2020 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Reliability Report

Half of these reports are about recall repairs that could not be done. Owners say they got recall notices, but dealers had no parts, and the wait ran on far too long. Of the actual failures, the rear camera blacks out while reversing, which ties to the one crash-related complaint. The fire-related complaint says the car caught fire minutes after a remote start from the phone app. Another report describes a no-start, with the instrument panel shutting off and every warning light on. The dealer blamed a communication fault between transmission software and the main computer.

Sudden loss of drive at highway speed is the most serious pattern here. One report says a coolant warning came first. Then a string of errors declared the car undrivable at 55 mph, and it would not go into park, raising a roll-away risk. Another describes catastrophic engine failure that followed a snapped motor mount and a long dealer repair. A milder complaint is a rumbling from the driveshaft area when speeding up or slowing down around highway speeds.

Without warning, the check engine light comes on and the car drops into limp mode. In one report it could not go above 9 mph on a highway, so other traffic had to swerve around it. The other complaint describes leaking fuel injectors, with fuel seeping back into electrical connections, which causes circuit faults and a fire risk. That owner paid out of pocket to replace all four injectors before a dealer did more injector work.