10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 39,001 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.
This car I have owned since brand new and I am the original owner. This car has never been used in winter despite I live in New York and always has been maintained in very good condition however, this car has developed noises from the rear when driven. I took the car to my trusted mechanic and he found out that the rear subframe has corrosion making it unsafe to drive.
- Amagansett, NY, USA
The brake lines and subframe were completely rusted and the vehicle was unsafe to drive. Dealer confirmed at regular service appointment. I have documentation and competed all regular maintenance. Dealer would not cover costs for what appears to be a major defect. I had another shop replace the brake lines and subframe.
- Dublin, OH, USA
I bought this car for my 18 year old son based on Mercedes reputation for safety and longevity, only to discover that Mercedes has a widely acknowledged issue with rotted sub-frames -- it's a serious safety issue and recalled in other countries. My son was was driving on the highway and the tire exploded. He was so close to being killed because the car went out of control. After getting it towed to my mechanic, he advised me that alignment adjusters were stuck, the subframe was rotted, the lower control arm subframe mounts were broken from the subframe and they were hitting the gas tank. Luckily, the tire only exploded as oppose to the entire vehicle bursting in flames. There were no warning lights or messages, only the feeling that the tires needed to be aligned. We bought new tires and were told an alignment was done from Town Fair Tires, which was untrue. My son's life was in immediate danger. Shame on Mercedes for not recalling this subframe. This is the first of many avenues I am taking to have this rectified and hopefully prevent a tragedy
- Manchester, CT, USA
My spouse was driving approx 40MPH. Traffic light turned amber so she applied the brakes, at that point the vehicle pulled violently to the left into on coming traffic and at the same time the vehicle rear end was fish tailing out of control.Our mechanc inspected the vehicle and discovered the rear sub frame assembly had cracked on the driver side. We were advised by the mechanic this car is un driveable. Our Insurance appraiser inspected the vehicle and stated this is very common with this model vehicle and is a very bad design flaw. I contacted the Mercedes dealership and they advised there is no re-call on the subframe so I would need to pay $4000-$5000 for the repair. This vehicle is worthless to me now and is a grave safety risk to drive. I do not have the funds to fix this vehicle so I am now without a car. Mercedes customer care will not even answer any telephone calls. I have called 3 times and been on hold for over 60 minutes each time. This design flaw needs to be corrected by Mecedes before someone gets killed.
- Round Lake, IL, USA
Take my car to the dealer and told me my rear subframe is rusted out and is dangerous to drive. Total cost replace they said around $5800. Why there isn-??t recall for the problem in the USA " I find out there is one in Canada and Germany for this car. What I-??m supposed to do with the car" Take it to a junkyard because Mercedes-??
- Anderson , IN, USA
the rear subframe @lower control arms right side rust on bracket when put break on the car go to right and make noise!!! the car just have 83.000 miles!! this have re call or not?we d'ont know untill seaching on web side findown couple owner C300 have problem said some
- Liberty Twp, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-70 mph, the vehicle started shuddering and lost stability. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that as she disengaged the accelerator pedal, the vehicle stopped shuddering. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear subframe was rusted and had fractured into two pieces on both sides of the vehicle, and the lower control arms were hitting the gas tank. The check engine warning light and TPMS warning light were illuminated at the time of the diagnosis. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
- Dexter, MO, USA
Rear Sub-frame corrosion required a complete replacement of component to pass PA Inspection - car had about 63,000 miles and has been garage kept (and barely driven in Winter) since I purchased it as a certified pre-owned vehicle from the dealer (6 months old with less than 6,000 miles on it). MB Mechanics state that they are seeing this a lot with these cars, replacement sub-frame design is modified to prevent corrosion and I personally think this should be a recall safety issue as the corrosion was classified by the dealership as "Aggressive" and can cause control arms to detach (yikes !). I contacted Mercedes-Benz corporate to see if they would provide some cost assistance, they agreed to pay $1000 towards the cost of the replacement, still leaving me with a bill of $2500. I have a 20 year old Ford Taurus that lives outside and is driven all year round that doesn't have a corroded subframe - why can't Mercedes make one that doesn't fall apart ?
- York Haven, PA, USA
Bought C300 2009 4 matic Sep. 2017 used from a dealer. Carfax indicates getting scheduled service from dealer and it does not show problems with the car. It has now 90K mileage. Lately, I started hearing some noise at the back whenever I hit a small bump, so I decided to bring it to the Mercedes-Benz dealer and have it checked last July 21, 2020. They found out that the rear subframe is broken because of rust. The estimated repair cost is $6,000. They also said front end links torn and leaking, both front axles boots torn and leaking, centrifuge and vacuum pump O-ring leaking oil, trasnfer case leaking oil. The cost of repair is an additional $4,000. I complained to the the technician that I just had a scheduled service on it last year, how come it has this series of problems now. Technician advised me to call customer service and see if they can goodwill the repair cost. After a series of email and tel. Exchanges with C.S., I finally got the result today Aug. 7, 2020 from the C.S manager and said no discount or goodwill on the repair. They can only give a discount of $1,000 if I buy a new one from them or $500 if I buy a cpo. Is this their tactic on selling their cars in the inventory? this car is so expensive that they brag themselves to have a very durable car but yet, has this kind of issues. I found out lately that a lot of Mercedes -Benz owner has similar complaints. Mercedes-Benz did not do their job to avoid this kind of issue occuring, so I found them to be at fault on this and making the consumers unsafe to drive their cars. Consumers are going to be always on the loosing end no matter how careful we are on driving and maintaining the car, if this kind of car and service is what we're getting from Mercedes-Benz. I'm appealing to you to help me make Mercedes-Benz shoulder the cost of repair. I can't drive it now because of safety issue. Thank you.
- Clifton, NJ, USA
My rear sub frame is broken due to rust on my 2009 Mercedes C300. It was causing major wiggle while breaking and I thought it was the rotors. The car has 98,000 miles on it and has always been stored dry in my garage. Upon looking online, it appears this has been a problem with numbers Mercedes C classes upon 90,000 - 100,000 miles. When I took it to the shop for them to look at the rotors, they were surprised it didn't completely break and cause a wreck. They are having me tow it to a body shop.
- Fort Wayne, IN, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. While the vehicle was stationary, the tire pressure monitor (tpm) indicator illuminated. Helms brother Mercedes-Benz in flushing, New York replaced all four tpm sensors and all four tires, but the failure recurred. In addition, water entered into the rear passenger seat. The source of the leak could not be determined. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
- Floral Park, NY, USA
Driver's side interior door-opening latch/handle has disengaged so that I cannot open the door to exit the vehicle. In order to open the door, I must open the window and reach outside the vehicle to engage the exterior door latch/handle. This is time-consuming and could be quite dangerous should I need to exit the vehicle quickly. It happened suddenly after I had returned home and parked. I was about to exit and the latch just gave up when I tried to engage it. I found similar complaints online with owners stating that the interior door latch/handle (inner part) is made of very cheap plastic.
- Asheville, NC, USA
Trouble with sun roof assembly. Mechanic warned me not to use it as it is defective and cannot be repaired but must be replaced which would cost too much money. The car was purchsed used and this was not indicated at that time. He warned me after I bought it.
- Cape Coral, FL, USA
"takata recall" I was driving to work around 10:30 am in my 2009 Mercedes Benz C300 enjoying the commute. As I approached the stop light.....blank!!!! I lastly remember breaking....to open my watering eyes to see that I hit another vehicle and don't recall anything at all. As I get up in realized that my head hurts and there was a small tear in the steering wheel as a small portion of the bag deployed but not fully.. it appeared to be a faulty bag that has caused this serious inconvenience.
- New Orleans, LA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while traveling various speeds, he heard a popping noise. Upon investigation, it was found that the passenger taillight bulb failed. The contact also mentioned that the driver's front interior door handle detached. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was confirmed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
- Deerfield, IL, USA
- Niskayuna , NY, USA