AutoUtility currently tracks 8 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA. Driver Assistance & Safety Tech issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 3 complaints (37.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries. The 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA belongs to the 2nd Generation (C118) platform.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
3 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
1 owner complaint submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
1 owner complaint submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
1 owner complaint submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"My 2021 CLA 250 that I reached purchased as a used vehicle in the last three months and now is saying SOS unresponsive so in my vehicle where to get a motor vehicle accident, it will not be alerting any emergency personnel authorities and I think it’s really sad the whole fact that Mercedes-Benz..."
"The sunroof exploded on my CLA without external interference. The glass shattered everywhere causing a loud explosion and Major safety issue."
"the seal around my driver side rear light is not sealed correctly there is water precipitation in my lamp"
"On Friday, September 27, around 12 pm, while driving on i880S near Union City, California, something horrific happened. The sunroof of my 2021 Mercedes CLA 250, with just 49,000 miles, suddenly exploded without any warning. The sound was so loud and violent, it felt like a gunshot. I was..."
"Our car has lost power to accelerate on 4 occasions on the highway. The first instance was in October of 2023, the second instance was in November of 2024 (and was brought immediately to the dealership and they said the fix wasn't available yet), the third instance was in March of 2024 and the most..."
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 158 | 9 | 7 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 66 | 5 | 9 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 27 | 2 | 10 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 46 | 2 | 10 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 51 | 4 | 6 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 24 | 1 | 13 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA Current Page | 8 | 1 | 6 | Current |
| 2022 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 4 | 1 | 0 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 6 | 2 | 1 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 1 | 0 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 6 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA is Driver Assistance & Safety Tech, appearing in 3 records (37.5% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Exterior Lighting (1) and Powertrain & Transmission (1).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 8 consumer defect complaints and 6 safety recall campaigns for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA, 1 filing cites a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 1 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.