10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
61,857 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2007 Mercedes-Benz C230:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #30

Jul 272014

C230

  • 52,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes C230. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph with the vehicle in second gear, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or a mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

- Magnolia , DE, USA

problem #29

Jul 012014

C230 6-cyl

  • 69,100 miles
The Mercedes Benz C230 with 69,000 miles has after coming to a stop - I would place foot on accelerator and the vehicle would barely get moving would move slowly and would not shift out of low gear. It would barely move. On other occasions the vehicle would not go and the vehicle RPM's would rev beyond normal RPM's. this could happen also at any speed. I feel that this is a dangerous condition and the following parts have been defective and Mercedes is controlling the use of these parts because they know that they have an unsafe design and can prove to be hazardous to drivers.. I went to have the vehicle repaired at a local very reputable third party dealer and Mercedes Benz would not sell the necessary repair parts to any non Mercedes dealer. It is my opinion based on reading about this particular vehicle that the transmission speed sensors have a faulty design as well as the transmission valve body and the hydraulic control unit. I would suggest that this be investigated by the highway safety board and provide for a recall of these items and notify all owners of vehicles. Mercedes Benz is aware that they build a unreliable and unsafe power train for this vehicle.

- Dalllas, TX, USA

problem #28

Jun 182014

C230

  • 52,000 miles
My transmission became stuck in a high gear and would not accelerate. Could not manually change gears and the only way to remedy this issue was to park and turn off the car. I had to use my hazard flashers and drive in traffic for a few miles until I could get over to the shoulder of the road. This is very dangerous and troublesome to me. It appears to be a common issue on this site as well, please look into this.

- Valley Springs, CA, USA

problem #27

Mar 012014

C230 6-cyl

  • 76,000 miles
My car lost acceleration while driving. This was very scary I was entering the freeway, as I was trying to enter into traffic trying to accelerate my car would not pick up speed. I had my children in the car praying not to get hit. I hope something is done before someone looses their life. This need to be a recall item a.S.a.P.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #26

May 152014

C230 6-cyl

  • 57,246 miles
Ever since I have purchased my Mercedes Benz C230- 2007 model, I have been regularly maintaining it as per Mercedes recommended maintenance instructions. Recently I experienced an unexpected transmission issue in my car. The car lost acceleration on a major highway while driving at a speed of 65 mph. I had to pull over to the shoulder and shut off the engine for a few minutes. Only after restarting the engine, the acceleration improved. I have experienced this issue three times now and am concerned about me and my family's safety. I have researched online on NHTSA.dot.gov, benzworld.org and a few other blog sites where numerous Mercedes C230 owners have experienced exactly the same issue. My question is that if this is a known safety related issue and has been reported to Mercedes Benz usa, llc. Several times, why has Mercedes Benz not initiated a recall. I hope the company is not waiting for a disaster to happen. I would appreciate if NHTSA could please investigate the issue.

- Fort Lee, NJ, USA

problem #25

Nov 122012

C230 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
The car is going into limp mode when you stop and than go. You pull over and turn the car off it resets the computer and it works fine for couple of days. The issue been going on for over a year now.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #24

Jan 302014

C230 6-cyl

  • miles
While driving wouldn't accelerate RPM's went up but no acceleration I was finally able to pull over and tried to accelerate got high RPM's but barely moved. Placed in park shifted very hard shifted back to drive shifted hard again. Same thing happened got high RPM's very little movement. Turned car off then started back up everything was ok. Has happened quite a few times can be hot, cold, driving around a lot or just started up.

- Concord, CA, USA

problem #23

Jan 232014

C230

  • 70,245 miles
The transmission slips form takeoff allowing the engine to rev without engaging. I am concerned that a vehicle with such low mileage would exhibit such issues. After reading about the numerous complaints and Mercedes response to customers, one would conclude that this is caused by a faulty design. Case in point, Mercedes will not allow the faulty part to be rebuilt. They require that the part is replaced with a "new" part from the factory. Again, one is only left to conclude that they are covering up the failure by not allowing the part to be rebuilt in the field. Surely, if it were a maintenance issue they would have rebuild kits available. However, their solution is to bury the expense and hide the problem leaving customers to bear the entire burden of repairing a faulty design. I find this to be in parallel with the "Ford pinto gas tank."

- Midway, UT, USA

problem #22

Nov 072013

C230

  • 50,100 miles
I have been driving and on multiple occasions I have had the car unable to shift out of gear, each time I had to turn the car off and restart. Today after attempting to try this again today Dec.17, 2013 I finally had to car a tow truck because the car would not shift gears.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #21

Feb 052013

C230

  • 67,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes Benz C230. The contact stated that while at a traffic stop, there was an increase in engines rpms as the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission speed sensor was defective and needed to be reset. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 67,000 and the current mileage was 74,000.

- Yuba , CA, USA

problem #20

Jul 112013

C230

  • 54,000 miles
While driving, my car would not shift to the next gear. I pulled over and shifted into park. The car jerked hard. Then I put the car in drive and it jerked hard again. I pulled away and the car had low power and then would not shift passed second gear. I pulled over again and shifted the car to park, turned off the engine, turned it back on and shifted to drive and it worked fine. It's now done this about 15 times while driving at different speeds.

- Provo, UT, USA

problem #19

Oct 012013

C230

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes Benz C230. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the vehicle failed to respond to acceleration attempts. The contact started the vehicle and attempted to accelerate but the vehicle would not engage past first gear as the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic, who stated that the speed sensor had to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure and current mileage was 82,000. The VIN was not available.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #18

May 012012

C230 6-cyl

  • 35,000 miles
I purchased my 2007 C230 new from the dealership. My car has been experiencing transmission issues of the car not down shifting into the next gear and the car's speed declining while driving. This has happened driving on surface streets at 20mph and on the freeway going 65mph. I've even attempted to take it out of automatic drive and into manual shift and the car will not respond. The only way to "reboot" it is if I pull over and turn the vehicle off and restart it after a few minutes. This is a major mechanical/manufacturer defect as my vehicle has been well maintained and only has 40,000 miles!!! to have to pull over on a major interstate is not safe by any means. When taking it to the dealership they inspected it and diagnosed the problem as a transmission valve failure that will need replacement at a cost of $1300. For a vehicle that only has 40,000 miles, well maintained with regular service this is unacceptable. I purchased a Mercedes based on their reliability and when contacting corporate for review in the matter they said they would be able to offer me a 10% discount. I do not have a problem paying for regular up keep and if other items need to be updated/replaced to keep the car in good condition but to have transmission issues at 40,000 miles is absolutely unacceptable and is a manufacture defect that needs review and recall.

- Hermosa Beach, CA, USA

problem #17

May 242013

C230

  • 80,000 miles
I was driving about 60 mph suddenly my car was jerking and shaking the speed started to decrease and the car suddenly turned off I was able to pull over to the side of the road and I had to turn the key to start it the engine light turned on and I was able to drive off like regular. The next day I was on the freeway exiting I was going like 40 mph when I decreased my speed to stop and make a turn my RPM was at high 4-5 and my speed was 20mph I had to step on the pedal all the way just to get to 20 mph.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #16

Feb 042013

C230

  • 75,620 miles
Car will not go over 20 miles after stopping. I have to pull over put the car in park and restart. The car will run fine for awhile and a day or so later, the problem returns. This is extremely unsafe when your in traffic. I'm so afraid I'm going to get hit from behind trying to get off the road. I have been to 3 mechanics and told they cannot fix the problem due the theft deterrent on the car. I have an appointment at Mercedes on Friday and have been told it will be approx. $2000 to replace the plate in the transmission. Something needs to be done.

- Fairhope, AL, USA

problem #15

Nov 142012

C230 6-cyl

  • 38,000 miles
My original complaint was on 08/16/2012 (number 10473170).... again, the transmission gear indicator went blank. Car went into "limp home" mode. This time removing the key and restarting did not reset the module and I had the repair done. The repair on this was almost $2000! it was the transmission speed sensor which is part of the electrical conductor plate assembly. Prior to this incident, the dealership service rep admitted that they have many repairs with transmission control problems and encouraged me to buy an extended warranty! online there are many complaints regarding the 2006- 2007 C230's with the same problem. There is clearly a defect going on and I too would like a recall investigation through the NHTSA. Mb needs to admit this is a problem and recall all the vehicles with this defect.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #14

Jan 072013

C230 6-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
I was stopped at a red light and when I accelerated the car didn't change from 2nd to 3rd gear and the tachometer was reading very high since I was trying to accelerate. Since the car wouldn't excel I pulled over and turned off the engine. When I turned it on again it was okay. I took the car to the Mercedes dealership 1/8/13 but they couldn't find a problem. This has happened a total of 4 times since 1/7/13 and each time I have to pull over and turn off the engine to reset it. Additionally, I have had a problem with the car lurching (jumping) when putting it into drive or reverse and when accelerating after this the car doesn't change from 1st to 2nd gear. Also, I have had 2 incidents where the car has not accelerated to the appropriate gear (higher gear) on a highway ramp and I have had to pull over and turn the engine off to reset it. Sometimes when I pull over and turn the car off I have to do this again as it doesn't correct the problem the 1st time in my opinion this is a safety issue, but not only that it is very annoying and every time I get into the car I wonder whether it is going to happen again.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #13

Nov 012007

C230

  • 9,392 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes Benz C230. The contact stated that the engine rpms increased to 4,000 however, the vehicle would not accelerate over 20 mph. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. The dealer performed a diagnostic that was unable to locate a failure code. The vehicle was taken back the dealer and a second diagnostic was performed which located the failure at the transmission conductor plate. The dealer flushed the transmission and replaced the conductor plate. The failure was not corrected. The vehicle still would not accelerate over 20 mph. The contact coasted to the shoulder, turned the engine off and restarted the vehicle in order to gain acceleration abilities. The failure mileage was 9,392 and the current mileage was 32,000.

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #12

Nov 212012

C230 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
I have periodically had this problem. From a stop, the car will not accelerate. It feels like it is stuck in a higher gear. Or, the opposite happens. I will accelerate, and the car will not change from second to third gear. I have to pull over and restart the engine, and then it works. I have seen numerous complaints online from other owners that they have the same problem. I took it to mb and paid $1450.34 to get the electric hydro control unit in my transmission replaced.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #11

May 152012

C230 6-cyl

  • 102,000 miles
I purchased my car brand new, it was never previously owned and directly from a Mercedes Benz dealer. I started having problems with speed and gear shifting back in May 2012. When driving on the freeway normal speed (55mph) the car would begin to slow down no matter how much I pressed the accelerator the car would slow to a complete stop. I would have to attempt to pull over off the freeway, turn the car completely off, let it sit and then start it again and the car would run normal. When I get off the freeway or now even when I am driving on a back road going 35 mph the car would shake as I came to a stop sign or traffic light (as if I was driving a stick shift and didn't put the car in neutral or press the clutch) and then it would shut down completely. Now I am having a third issue in addition to these issues where the car will shift gears on it's own and I'm driving in automatic mode not as a 5 speed. This is completely ridiculous for me to have transmission issue on a Mercedes Benz that I purchased new. I took it to a dealer who claims that I have to replace the entire transmission due to one small piece within the transmission system. I have checked online and have seen that hundreds of other Benz owners are having the same problems with no resolution from the manufacturer. I am requesting an investigation and a recall. This is an extreme safety hazard that a car will completely shut down while on a freeway and there have been times when I have almost collided with other cars due to the immediate decline in speed. I have to always find a way to pull over to shut off the car. I purchased this car because of the quality that it should provide. Please follow up with me regarding this issue I am extremely concerned that requests are being ignored by the manufacturer and no one is looking into this matter.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Read the next 10 complaints »