2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was an abnormal snapping sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a code reader retrieved information that there was a fault with the SRS sensor. The contact was charged for a diagnostic test and provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ID

11747420

Incident

Mar 16, 2026

Mileage

150,000 mi

The shifter randomly stops working so I could have the car in reverse and not be able to put it in drive and be stuck in traffic or vice versa. I can have the car and drive and not be able to put it in reverse. I'd be stuck in traffic very dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11726006

Incident

Jan 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class. The contact stated that upon approaching the vehicle, she discovered that the driver's side window was shattered. The sunroof was brown, and there was a hole in the dashboard showing the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle had caught fire; however, the fire extinguished on its own. There were no prior warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment, or police report filed. The fire department responded and was present at the scene, and disconnected several wires. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11723215

Incident

Mar 10, 2026

I own a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 with the 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder M270 engine. The check-engine light came on and an OBD-II scan showed fault code P052E / P052E71, which indicates that the valve for crankcase ventilation (PCV / crankcase ventilation valve integrated into the valve cover) has a malfunction and the actuator is blocked. The vehicle is available for inspection and, if the repair is performed, the failed part can be retained. This appears to be the same failure that has been documented by other owners and by Mercedes-Benz on the related M274 engine used in other models (same 2.0L turbo engine family and PCV / crankcase ventilation design, but in a longitudinal layout). For those vehicles, Mercedes has issued technical service bulletins and extended emissions-related warranty coverage for the crankcase ventilation / PCV system, but vehicles like my CLA with the M270 engine are excluded even though they show the same DTCs and failure. In my case, the problem has so far shown up as a check-engine light and stored fault codes, without obvious drivability symptoms yet. However, a blocked or failed crankcase ventilation valve can increase crankcase pressure, cause oil leaks, fuel vapor or oil smells, and potential turbocharger or drivability issues, which may create a safety risk if the problem worsens (loss of power or stalling). The problem has been reproduced multiple times with different OBD-II scan tools. I contacted Mercedes-Benz and was told there are no recalls or warranty coverage for this issue on my vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11699978

Incident

Nov 15, 2025

P052e common crankcase ventilator issue mercedez extended warranty for later models for this same consistent issue in all the cars excluding 2014 starting at 2015 vehicles making us pay over $2000 for a fix supposed to be free being that it's all mercedes even the year before Should be a recall along with the hundreds of thousands of people with same issue online same car.

NHTSA ID

11696266

Incident

Aug 1, 2025

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the contact briefly lost control of the vehicle, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway. After a visual inspection, the contact observed excessive rust underneath the rear subframe. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Extended Warranty–Rear Subframe Damage Code: 35441 47. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11644909

Incident

Feb 25, 2025

Mileage

100,000 mi

my rear subframe rusted from the inside out and due to the rust my control arm broke off

NHTSA ID

11644583

Incident

Jan 23, 2025

Check engine code p052e - PCV valve replacement (Crankcase Ventilation valve) - common issue on car and known recall for other models

NHTSA ID

11639110

Incident

Jan 26, 2025

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the sunroof was inoperable. The contact stated that the glass panel had detached, and the contact became aware of a crack on the glass panel. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.

NHTSA ID

11630599

Incident

Dec 13, 2024

Mileage

89,000 mi

I was driving down the highway without any vehicles in front of me at around 65mph when all of a sudden my panoramic roof exploded out of nowhere, it sounded like a gunshot going off inside the car and I nearly crashed my vehicle from the sudden explosion, I luckily had the glass shade cover up and glass did not fall in my face, I had my [XXX] daughter and [XXX] son in the backseat and they are now terrified to get back into any vehicle. This is extremely dangerous situation and will cause a serious accident in the future if not fixed. Nothing hit my roof and I wasn’t even using it at the time no one touched the thing, it just exploded out of nowhere. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11622502

Incident

Oct 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that when the vehicle stalled, an audible chime sounded, and the air bag warning light illuminated, and a RED triangle symbol flashed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the instrument cluster went blank, and the vehicle lost power steering assist. Additionally, the brake pedal was very difficult to depress. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts, and the vehicle returned to normal functionality. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred and the vehicle had not taken back to the dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,850.

NHTSA ID

11616572

Incident

Sep 21, 2024

Mileage

76,850 mi

Apparently the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) which is built into the gas pedal on this 2014 MB CLA250 only lasts so long before it becomes defective under highway conditions and causes the vehicle to go into LIMP MODE. When full acceleration is necessary, the unit will work for perhaps a few months or less, and then continue to fail worse and more frequently with each attempt at full acceleration. At highway speeds, this is an essential feature in a 4-cylinder vehicle such as this one and without the necessary acceleration capability, can expose the driver to serious risk of collision with other on-coming vehicles traveling at highway speeds. This "Limp Mode" features is extremely dangerous and hazardous to not only the driver of their vehicle, but to other drivers around them since they are left in a devastating position of being unable to accelerate normally and as necessary and as one would expect in any vehicle, let alone a Mercedes Benz. Never before have I driven a car that falls out of full acceleration mode only to subject the driver to serious collision circumstances. Whoever the imbecile is at MB engineering who incorporated this Limp Mode Feature should be fired!!! To make matters worse, this cheaply built TPS, which is the cause of the problem in my vehicle specifically, was only warrantied twice by the dealer and now they will not replace it under warranty which is a two-year period. I've only had the part 5 months before it failed again due to poor manufacturing and I had to pay all over again for a new one despite my warranty validity. There have been many other MB owners who have the same complaint for Limp Mode, which tells me that it's definitely not me, but rather the poorly built or engineered vehicle, as a matter of fact. MB has denied having these complaints to me, which of course, is a lie. That's misleading and deceptive business practices in my State and MB needs to live up to its warranty provisions and respect its customers.

NHTSA ID

11578613

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

I was driving my 2014 Mercedes CLA 250 on [XXX] traveling away from Fairfax County and towards Prince William County on Christmas morning right before [XXX]. The front right passenger side wheel started shaking and then flew off. I brought the car to a stop on the left hand shoulder of the road on three wheels. My wheel hit the metal fence and then ricocheted back across to the left crossing both sides of traffic (four lanes), hitting a concrete wall and becoming airborne before landing in the stream below. It was sunny and there was no rain. Speed was 45 mph. Witnesses observed the incident and I have their contact information. A police report was filed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11571315

Incident

Dec 25, 2023

As I was driving yesterday afternoon, I heard a noise and normally we don't hear any type of noise or air coming into the car. I decided to open the sunroof to see if there was something wrong with it like if it was stuck open or if something was stuck in it, and the whole sunroof almost flew off the car. I had to pull over as fast as I could into the break down lane and it took me a while to close it and it still seems to be open, I didn't see anything stuck in the guide rails or in the area when closing it. I was very scared for the safety of my children and myself and for the other drivers on the highway. I have made an appointment so the shop and check the car out and run some diagnostics. There are no warning lights or messages prior to the sunroof almost flying off the car.

NHTSA ID

11565567

Incident

Jan 14, 2024

Component failure was steering column module. Safety issue was air bag could inadvertently deploy while driving. Recall NHTSA # 17V627 was issued. Vehicle inspected by Stargate Garage, Caliber Collision and Mercedes of Pompano Beach FL. Message displayed was front left malfunction and red warning light for SRS system. Warning message and red light appeared 18 months after dealer supposedly repaired this recalled item. Vehicle was returned to dealer to make proper repair on this recalled item and they refused to replace it. Steering column module was replace by Stargate Garage and the message left front malfunction and red light warning SRS no longer appears on instrument panel. Stargate Garage was paid $685 to make this repair which should have been the dealer's responsibility. Therefor I am requesting that the dealer reimburse me my out of pocket expense of $685.00 since it was there responsibility to make this repair under the recall that was issued. I was unable to upload my documentation so I will also be sending this information in the mail.

NHTSA ID

11563709

Incident

Feb 22, 2023

Common issue with this make and model and many others Check engine code P052E

NHTSA ID

11560875

Incident

Dec 6, 2023

My engine light is and as per mechanics I have seen it is a very common problem with mercedes benz around crankcase ventilation actuator. As per mechanics its faulty part and mercedes have changed it for new models but there is no recall on the older models. Cost to repair the part is around $3500. Issue with the part if causing environment problem as mileages is reduced and more fuel burning. This eventually impacts the engine and car.

NHTSA ID

11552114

Incident

Jul 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated that the front panel around the panoramic roof was separating. The contact called a dealer and was informed that there was a recall for the panel separation, however, the VIN was not included. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ID

11550618

Incident

Jul 18, 2023

Mileage

150,000 mi

Please let me preface this by saying that I am a certified aircraft mechanic and have a good working knowledge of cars. My vehicle had NO prior indications, symptoms or abnormalities! This was completely out of the blue. Absolutely no warning that this was going to happen. The transmission of my 2014 CLA 250 Base model, while operating at 65mph on the interstate, all on its own, went into neutral and now will not engage into Drive. Initially following this incident, as I dogged the other vehicles on the interstate and coasted to the emergency lane, there were the following warning lights: ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, PARKING BRAKE accompanied with the alerts….PRE-SAFE Functions Limited, ABS/TRACTION CONTROL Currently Unavailable See O.M., Parking Brake See O.M. I then took it to the MB dealership and after they attempted transmission adaptation (which was not successful) they showed me the following fault codes: 079200-RPM sensor 1 has a malfunction, 287C00-Adaptation was not completed successfully. The alerts now state….Service Required: Do Not Shift Gears, visit dealer. The dealer wanted to change the transmission. I refused. I have had zero noticeable issues with the transmission with 72,000 miles. I had the transmission fluid replaced at 65,000 miles. I baby the car. I shouldn’t need to explain the dangers of a vehicle, while driving, randomly shifting into neutral, and not being able to be shifted back into Drive. I attempted all possible means of shifting the automatic transmission into drive, including the use of manual gear selection, and none of them worked, even after shutting the vehicle off and restarting multiple times. This is an extremely DANGEROUS malfunction!!

NHTSA ID

11549049

Incident

Sep 4, 2023

As I was driving, the car is on D but it slips into N and I cannot shift to any other gear accept P. This happens randomly and happened three times. I noticed the GLA250 also had this issue. I have to turn off my engine and restart my car to get it running again normally.

NHTSA ID

11521574

Incident

May 11, 2023

When accelerating, the car loses power. My teenager was almost hit by another car as she was trying to enter the highway via an off-ramp. It happens very often. This started occurring at 60k! When stopped with your foot on the brake or even in park, the car goes slams backward and cuts the engine back to a rev. This has been occurring since 37k. Additionally, there is a loud clunking noise when you turn the wheel. This has been occurring since 50k. Power seat on driver’s side loses all power and locks. This has been replaced/repaired three times! Glove box locked and will not unlock even with key. All of these issues are frequently reported via complaint sites, yet no recalls on this very expensive car. It is truly a hazard!! https://www.mercedescla.org/threads/loss-of-power.40274/

NHTSA ID

11507106

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

While driving the transmission slips into neutral. Must come to a complete stop and turn off the car then turn it on again to shift into gear.

NHTSA ID

11484977

Incident

Jan 19, 2022

The sunroof no longer works. Found pieces of plastic in the guide rails as the shoe horn pieces seems to be broken apart and had to force my sunroof to close and now it whistles as I am on the highway. I have seen hundreds of complains about this on the Mercedes Benz message boards

NHTSA ID

11477587

Incident

Jul 31, 2022

my son was driving it on highway and noticed smoke and fire from rear driver side. Thankfully he was able to get car on shoulder and the whole car lit up in flame. Firefighters and Police rescued them and there was no indication on what started this fire. Police has filed report as misc that it could be from car fuel line or such, there was no other problems with car and it has been services by Mercedes dealer all along.

NHTSA ID

11475546

Incident

Jul 12, 2022

I just got the vehicle it’s losing power already, I was driving up a hill as a school bus was behind me, and my car started losing power and rolling back. I have a transmission issue they sold it this way also electrical.

NHTSA ID

11469754

Incident

Jun 2, 2022