Two Mercedes-AMG owners say the metal badge stitched into their own front seats burned through their skin, and now they’re suing Mercedes-Benz USA in federal court over what they call a defective design present across the AMG lineup. The complaint, filed Aug. 5, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California as Case No. 2:26-cv-08680, centers on the raised metallic AMG emblem mounted on the driver’s and front-passenger seatbacks of vehicles including the 2026 Mercedes-AMG E-Class.
A Logo-Shaped Burn
Plaintiff Gabriel Lahijani of Los Angeles says he suffered first- and second-degree burns on his upper back on May 31 after his skin pressed against the badge in his leased 2026 AMG E-Class. A board-certified dermatologist reportedly documented the injury as bearing the shape of the AMG lettering itself, described in the complaint as marks “consistent with a thermal contact burn” in the outline of the logo.
Co-plaintiff Karendeep “Karina” Bath of Chatsworth, California, says she suffered a nearly identical injury on her shoulder roughly six weeks later, in a separate AMG vehicle. Her mark, too, allegedly darkened into the badge’s outline over time.
The Defect Claim
The badge in question is not a plastic trim piece; it’s a solid metal AMG emblem embedded in the seatback upholstery, positioned where the complaint says it’s “reasonably expected to contact an occupant’s upper back, neck, or shoulder.” Metal conducts and holds heat far more efficiently than the leather or Alcantara surrounding it, and after a car sits in direct sun — a routine condition across the plaintiffs’ home state — the suit alleges the badge can reach temperatures capable of branding skin on contact.
The complaint accuses Mercedes-Benz of knowing about the risk yet selling AMG models without any warning label, heat shielding, or non-conductive coating on the badge. Claims include design defect, failure to warn, negligence, breach of implied warranty, and violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law. Attorney Brandon S. Younesi of Justice Shield Law P.C. is representing the plaintiffs, who are seeking medical expenses, damages for pain and emotional distress, and an order requiring Mercedes to remove or redesign the badges on affected vehicles.
Mercedes Hasn’t Responded
As of the filing’s initial coverage, Mercedes-Benz “couldn’t be reached immediately for comment,” according to the wire report on the filing. The automaker has not issued a public statement addressing the badge or announced any inspection, recall, or running production change tied to the complaint.
For now the case is limited to a proposed California class of AMG owners and lessees, meaning any outcome, settlement or otherwise, would need to clear class certification before it reaches AMG drivers outside the state. Until then, anyone parking an AMG-badged Mercedes in the sun this summer might want to think twice before leaning back.