Buyer Research

2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $17,000–$23,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 11 Mercedes-Benz CLA years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The first year of the second-generation CLA, with the twin-screen MBUX cabin, and twenty-four complaints on file. Two thirds of them are one component: the reversing camera that lives behind the flip-out badge on the boot lid. Owners describe the badge sticking open for months, and the camera image appearing for two to five seconds before the screen drops back to the home menu. Several were waiting on a Mercedes campaign whose parts had not arrived. The rest is thin — three engine filings including a turbocharger on the way out — and thin means few people filed, not that this car is sorted. It is a much newer design than the CLA it replaced, and its record so far is mostly annoyance rather than breakdown.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 24 owner complaints for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA, and 2 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 33% of them are about one thing — back over prevention. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

2 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Reversing camera badge sticks open and the image drops out after secondsMedium

Sixteen of the twenty-four filings on this car, split across two NHTSA labels, are the same part. The camera sits behind a badge on the boot lid that motors open when reverse is selected; owners report it stuck permanently open for a month or more, and a camera picture that shows for two to five seconds and then vanishes, replaced by the home screen or a message saying the rearview camera is not working properly. Several owners were told a Mercedes campaign covered it but that parts were unavailable, in one case for many months. Select reverse five times during the viewing and watch how long the picture holds each time.

Repair cost (estimate): $500–$1,200 for the camera module and its badge mechanism if the VIN sits outside the campaign — $0 if it is inside

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under back over prevention (8), electrics and electronics (8).

Turbocharger and oil level rising above the full markMedium

Three engine filings on this year, and they point at the top end of the 2.0-litre turbo. One owner simply reports the turbo going out. A second had a car that jerked while driving, had the engine replaced by a dealer and got worse afterwards, with the engine lamp returning and the oil level reading above normal — oil rising rather than falling usually means fuel getting past the rings into the sump, which thins the oil that the turbo bearings depend on. A third describes stuttering in reverse and on surface streets after a highway run, then stalling. Check the dash oil readout before and after a long drive and listen for a whistle or rattle under boost.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$3,200 for a turbocharger fitted; $150–$300 for an oil and filter change if dilution is caught early

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (3).

Boot lid that will not close properly around the camera housingLow

One owner reports that although the rear camera works, the hatch will not close, making the boot awkward to use, and says they have seen the same condition on other cars in this family. It is a small fault and a cheap one, but it lets water into the boot over a winter and a wet boot floor is how the car's rear electronics die. Open and close the boot several times, watch the badge retract fully before the lid seats, and lift the boot floor to check the spare wheel well for standing water or rust.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$600 to adjust the lid and its latch or replace the badge mechanism

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under back over prevention (8).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Camera badge sitting open on the boot lid, or a camera image that drops out after seconds
✗Boot lid that needs a second push to latch
✗Whistle, rattle or a puff of blue smoke under hard acceleration
✗Oil reading above the full mark on the dash display
✗An open campaign on NHTSA's VIN lookup that the dealer says has no parts

Good Signs

✓Camera picture holding steady through five reverse selections
✓Camera or badge mechanism replaced under the Mercedes campaign, with the dealer date
✓Dry spare wheel well under the boot floor
✓Oil service history at Mercedes intervals with the level correct after a long drive