What 51 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Mercedes-benz GLA

Dec 2- filled car with gas, check engine light illuminated and then three more errors displayed on the dash. See list below. Errors displayed on dash… 1-INOPERATIVE -- SEE OPERATOR’S MANUAL (Shows ABS and skid icons) 2-COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS INOPERATIVE 3-ABS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE – SEE OWNER’S MANUAL 4-CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON Later that same day, Dec 2, we started the car but could not get it into Reverse. We shut the car off, started it again, and were able to shift into reverse and proceed. Dec 3rd- we attempted to remove and reapply the gas cap to see if engine light would go off and error messages would resolve. It did not. We did not drive the car that day. Dec 4 and Dec 5th- all above error warnings display all day. Dec 6th- We scheduled a service appt at Mercedes in Sarasota, FL for the 1st avail appt Dec 10th. We were told in writing the car could be driven until the appt and no additional issues should arise. Dec 7th- new error code appears… 5-REVERSING NOT POSSIBLE - SERVICE REQUIRED. This is when the car put our lives at risk. While driving, the car shifted itself into Nuetral. We were unable to get the car into gear as it continued to roll. Having no control of acceleration, we guided the car to the right to allow traffic to pass. We put the car in park, shut down the vehicle, wait 15 minutes, and restart. We were then able to drive forward, but WHILE MOVING, “REVERSING NOT POSSIBLE” reappeared, the car shifted itself into neutral again. We were unable to shift to DRIVE. We shut the car car down again, started it, shifted to drive, but it went into DRIVE 2 only. We drove in 2nd gear until we were safe off the road and home. We towed the car (12/7 evening) to Mercedes in Sarasota FL. Dec 8th: Service dept finds the two front wheel speed sensors failed and caused a chain reaction sequence of events. They referred to the problem as ‘minor’. This is a serious design flaw. We are lucky not to have been hurt or killed

NHTSA ODI 11496752

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR IN MOTION AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING, THE CAR DECELERATED AND SUBSEQUENTLY STALLED WHILE I WAS TRAVELING ON I-85 IN GAFFNEY SOUTH CAROLINA. IT WENT FROM 50 TO 0 LEAVING ME STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY. IT WAS TOWED TO MERCEDES BENZ OF SOUTH CHARLOTTE WHERE I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE

NHTSA ODI 11373880

SAFETY SYSTEMS ALL FAILED 7 TIMES WHILE THE CAR WAS MOVING, USUALLY AT HIGHWAY SPEED, SINCE 08/20/2017, WARNING LIGHTS (ABS, ESP, TRACTION CONTROL. PARKING BRAKE, ETC) STAYED ON UNTIL I COULD GET TO A DEALER. IN SPITE OF WHEEL SPEED SENSOR REPLACEMENT (5 TIMES) AND REPROGRAMING, THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. MERCEDES- BENZ CANNOT FIX THIS OR EVEN DETERMINE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM WITH MY CAR BUT DO NOT SEEM TO TAKE MUCH RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELLING ME AN UNRELIABLE AND UNSAFE VEHICLE. WHEN THE PROBLEM FIRST HAPPENED. THE CAR HAD 8,800 MILES AND NOW HAS 27,000 MILES. I HAVE THE SERVICE RECEIPTS AND CAN PROVIDE THEM IF NECESSARY.

NHTSA ODI 11367080