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Mercedes-AMG Owners Allege Seat Badges Heated Up in the Sun and Burnt Them
Arjun Pillai | August 12, 2026 8:43 PM CST

A fresh class-action lawsuit brought by two California-based Mercedes-AMG drivers against the luxury carmaker alleges that the metal AMG seat badges became dangerously hot when exposed to sunlight, leaving owners with burns shaped like the logo, according to the Associated Press and court filings reviewed by Road & Track.

Gabriel Lahijani and Karendeep “Karina” Bath are the named plaintiffs in case number 2:26-cv-08680, filed in the U.S. District Court for California’s Western division. Bath later spoke publicly about her claim and showed the burn she says she suffered from the seat in her Mercedes-AMG in a video posted to her TikTok account on July 26. In that video, she said she had gone out to lunch with a friend, and when she got back into the car, she screamed because it felt as though the seat was burning her. After returning home, she checked her back and noticed what appeared to be half of the AMG logo marked into her skin.

Bath closed the video with a message for the manufacturer: “Mercedes, if you are watching this, let’s negotiate before one of these lawyers ends up hopping in my DMs,” she said. Mercedes was not given much time, however, as the lawsuit was filed on August 5.

Lahijani, meanwhile, is said to have leased a new 2026 Mercedes-AMG E-Class from a dealership in Los Angeles. On May 31, he got into the car while wearing a tank top and allegedly suffered burns when his exposed back touched the hot AMG logo embedded in the seat. Lahijani later reportedly visited a board-certified dermatologist, who recorded first- and second-degree burns. Most strikingly, the doctor described the injury as “AMG inscribed”, indicating that the performance brand’s familiar logo had effectively been branded onto his back.

As part of the proposed class action, Lahijani and Bath are seeking to have Mercedes cover the costs linked to their alleged injuries, including medical treatment. They are also pursuing damages tied to the physical and emotional effects of the incidents. In addition to compensation for themselves, the two plaintiffs want Mercedes to pay for a remedy for other affected owners by funding the removal of the metal AMG seat emblems. If the allegations made in the lawsuit are ultimately proven correct, Mercedes-AMG may have discovered one case where less branding would have been the better choice.


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