Mercedes-Benz CLA 250

Owners filed 452 complaints across 14 model years of the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250. The 2014 drew the most (179).

Model years14
Complaints452
Recalls62
Fires5
Deaths1

Which Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 years should you avoid?

Going by 452 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 years to avoid are 2014.

  • 2014179 complaints, 2.9× a typical CLA 250 year, most often about the engine.

Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2017 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.

Too new to judge: 2025. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Every Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
2025Too new1
0——Electrical SystemRoutine
20242
0——Unknown or OtherRoutine
20236
0—2Unknown or OtherRoutine
20221
0——Unknown or OtherRoutine
20217
5—1Fuel/Propulsion SystemRoutine
202020
11—1Electrical SystemRoutine
201923
6—2EngineRoutine
201841
912Unknown or OtherRoutine
201728
10—2Electrical SystemRoutine
201667
815Unknown or OtherFatalities reported
201561
7—5Unknown or OtherRoutine
2014Avoid179
635EngineRoutine
20139
0——Air BagsRoutine
20127
0—1Air BagsRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.