"The safest car of the year" recalled due to risk of fire and electric shock – photos, video

The latest car recall campaign, registered in the European warning system, concerns the Mercedes-Benz CLA.

These are the new generation C178 series cars in hybrid design, manufactured from November 17 to December 19, 2025 in Germany. There are 1682 of these vehicles worldwide.

The recall covers all models in the family, including the CLA 180 and CLA 200, as well as the CLA 220 and all-wheel drive versions of the CLA 200 4MATIC and CLA 220 4MATIC. All recalled vehicles are equipped with the four-cylinder M252 engine.

The cause of the problem lies in the wiring of the 48-volt electrical system, which recovers energy and delivers excess power to the gasoline engine via an electric motor.

According to the official explanation, the wiring is not connected according to specifications. This can lead to overheating and fire. At the same time, the contacts are not sufficiently protected, which can cause electric shock.

The list of maintenance activities includes checking and troubleshooting the connection.

The Mercedes-Benz CLA is a compact sporty sedan with several engine options (from around 150 to over 210 horsepower), an automatic transmission, modern Mild-Hybrid technology, and premium comfort. It is considered one of the best ever.

Mercedes-Benz CLA recognized the safest car according to EuroNCAP in 2025.

This model not only received five stars from Euro NCAP, but also showed the highest overall score among all the new products that have been tested in crash tests.

Passenger protection was rated at 94% and child protection at 89%. The electric car received 93% for pedestrian and cyclist safety and 85% for safety technology.

Euro NCAP experts also noted the CLA's active hood and smart braking system. As a result, the average score of the electric car was higher than that of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

In addition, the Mercedes-Benz CLA was recognized as the Car of the Year 2026 at the Brussels Motor Show in January. The model scored 320 points and confidently outperformed its competitors.

In September 2025 due to the risk of engine ignition another German automaker, BMW, recalled hundreds of thousands of cars worldwide. In Germany and the United States alone, the problem affected more than 331,000 vehicles.

In January 2026, it became known that BMW was recalling tens of thousands of X3 crossovers due to problems with the "smart" steering wheel.

• By the end of 2025 sales of Mercedes electric cars fell by 9%while BMW increased its volumes.