The Mercedes-Benz GLC to buy is a diesel with steering knuckle fix invoices and, on 2015 to 2017 cars, proof of the clock spring airbag recall; avoid any whose front tyres skip on full lock.
2 known faults, 1 rated high severity in our database; owners report 38.1 mpg, 88% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Check a Mercedes-Benz GLC advert (free) →Buy a diesel GLC: the diesel's strong, quiet and frugal, and every car here is the X253, sold from 2015 with the Coupe carrying on until 2023. It isn't spotless, though, as two owners of 250d models bought new in November 2016 had the engine stumble when pulling away at low speed, and one car's trouble was traced to faulty piezo injectors, so drive a 250d away from a standstill several times.
Whichever version you pick, the front tyres decide the purchase. On cars up to 2019 the fronts can skip, judder and clunk on full lock, worst in cold weather and on AMG Line and 4Matic cars, and it shows up within the first 50,000 miles. Mercedes offered owners free all-season tyres in 2017 and a steering knuckle fix for right-hand-drive cars from late 2018, so a car with that knuckle work on its invoices is the one to chase.
The other thing that decides a 2015 to 2017 GLC is the steering column clock spring. It can break and, because the airbag wiring wasn't earthed well enough, short out and fire the driver's airbag with no warning at any mileage, which is why it's the subject of a safety recall. Don't buy a GLC from those years unless the paperwork shows the recall work was done, and never one with the airbag warning light on.
Later GLCs, from 2020 to 2023, have almost nothing on record either way, and that's not the same as a clean record. Nothing shows the skipping was engineered out, so give a later car the same full-lock test. On any GLC, also ask for proof of the 2018 driver's airbag recall, for a gas generator housing that could fail when the airbag went off.
The diesels are the ones to go for, and the 220d, 250d and 350d all appear in owner reports, but any of them can suffer the front tyre skipping on lock. The 250d carries a further caution: two owners reported a sharp hiccup when pulling off from rest or accelerating from a crawl, and one car's was traced to faulty piezo injectors. One 250d also suffered a rear driveshaft failure at 13,500 miles, locking the rear wheels with a bang, so any grinding from the back rules a car out.
The AMG GLC 43 and GLC 63 are the riskier buys. Several GLC 43 owners reported the fronts juddering and skipping at low speed, and one GLC 63 owner had it on every roundabout and every right-angle corner, not just at full lock. One reader was told the steering knuckle fix isn't offered for either AMG, and a GLC 43 owner on 20-inch wheels couldn't find all-weather tyres in that size, so on those two you're living with the problem rather than fixing it.
Find out which automatic the car has and ask for its fluid invoices. The 9G-Tronic wants fresh fluid every 60,000 miles or 72 months, and the 7G-Tronic every 40,000 miles or 48 months with a new filter, to stop its conductor plate failing, whatever the old filled-for-life claim said. If the diesel is the OM654 2.0, its timing chain has no fixed change interval, but its tensioner and guides do wear, so have the chain checked between 100,000 and 150,000 km.
Park it with the wheel on full lock, both ways and in reverse, at a crawl, ideally on a cold day. A loud clunk from the front wheels or the nose hopping across the ground is the known skipping fault. Check the front tyres' outer edges too: one 2018 220d 4Matic had worn them badly by 17,459 miles. Ask for the steering knuckle fix invoice and a recent four-wheel alignment, since one owner's skipping eased once all four wheels were set.
Ask for proof of the recall work. On a 2015 to 2017 GLC that means the clock spring recall, because a broken clock spring can short out and set the driver's airbag off unprompted, and the airbag warning light on the dash is its warning sign, so don't buy one showing it. A 2018 recall covered driver's airbags whose gas generator housing could break up when deployed, and a 2017 one added a starter fuse because the current limiter could overheat if someone kept cranking a seized engine.
On the drive, pull away gently from a standstill several times and feel for a stumble, which on one 250d was the injectors. Listen for rattles and squeaks over rough roads, and a moan that stops when the car does, as one early 2016 car had all three and the dealer couldn't cure them. On a car with air suspension, check it sits level, because one owner's system failed completely twice within a year.
Look closely at the driver's seat bolster, as two owners, one with a 2017 350d and one with a 2018 250d, had the Artico covering wear through. Fill it up if you can: one owner found the pump kept cutting out, which pointed to a blocked carbon filter in the tank breather. One 220d wouldn't start after a loose engine bay cable blew a fuse feeding several systems, and another drained its battery overnight.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
Yes, as a diesel that passes a full-lock test, has the steering knuckle fix on its paperwork and, on a 2015 to 2017 car, proof of the clock spring airbag recall. One 250d owner covered 40,000 miles in 2 years and loved the car apart from its front tyres skipping on lock. It's the skipping that defines the X253: it hits AMG Line and 4Matic cars hardest, and owner reports of it run into dozens.
It showed up early. Complaints came in from cars with as little as 360 miles on them, and the known fault puts it within the first 50,000. Mercedes first told owners it was a characteristic of the car, asked some new buyers to sign a waiver about it, and suggested winter tyres at the owner's expense. The free all-season tyre switch in 2017 mostly cured it by one account, while another said cold-weather tyres made little or no difference.
Runflat tyres were dropped from the GLC's options list, and one theory put the skipping partly down to their stiff sidewalls. One owner was told at the first service, at 7,745 miles, that two of the 20-inch runflats already needed replacing. If a car's still on runflats or big wheels, look hard at the tread across all four and ask when they were last changed, as uneven wear on the fronts is how the fault gives itself away.
Real-world economy on this generation: Mercedes-Benz GLC 38.5 mpg, Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe 34.2 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Mercedes-Benz GLC advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 38.1 mpg across the Mercedes-Benz GLC engines with data, about 88% of the official figure, from 430 submissions.
Mercedes-Benz GLC Real MPG by engine →The ride's the standout, soaking up bumps with real composure, and it's better again on cars with the optional adaptive dampers. The cabin's a handsome design with a high-quality feel wherever you look, and you sit in a great driving position with a clear view out over the bonnet.
There's genuine room for adults in the back, not just for children, and the rear seats don't feel like an afterthought. The tailgate opens like a hatchback's and the boot's easy to load, which also holds for the Coupe, so choosing the sleeker body doesn't cost you the wide opening.
The Mercedes-Benz GLC to buy is a diesel with steering knuckle fix invoices and, on 2015 to 2017 cars, proof of the clock spring airbag recall; avoid any whose front tyres skip on full lock. Our database holds 2 known Mercedes-Benz GLC faults, 1 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Park it with the wheel on full lock, both ways and in reverse, at a crawl, ideally on a cold day. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Mercedes-Benz GLC fault before you travel.
Owners report 38.1 mpg on average, about 88% of the official figure, from 430 submissions. Chain (OM654, W213, W205, W206, 2.0 D): no fixed replacement interval, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Mercedes-Benz GLC Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Mercedes-Benz GLC buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 62 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
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