2026 MERCEDES-BENZ Cle 300 4MATIC Coupe

SEVERE THROTTLE DELAY & UNPREDICTABLE ACCELERATION When applying pressure to the accelerator pedal at intersections or traffic lights, there is a substantial "dead zone" delay where the vehicle fails to respond or move forward. To prompt movement in normal traffic flow, I am forced to depress the accelerator pedal to the floor. Once the engine computer responds, the vehicle suddenly lunges forward in an abrupt, uncontrolled surge of power. I have to keep my foot ready over the brake “just in case”. This is not something that happens every time so it isn’t entirely predictable but it is safe to say at the very least 1in10 times when the conditions are as mentioned above. 2.Recent Near-Miss Incident: This "delay-then-lunge" defect recently almost resulted in a pedestrian collision at an intersection when the vehicle hesitated during a turn and suddenly lurched forward into the crosswalk. The unpredictable nature of this acceleration profile makes controlled low-speed maneuvering extremely difficult and unsafe. 3.I brought this safety concern to my authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership service department. The service advisor and technicians verified the issue and confirmed that this lag is a widespread, inherent design issue across the CLE 300 line—reproducible in other identical customer models and dealership loaner vehicles. According to the service team, the delay stems from factory programming coordinating the 48V mild-hybrid system, drive-by-wire throttle mapping, and Eco Start/Stop function in default Comfort mode. Because the vehicle automatically reverts to default Comfort mode every time the engine is started, drivers are continuously exposed to this safety risk unless manually overridden on every single drive. The dealership indicated there is currently no official factory software recall or bulletin available to fix the programming. 4. Requested Action:This report has been submitted to my attorney to reduce any liability I might incur in the future.