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What 27 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Mercedes-benz CLA

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (27)Crash / fire / injury (3)Electrical system (7)Airbags (5)Engine (4)Transmission & drivetrain (4)Body & structure (3)Visibility & wipers (3)Steering (2)Wheels (2)Engine & cooling (1)Equipment (1)

3 of 27 complaints match · Body & structure · clear filters

May 6, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated while driving 68-70 MPH, the front roof panel separated from the vehicle and flew off. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V854000 (Structure) and 21V197000 (Structure). The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

NHTSA ODI 11587142

Jun 28, 2021Body & structureCrash

The Panoramic Sunroof Glass front cover has detached three times from my 2017 CLA 250 (VIN#[XXX]). The first time that it detached was with the previous owner and was repaired at a Mercedes dealership in Tampa Florida. It has since detached twice with ME and I have only owned it for 12 months. The first time that it detached with me, I was driving approximately 60 MPH on I-85 in Montgomery. AL. It blew off and could have definitely caused a VERY SERIOUS accident, but luckily no vehicles were behind me at the time 4/29/21. So I went to the local Montgomery, AL. Mercedes dealership, Jack Ingram, and they said that there was No RECALL and there was nothing that they could do. So I had to purchase my own replacement glass from Mercedes and have an auto glass repair co. install it. Fast-forward to 6/18/21, the newly installed roof glass blew off again as I was driving down S.R. 115 in Montgomery, AL. I was going 55 at the time. This time it blew off and several cars had to swerve to miss it. One vehicle did run over it a broke it in two. Traffic has to stop while I jumped out and picked it up from the ROW. I guess MercedesBenz USA will make this right once it flies off for the 4th time and seriously injures someone or worse. Can someone PLEASE help me with this issue? [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11422646

Oct 31, 2017Body & structure

SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH. NOT NEAR ANY OVERPASSES OR OTHER VEHICLES.

NHTSA ODI 11041759

Working with the data? Download all 27 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2017 Mercedes-benz CLA verdict →