GLA250 lazy downshifts, vibrations, random knocks, and generally rough ride
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
GLA250 2016
GLA250 lazy downshifts, vibrations, random knocks, and generally rough ride
Hello everyone,
I had a flashing check engine light on my 2016 GLA250, it was shaking like crazy in parking. Towed to the dealer and they changed spark plugs. It's a bad experience for me already because it happened just 3 months and 6k kilometers after I bought it 'certified pre-owned'. They obviously said it's a consumable part and made me pay for it.
Anyway, since then (2 months ago) the car is not the same. I have random symptoms of a 'rough' ride that include:
- Occasional lazy downshifts. For example, the 6th gear can remain engaged when slowing down to 50 kilometers (sometimes even less). When this happens the car is shaking like crazy.
- The lazy downshift makes accelerating on roundabouts and city streets hell. I am consistently lacking power and I find myself manually downshifting to be in what seems to be the correct gear to be in. Because if I don't, the car starts shaking and choking until I apply a much more aggressive throttle and force it to downshift.
- When driving slowly and applying a little throttle consistently, like in a parking lot situation, something in the car randomly 'kicks'. I can feel it on the throttle, leg rest, steering wheel, and pretty much everywhere (including passengers). I believe this happens also at higher speeds, because the ride feels uncomfortable lately, but because of the speed, I can't exactly point that out.
These issues are happening almost randomly, but on every 15-minute ride at least one of the symptoms is guaranteed to happen. I have taken it to the dealer and they said, and I quote, "we don't feel anything abnormal. There are no error codes, and even if we would feel something weird we couldn't do anything because without error codes we don't know what it is".
I am desperate and at the moment I simply hate my car. I had this GLA for 3 months without these issues and the dealer makes me feel stupid as if I am inventing this stuff. I also had an A200 for a couple of years before that, so I am pretty familiar with how the car should feel when everything is okay.
Did anyone ever experience similar symptoms? How can I even approach this problem when the dealer simply refuses to admit there is something wrong with the car?
Any help is highly appreciated!
Thanks!
I had a flashing check engine light on my 2016 GLA250, it was shaking like crazy in parking. Towed to the dealer and they changed spark plugs. It's a bad experience for me already because it happened just 3 months and 6k kilometers after I bought it 'certified pre-owned'. They obviously said it's a consumable part and made me pay for it.
Anyway, since then (2 months ago) the car is not the same. I have random symptoms of a 'rough' ride that include:
- Occasional lazy downshifts. For example, the 6th gear can remain engaged when slowing down to 50 kilometers (sometimes even less). When this happens the car is shaking like crazy.
- The lazy downshift makes accelerating on roundabouts and city streets hell. I am consistently lacking power and I find myself manually downshifting to be in what seems to be the correct gear to be in. Because if I don't, the car starts shaking and choking until I apply a much more aggressive throttle and force it to downshift.
- When driving slowly and applying a little throttle consistently, like in a parking lot situation, something in the car randomly 'kicks'. I can feel it on the throttle, leg rest, steering wheel, and pretty much everywhere (including passengers). I believe this happens also at higher speeds, because the ride feels uncomfortable lately, but because of the speed, I can't exactly point that out.
These issues are happening almost randomly, but on every 15-minute ride at least one of the symptoms is guaranteed to happen. I have taken it to the dealer and they said, and I quote, "we don't feel anything abnormal. There are no error codes, and even if we would feel something weird we couldn't do anything because without error codes we don't know what it is".
I am desperate and at the moment I simply hate my car. I had this GLA for 3 months without these issues and the dealer makes me feel stupid as if I am inventing this stuff. I also had an A200 for a couple of years before that, so I am pretty familiar with how the car should feel when everything is okay.
Did anyone ever experience similar symptoms? How can I even approach this problem when the dealer simply refuses to admit there is something wrong with the car?
Any help is highly appreciated!
Thanks!
Last edited by EvgenyR; Dec 22, 2020 at 12:50 PM.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 64
Likes: 10
From: NB, Canada
C300 avantgarde edition 2021
Sorry to hear that. I bought a brand new GLB250 with less than 10 months with it and these are the issues:
- Spoiler (needs replacement, dealer recall, replacement pending)
- Rear lamp (water got in, dealer replaced under warranty 2nd month)
- Windshield (has a gap, whistle noise above 130km/h, replacement pending for free)
- AC (in summer it doesn't cool properly, dealer suggested to bring the car in on a hot day to test)
- Speedometer (reads 3 km slow on speeds above 20km/h, tested via gps)
- Headlights (Both headlamps fogged up already, dealer said its normal??? I mean it's a new car wtf)
- Rattle sound from rear (Can be due to the defective spoiler or something isn't tight in the back)
Hello everyone,
I had a flashing check engine light on my 2016 GLA250, it was shaking like crazy in parking. Towed to the dealer and they changed spark plugs. It's a bad experience for me already because it happened just 3 months and 6k kilometers after I bought it 'certified pre-owned'. They obviously said it's a consumable part and made me pay for it.
Anyway, since then (2 months ago) the car is not the same. I have random symptoms of a 'rough' ride that include:
- Occasional lazy downshifts. For example, the 6th gear can remain engaged when slowing down to 50 kilometers (sometimes even less). When this happens the car is shaking like crazy.
- The lazy downshift makes accelerating on roundabouts and city streets hell. I am consistently lacking power and I find myself manually downshifting to be in what seems to be the correct gear to be in. Because if I don't, the car starts shaking and choking until I apply a much more aggressive throttle and force it to downshift.
- When driving slowly and applying a little throttle consistently, like in a parking lot situation, something in the car randomly 'kicks'. I can feel it on the throttle, leg rest, steering wheel, and pretty much everywhere (including passengers). I believe this happens also at higher speeds, because the ride feels uncomfortable lately, but because of the speed, I can't exactly point that out.
These issues are happening almost randomly, but on every 15-minute ride at least one of the symptoms is guaranteed to happen. I have taken it to the dealer and they said, and I quote, "we don't feel anything abnormal. There are no error codes, and even if we would feel something weird we couldn't do anything because without error codes we don't know what it is".
I am desperate and at the moment I simply hate my car. I had this GLA for 3 months without these issues and the dealer makes me feel stupid as if I am inventing this stuff. I also had an A200 for a couple of years before that, so I am pretty familiar with how the car should feel when everything is okay.
Did anyone ever experience similar symptoms? How can I even approach this problem when the dealer simply refuses to admit there is something wrong with the car?
Any help is highly appreciated!
Thanks!
I had a flashing check engine light on my 2016 GLA250, it was shaking like crazy in parking. Towed to the dealer and they changed spark plugs. It's a bad experience for me already because it happened just 3 months and 6k kilometers after I bought it 'certified pre-owned'. They obviously said it's a consumable part and made me pay for it.
Anyway, since then (2 months ago) the car is not the same. I have random symptoms of a 'rough' ride that include:
- Occasional lazy downshifts. For example, the 6th gear can remain engaged when slowing down to 50 kilometers (sometimes even less). When this happens the car is shaking like crazy.
- The lazy downshift makes accelerating on roundabouts and city streets hell. I am consistently lacking power and I find myself manually downshifting to be in what seems to be the correct gear to be in. Because if I don't, the car starts shaking and choking until I apply a much more aggressive throttle and force it to downshift.
- When driving slowly and applying a little throttle consistently, like in a parking lot situation, something in the car randomly 'kicks'. I can feel it on the throttle, leg rest, steering wheel, and pretty much everywhere (including passengers). I believe this happens also at higher speeds, because the ride feels uncomfortable lately, but because of the speed, I can't exactly point that out.
These issues are happening almost randomly, but on every 15-minute ride at least one of the symptoms is guaranteed to happen. I have taken it to the dealer and they said, and I quote, "we don't feel anything abnormal. There are no error codes, and even if we would feel something weird we couldn't do anything because without error codes we don't know what it is".
I am desperate and at the moment I simply hate my car. I had this GLA for 3 months without these issues and the dealer makes me feel stupid as if I am inventing this stuff. I also had an A200 for a couple of years before that, so I am pretty familiar with how the car should feel when everything is okay.
Did anyone ever experience similar symptoms? How can I even approach this problem when the dealer simply refuses to admit there is something wrong with the car?
Any help is highly appreciated!
Thanks!
They must do test drive when the client describes a problem like this
Complain at MB
https://cac.mercedes-benz.com/our-bu...tomer-service/
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,503
Likes: 1,510
From: Orbiting the planet
This place is a joke.
I'm sorry to tell you, but you've purchased one of the worst cars MB has ever built. The GLA is just awful, it makes the CLA look like a decent car (which it isn't). Unfortunately the dealer is telling you the truth, they don't feel anything abnormal because what you are experiencing is normal for this model. It's a terrible car often referred to as a "4 door SMART car."
Last edited by E55Greasemonkey; Jan 4, 2021 at 05:48 PM.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Upstate New York
GLA250 4MATIC
I had similar issues. I also had a 2016, shifting problems. I bought brand new, on the way home from dealer, car lost power. Brought back to dealer and they changed out the spark plugs. Power was fine after that, but shifting problems remained. I only kept the car for 2 years, traded for a 2018 GLA, and now at 54K miles and absolutely no problems. The shifting problems are a thing of the past. Get rid of yours!
