10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,268 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #20

Jul 182020

CLA250 4-cyl

  • 58,020 miles
While traveling with my wife and newborn on highway 64 my 2014 cla mb cut off( while in motion ) and gave a code 'do not shift gears 'visit dealer. Somehow the car switch to netural while I coast the car to a safe edge of the road. We were terrified!! next it gave a transmission code in red to do not shift visit dealer. I'm not sure if any recalls but this is a safety that needs attention!!

- Hampton, VA, USA

problem #19

Jan 012020

CLA250

  • miles
Cars eco button fuses. Electrical fuse. Car stalls doesn't drive well since I bought it from Mercedes dealership

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #18

Dec 262018

CLA250

  • 44,000 miles
See uploaded document protected auto issues for full story. Hennessy Buick, Mazda, GMC sold me a car 8/18/2017 unknowingly I discovered on 2/5/2019 that it had an illegal can blocker/switch (manipulates computer systems in car and tampers true mileage on car) installed in ignition switch. After obtaining emissions test 12/26/2018, several car failures began to happen while stationary at testing center. While in motion that day, several lights began to stop working. In January 2019, while driving the power steering failed causing me to be unsafe as I could not brake, gas or turn wheel. The block affected all items above, excluding wheels & visibility, but due to limitations I was only able to select 3

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #17

Dec 032018

CLA250

  • 23,344 miles
While driving at normal street speed "collision prevention assist inoperative" displayed and car would not accelerate. I was in traffic, but was able to exit and pull over and park, turned car off, & back on. Display reset and car normal. Took to dealership immediately-repair was "non connecting pins". too early to tell if this solves. Upon investigation, this is a common issue with 2014 mb and I want to document this extremely dangerous performance.

- San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA

problem #16

Nov 132018

CLA250

  • 4 miles
Inoperative pre safe fucntions limited. Vehicle loses power and becomes inoperative without any issue. This has happened multiple times when the vehicle was in motion. It is a potential accident risk of getting rear ended. The vehicle loses power as soon as the message appears and does not give enough time to pull over especially when going on highway with lots of cars and hardly any gap to pull over shoulder. This has happened on a clear straight road and on highways at 55-60 miles an hour. I am submitting the date of latest occurrence of the incident in this report.

- Princeton Junction, NJ, USA

problem #15

Oct 052017

CLA250

  • miles
When L drive, sudently the pre safe malfunction esp come up in my dash, and L lost my acceleration immediatly L pull my car over the sidewalk.until now L still get the same problem. I went to 3 mecanic shop, they can not do nothing. Its not safe to drive a car like that.

- Rosedale, NY, USA

problem #14

Oct 162017

CLA250

  • 22,000 miles
The stability light came on, and it was difficult to pull away. Once moving a bit the car then went.

- Voorhees, NJ, USA

problem #13

Jan 212017

CLA250

  • 20,000 miles
Purchased a Mercedes cla 250C, and have had it became inoperative while driving on the beltway in Washington D.C. traffic, and more recently on the I-5 in san diego on 1/21/2017 during rain at speeds of 60+ mph in heavy traffic. The vehicle decelerated quickly and lost speed. The console popped up flashing message 'pre-safe functions limited' on the console. The vehicle did not respond to accelerator. After coasting to the right shoulder I was hit, by a passing car, and the motorist kept on going.this had happened about 10 time, and I bought the vehicle new. Mercedes aware, yet they would not do anything because they said if the engine light is not on we cant diagnose it.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #12

Jul 102016

CLA250

  • miles
My car was purchased 8/2014 from Mercedes Benz of henderson nv. This car has had problems the1st day of owning it. This car has been in and out of the shop so many times that I have lost count. I have a folder as thick as my bible. Mercedes won't claim it as a lemon and this car has been in the shop for the same problems with additional problems every time it is taken in. The dealership will not exchange it for a equal car without the option of renewing another lease and increasing the payment. I have experienced hazard lights on the first 30miles. The electrical went out/warning flashers/malfunctioning/inoperable the car has died driving which put mine and others lives in danger. All I'm told is I am sorry. I am drained with dealing with the dealership and going through all of their turnovers with mngmnt. Pablo rodriguez was a GEM along with butch who did nothing!!every code that was dcmntd was deleted from the memory. My car was recently in again with inoperable/malfunctioning display/acceleration/pre safe system error in which they said they fixed but less the 24hrs the same problem occurred. The dealership had my car from June 24th to July 10th and same issues but new error messages. I have been without a car since I picked it up and the dealership will not do anything about getting it in sooner then the 25th. They don't care at this dealership nor does Mercedes Corp. Hrs & hrs of wasted time talking to people who can do nothing.no calls from anyone, I received surveys in the beginning that were never addressed I know that because of my feedback. Ive never experienced anything like this before and it is so disappointing. Overall it has a been the very worst experience that ive ever had owning a car!!! or Mercedes that is.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #11

Dec 012015

CLA250

  • 15,000 miles
While traveling at 50mph down a busy street during my morning rush hour commute, the vehicle cut off all power and went into "pre-safe mode" which is commonly known as "limp home mode." When this happens, the driver has no ability to accelerate and if the driver is unable to pull over in a safe area, puts them at extremely high risk of serious accident. This is a common problem with many Mercedes Benz vehicles that are equipped with esp (traction control). A simple google search of this issue will validate this as a widespread major design flaw in Mercedes Benz products. Please take the time to look into this extremely dangerous problem, as many other Mercedes owners have experience this in more dangerous circumstances (on the highway).

- Portage, MI, USA

problem #10

Nov 112014

CLA250

  • 4,000 miles
What is the problem-pre safe malfunction error when does it happen-while driving is it predictable-no is it safe-no why-the car suddenly loses acceleration, when the pre-safe error comes on. Scenario-driving a cla 250 at 60 mph on a motorway on a quiet road in front of a truck.... pre-safe malfunction kicks in the car slows down and loses accln. The truck driver cannot predict this behavior a this is not a normal pattern to slow down suddenly from 60mph on a quiet freeway. Very very dangerous.

- Clifton Park, NY, USA

problem #9

Nov 102015

CLA250

  • 19,000 miles
My car suddenly slowed and I lost power while driving on 95 at approximately 20-30 mph in slow heavy traffic to work this morning. I could hardly accelerate and only slowly... I had messages that said "pre-safe functions inoperative. See operator's manual", and the ESC light came on. Drivers behind me started passing me despite me already going slowly due to all the traffic--I had no where to pull over and crawled into the parking ramp at work. I could have been rear-ended this morning. I have no idea what will happen when I restart the car today. This needs to be taken care of by Mercedes--do a recall and fix this issue!

- Perry Hall, MD, USA

problem #8

Jan 212015

CLA250

  • 13,334 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes Benz cla 250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the esp and pre-safe function warning lights illuminated as the vehicle decelerated. The accelerator failed to respond. The contact had to maneuver to the side of the road and after approximately 10 minutes the vehicle restarted normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the front radar sensor was damaged and needed replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 13,334.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #7

Dec 312014

CLA250

  • 13,000 miles
Vehicle's transmission & throttle response is jerky & unpredictable. Rotors went bad at 5,000 miles, beginning to go bad again at 12,000. Numerous unknown interior rattles.windshield wiper completely flew off vehicle while driving in heavy rain - visibility instantly reduced to near-zero. On two occasions, the car displayed "pre-safe functions limited/esp inop" message followed by engine immediately losing power on freeway, which could have ended very badly. Not only is this vehicle of poor quality, it is becoming increasingly dangerous to drive. Seriously considering pursuing state lemon law.

- Brandon, FL, USA

problem #6

Oct 192014

CLA250

  • 14,900 miles
Driving on interstate at 70-75 mph engine lost power without warning and speed reduced to 30 mph with no response from gas pedal. A semi ran up behind me and swerved to the fire lane. This is the third incident in one month. The other two were at 45 mph. Each time I was able to pull over and stop the car. Once it is started it runs at full power, until it decides to stall again. I had the car towed to dealership and will not drive again. I could have easily been in a serious accident. I am in discussion with GM at dealership to work something out. I will be unable to sell this car later in my opinion based upon the commonality of the problem, yet the dealer acted like they had never heard of it. I should have googled it first and then reminded them of the issue. This is unacceptable.

- Shepherdsville, KY, USA

problem #5

Aug 262014

CLA250

  • 5,000 miles
I was driving on a main road when suddenly the car shuts off completely. I could not get it to start, nor put it on neutral gear, to at least push it away. A message in red pops up on the screen that says "service required, do not shift gears, visit dealer". I could not push the car at all, because the gear shifted automatically to parking and it won't move to neutral. I was stuck on the main road for 15 minutes. I was lucky not to get hit or run over by the incoming traffic. I caused a panic on the street because I was blocking it. Fortunately, a police car showed up, and the officer helped me by diverting the traffic away from me. I had the car checked two months prior to this incident at the dealer, and they told me that there is nothing wrong with the car, and that they have updated its software to the latest version. I had the car towed back to Mercedes-Benz now, and will wait the results.

- Corvallis, OR, USA

problem #4

May 112014

CLA250

  • 4,200 miles
Car completely shutoff tonight on the highway and luckily I was able to get pulled over without incident. I had numerous messages on the display, including "service required, do not shift gears, visit dealer" and "esp inoperable, see operator's manual". the car would not do anything once I pulled over, nothing happened when I turned the key, no noises, nothing. Mb roadside assistance came and tried to jump start and disconnect the battery to no avail. So, off on the tow truck it went.

- Severn, MD, USA

problem #3

Mar 182014

CLA250

  • 2,500 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz Cla250. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated that the pre-safe functions limited inoperative, the electronic stability control, the anti-lock braking system, and the electronic stability program warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 2,500. The VIN was not available.

- Woodside, NY, USA

problem #2

Feb 112014

CLA250 4-cyl

  • 5,354 miles
1st- on Feb 11th & 12th my 2014 cla which was purchased at the mb of pembroke pines had been towed to the mb of pompano, fl dealership because of the eps lights, "inoperative" warning messages that were coming up as well as the stalling and delayed acceleration, which I took photos of. It was towed to pompano form my job, my car was kept at the dealership for 4 days (as opposed to the few hrs I was told that it would take to fix the computer issues). Not only was my car in the shop for 3 days, but a part that had been ordered, which means something obviously wasn"T functioning properly so it had to be replaced. 2nd - I picked up my vehicle on sat Feb 15th from the pompano, after getting onto the I95 and driving 2 mins, the same warning signs came back up. I exited driving 15mph and trying to keep the vehicle stable. Mr. Mike rodriguez was instructed to test drive the vehicle, however, when he did so the warning signals were gone. Why" because a service guy restarted the vehicle and drove it into the service area. Being that the signal was no longer visible, the GM suggested that if there was ever a signal sent to the vehicle it would show up in some sort of reading they were able to do on the vehicle. When they returned, both the GM and Mr. Rodriguez informed us that the vehicle showed them there was no signal that was sent to the vehicle all day. I litterally just saw it not 30 mins ago. We left & about 2 mins from my home in boca raton, the signal was back with vengeance! at this point I took pictures. I pulled into my drive way, but this time I left the vehicle running. 3rd -on March 2nd at around 2:45pm, after about a week of having my vehicle back, I was driving when the same warning signs and acceleration problems were back. I left it running with all the signals up and it had to be towed back. This is a summary of the incidents.this has to stop! not safe!

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #1

Oct 272013

CLA250

  • 1,700 miles
On Sunday, October 27, and Tuesday, October 29, 2013, my vehicle listed above had warning lights come on that stated, "pre safe, functions limited, inoperative." In addition to the words, the esp and ABS lights illuminated. I took the vehicle to penske mbz in West covina, ca, on Wednesday, October 30. They repaired the vehicle by doing a software update. On Saturday, November 2, 2013, the codes returned and I took the vehicle back to where I bought it, encino, ca, mbz. I was told they could not replicate the codes and they found no problem. This is unacceptable! the vehicle is still at encino mbz as they are trying to replicate the problem. When this malfunction occurs, the vehicle loses power and has very limited acceleration. It has occurred twice on city streets and twice on the freeway, both in eco and sport mode. On the city streets I am able to just pull to the curb. On the freeway, it becomes a possible life threatening emergency. There is only very gradual acceleration, and at 65mph, limited acceleration is very dangerous. These four occurrences have taken place in less than a 10 day period and no long term repair has yet been accomplished!

- San Dimas, CA, USA