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What 6 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 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 (6)Crash / fire / injury (2)Airbags (1)Electrical system (1)Engine (1)Steering (1)

Newest first · 6 complaints

Dec 30, 2025AirbagsCrash2 injuries

I slid on snow during a storm and hit head on to an oncoming car and my car has been deemed a total loss. During the crash not a single airbag at all deployed. I hit the windshield and the dash, at least one should have gone off, but none of them deployed in the car

NHTSA ODI 11707802

Dec 23, 2025SteeringCrash

While executing a right turn, the steering wheel became locked. The driver attempted to apply the brakes, but they were unresponsive. Consequently, the vehicle collided with the divider.

NHTSA ODI 11706783

Oct 3, 2025Electrical systemEngine

During regular use my 2023, Mercedes Cla 250, had a fault in the instrument display in which the display shut off completely. Only the media display remained on, however the media display is completely useless in this scenario, only the instrument display can show the speed in which the vehicle is traveling and the Rpm range in which the vehicle is being accelerated at. I was left stranded, hopeless, and endangered as a result of this catastrophic vehicle failure.

NHTSA ODI 11691317

Jun 10, 2025

I own a 2023 Mercedes CLA250 VIN: [XXX]. This morning I was driving 50 mph on a road with no traffic, no car in front or behind me, no trees or overhead wires and my sunroof imploded. I have the privacy screen closed which saved me from the shards of glass raining on me. I have included pictures of the roof as well of the poor quality of the glass that is used for the sunroof. I am shocked there is no safety film in that glass to prevent it from shattering. This was a terrible experience- I expected more from a Mercedes. I’m horrified this can happen. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11666113

Apr 29, 2024

I was driving on hwy 301 in Maryland at 5am. My sunroof exploded. It was like a bomb went off hatterung glass all over my face and body

NHTSA ODI 11585897

Mar 14, 2024

Exploding sunroof. Dealership will not accept responsibility even though this is a known issue with their cars. This exploded on the highway and could have caused major issues for other drivers and myself with flying glass. There was not any external impact that caused the explosion. Mercedes needs to recall and fix this issue to prevent other accidents.

NHTSA ODI 11577449

Working with the data? Download all 6 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 2023 Mercedes-benz CLA verdict →