Owners have filed 222 complaints on the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, covering 2006–2023. The system named most often is Wheels (5 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2007, 2012; cleanest: 2010, 2022, 2023. 6 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 7.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 222 CLS-Class complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Wheels 5 Read
The car is equipped with Continental ProContact GX SSR 245/40R19 runflat tires in the front. Since January of this year I have replaced the front tires 5 times. Once for the left front and four times for the right front. One time it was due to a bubble in the sidewall. Other four were from the sidewall tearing…
This vehicle has 6,600 miles on it. All 4 wheels have been bent driving on normal roads at normal speed. There have been 2 sidewall tire bubbles as a result. And after having all wheels straightened one of the wheels has now cracked. This caused the tire to deflate and the vehicle can no longer be driven. Is speaking…
Description of Defect: I am reporting a chronic and dangerous structural failure of the factory-equipped alloy wheels on my 2023 Mercedes-Benz CLS 450 4MATIC. Since purchase, this vehicle has suffered 8 documented incidents of wheel failure, consisting of 5 rim cracks and 3 complete wheel replacements. The failures…
Tires 2 Read
I was scared for my life. I was driving on the freeway and went to change lanes then all of a sudden i lost control and slid sideways and luckily didn’t hit anything. These tires only have 3000 miles on them and are COMPLETELY BALD!! This is not safe and horrible. Falken needs to make this right
I have had 5 tire blow outs on my 2019 CLS 450 Mercedes. I purchased the car in August of 2023 and since that time I have experienced 5 tire blow outs on brand new tires within a 1-year time frame. When I got the tire blow outs all of them were while I was driving in local city traffic. This car uses run flat tires. I…
Back Over Prevention 1 Read
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS450. The contact stated while reversing, the rearview camera image was black. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V232000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the VIN was not…
Electrical System 1 Read
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS450. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted; however, the contact was able to continue driving to the destination…
Steering 1 Read
My vehicle steering wheel completely disengaged/malfunctioned when driving home. The steering wheel continuously rotates however there is no shifting of wheels. This is hazardous as I had to brake the car and call roadside assistance. It is currently at the Mercedes dealership and will be inspected tomorrow. The car…
Service Brakes 1 Read
After the Mercedes dealer replaced the corroded rear sub frame under the 20 year extended warranty, my brake line failed so I took it back & found out that the brake lines were corroded. I paid nothing for the subframe since it was under the warranty but I ended up paying $4114 to replace the corroded brake lines. The…
Air Bags 1 Read
No remedy to replace dangerous airbags. Im at higher risk due to living in a high humidity state of florida
CLS-Class years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Wheels | — | — | |
| 2022 | Wheels | — | — | |
| 2019 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2015 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2013 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 2012 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2010 | Unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2007 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 2 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 106 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.1 |
| Worst single series | 13 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 7.5 years |
A model average of 2.1 hides a worst series at 13. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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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
What are the worst years for the CLS-Class?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2007, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which CLS-Class years are the cleanest?
2010, 2022, 2023 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class have?
222 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2006–2023. Of those, 6 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.