2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class
The 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid coupe with 6 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the CLE300 4matic (Coupe), is EPA-rated at 27 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of A. Owners have filed 3 complaints, most often about the electrical system. Manufacturer pricing runs from $74,300 to $82,600 across 2 trims.

| Trim | Powertrain | Drive | MSRP | HP | Torque | MPG comb | Cargo (2nd row) | Wheels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMG CLE 53 Coupe | Hybrid | AWD | $74,300 | 443 hp | 413 lb-ft | 23 mpg | 9.8 cu-ft | 19 in |
| AMG CLE 53 Cabriolet | Hybrid | AWD | $82,600 | 443 hp | 413 lb-ft | 22 mpg | 9.6 cu-ft | 19 in |
MSRP excludes destination. Open a trim for the complete spec sheet and standard/optional equipment. Have the car in front of you? Decode its VIN to see which of these trims it is and what it was priced at.
Specs & fuel economy
Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE300 4matic (Coupe) | Hybrid | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo + 48V Li-Ion | 24 | 33 | 27 | $3,050 |
| CLE300 4matic (Convertible) | Hybrid | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo + 48V Li-Ion | 23 | 32 | 26 | $3,150 |
| CLE450 4matic (Convertible) | Hybrid | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo + 48V Li-Ion | 23 | 32 | 26 | $3,150 |
| CLE450 4matic (Coupe) | Hybrid | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo + 48V Li-Ion | 23 | 33 | 26 | $3,150 |
| AMG CLE53 4matic Plus (coupe) | Hybrid | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo + 48V Li-Ion | 20 | 27 | 23 | $3,550 |
| AMG CLE53 4matic Plus (convertible) | Hybrid | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo + 48V Li-Ion | 19 | 26 | 22 | $3,750 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 48157, 48156, 48158, 48159, 48487, 48486.
Emissions & certification
Source: EPA emission certificates| Configuration | Smog rating | Emission standard | Where it can be sold new | SmartWay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE300 4matic (Coupe) | 7 / 10 | California LEV-III SULEV20 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 20 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | — |
| CLE300 4matic (Convertible) | 7 / 10 | Federal Tier 3 Bin 20 / California LEV-III SULEV20 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | — |
| AMG CLE53 4matic Plus (coupe), CLE450 4matic (Convertible), CLE450 4matic (Coupe) | 6 / 10 | California LEV-III SULEV30 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | — |
| AMG CLE53 4matic Plus (convertible) | 6 / 10 | Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 / California LEV-III SULEV30 | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | — |
Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.
The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.
The cheapest ownership win
Insurers price the 2025 CLE-Class very differently, and the gap between the best and worst quote on the same car and driver is usually larger than any option you are weighing on this page.
How to compare cover →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Recalls (1)
Source: NHTSA recall databaseThese are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.
Whether any of this applies to one specific CLE-Class
A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2025 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Mercedes-Benz publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.
Hear about a recall before the letter does
The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.
Parts & accessories for the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class
Search by fitment on eBay Motors — OEM take-offs, aftermarket, and the trim pieces dealers no longer stock. The listing and the price are the seller's.
Find parts for this CLE-Class →Owner complaints
Source: NHTSA complaint database0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 0 injuries · 0 deaths reported
3.2 per 10,000 built · Mercedes-Benz reported 9,241 CLE-Class built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)
Filed per year: 2026: 3
Most-cited components
In owners' own words
Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.
While driving, the driver screen went black and became inoperable. This screen provides the speedometer, tachometer, fuel levels and other critical driving information. It was unsafe because I could not identify the speed at which I was driving - but was able to partially remedy the issue by using the heads up display which depicts the…
The contact owns a 2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the instrument panel became inoperable. The contact stated that the failure occurred after an over-the-air software update was completed for the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
Source: NHTSA NCAPNHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.
Service bulletins & campaigns
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsMost often about: Electrical System, Structure, Visibility/Wiper, Steering, Suspension.
- LI46.10-P-080896 Service bulletin2026-09-26 · Steering
- Complaint Slight creaking noises when steering. Cause Noises may come from one or more sleeves of the horn contact plate. Remedy Remove the horn contact plate and check the sleeves for noise; see attached video. If necessary, apply lubricant to the sleeves.
- LI42.10-P-078779 Service bulletin2026-09-22 · Service Brakes
- Complaint Repeat workshop visit for vehicle vibration while braking from 60MPH. NOTE: Although the symptom is similar to a tire or wheel vibration, it is usually readily noticeable that it is distinctly different if it happens at all times or only while braking. Cause Although the cause of the vibration is most likely due to excessive lateral runout on the rotor or hub/wheel bearing, the system as
- LI82.62-P-078631 Service bulletin2026-09-14 · Structure — Body
- Complaint Clanking noise from the area of the speakers in the doors. Cause Under analysis. Remedy To narrow down the cause, first of all remove the door trim. • If the noise continues to occur even with the door trim removed, then continue the diagnosis working towards the speaker and if necessary, create a TIPS case with an informative video as an attachment. Note: Please refer to this document i
- LI35.31-P-080353 Service bulletin2026-09-14 · Power Train
- Complaint Whining / humming noises (described as foghorn‑like) from the drivetrain in the rear axle area during cornering. (figure 1) On the above‑mentioned vehicles with a mileage up to 15,000 km (about 9,300 mi), noises can occur from the rear axle differential. Cause Drivetrain resonance caused by the gear mesh of the ring and pinion in the rear axle differential in combination with installed d
- LI54.71-P-079104 Service bulletin2026-09-11 · Electrical System
- Complaint Traffic sign symbol for "Traffic Sign Assist" is blinking in instrument cluster without obvious cause usually with one of the following scenarios: • Flashing without a speed limit ("‑ ‑"). • Flashing when current vehicle speed is under speed limit. • Flashing between US speed limit symbol and European speed limit symbol. NOTE: • Verify that the concern falls under one of the attachment v
- LI72.40-P-080776 Service bulletin2026-09-10 · Structure — Body
- Complaint When using the one‑touch (automatic) window closing function on one or both front door windows, the customer may report one of the following concerns: • The window begins closing, then reverses direction before reaching the fully closed position. • The window loses normalization and can only be closed by pulling and holding the window switch until the window reaches the fully closed posi
- LI82.60-P-079747 Service bulletin2026-09-04 · Electrical System
- Complaint The Apple Music app is no longer available in the head unit apps menu after updating the software of the (A26/17 ‑ MBUX multimedia system + instrument cluster (head unit)) to E333.8 / A236 904 19 00. Cause Head unit software (CIVIC206) Remedy NOTE: Do not replace any component parts The new Apple Music app version is now available. The app should automatically be downloaded and available
- LI42.10-P-063502 Service bulletin2026-09-01 · Service Brakes
- Complaint Noises/ squealing from the service brake in various driving situations and ambient conditions. Cause Frictional vibrations Remedy The intent of this document is to reduce noise from high performance AMG brakes. AMG brakes are designed for performance under high load and in certain scenarios, can emit noise. Some scenarios are normal and some are induced by driving style like those listed
A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.
At the New York inspection station
Source: New York State DMVIn New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class failed the safety inspection on 0.58% of first inspections — higher than the 0.36% for every 2025 model-year vehicle inspected.
failed the safety inspection
513 initial inspections of 504 vehicles.
| Measure | The 2025 CLE-Class | Every 2025 vehicle | Behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the safety inspection | 0.58% | 0.36% | 513 |
| Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit | 0.39% | 0.16% | 513 |
| Miles driven a year | 4,766 | 8,354 | odometer at inspection |
| Average odometer | 7,092 | 12,194 | odometer at inspection |
New York does not emissions-test model years this new, so the safety inspection is the record here. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2025 vehicle” is every 2025 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).
Compare the 2025 CLE-Class with
Any vehicle, your weights →| Head-to-head | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Ford Mustang · Coupe · grade D | CLE-Class +4.9 |
CLE-Class by model year
all years, side by side →Common questions about the 2025 CLE-Class
Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kitsHow much does the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class cost?
Manufacturer pricing runs from $74,300 for the AMG CLE 53 Coupe AWD to $82,600 for the AMG CLE 53 Cabriolet AWD, across 2 trims. Those are MSRPs from the manufacturer's own press material; they exclude destination, options, taxes and whatever the dealer adds. Every trim and price is listed above.
Does the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class have any recalls?
NHTSA has posted 1 recall campaign for the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class. The most serious on file is 26V281000, covering Electrical System. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.
How safe is the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class?
NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it A (92/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.
What is the fuel economy of the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class?
Across the 6 EPA-rated configurations of the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class, the best EPA combined figure is 27 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.
What do owners complain about on the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class?
Owners have filed 3 complaints with NHTSA about the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class, most often about electrical system, unspecified, lane departure. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.
How clean is the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class?
The EPA smog rating for the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class runs 6 to 7 out of 10 across its configurations. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III SULEV20, California LEV-III SULEV30, Federal Tier 3 Bin 20, Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 — which the table above lists per configuration.
Are there service bulletins for the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class?
The manufacturer has filed 454 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class, most often covering electrical system, structure, visibility/wiper. The most recent is dated 2026-09-26. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.
How does the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class do at state inspection?
In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class failed the safety inspection on 0.58% of first inspections — higher than the 0.36% for every 2025 model-year vehicle inspected. The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.
Which 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class trim is the best value?
$8,300 separates the cheapest of the 2 trims from the most expensive, so the answer depends on which of the differences you would actually use. Every trim has its own page here with the manufacturer's full specification and equipment list, plus a short summary of exactly what it adds over the base trim — worth reading before a dealer frames the walk-up for you.
Is the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class better than the 2025 Ford Mustang?
The Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class edges it, 89 to 84.1, on safety, performance, tech & comfort. The Ford Mustang is ahead on space & cargo and fuel & range. Raise the space & cargo weight from 2 to 4.7 and it flips. We publish a full side-by-side of the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class against the 2025 Ford Mustang — specifications by family, equipment feature by feature, safety record and ownership costs. You can re-weight what matters to you and the verdict recalculates.
What we hold, and what an empty row means
Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.
| Data | Held | Source | What it covers — or what empty means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel economy & configurations | 6 configurations | EPA certification records | Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures. |
| Emission certificates | 6 configurations | EPA emission certificates | Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new. |
| Recalls | 1 | NHTSA recall campaigns | A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags. |
| Owner complaints | 3 | NHTSA complaint database | Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold. |
| Crash ratings | none | NHTSA NCAP | NHTSA has not tested this model year. Cars are selected for testing, so untested is not unsafe. |
| Service bulletins | 454 | NHTSA manufacturer communications | Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall. |
| Investigations | none | NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation | No defect investigation has been opened. |
| Driver-assist crash reports | none | NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01 | No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like. |
| Specifications filed with NHTSA | none | NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns | We had no VIN pattern to decode for this model year, or the manufacturer filed nothing usable. |
| Trims, pricing & equipment | 2 trims | Manufacturer press kit | Transcribed from the manufacturer's own press material, every value carrying the document it came from. |
Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly. Trim-level specifications and pricing are transcribed from the manufacturer's official press kit; every value carries its source in the data file.