MCLAREN

McLaren Problems

15 owner complaints across 6 McLaren models. Below — what fails first, how often it ends in a crash, and which models draw the most reports.

NHTSA owner complaints · 15 reports · 6 models · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer

McLaren owners have filed 15 complaints with NHTSA across 6 models. On average the car was 4.80 years old when the problem happened, and 33.3% of reports fall inside the first three years — while the factory warranty was still running.

What breaks on McLaren

The systems McLaren owners report most, and how often each failure ended in a crash.

FIG.01·McLaren — what breaks
SystemComplaintsShare of McLarenEnded in a crash
Exterior Lighting426.7%0%
Visibility/wiper213.3%0%
Structure16.7%0%
Engine16.7%0%
Electrical System,engine,fuel/propulsion System16.7%0%
Air Bags16.7%0%
Unknown Or Other16.7%0%
Suspension16.7%0%
ROWS 8·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

When McLaren problems show up

FIG.02·McLaren — when problems appear
MeasureValueWhat it means
Average age at failure4.80 yearsHow old the car was when the problem happened
Reported inside 3 years33.3%Share of complaints filed while the factory warranty was likely still running
Complaints describing a crash0Of 15 total
Complaints describing a fire2Of 15 total
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

A low average age does not automatically mean a fragile car: a brand with a young fleet on the road will always skew early. Read it next to the share reported inside three years.

Which McLaren models draw the most complaints

Volume follows sales, so a bestseller will always top this list. The columns worth reading are age at failure and how many reports ended in a crash.

FIG.03·McLaren models by owner complaints
ModelComplaintsShare of McLarenAvg age at failureCrashes
MP4-12C640%8.2 yrs
600LT213.3%0.0 yrs
650S213.3%4.0 yrs
720S213.3%4.0 yrs
ARTURA213.3%0.5 yrs
570S16.7%6.0 yrs
ROWS 6·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

McLaren complaints by model year

A bad generation shows up here as a block of years, not as a single spike. Recent years look quiet simply because those cars are young and still under warranty.

FIG.04·McLaren complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsCrashesFires
20251
20231
202022
20192
20181
20152
20141
20132
20123
ROWS 9·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

What McLaren owners report

Grouped by the system owners named. Open any row for the full reports, in their own words — one per model so the same fault does not repeat.

Exterior Lighting 27% 4 Read
2012 McLaren MP4-12C

The main headlights on the McLaren MP4-12C are susceptible to condensation, and mold that cannot be cleared as it is internal. This is caused by a faulty seal, or glue, holding the top clear glass, to the plastic molding which allows condensation to happen, causing the mold. Almost all McLaren MP4-12C's have the moldy headlights, reducing visibility and creating a hazard for the driver, as well as incoming traffic, as the light pattern is no longer uniform making it hard to see at night. The only solution is to replace the headlights with new ones costing more than $4,000

2015 McLaren 650S

The contact owns a 2015 mclaren 650s. The contact stated that over time the front passenger's and driver's headlight lenses had developed very small spider web cracks. The contact indicated that the cracks were located on the interior section of the lenses and the visibility had progressively diminished over time due to the failure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer walnut creek mclaren located at 1425 parkside dr, walnut creek, ca 94596 and the manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 20.*dt*jb*dt

Visibility/wiper 13% 2 Read
2014 McLaren MP4-12C

The contact owns a 2014 McLaren MP4-12C. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the windshield wiper activated, the front windshield wiper failed to properly clean water or debris from the windshield as intended. No warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired because the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000

Structure 7% 1 Read
2019 McLaren 570S

Both door hinges that support the dihedral doors have numerous fractures. If one of the hinges is to fully fail, the door would fall on the person, critically injuring or killing them. The manufacturer denied replacing the door hinges with the revised versions that are not prone to cracking under goodwill

Engine 7% 1 Read
2020 McLaren 600LT · fire

The contact owned a 2020 mclaren 600lt. The contact stated that while the vehicle was off and parked in his driveway, the vehicle self ignited and caught fire without warning. The authorities were called to the scene of the fire and the fire was extinguished. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. A fire report was taken as a result of failure. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and they have offered no assistance. The vehicle was deemed destroyed. The failure mileage was 1,000

Electrical System,engine,fuel/propulsion System 7% 1

Detailed owner reports aren't available for this category.

Air Bags 7% 1 Read
2015 McLaren 650S

I have received two recall letters in the past ten months telling me that the passenger airbag in my car may explode with 'shards of shrapnel injuring or killing the passenger'.when I ask my dealer to fix this recall I am told that they do not have the parts

Unknown Or Other 7% 1 Read
2018 McLaren 720S

The baffle in the turbo inlet came loose casing the baffle to launch into the turbo chopping it up and shooting it into the engine. This is a common occurrence known by the dealer and manufacturer and could lead to engine failure and fire if the parts reach and melt into the catalytic converter

Suspension 7% 1 Read
2019 McLaren 720S

McLaren automotive has a known suspension accumulator problem on earlier year 720s models. This is a major safety concern as the suspension is a huge safety component in all vehicles. They have a revised updated part to fix this, but it has not yet issued a recall to have the manufacture responsible for fixing this , not the consumer. This should have been a recall for long time now but since they are low productions that's why it probably hasn't been issued yet since the updated part is newly released, but they do have a fix to this, but it comes at the cost of the consumer as of now until a recall is issued. Since this is a safety concern I think the nhtsa should be aware of this issue and do something about this safety concern and have the manufacture issue the recall as soon as possible. Here is the service bulletin that should be a recall [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA. Percentages are shares of all 15 McLaren complaints.

McLaren against the rest

FIG.05·McLaren versus other brands
MeasureWhere McLaren sitsOut of
By complaint volume#029 brands with 3,000+ complaints
By age at failure (later is better)#029 brands
Complaints ending in a crash0%across all 15 reports
ROWS 3·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

Ranking by volume says more about how many cars a brand sells than about how they hold up. Age at failure is the fairer of the two.

McLaren problems by model

6 McLaren models have owner complaints on file. Pick one for its worst years, failing systems and what owners actually wrote.

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How we count

Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.

A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.

Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.

Frequently asked questions

How reliable is McLaren?

Owners have filed 15 complaints across 6 McLaren models. On its own that number reflects how many McLaren cars are on the road — compare the average age at failure (4.80 years) instead.

What breaks most often on a McLaren?

The most reported system is Exterior Lighting with 4 complaints.

Do McLaren problems show up under warranty?

33.3% of McLaren complaints describe something that happened in the first three years, while the factory warranty was likely still running.

Which McLaren model has the most complaints?

See the model list above — each card shows its complaint count, and the model page breaks it down by year and by system.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.