2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Driver Assist & ADAS Problems

Hello, Our car’s rear camera stopped working after about 31,000 miles. It has created a lot of safety problems. Apparently, the rear cameras stop functioning early on.

FCW gives a warning "Radar Sensors Dirty; See Operator's Manual" message in mild conditions of rain or light wet snow. Location is central Ohio. It happened this morning (2/15/2023) in light rain and temp probably in 40s. The message has appeared probably a few times per year since I've owned the vehicle (Dec. 2019). I took photos of the message on Jan. 31, 2020 (32 degrees F, thin layer of slush on front bumper) and April 21, 2021 (37 degrees F; front of vehicle appeared clean), so those are two other dates that it happened. I feel like it's not reasonable for such a system to not be able to operate in mild precipitation conditions.

I was driving the car at about 70 mph on an interstate highway during "rush hour" traffic when the Electronic Stabilization icon flashed on the dashboard screen and the car began to decelerate. I pressed on the accelerator pedal but the car continued to coast. A second or two later the dashboard screen flashed a warning stating something like "Brake assist activated" and the vehicle began to aggressively brake. I was in the middle lane of the interstate with vehicles around me travelling at 65 to 75 miles per hour and I could see a car rapidly approaching me from behind. It was apparent to me that my vehicle was going to come to a rapid stop in the middle of a busy interstate highway and that I was going to be struck from behind by one or more cars travelling at a high rate of speed. I did not think that I would survive such an impact and checked the right hand lane and noted no vehicles. Since all I could do with the car at that point was steer, I pulled my car into the right hand lane, attempting to avoid an inevitable high speed rear end collision. Unfortunately by that time my vehicle was still braking and travelling at a relatively low speed and was struck in the right rear area by another vehicle that was travelling at a much higher speed. Fortunately no one was injured in this crash, but there was extensive damage to both vehicles. I had not previously experienced this type of malfunction of the emergency collision avoidance system but on reviewing Mercedes Benz owners' blogs it is clear that this is not an isolated occurrence. I note that the owners of other car manufacturers have also experienced issues similar to mine, although most of them occurred in less dangerous situations and did not result in a crash. I believe that this "safety" system is flawed and placed my life, and the lives of others, in grave danger, much like the Boeing 737 Max issue, and that a recall and investigation is needed to prevent fatalities resulting from their malfunction.