Home · 2017 Mercedes-benz GLA · Complaints

What 33 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Mercedes-benz GLA

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 (33)Crash / fire / injury (1)Electrical system (10)Engine (8)Airbags (4)Fuel system (3)Transmission & drivetrain (3)Tires (2)Visibility & wipers (2)Brakes (1)Communication (1)Driver assistance (1)

2 of 33 complaints match · Tires · clear filters

May 19, 2026Tires

Tire size 235/40 R20. Both front tires extremely worn in an uneven way with 1 having metal showing. Discout Tire in Lafayette, IN inpected and stated, "Lucky to be alive given how dangerous it is to drive on tires with metal exposed." Ordered new tires. Wouldn't even let us leave the parking lot due to safety. Used spare tire we carry to get home. Michelin denied the warranty claim due to improper servicing. No warning alerts. Vehicle was recently serviced by Mercedes of Lafayette on 3-34-26. Collected payment and handed my wife the key without volunteering ANY issue of ANY kind. Wife questioned if they even check the warning alert about brakes. Stated brake pads were in the yellow. Riding in the vehicle several days later, I noticed a loud road noise. Could not initially detect any obvious damage like a nail. Sound persisted. Stopped again. Turned steering wheel to expose the inner part of the tires. Zero tread and sharp metal exposed. Immediately took to Discount Tire. Confirmed OBVIOUS alignment issue causing uneven wear. Shocked Mercedes didn't fix the issue, and didn't alert us about the dangerous situation. Midas fixed alignment $122. Dealer & MB USA hq were notified. Neither made ANY effort to make things right in over 1mon. Dealer violated Indiana Code 9-19-18-3. Maker not doing proper quality control checks. Filing small claims court case about this issue as well.

NHTSA ODI 11738687

May 13, 2026Tires

Tire size is 235/40 R20. Both front tires were extremely worn in an uneven way with 1 having metal showing. Discount Tire inspected the tires and stated that we were, "Lucky to be alive given how dangerous it is to drive on tires worn so badly with metal exposed." Discount Tire in Lafayette, IN inspected the tires. We ordered new tires that would take at least a day to be shipped. Wouldn't even let us leave their parking lot with the car in the condition it was in due to safety concerns. Luckily, we carry a spare, and were able to use that to get home. Michelin reviewed the warranty claim submitted by Discount Tire, and denied the claim due to improper servicing. No warning alerts. The main issue is that the vehicle was recently serviced by the Mercedes dealer in Lafayette, IN on 3-24-26. They collected the payment and handed my wife the key. They did not volunteer ANY issue of ANY kind. She questioned if they even checked the warning alert about the brakes. They stated that the brake pads were in the yellow, and needed to eventually be changed, but it could wait. Several days later, I was riding in the vehicle and noticed a loud road noise. Could not initially detect any damage to the outer/visible areas of the tires such as a nail. But the sound persisted. When we stopped again, I turned the steering wheel to expose the inner part of the tires. There was zero tread on the inside of the driver front tire with sharp metal exposes. Immediately took the car to Discount Tire. They confirmed it was an OBVIOUS alignment issue causing the uneven wear. Shocked Mercedes didn't fix the problem. Should have never given us the key back due to the high level of danger. Midas fixed the alignment $120. Both the dealer and MB USA hq were notified. Neither made any effort to make things right in over a month. Dealer clearly violated Indiana Code 9-19-18-3. The maker is not doing the proper quality control checks. Filing a small claims court case as well.

NHTSA ODI 11737726

Working with the data? Download all 33 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 GLA verdict →