37 of the 902 complaints filed about the Mercedes Benz C250 are about the electrical system — 4% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2013.
37
Complaints
4%
Share of all complaints
1
Crashes
3
Fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Over the past few weeks Ive had instances where the car has power but wont crank, Ive had the SRS light come on the dash but after it starting it goes away.
NHTSA complaint #11744047 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start. Additionally, the steering wheel was difficult to turn to the left or the right. The vehicle was eventually started and driven to a dealer; however, after the vehicle was parked and turned off, the contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The dealer replaced the battery however, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the dealer then traced the failure to an anti-theft sensor that shut off the vehicle to deter vehicle theft. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.
NHTSA complaint #11723624 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
ESL emulator is bad. Keeps no crank Steering lock Also sunroof water spouts are not working as they should they do no open to release water.
NHTSA complaint #11715179 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The vehicle was represented to me as safe to drive, with no major mechanical issues, and that it would pass emissions after only a simple minor fix. After I took possession, the check engine light came on. The car began running rough and showing hesitation. A scan immediately showed a camshaft position sensor fault, cylinder misfire, lean fuel condition, and oxygen sensor/emissions faults. I was also told by a professional shop that the timing chain may be failing. I was then warned that these problems can cause power loss or engine stalling while driving, and that the vehicle in this condition would likely not pass a legal emissions inspection. I was never told about any of these safety or emissions problems before taking the vehicle. This situation creates a safety risk because sudden loss of engine power or stalling can happen in traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11697039 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1. The car radio, blue-tooth, speakers, sound, car remote sound. Happened after a battery change by AAA - unsure if it's related. CUstomer service tried to resolve it - radio turns on, but nothing else works. 2. Doors won't unlock outside or inside - except passenegers side is open. 3. Accelerator acting strange - won't pick speed after 30, then 60 4. there was an air bag recal of this car a while ago.
NHTSA complaint #11638695 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:INTERLOCK/LOCKOUT
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the anti-lock theft prevention feature failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the steering wheel was seized, and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact was informed by the tow truck driver that the failure was due to the electronic lockout system. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.
NHTSA complaint #11633107 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
A known issue by many mB owners related to Steering Wheel Lock or ESL system. Car will not start due to a known defect related to a part installed inside the steering wheel preventing owners from starting car safely and to get to destination safely.
NHTSA complaint #11626338 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My wife and the kids we're stranded for hours because of the ESL systems lock the steering wheel and did not allow the car to start or steering wheel to move. She smelled something and pulled over and turned car off. No lights, no way to charge cell phone because no power to the car at all. My family was stranded because of this seems like it's a very very serious issue with a lot of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. As a consumer Mercedes-Benz is using cheap parts which can cause people to lose their lives if the steering wheel is to lock up while driving the motor burns out inside of the ESL module
NHTSA complaint #11583450 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1) cranshaft and camshaft position sensors, timing problems and it has to be replaced this is a common damage in Mercedes Benz 2012 c250. 2) this put in risk my life because it can brake the engine in a highway and the car could be off.
NHTSA complaint #11550669 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mercedes has had an issue with the steering lock for years and continue to not fix the issue. My vehicle would not turn on at random times, and this is due to a fault with the steering lock and key. The worst part of the issue, it’s only solved by Mercedes due to security issues and costs $2000. I was locked out of my car for hours, missing a doctors appointment, and if this was during a snow storm or heavy freeze (I live in CO), this is a potential fatal flaw. I also learned they cannot fix my vehicle for months due to high demand and coming from Germany. Looking online this is a continued problem for over a decade of vehicles and this needs to be resolved either by recall, a price adjustment due to this being a Mercedes flaw, or give the capability to certified maintenance locations to do the job for a fraction of the price (I see the price of the part is marginal compared to the upcharge by the dealer.
NHTSA complaint #11546602 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Popping sounds and smoke from center dash and right rear speaker. Center speaker magnet extremely hot to the touch.
NHTSA complaint #11513427 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, there was an abnormal frequency sound coming from the speakers followed by a popping sound. The contact then began to smell a burning electrical wiring odor with white smoke coming from the middle dashboard speaker. The contact immediately pulled over and turned off the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the contact called her father who towed the vehicle to her home where it remained in her possession. The contact reached out to the manufacturer by email and was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA for further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 305,000.
NHTSA complaint #11508516 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My Mercedes started smoking from within the cabin. I traced it down to the speaker in the car. I contacted the Mercedes dealership and told them that my speaker was burning and smoking. The service advisor knew exactly the problem and said that the factory amplifier went bad and is causing an electrical issue in the car. He had seen this before. However, Mercedes is not considering a safety issue nor doing a recall. However, I was told I should not drive the car and have it towed. So, if my car can catch fire while driving from a faulty amplifier, that would be a safety issue. I was told this would be an out of pocket expense.
NHTSA complaint #11453544 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Electronic Steering Lock (ESL) fails and your key fob nor your keyless go button will function, rendering your car unable to start...! Usually it's the cheap toy motor that engages the moving tab that locks and unlocks the column and communicates to the ignition to start the car... You get only a message to "remove your key" and the dash lights will not come on nor can you start the vehicle... Mercedes is aware of this, as there are thousands of complaints on this ESL issue... Mercedes needs to issue a recall and do away with this faulty ESL module...!!!! Oh by the way, they charge $1500+++ to fix it...🤬🤬🤬
NHTSA complaint #11443661 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
As I sat in my vehicle waiting for the traffic light. I felt a sudden hit on my head. At that moment I was confused, and thought someone had rear ended me. So like anybody would, I pulled over only to find out that the headrest on my 2013 Mercedes Benz C250 had came apart. It seems like the plastic inside tore apart from the springs causing pressure for it to deploy.
NHTSA complaint #11430950 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz C250W. The contact stated while attempting to start the ignition when entering the key. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the unknown ignition component to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
NHTSA complaint #11419683 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I WAS ON THE 99 FREEWAY DRIVING NORMAL SPEED AND HIT BRAKES TO TAKE THE DENAIR EXIT. THE CAR SPED UP! LIKE TURBO POWER! THE SPEEDOMETER WAS AT 90 MPH AS I FLEW THROUGH A RED LIGHT AT TOP OF THE RAMP! I HAD TO CONTINUE DOWN RAMP BACK ON FREEWAY. PUSHING AND PUSHING ON BRAKES BUT NOTHING HAPPENED! NEXT RAMP WAS A BIT STEEPER , SO TRIED AGAIN TO SLOW CAR DOWN! IT STARTED TO SLOW AND I WAS ABLE TO PUT CAR IN NEUTRAL AS IT CAME TO STOP AND I POWERED THE CAR OFF. I WAS APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES FROM HOME AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO MERCEDES OF STOCKTON. AFTER THEIR REPAIR DEPARTMENT CHECKED MY CAR, THEY FOUND THE BRAKE BOOSTER WAS BAD AND THE TURBO PIPE HOSE WAS TORN( DUE TO WEAR AND TEAR). I HAD PREVIOUSLY (2 MONTHS EARLIER)HAD MY CAR IN FOR COMPLETE CHECK UP BY THE STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA DEALERSHIP AND NOTHING WAS DETECTED. I FEEL THIS A SAFETY ISSUE! I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! ALSO I BELIEVE THIS TO BE MANUFACTURE DEFAULT, THE COST TO FIX IS $2,400, AND I ALWAYS BRING MY CAR IN FOR REGULAR SERVING. THANK YOU
NHTSA complaint #11365575 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
STEERING LOCKS UP/KEY FOB IN IGNITION SAYS "REMOVE KEY" WITH NO START. EIS/ESL FAILURE
NHTSA complaint #11360128 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
THE DAY IN WHICH MY CAR STOPPED WORKING, PRIOR MY VEHICLE WAS OPERATING PROPERLY NO ISSUES PRESENTED. THE IGNITION STARTED WITHOUT ANY INTERRUPTIONS OR ISSUES. I DROVE MY CAR TO VARIOUS LOCATIONS THE DAY I ENCOUNTERED MY ISSUES. I WENT OUT TO MY CAR WHICH WAS STATIONARY, PARKED AT MY RESIDENCE AND PRESSED THE PUSH START BUTTON AND IT WOULD NOT POWER ON. AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS, I CALLED AAA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO CHECK IF IT COULD POSSIBLY BE MY BATTERY, BUT TO OUR SURPRISE THE BATTERY WAS PERFECTLY FINE. I HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO MY MECHANIC WHO THEN INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS MY ELECTRONIC IGNITION SWITCH THAT WAS BROKEN, AND HE STATED HE WAS NOT EXPERIENCED IN REPLACEMENT AND THAT HE'D REFER ME TO A MERCEDES AUTHORIZED MECHANIC WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP ME. AFTER HAVING MY VEHICLE TOWED TO THE NEXT MECHANIC THEY THEN DID A THOROUGH DIAGNOSIS ON MY VEHICLE IN WHICH THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS MY ELECTRONIC IGNITION SWITCH AND THAT THEY HAD BEEN GETTING MANY MERCEDES C 250 MAKES IN THAT HAD THE SAME ISSUE, AND THEN STATED THEY DON'T KNOW WHY THERE WASN'T A RECALL ON THAT PART BECAUSE IT'S A MAJOR ISSUE WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO FIX. I AM ASKING THAT MERCEDES BE RESPONDING FOR THIS DEFECTIVE PART THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN THEIR CARS, AND COSTS AN ARM AND LEG TO FIX WHICH IS VERY UNFAIR. I KEEP UP WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF MY VEHICLE SO THIS SHOULD NOT HAD HAPPENED.
NHTSA complaint #11281597 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES-BENZ C250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TAIL LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE, INCLUDING THE TURN SIGNALS AND BRAKE LIGHTS. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE THE TAIL LIGHT BULBS HIMSELF AND FOUND THAT THE TAIL LAMP ASSEMBLY HAD PARTIALLY MELTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MERCEDES-BENZ EURO MOTOR CARS (7020 ARLINGTON ROAD, BETHESDA, MD 20814, 301-986-8800) WHERE THE TAIL LAMP HOLDERS AND REAR WIRING AND BULBS WERE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V177000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED PARTIAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE REPAIR. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85,000. *BF CONSUMER STATED IT SHOULD BE COVERED AS THE C250 IS THE SAME CAR AS THE C300 INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. THE DIFFERENCE IS THE ENGINE SIZE AND YEAR (2012 VS 2011).
NHTSA complaint #11240347 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.