This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Electronic steering locks are failing in these cars at an alarming rate. When it fails, the car will be stranded or if driving the car will completely lock the steering and take away control from the driver. This is a safety issue that Mercedes should be recalling and fixing because it will take people's lives away. Mercedes is aware of this issue but is failing to recall it and considering it as non-safety. When manufacturing the Electronic Steering lock, Mercedes used cheap parts that are prone to failure. This issue affected many years and models of their cars but only recalled a few cars. Once failure occurs, the car will not start and it will be required to tow it to a dealership where repairs over $2000 will be needed to fix this SAFETY issue.
The subframe and the brake lines are very faulty in this car when it comes to its design. The subframe and brake lines rust easily and are cheaply made for this car. My car break down while driving making it hard to have pressure on the brakes. My incident was around the school area. There were no accidents or collisions Involved. It could happen to adults and children. The dealer never confirmed this problem before selling it to me. Another manufacturer told me about this problem. The car showed warning signs like the braking system and brake fluid. The brake fuel was leaking. The problem appeared when I started the car.
On July 1, my daugther who is driving the car since about 8 months noticed a strange noise coming from the rear of the car. Since I was in Europe at that time I could not give her any assistance. On July 16 we both took a drive to Rhode Island to visit a college. I was the one driving, and I could also hear the noise coming from the rear. On the highway there was a back-up developing and I had to hit the brakes a littler harder. In doing so. the car was very unstable and it look like if the rear was going to overtake the front of the car. I was very scary even for myself who is a long time experience driver. After returning home I took the car to a mechanic and have him look at it. The resulting diagnosis revealed that the subframe was completely rusted out and was about to get disconnected from the under carriage of the car at any moment. The mechanic had a hard time to find a replacement part, and was finally able to locate an OEM subframe in California, the only one in the US. The price for the part alone was $1,500. I had no choice other than to have the car repaired at the mechanic since it was at that time undrivable. The total repair was almost $3,200. I took 2 pictures of the replaced subframe (see attached). The car is a 2011 MB C300-4-matic with just 100,800 miles on it. The was purchased used, with about 12,000 miles, in Febr. 2012 from Mercedes Benz of Westford, MA, which had used the car as a loaner/company car. The car was well maintained, used up until 2020 by my daughter's mother. She then bought herself another, newer C300 (2017 model) and decided to gift her older car to the daughter instead of trading it in. We thought, we knew a lot about the car and considered it a low risk transfer for a new, still learning driver. I will also file a formal complaint with Mercedes Benz if I have figured out the correct contact point. The internet shows, other people have experienced similar situations. And eventually, see also your ID-# 10504684 and 11023618.
My car has two recalls for the airbags which means my car can not be traded in because it's not resaleable. These recalls are not minority's and we risk serious injury or possible death because Mercedes can fix the problem. Reassuraning knowing if you're ever in an accident your airbags may distinction during impact or be the reason you die. I'm stuck with this car until the remedies are available, but I'm also stuck with risking my life. I started having transmission problems with hesitating to speed up from a stop or slower speed. The dealership said it was my intake manifold flap that needed to be replaced. Of course that wasn't the problem and it's getting worse. I had it looked at again to be told nothing was wrong and no codes were displayed during the diagnostic check. Meanwhile my car gets worse by the week and my transmission feels like something is clearly wrong. For the third time I had it checked and this time had a technician ride with me. He noted the hesitating feeling while driving and validated my concerns. He said he personally believes my transmission is malfunctioning but Mercedes is covering their tails. He suggested I take it to a private mechanic who specializes in Mercedes unless I want to pay $9,000 to Mercedes to be told a range of things need to be fixed and the problem never be solved. Absolute rip off and I'll never buy Mercedes again.
I wasn't driving down the highway at 60 mph and the car went into neutral by itself and stayed there in the middle of the road. The car wouldn't move at all and had to pull over to the hard shoulder and restart the engine. This happened to me 4 times in total. I scanned it and they said it's the speed sensor inside the conductor plate which entirely needs to be replaced and reprogrammed by Mercedes. This is a safety issue because a car going into neutral in the middle of the highway is dangerous to other drivers which can cause an accident that can take your life. Many other cars with the 722.6G transmission has it and Mercedes knows about it. By the way, the vehicle wasn't in motion while all these incidents occurred.
- Villa Park, IL, USA
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When in motion a grinding noise can be heard, which was later identified as a transmission bearing. Vehicle has approximately 69,000 miles. The vehicle has been regularly serviced by a Mercedes dealer in most cases, which included a scheduled transmission service that was conducted by Mercedes.
When coming to a stop or letting off the accelerator pedal it feels as if the vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle. I suspect it's either coming from the drive shaft or transmission. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership a number of times but can not duplicate after it happened going on a test drive with a technician.
At only 5000 clutch and flywheel "exploded" according to diagnostic at princeton dealership. Qec center in jacksonville promised to provide results of analysis to determine cause. On 7/10/2013 I learned upon inquiry that qec advised princeton dealership to dispose of parts without giving me the opportunity to keep those parts. I wish to know why this happened; how common is this occurrence; and what is my recourse if this happens again.
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- Villa Park, IL, USA