Class Action Alleges Mercedes-Benz Concealed GLA250 Transmission Control Unit Defect

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Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC faces a proposed class action that alleges the automaker knew of yet “failed to disclose and actively concealed” a transmission control unit defect plaguing the 2019 model year GLA250. 

The 23-page case says that the transmission control unit issue affecting the 2019 GLA250, a very limited number of which Mercedes voluntarily recalled in early 2021, exposes drivers and vehicle occupants to “extreme danger, bodily injury, or even death.” According to the lawsuit, the defect can cause a GLA250 to unexpectedly stall or suddenly shift into neutral during normal operation, creating a heightened collision risk. 

“A vehicle that unexpectedly shifts into neutral causes drivers to react with panic—which can cause an accident,” the suit states. “If the driver is somehow lucky enough to be able to safely pull over to the side of the road, the driver still faces heightened risks of danger from other vehicles.” 

The lawsuit alleges GLA250 drivers are unknowingly occupying roads and highways “in potentially ticking time bombs” while Mercedes “knowingly exposes its customers to the risk of grave physical harm and even death.” 

Moreover, the transmission control unit defect has decreased the intrinsic and resale value of Mercedes drivers’ vehicles, the suit claims. 

According to the lawsuit, Mercedes was made aware of a “potential deviation in production” at its transmission control unit supplier in July 2018. Per the case, the supplier informed Mercedes that it had found that certain control units failed end-of-line testing, and an investigation into the results found that a specific electrical component inside the control unit “may not have been glued into place per the specification.” 

Notwithstanding its awareness of the issue, Mercedes, the lawsuit alleges, did not warn consumers of the transmission control unit defect. When the automaker ultimately issued a recall, which focused on 2019 model year GLA250 vehicles manufactured between August 7 and August 9, 2018, it was “very limited in nature,” the case contends. 

The lawsuit says that despite recalling less than 25 affected vehicles, Mercedes was aware that the transmission control unit problem was not as limited as it let on. 

“Indeed, in Plaintiff’s case, she never received notice of the Recall, yet, on December 13, 2021, Plaintiff brought her 2019 Mercedes GLA250 to an authorized MBUSA repair facility because as she ‘was driving on the highway going 60-70 mph [the] vehicle went into neutral,’” the suit states. 

According to the complaint, Mercedes has “explicitly acknowledg[ed]” that it cannot rule out that the defect may be more widespread than initially believed as the glue at issue can deteriorate over time.

“At no point did MBUSA inform Plaintiff or those similarly situated of the severity of the Class Defect, nor did MBUSA ever recommend that they stop using Class Vehicles until a repair was performed,” the case says. 

The lawsuit looks to represent all persons in California who bought or leased a 2019 model year Mercedes-Benz GLA250. 

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