AutoUtility currently tracks 49 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 10 complaints (20.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 49 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (10 reports • 20.4% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (10), Fuel & Propulsion System (6)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #22V365000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
- Campaign #21V058000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Engine & Cooling
Fuel & Propulsion System
Powertrain & Transmission
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Sunroof glass exploded without warning while driving at highway speed. Glass shards poured throughout the vehicle including on the driver, potentially putting the vehicle and other vehicles in danger."
"The instrument cluster would fail intermittently, the speedometer would be my accurate speed, and then suddenly 0. Same for RPMs, gas, etc. Then after a period of time they would work again. Some times is was just oscillating back and forth between the failure modes. My blinkers would be on, but..."
"I am filing a complaint regarding my 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250. My vehicle recently triggered a check engine light and was diagnosed by an independent mechanic with code P052E, related to the positive crankcase ventilation regulator valve / crankcase ventilation system. My mechanic advised that..."
"The vehicle experienced a sudden, total communication network crash on [XXX] the vehicle simultaneously triggered cascading critical safety system faults including “ inoperable” messages for the SOS system, Supplemental Restraint System ( SRS) and antilock brake system(ABS) along with check engine..."
"Why is the Crankcase Ventilation System P052E Code (PCV) covered in most Mercedes models, but not the GLA? This is an expensive repair that seems to cover other cars but penalizes GLA owners just to have a safe car to drive like the other models. I strongly believe GLA should be on the recall list..."
Complaint History for Mercedes-Benz GLA
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 101 | 4 | 5 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 51 | 1 | 4 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 33 | 0 | 9 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA Current Page | 49 | 3 | 12 | Current |
| 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 29 | 2 | 11 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 9 | 0 | 5 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 0 | 0 | 9 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 4 | 0 | 2 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 8 | 1 | 1 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 0 | 0 | 2 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 3 | 1 | 1 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLA | 0 | 0 | 1 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 27 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE,WHEELS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TIRES,WHEELS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.