428 of the
1,788 complaints filed about the Mercedes Benz C300
are about the electrical system —
24% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2008.
I have messages on my instrument panel stating I have airbag malfunction going on I also have tail lights that are not working and after trying to replace the bulbs it still don't work so obviously it's the light bulb panel so I went and looked at recalls and says that these are all recalls on my car but that they were fixed. so I don't know why I have them all bad again so I need to know what to do
NHTSA complaint #11736621 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine, seat belt, and air bag warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the headlights and navigation lights failed to activate for a while. There was burning odor inside the vehicle with the heat activated or turned off. The contact also stated the vehicle failed to start for three days before eventually being able to start. The contact attempted to charge the battery, which resulted in a visible spark. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a sound module and the Signal Acquisition Module (SAM) failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 217,000.
NHTSA complaint #11723958 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while at the car wash and attempting to wash the vehicle, there was popping sound coming from the vehicle, and the contact saw smoke coming from the speakers and called the Fire Department however, no damages were found. The vehicle was taken to the residence and an independent mechanic inspected the vehicle but found no issues with the vehicle. The trunk was opened, and the contact became aware of water inside the taillight housings. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.
NHTSA complaint #11677862 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that upon turning off the vehicle, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the following day, the vehicle failed to start after several attempts and required a jumpstart. The contact replaced the battery; however, the failure persisted. The contact disconnected the battery to prevent the battery from draining. The dealer and the manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
NHTSA complaint #11675548 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Mercedes Benz C300. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 125,985, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 128,917.
NHTSA complaint #11662794 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle has been loosing power during driving. Acceleration will die, then power will return. In addition exterior lighting will also malfunction or not work. As well ans other items associate with power or the unit that controls the power of those items After taking the vehicle in multiple times we had been told and looked up about the recall. Multiple are in place but the recall regarding the electrical/ power train / lighting r/t units in place and this recall sounds spot on with issues the vehicle is having .
NHTSA complaint #11653985 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact stated that a message to remove the ignition key was displayed. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The contact stated that later, while starting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended. In addition, the contact stated the steering wheel had seized. The contact inspected the battery and determined there was no failure with the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was requested to pay a diagnostic fee and declined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
NHTSA complaint #11653742 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving the car on [XXX] at 9pm on sunday, [XXX] in lane two during a heavy rain a audible clicking noise came from the drivers side front of the dash instrument cluster area and all of the lights on the car simultaneously turned off without ever touching the light switch i was unable to see the road in front of the vehicle also the windshield wipers quit working and the radio and navigation display went off and closed and opened and closed( turned off and then on and off again) the instrument cluster went dark as well, luckily i was able to turn the steering and apply the brakes and steer the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road and come to a complete stop after several attempts to turn the headlights back on i determined that the vehicle was not safe to drive , and had the vehicle towed to a reputable mechanic, and upon diagnosis he contacted me and stated that the drivers side front signal acquisition module A. K. A. the (sam) module had failed due to water intrusion into the fuse panel sam module area , the mechanic stated that i should file an incident /complaint form with your office , upon searching the MERCEDES BENZ forums and sites on the www i found many customers with a broad range of models (w204)approximately this same year model have identical complaints and nothing has been done by MB usa to remedy the problem, i believe this matter to be a major safety concern and i am wondering why this matter hasnt been taken into consideration by your agency and by MB usa as a safety recall to replace the failing modules and retrofit the fuse panel sam module area to prevent water intrusion thats causing the obvious safety concern and possible liability on the part of the MB/ DAIMLER corporation. it seems this is clearly a problem and it needs fixed we are terrified to drive the vehicle for fear of a repeat incident. Sincerely the [XXX] family INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11646756 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Check Right Tail and Brake Lamps warning light will not go off for months. They are working fine but the light won't go off. Googling on MB World, it shows Mercedes is aware of this problem and a recall is needed to get it corrected being safety issue with warning lights not working properly. See all info. below from owners, conversations and work done by dealers, etc. People note it is a middle school education problem. Please alert me when the recall is confirmed to get this important problem fixed. [XXX] Thank you, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11634323 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Camshaft adjuster solenoid leaked oil into wiring harness, caused vehicle to go into limp mode and not accelerate/shift gears. This is a known problem with the m272 engine, this vin did not show up on the recall list.
NHTSA complaint #11633268 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I drove my car to get lunch. Came back out to go back to work and the car would not start. Would not even turn over. My Radio did not turn on and I couldn't even roll my windows back up. Luckily they were only cracked open a small amount. My steering wheel cannot be turned, it's locked in it's current position. I am told the ESL (Electronic Steering Lock) and possibly the EIS is the cause of this problem. The display on the dash says "Take your key from ignition" and that is all I get. Had to have my car towed and now I have a dead car with the windows partially open that I cannot close.
NHTSA complaint #11615266 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Headlight harness on drivers and passenger side is melting and my lights are flickering. I was advised to night drive my vehicle at night, because it could start an electrical fire. This is caused by heat from the lights.
NHTSA complaint #11612678 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving and activating the turn signals, the taillights were inoperable. Additionally, the contact stated while driving and depressing the brake pedal to come to a stop, the brake lights were significantly dimmed except for the third brake light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with electrical failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V177000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11610858 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Car has been in and out of the shop. Initially I have been contacting Mercedes about airbag messages and continued message of SRS Malfunction on dashboard. Airbags had been recalled and supposedly replaced on multiple occasions. This SRS continues to remain even after repair or being seen for this issue only for other components to have failed and me having to pay for those in the process. The SRS Malfunction remains an issue until the next issue is affected. Recently an entire Electronic SAM Module Component was replaced as the culprit only to have more issues and the SRS remained. Mercedes has contended that each time they saw the vehicle the the SRS Malfunction was not the problems while other documents were repaired such as battery and SAM. In the meantime since then the car has stalled, components that were working are no longer inoperable. There was a recall that was applied to only specific vehicles of my model year which state the SRS Malfunction was to be replaced and made whole. I never received one of those notices and I will note that my vehicle obviously was affected and should also have this component replaced as it fits the same model year and make of the issues Mercedes has repaired already on affected vehicles. This issue has been on going for several years and Mercedes has failed to rectify this component that makes it dangerous and causes safety concerns for us with the understanding that their note on their website about the SRS Malfunction appeared to me a cop out for them to not be responsible for the fix and recall thsr may have affected more vehicles than its originally accessed number. Instead of fixing this issue they continually find other repairs they indicate as the issue only to end up right back with the same SRS Malfunction and stalling issues with vehicle once again and want to use excuse of car's age as issue and failing to acknowledge and address the SRS Malfunction. Your system would not allow file upload. I can still provide
NHTSA complaint #11563452 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drove the vehicle a short distance before the vehicle lost motive power again. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated while the vehicle was sitting in the driveway, the vehicle independently started and accelerated. The contact stated that the battery terminals were disconnected. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with failed wiring harness. The contact was informed that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 171,846.
NHTSA complaint #11558407 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Last week just before Thanksgiving my car of 134,000 miles wouldn't start. Had it towed to my mechanic only to find out like so many others that the Electronic Steering Module(ESL) is 1,500.00 defective. Yet with this being a common issue there is no recall. guess I'm going to a Toyota.
NHTSA complaint #11558071 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Car worked fine, all the sudden it wouldn't turn over, I would put the key in and turn it and nothing would happen, I was stuck and had to catch a ride, lucky that I was able, a car company that is supposedly reliable shouldn't allow there cars to completely give out on people during the middle of winter storms and not take ownership, when the customer has taken good care of the car. Talked to several mechanics and turned out it was the Electronic Steering Lock (ESL) module that had malfunctioned probably due to the software and electrical. Due to this only the Benz dealerships can repair, I had to tow it to a dealership and was charged around $2000 after haggling over the price. Terrible experience and should be recalled by MB, I have seen many complaints about this online and was very disappointed there wasn't a cheaper solution. Was both a safety issue, inconvenient and very costly.
NHTSA complaint #11553957 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
i was driving in the highway 50 mph and i was braking and my car slipped in the other line of the highway and almost had and accident !!!! and cars switched off when driving almost had incident!!!! i saw that many people have the say problem like me about rusted component please do something because people are losing their lifes.
NHTSA complaint #11511806 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving and when parked the headlights flicker on and off. I have no headlights while driving at night, during adverse weather conditions and during dawn hours. I could crash into other drivers, or they could crash into me because they can’t see me. When a parking bulb blows it fuses and melts everything together causing the replacement of the entire headlight unit, this has happened twice.
NHTSA complaint #11507370 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch and the steering lock had failed and needed to be replaced. The local dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts were available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
NHTSA complaint #11479348 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.