Two Mercedes AMG owners have filed a class action lawsuit against the luxury automaker, alleging that the metallic AMG logo embedded in the front driver's seat becomes so hot that it causes burn injuries to occupants.

Gabriel Lahijani and Karendeep "Karina" Bath claim that certain Mercedes AMG vehicles have a design defect in which the raised metallic AMG logo is "reasonably expected to contact an occupant's upper back, neck, or shoulder," according to court documents filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division. The case adds to a body of product liability litigation targeting automakers over interior design features, where plaintiffs must typically demonstrate that a defect created an unreasonable safety risk and that the manufacturer knew or should have known about it.

Metal surfaces inside parked vehicles can reach temperatures well above ambient air temperature when exposed to direct sunlight, a well-documented effect of solar heat gain on metallic materials. In hot-climate regions such as Los Angeles, interior vehicle components routinely exceed temperatures capable of causing thermal contact burns within seconds of skin exposure, according to automotive safety and dermatological research.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for medical expenses along with damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress to be proven at trial. They are also requesting that Mercedes-Benz cover the cost of removing the logo from other affected owners' vehicles. A key early procedural step in the case will be whether the court grants class certification, which would determine whether the lawsuit can proceed on behalf of all similarly affected AMG owners or remain limited to the two named plaintiffs.

Mercedes-Benz could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lahijani, a Los Angeles resident, leased a new 2026 Mercedes-AMG E-Class from an authorized dealership in Los Angeles, according to the complaint. On May 31, he reported sustaining second-degree burns on his back after entering the vehicle wearing a tank top. A board-certified dermatologist later documented first- and second-degree burns, describing the injury as "AMG inscribed."

Approximately six weeks later, Bath, a resident of Chatsworth, California, allegedly suffered similar burns from the logo. According to the lawsuit, Bath had parked her Mercedes-AMG vehicle in Los Angeles and, upon returning and entering the driver's seat, her shoulder immediately contacted the logo, producing a burning sensation. In the days that followed, a mark shaped like the AMG logo "darkened and became visible on her skin, consistent with a thermal contact burn," the complaint states.

The lawsuit follows other recent legal challenges for the automaker. In December, Mercedes-Benz USA and parent company Daimler AG agreed to pay $149.6 million to settle allegations that the automaker secretly installed devices in hundreds of thousands of vehicles to pass emissions tests, according to an announcement by a coalition of attorneys general. According to the coalition, between 2008 and 2016, the German automaker equipped more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans with software that optimized emission controls during testing but reduced those controls during normal operation, as reported by AP News.