.). TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT, WEATHER WAS SUNNY (HIGH 80'S), ROAD CONDITIONS NORMAL/GOOD.

NHTSA ODI 11337293

I PURCHASED A NEW GLA250 IN AUGUST 2015. A FEW DAYS AFTER THE PURCHASE I NOTICED THAT THE CAR HAD A SERIOUS DESIGN FLAW RESULTING IN A SAFETY ISSUE. DEPENDING ON THE POSITION OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT THE LEFT SIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR CANNOT BE ADJUSTED TO ELIMINATE THE LARGE BLIND SPOT. TALLER DRIVERS WHO REQUIRE THAT THE SEAT BE POSITIONED FURTHER BACK CANNOT ADJUST THE LEFT SIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR TO ELIMINATE THE BLIND SPOT. I HAVE CONTACTED MBUSA AND THEY WILL NOT ADMIT THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW OR SAFETY ISSUE. THE MBUSA REPRESENTATIVE WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO SPEAK WITH ANYONE KNOWLEDGEABLE OF MIRROR OPERATION OR DESIGN. SHE TOLD ME THAT NOT ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ELIMINATE THE BLIND SPOT ON ALL CARS. THE SAFETY ISSUE RESULTING FROM THE INABILITY TO ELIMINATE THE BLIND SPOT IS EXASPERATED BY THE LARGE 'B' PILLAR WHICH GREATLY RESTRICTS PERIPHERAL VISION. MY THEORY, AND IT IS JUST A THEORY, IS THAT MERCEDES BENZ DESIGNED THE GLA (AND ALSO THE CLA) TO EUROPEAN MARKET MIRROR STANDARDS, ANTICIPATING THAT THE USA WOULD COME IN LINE BEFORE THE GLA WAS SOLD IN THE USA MARKET. IN EUROPE, CONVEX MIRRORS ARE ALLOWED FOR BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE REAR VIEW MIRRORS AND FOR THE MOST PART ONLY CONVEX MIRRORS ARE USED.. THE NHTSA HAS BEEN CONSIDERING, BUT WITHHOLDING APPROVAL OF CONVEX LEFT SIDE REAR VIEW MIRRORS FOR AT LEAST THE LAST 5 YEARS. GENERAL MOTORS AND MERCEDES BENZ HAVE BEEN THE PRIMARY PETITIONER'S FOR THE APPROVAL. MERCEDES BENZ ANTICIPATING THE APPROVAL, DESIGNED THE GLA FOR CONVEX OUTSIDE REAR VIEW MIRRORS. SINCE CONVEX LEFT SIDE MIRRORS WERE NOT APPROVED IN THE USA, MERCEDES BENZ INSTALLED A PLANAR MIRROR IN THE SAME LEFT SIDE MIRROR ENCLOSURE AND FRAME FOR USA MARKET CARS. THE PLANAR HAS A REDUCED FIELD OF VIEW AND RSULTS IN THE BLIND SPOT SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE HAD MAY CLOSE CALLS ON MULTIILANE HIGH SPEED HIGHWAYS.

NHTSA ODI 10788937