2026 Mercedes-Benz Cle 300 4Matic Coupe

Defect. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2024-2026 AMG GT, C-Class, E-Class, SL, CLE, and GLC vehicles. The infotainment control unit may reset while the vehicle is in motion and cause the instrument panel display to go blank.

Risk. An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer and warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will update the infotainment control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 29, 2026. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2026050004. 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 May 8, 2026.

THROTTLE LAG With the 2026 Mercedes CLE 300, throttle lag is driven by a combination of software programming, transmission behavior, and turbocharger dynamics working simultaneously.The following situation is when it usually occurs:Transitioning from a slow roll up a ramp (like the parking ramp at my condo) or pulling away from an intersection or traffic light or stop sign, you can catch the powertrain in its most vulnerable window for lag.:At low speeds, the combination of specific mechanical and software factors makes that hesitation much more pronounced:or a dead stop, the 9-speed transmission is usually sitting in 1st or 2nd gear. When you need a sudden burst of power to climb a ramp or clear an intersection, (or the pedestrian I alluded to in our conversation), the transmission has to evaluate the demand, disengage the current gear, shift down or match revs, and re-engage. That mechanical shuffle takes a second, but it feels like an eternity. (It’s much more than a second because I will have to put the accelerator all the way down to the floor in order to get a response from the car.•:Torque Converter Slip and Creep Logic: Modern automatic transmissions use torque converter slip to keep low-speed crawling smooth and prevent the car from lurching. When you "goose" the throttle from a crawl, the system has to transition from slip-and-creep mode to locked-up acceleration, which dampens the immediate bite of power to the wheels.:Here are the primary causes behind the hesitat

SEVERE THROTTLE DELAY & UNPREDICTABLE ACCELERATION When applying pressure to the accelerator pedal at intersections or traffic lights, there is a substantial "dead zone" delay where the vehicle fails to respond or move forward. To prompt movement in normal traffic flow, I am forced to depress the accelerator pedal to the floor. Once the engine computer responds, the vehicle suddenly lunges forward in an abrupt, uncontrolled surge of power. I have to keep my foot ready over the brake “just in case”. This is not something that happens every time so it isn’t entirely predictable but it is safe to say at the very least 1in10 times when the conditions are as mentioned above. 2.Recent Near-Miss Incident: This "delay-then-lunge" defect recently almost resulted in a pedestrian collision at an intersection when the vehicle hesitated during a turn and suddenly lurched forward into the crosswalk. The unpredictable nature of this acceleration profile makes controlled low-speed maneuvering extremely difficult and unsafe. 3.I brought this safety concern to my authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership service department. The service advisor and technicians verified the issue and confirmed that this lag is a widespread, inherent design issue across the CLE 300 line—reproducible in other identical customer models and dealership loaner vehicles. According to the service team, the delay stems from factory programming coordinating the 48V mild-hybrid system, drive-by-wire throttle mapping, and Eco Sta