Mercedes-Benz GLC Recalls Over Insufficient C-Pillar Impact Protection

Stuttgart-based Mercedes identified a big issue concerning the US-market GLC sport utility vehicle. No fewer than 92,851 examples of the breed have been hit with a safety recall over a rather worrying problem, that being inadequate C-pillar impact protection for the rear-seat occupants.
 

Mercedes-Benz USA claims that vehicles equipped with a panoramic sunroof don’t absorb enough impact energy in certain scenarios, therefore said vehicles do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 201 for occupant protection. The subject population comprises 2023 through 2025 models ranging from the mild-hybrid 300 all the way to the 63 S E PERFORMANCE four-cylinder PHEV.
 
Depending on the model, production dates range from August 29, 2022 through June 1, 2025. All subject crossovers were assembled by Mercedes-Benz AG in Germany, where GLC production is handled by the Bremen plant in Sindelfingen. According to Mercedes, a deviation in the development process led to an exceedingly stiff damping of the roof lining for a specific FMVSS 201 test scenario.
 
Mercedes-Benz USA became aware of the described issue on May 8, 2025 based on two such tests conducted by a third-party testing facility on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Following a few internal tests, plant actions were initiated to rework all vehicles that were still within the manufacturer’s reach.
 
The folks at Mercedes-Benz AG corrected the recall condition at the Bremen plant on June 2, 2025. As for the recalled vehicles, Mercedes-Benz USA dealers are to rework the roof lining and C-pillar trim pieces at no charge to affected owners and lessees. Customer safety recall notifications will be mailed no later than August 4, 2025.
 
Affected vehicle identification numbers were uploaded to Merc’s US-market consumer website on June 13, 2025. Because they’re produced in Germany, all of the affected VINs start with the letter W, a letter that indicates what used to be West Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
 
The GLC SUV and GLC Coupe led the Core segment of Mercedes-Benz USA’s lineup in the first quarter of 2025. In addition to the GLC twins, the Core segment further includes the C-Class, CLE, E-Class, CLS, GLE siblings, EQE Sedan, and the EQE SUV. The GLC siblings moved 64,163 units in 2024 stateside, representing an improvement of 58 percent from the 40,699 units delivered in 2023.
 
Considered a midsizer even though C stands for compact, GLC SUV presently starts at 49,250 dollars (excluding destination charge) for the 2025 model year. The 300 is rear-wheel drive and packs 255 horses from its hybridized 2.0-liter turbo inline-four engine. Merc says that 5.9 seconds are required to hit 60 miles an hour (97 miles an hour), a tenth better than the 300 with 4MATIC all-wheel drive.
 
4MATIC adds 2,000 dollars to the final price. Higher up the spectrum, the plug-in hybrid 350e 4MATIC features the very same internal combustion engine. Boasting 313 combined horses, the 350e 4MATIC needs 6.3 seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 60 miles an hour, making it the slowest GLC available in the US for MY25.
Even higher, the AMG range comprises the 4.7-second 43 and the 3.5-second 63 S E PERFORMANCE. Both use a Mercedes-AMG engine with an electric exhaust-gas turbocharger, a 2.0-liter mill that develops a massive 469 ponies in the plug-in hybrid 63 S E PERFORMANCE.