2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 Driver assistance Problems

There are two issues 1) Unsure of the exact date, but about a year or two ago we were driving our car and the car's automatic break system went into effect on a typically busy, 3 lane road despite there not being any cars in front of our vehicle. We took it into the dealership, who confirmed the issue and told us that sometimes the automatic brake mis-identifies the metal plates in the roads to be vehicles. Had there been a car driving behind us at the time this was happening, it could have been a major accident as the speed limit on that road was 45mph. Additionally we had our [XXX] in the car. There were no warning lamps, messages or symptoms of the problem prior to failure. 2) Recently we have been having a warning sign on our car that says the 12v battery is low, even though it should not be. Historically this would tell us to drive our car around so the battery wouldn't die, but this would sometimes turn on even after a 30+ minute drive. It was turning on every single time we turned the car off, so we brought it into the shop. While in the shop, the dealer provided us with a brand new GLC 300. I took this GLC 300 to my son's daycare to drop him off and when I returned to the car I received an error message "48V battery service required" and could not turn on the vehicle. This brand new vehicle left me stranded. While I was safe at my son's daycare, this has caused me to have significant concerns around the safety and reliability of these GLC300s. We are planning on taking our 2023 GLC 300 on a 6 hour road trip with our [XXX] old and [XXX] old and I am very concerned about the car not starting if we stop for gas. What if we get stranded in a small city along the way? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11725254

Incident

Mar 18, 2026

1. Rear Hatch hands free system - closes unexpectedly while loading or unloading car without using feet to trigger system. Hatch will close down and trap driver in the rear, causing bruising on driver and requiring assistance to push hatch back up. Has been into dealer multiple times since this is HUGE risk to animals or small children exiting out of the rear. Dealer finally disabled hands free system. 2. Lane change assist/blind spot warning - Auto believes there's a vehicle in the lane to either side and will stop car from changing lanes, when actually there isn't a vehicle there. Has caused several close calls due to signaling to change lanes the car will then try to pull back into previous lane. Warning light remains on the side mirrors even when there are no vehicles in the lane. This is especially hazardous while driving at night and in less than optimal weather conditions.

NHTSA ID

11653863

Incident

Mar 2, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300. The contact stated while driving on an access road at 35 MPH, the brake pedal was not depressed; however, the vehicle came to an immediate stop. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle and was able to continue driving normally. The local dealer was contacted and sent a tow truck to pick up the vehicle from the residence for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 12,000.

NHTSA ID

11644659

Incident

Feb 24, 2025

Mileage

12,000 mi

GLC 300 was purchased new on May 25, 2023. Multiple 12V battery errors, check engine indicators, and rear hatch closing on owner starting the first week of ownership. 48V battery and Main Fuse Box were replaced. Multiple recalls were addressed. Most significant issue related to false collision avoidance incidents on two occasions that resulted in dangerous situations and extreme stress on the occupants. First occurrence was on July 12, 2024. Driving approximately 40 mph on two lane road near a school that was not in session. There were no surrounding vehicles, pedestrians or obstacles. Vehicle beeped, seatbelts locked, and speed forced to 10 mph. Took vehicle to local MB dealership who attributed the vehicle’s response to proximity to a school zone. Vehicle was not checked for fault codes. Second occurrence was on August 19, 2024. Driving 55 mph on major highway and a truck entered the merge lane to the right. The truck was travelling at reduced speed and remained in the merge lane showing no effort to merge into vehicle’s lane. Vehicle had violent sudden deceleration with beeping alerts, locking seatbelts and reduced speed to 10 mph. Driver and passenger experienced symptoms of whiplash. It was fortunate that there was no vehicle travelling immediately behind the vehicle. Vehicle was driven to MB dealership for analysis. The vehicle had been driven 6,177 miles in 15 months. Service manager indicated there were no fault codes so no maintenance was warranted. Owner viewed the vehicle as dangerous due to false collision avoidance issues that put passengers and others at risk. The owner sold the vehicle to the MB dealership.

NHTSA ID

11618304

Incident

Jul 12, 2024

Vehicle would not start, indicator displayed check owners manual, battery low. Vehicle towed to dealer

NHTSA ID

11585120

Incident

Apr 20, 2024

On [XXX], I was driving at 45MPH on a two-lane state road. There was no traffic within 1/4 -1/2 mile of me on that road. There were no guardrails and the road was clear - no birds, animals, people, or construction. For no reason, the car beeped twice and automatically slammed on the brakes so forceful that everything on a seat landed on the floor. Had there been a vehicle behind me, they would have almost certainly slammed into me. This is my second safety report with this vehicle, the previously reported lane keeping assist still allows me to depart my lane with no correction or indication by the system, the dashboard indicators remain green if I depart my lane without a turn signal. It has been in 5 times for this and Mercedes closed the case. They say it's fine. Lemon law attorneys in my state refuse to take cases with Mercedes so I am stuck with a vehicle that should not be allowed on US roads, can't lemon law it and can't sell it or trade it in with a clear conscience. There is a laundry list of other problems as I drive more than 25,000 miles a year but I only report those which could get myself or others killed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11576799

Incident

Mar 11, 2024

Brakes slammed on when passing a parked vehicle on side of road, causing following vehicle to almost rear end me. Following vehicle driver blew horn .I was driving at 45 mph speed limit with cruise control set and turn signal active to pass parked vehicle. Scary experience.

NHTSA ID

11539553

Incident

Aug 18, 2023

Active Emergency Stop Assist Currently Unavailable and Active Blind Spot Assist Inoperative.

NHTSA ID

11539296

Incident

Aug 14, 2023

Brand new car that had less than 1500 miles on it, one day went to start it while 20 miles away from home and error messages in dash and beeping "48V battery error, do not change transmission position, reduced functionality of driver assistance features...etc." and car would not start, could not turn steering wheel.

NHTSA ID

11538778

Incident

Jul 30, 2023

This 2023 GLC, a newly redesigned model, has a number of issues. The two most severe are the adaptive speed limit and the lane keeping assist. I had to disable the traffic sign recognition feature because I was on I-95 in Maryland where the posted speed limit was 65. The car abruptly slowed me down to 35 because it saw an exit sign speed limit but I was not on the exit. I was lucky the car behind me didn't hit me. A warning would be good but to brake the vehicle for a speed limit sign seems problematic. The more serious issue is the lane keeping assist. The car is supposed to show green markers when I'm above 37MPH and on a marked road. Normally, one turns red and eases the car back into the lane if I drift. There are 3 settings and mine is set to provide the most warning. If the system works (it sometimes does) I am already on the line at the alert. Typically, it could care less where I am in relation to road markings and will let me drift across lanes with no warning whatsoever. I took the car in to the dealership several times for this. The first time, they said "it's designed so you can't trick it." I didn't buy that. I then took it our for a drive with the service manager. He said "it detected steering input". I then let it drift across the road marking while removing my hands from the wheel and it provided no warning whatsoever (no turn signal use to disable the function). I asked him if he saw steering input that time. He said "I need a video of this". This issue has supposedly been sent to the engineers in Germany but this problem existed when new and it's been weeks with no resolution. This is a backup system but it is something I certainly paid for and would like to know it works should I actually need it. All testing was done in a safe manner and not around traffic. I can only attach pictures but I have videos as well. The dash should not be showing green lane markings on both sides in any of these screenshots from videos.

NHTSA ID

11538722

Incident

Jul 16, 2023

The moon roof will not close. There is also a sloshing sound of water in an unidentified area, it has not rained. The blind spot monitor function of the digital light projection works intermittently and is barely visible marking on the roadway. The exit assist also does not activate the ambient lighting when opening door and car Is approaching in the travel Lane. Digital lights have jagged output light beam and they are the illuminating the roadway as advertised.

NHTSA ID

11536675

Incident

Jun 7, 2023