CSR
Check a VIN

Look up

About

Mercedes-Benz · NHTSA safety record

2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 8 safety complaints about the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the latches, locks and linkages.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 3 complaints, 38% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers August 2023 to August 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

8 complaints on file

8

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 3 · 38%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 25%
SEAT BELTS 2 · 25%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 25%
AIR BAGS 1 · 13%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 13%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 13%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 13%
SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 13%
SUSPENSION 1 · 13%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 8.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 5.

8 6 4 2
23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2023 to 2026 , the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LOCK

26V481000 · July 24, 2026

The defect
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2020-2021 CLA, 2019-2022 A-Class, 2022-2023 C-Class, 2024 CLE, 2020-2026 GLA/GLB, and 2023-2024 GLC vehicles. Please refer to MBUSA's recall report for specific model information. The micro-switch in the driver's door lock may corrode and fail to detect an open door, preventing the electronic parking brake or "Auto-Park" feature from engaging automatically. This may result in a vehicle rollaway.
The risk
A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash or injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the driver's door lock, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 18, 2026. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning July 31, 2026.

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC · up to 310,667 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

Incident on [XXX] 1450 GLA 250 approx 6 months old ? Est car was doing 40 mph impacted back of car my GLA 250 (other car was 1955 chevy - driver stated to police and on report he had a brake failure - no brakes ) as she was at the stop light it pushed her car about 4-5 feet almost hitting car in front of her which was also stopped at light - Police and ambulance was on site since it was 3 min from my house and car still on which dashboard was lighted with the airbag failures •The GLA 250 car was stopped at stop light and not moving when it was impacted from rear •The GLA 250 car airbags did not deploy it also showed error messages for right/left rear and front left airbag to call service

NHTSA complaint 11612953, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I request that NHTSA investigate whether 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 vehicles and other H247 vehicles are susceptible to foreign-material intrusion into the HVAC blower system and whether the existing intake grille/sealing design adequately prevents debris from reaching and damaging the blower motor. I further request that NHTSA determine whether Mercedes-Benz has received additional warranty claims, dealer repair records, blower-motor replacements, customer complaints, or other reports involving foreign material entering the blower assembly, abnormal blower noise, blower imbalance, or blower-motor failure.

NHTSA complaint 11757781. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I am reporting a severe drivability and engine failure issue with my vehicle. The vehicle has been exclusively maintained by authorized Mercedes-Benz service centers. Immediately following a scheduled 60,000-mile (Schedule B/C) maintenance, the Check Engine Light began cycling on and off. The vehicle simultaneously developed severe drivability symptoms: the engine ran extremely rough, and acceleration became erratic and "jumpy." This unpredictable power delivery and hesitation poses a significant safety hazard when accelerating or merging in traffic. I immediately returned the vehicle to the service center to report the issue. The dealership has now retained my vehicle for over 20 days and

NHTSA complaint 11750504, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On 2 separate occasions (August 2025 & February 2026), the car has had a "transmission malfunction" light come on while driving on the highway around 65-70 mph. The light comes on and immediately loses ability to accelerate. Both times the car was towed to Greensboro Mercedes. The first time they did not do anything because they didn't know what to do and it had "reset" itself. The second time they discovered that it needed a software update. Mercedes does NOT have the update that is needed. We tried going through the lemon law process but Mercedes Corporate came back with an answer of it hasn't happened enough times and a remedy has not been attempted enough times. They have NOT attempted

NHTSA complaint 11746252, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
unkown available for inspection cylinder misfiring ,stalling loss of power while driving, jerking during accelerations rough unstable idle intense vehicle vibrations yes took in for service A and D no other lights appeared beside service A and D

NHTSA complaint 11718290. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
In reference to Safety Recall N252494000 L87 Engine Loss of Propulsion... vehicle passed the recall test. But 2500 miles after the test the engine failed. Per dealership, awaiting new engine.

NHTSA complaint 11710522. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
[XXX] we were driving to San Francisco. Traffic was very light because of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. We were about 1000 feet from the toll plaza, driving at 50-55 MPH. There was a car behind us about six car lengths back. There were no cars in front of us between us and the Toll Plaza. Nothing at all. There were no cars in lanes to our left nor right in our vicinity. Suddenly our car made a loud GROWLING noise and the car jammed on the brakes! My wife screamed but we did not come to a complete stop. A bright Red Triangle appeared in the center of the instrument panel. Then it stopped and we drove on because there was the car behind us approaching quickly. I believe he swerved and

NHTSA complaint 11703541, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2021 17 9 —
2020 9 5 —
2019 28 11 —
2018 47 12 —
2017 29 9 —
2016 48 4 —
2015 94 5 —

Other 2023 Mercedes-Benz models

GLC 300 55 EQB 300 4Matic 52 EQB 250+ 28 EQS450 27 C 300 22 E 450 17 Sprinter 2500 17 Sprinter 3500 17

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Mercedes-Benz on this site — 224 vehicles, 576 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst