Volvo VNL vs Mercedes Benz GLA 250

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Volvo VNL	Mercedes Benz GLA 250
Complaints on file	176	438
Model years covered	1998–2023	2014–2025
Worst model year	2007	2015
Best model year	2006	2020
Crashes reported	17	27
Fires reported	17	4
Injuries reported	10	29
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Suspension	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	25%	13.7%

Volvo VNL by year

8 16 12 1 1 3 5 7 11 25 3 11 4 7 7 11 6 15 12 6 4 1

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 22 23

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Suspension 38 21.6%

Steering 27 15.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 16 9.1%

Engine & Cooling 15 8.5%

Electrical System 12 6.8%

Brakes 12 6.8%

Body & Structure 10 5.7%

Lights 9 5.1%

Mercedes Benz GLA 250 by year

1 137 71 42 69 46 16 28 5 15 2 6

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 79 18.0%

Other & Unspecified 62 14.2%

Electrical System 47 10.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 46 10.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 37 8.4%

Airbags 34 7.8%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 30 6.8%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 20 4.6%