Rear sub frame cracked - causing vehicle shake at highway speed.

- Hanover, PA, USA

I bought my car a little over a year ago, with 95K miles, after driving it for a few months I noticed that there was a noise at the rear part, and a loss of balance during the acceleration. After diagnosing it with a local mechanic, he told me that the subframe needs to be changed as it is completely rusted, and driving my car in this condition can put me in danger.

- Everett, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the subframe bracket was severely corroded. The contact noticed the failure when the brake pedal was depressed there was an abnormal sound. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and inspected which the technician determined that the rear subframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Mercedes-Benz of easton (4300 morse xing, columbus, oh 43219, (888) 530-5742) was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000. ## VIN passed ## Mercedes-Benz 2009 ##

- Columbus, OH, USA

I'm the owner of a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 4matic sport, which was purchased in 2012 from a Mercedes dealer. The vehicle currently has about 60,400 miles. It was taken to a local mechanic for inspection and after hearing some clunking noises, especially when braking or turning, they discovered rust, corrosion, and cracking to the rear subframe. Upon further research, it has been discovered that this is a known problem, especially for this year and model of Mercedes. There are many other owners posting complaints online about the same problem. The rear subframe corrosion is estimated to cost about $3-4K to repair. The local mb dealer revealed they are actually repairing a car with this same problem, as we speak. Another call to mb for part pricing indicated this is a common, known problem. The car does not pass inspection and has become a huge safety issue. With so many known cases and obvious safety concerns, mb should resolve this defect and place it under recall. Many owners may not even know they have this problem. Driving a vehicle in this condition could potentially cause injury or fatality to the driver, passengers, and others on the road. I've been advised to request a goodwill repair, since there is no recall. I was told by mb that I need to schedule an appointment for an official diagnosis and repair estimate at my local mb dealer ($179) before I can move forward with the request for the goodwill repair. Many other owners have received denials to their requests, which is very disappointing. Mb should be found at fault for this defect and keep the safety of their consumers as their top priority. It will likely take a week or two before I receive a determination for my goodwill request, but I'm contacting NHTSA to file an official vehicle safety complaint in hopes that the recall process is started and an order is placed to the manufacturer to issue a recall.

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

On my 2009 Mercedes C300, the vehicle pulled significantly when the brakes were applied. The repair shop I use checked the braking system and found no issues. They then discovered a rear sub-frame issue. The entire rear sub-frame was rotted out on my 2009 Mercedes C300.the vehicle had less than 79K miles on it, did not got out in bad weather and was garaged. I contacted my local Mercedes dealer and they showed no interest in addressing the problem under any type of defect resolution issue. The repair shop I use ordered a new sub-frame from Mercedes, which now has a different design which I assume is to address the issue on the original sub-frame. When the repair shop began to remove the defective sub-frame, a part of the sub-frame tore and broke apart due to the rotted metal. Had the vehicle been in motion when the metal tore apart I can only imagine what would have occurred. I have checked various Mercedes owner forum boards and this appears to be a common issue with is model year. I have the repair bill but can not attach a copy due to the file size.

- Warwick, NY, USA

The rear sub frame is rusted out and dealer said it is unsafe to drive. Dealer serviced vehicle since purchase. Very surprised sub frame is rusted out and this is not a recall. My wife and grandkids are the main users of this vehicle. Thank god it was in for its maintenance when issue was found and not traveling 65 miles per hour down the turnpike. Only 10 years old and they want $3700 to replace rusted sub frame!

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

Safety issue regarding failure of rear subframe. I am the original owner of a 2009 C300 4matic sport. This vehicle has been garage kept its entire life and is not in a high salt or snow environment. My wife was extremely lucky to have avoided an accident in this car due to the rear subframe rusting through and separating. We bought this car brand new and paid a premium for Mercedes quality because we thought it was the safest vehicle made. I am extremely dismayed to learn that when my wife came home and said the car was driving weird, that in fact she was driving a car that was falling apart with my 7 yr old daughter in the back and could have resulted in a very serious accident. When she arrived at the alignment shop the manager there informed her the car was unsafe to drive and he had never seen anything like this type of failure of the frame before. My wife had the car towed to the Mercedes dealership for repair because it was not safe to drive. This certainly should be a safety recall due to a manufacturing defect or use of poor materials and Mercedes should cover the repairs

- Lexington, KY, USA

Rear sub-frame corrosion issue. Starting hearing clunking noises coming from rear right of the vehicle. Also noticed the car seemed to pull or twist to the right when braking. I inspected the brakes, all 4 disc brakes and parking brakes looked fine, noticed sub-frame rust through. This level of corrosion on a key structural component is dangerous. It seemed obvious to me this was a manufacturing issue. The car is in excellent condition no other corrosion issues, and has been well maintained and keep in a heated garage since we purchased it 6 yrs ago. We took it to the Mercedes dealership, had them confirm the issue, and registered a request to Mercedes corporate to help fix this issue. They denied that request. The local service dept. Indicated how dangerous this issue is and the car should not be driven. The cost to fix this =$2600.

- Rochester, MN, USA

Bought this car from original owner- never seen a mass winter -the car's rear end is swaying and making clunking noise- just brought the car into a mechanic - the rear sub frame is broken in two parts- one is near the gas tank- vehicle not save to drive- car has 80.000 miles on it and it was purchased in 2015 with 52,000 miles on it- this car was purchased because it was a safe car - plenty of airbags with pelvic air bags especially- my gf was in a very bad car accident and had a broken pelvis which is the main reason she bought this car- she still has a year left of making payments on it.

- Boston, MA, USA

Taraka recall. Smart key not being recognized, vehicle dead need tow truck to dealer very expensive, had battery but all dead cost $1600 plus on a 72000 mile vehicle.also front sway stabilizer bar need total replacing (dealer part only) since its making noise. Bushings cannot be changed like others the whole bar needs to be purchase at dealer with bushing vulcanized to it. On the smart key the vehicle was stationary thank god

- Coral Gables, FL, USA