2009 MERCEDES-BENZ C300 Complaints

WARNING INDICATORS FLASHED FOR ALL THE RIGHT SIDE REAR LIGHTS. WHEN I WENT TO CHANGE BULBS DISCOVERED THE COVERING ON WIRES HAD MELTED ALONG WITH THE PLASTIC HARNESS. TOOK IT TO DEALER NEXT DAY AND THE HARNESS HAD TO BE REPLACED FOR A LITTLE OVER $150. IT IS HAPPENING ON THE OTHER SIDE ALSO. SERVICE REP HAS SEEN ON OTHER C300S. MB DENIES THIS IS A DEFECT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MERCEDES BENZ C300. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT THE DEALER HE SLOWED THE VEHICLE DOWN IN ORDER TO DRIVE THROUGH AN AUTOMATIC DOOR WHEN SUDDEN ACCELERATION OCCURRED CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO THE DOOR. THE DRIVER AND TWO OTHER PEOPLE WERE INJURED. THEY WERE ALL TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL WITH INJURIES TO THE THIGH, LEG, AND A BRUISED COLLAR BONE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE INSURANCE COMPANY WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THERE WAS NO ACCELERATION FAILURE OR ANY RELATED RECALLS. THE CONTACT STATED THE FLY BY WIRE CAUSED THE ACCELERATION. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,660. UPDATED 02/07/13

WARNING ON DASH SHOWS RR BRAKE LIGHT IS OUT AND TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS IS OUT. WENT TO LOOK AT THE BACK OF THE CAR TO SEE IF THE LIGHTS WHERE ON AND THE RR LIGHT ASSEMBLY WAS DIM. OPEN THE PANEL WHERE THE BULBS ARE AND THE WIRE HARNESS WAS FRIED. THIS MIGHT BE A FIRE HAZARD. *TR UPDATED 03/27/13*LJ UPDATED 04/02/2013 *JS

RIGHT AFTER THE MANUFACTURES WARRANTY ENDED, THE LEFT FRONT SRS MALFUNCTION LIGHT CAME ON IN MY VEHICLE, ACCOMPANIED BY THE AIR BAG LIGHT. I DID RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM THIS MALFUNCTION. THE LIGHT DOES NOT GO OFF AND THE AIR BAG SYSTEM WILL NOT DEPLOY IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT. THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE THAT IS INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE TO FIX (APPROX. COSTS ARE OVER $1000.00 AT MY DEALERSHIP) AND SINCE IT HAS BEEN A RECURRING DEFECT IN THE VEHICLE YEAR AFTER YEAR, IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED BY MERCEDES AT NO COST TO MYSELF AND OTHER MERCEDES OWNERS. *TR

AT SOME POINT IN TIME THE LEFT REAR TAILLIGHT STARTED TO DIM DRAMATICALLY. I OPENED THE ENCLOSURE TO CHANGE THE BULBS THINKING THEY WERE BURNT OUT AND FOUND THE WIRE HARNESS AS WELL AS THE BULB DOCK HAD MELTED BECAUSE OF OVERHEATING. A FUSE DID NOT BLOW AND THE CARS COMPUTER NEVER GAVE ANY INDICATION OF THIS ISSUE. MY CONCERN IS THAT THE SYSTEM COULD ACTUALLY CATCH ON FIRE AND IT IS IN THE TRUNK AND NOT FAR FROM THE GAS TANK. AFTER RESEARCHING ON MB WORLD THIS APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN PROBLEM AND FLAW. I THINK IT SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO AND DETERMINE IF THERE IS A GREATER ISSUE HERE. *TR....UPDATED 03/27/13 *BF UPDATED 04/03/2013 *JS

MY CAR COMPUTER WAS SHOWING A MESSAGE THAT THE RIGHT REAR SIGNAL LIGHT, FOG LIGHT NEEDED TO BE CHECKED. MY HUSBAND CHANGED THE BULBS AND THE MESSAGE WAS STILL THERE. THESE LIGHTS WERE NO LONGER OPERATING PROPERLY. TOOK THE CAR FOR SCHEDULED SERVICE AND BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MECHANIC AT A MERCEDES BENZ DEALER/AUTO SERVICE. HE TOLD MY DAUGHTER THAT HE REMOVED THE ACCESS PANEL AND FOUND THAT THE CONNECTOR TO A BULB CARRIER, WIRE HARNESS AND BULB CARRIER WERE MELTED DUE TO A SHORT AT THE GROUND WIRE OF THE 7 PIN CONNECTOR. I CALLED THE SERVICE MGR HE COULD NOT TELL ME OR EXPLAIN WHY THIS HAPPENED OR ITS CAUSE. DISAPPOINTED BY HIS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPLANATION OF THE CAUSE, I CONTACTED MBUSA. AT FIRST THE PERSON THAT ANSWERED TRIED TO BRUSH ME OFF " THIS CAN HAPPEN". WHEN I INSISTED FOR A BETTER ANSWER OR EXPLANATION SHE REFERRED ME TO A "[XXX]"1-800-367-6372 EXT.[XXX]. WHO STATED THAT SHE WOULD SPEAK TO OTHER TECHNICAL PEOPLE AND GET BACK TO ME. WHEN SHE GOT BACK TO ME, IT WAS BASICALLY SHE WAS GOING TO SPEAK TO THE SERVICE MGR. AT THE DEALERSHIP THAT SERVICED MY CAR.HE CALLED ME ON 2/01/12 NOT CLARIFYING THE CAUSE,JUST RE-ITERATED WHAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY STATED. I CALL [XXX] WHO SIMPLY STATED THAT THIS HAS NEVER BEEN REPORTED BEFORE, BUT IT CAN HAPPEN, AND STATED THAT THE DEALERSHIP WOULD GIVE ME A $200.00 DISCOUNT AT THE NEXT SERVICE DATE. I WANTED AN EXPLANATION OF THE CAUSE, COULD THIS HAPPEN AGAIN, COULD THIS LEAD TO FURTHER MELTING, THAT COULD LEAD TO A FIRE, A BIGGER SHORTAGE, AND POSSIBLE ACCIDENT. I WAS TOLD BY THE MGR. AT DEALERSHIP, HE CANNOT FORESEE THE FUTURE AND HE COULD NOT PREDICT IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN AGAIN. I WAS TOLD THAT A DEFECTIVE PART IS NOT A MAJOR ISSUE.NO ONE OFFERED TO LOOK FURTHER INTO THE DEFECTIVE PART AND TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT REALLY HAPPEN. IF A PART IS DEFECTIVE, IT SHOULD BE EVALUATED OR EVEN ASK FOR THE PART . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*TR

I WAS CROSSING TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC AND WAS HIT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE BY TWO SUVS. THE IMPACT OF THE COLLISION CAUSED ME TO GO AIRBORNE, I WENT FRONT END FIRST INTO A DITCH EMBANKMENT. THE DRIVERS SIDE OF THE FRONT END AND OF THE FRONT END WAS PUSHED BACK INTO THE MOTOR AREA, CAUSING THE HOOD OF THE CAR TO BEND BACK TOWARDS THE FRONT WINDOW. THE CAR WAS A TOTAL LOSS WITH APPROXIMATELY $21,000 WORTH OF TOTAL DAMAGES. THE ONLY AIRBAG THAT DEPLOYED WAS THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAGS. NEITHER THE FRONT AIRBAGS NOR THE DRIVERS SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED UPON THE COLLISION. I SUSTAINED A FRACTURED NECK AND BROKE MY LEFT ARM. THE BREAK WAS SO SEVERE THAT I HAD TO UNDERGO SURGERY TO HAVE PINS AND PLATES PUT INTO MY ARM. MY DOCTOR TOLD ME THAT THE HARD FORCE OF THE IMPACT WAS THE CAUSE OF MY SEVERELY FRACTURED ARM WITH PERMANENT NERVE DAMAGE. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH MERCEDES BECAUSE I FELT THE FRONT AIR BAG AS WELL AS THE DRIVERS SIDE AIRBAG SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED UPON MY COLLISION INTO THE EMBANKMENT. MERCEDES REPLIED TO MY COMPLAINT STATING THE AIRBAGS WORKED PROPERLY. I PURCHASED THE CAR BASED ON THEIR ADVERTISED SAFETY FEATURES AND THE OUTCOME OF MY COLLISION WAS TOTALLY NOT WHAT I EXPECTED. BASED ON MY RESEARCH VIA THE MERCEDES C300 ONLINE CRASH TEST DEMONSTRATES THE FRONT AIRBAGS DEPLOYING WITH THE SAME FRONT END DAMAGE WITH A SIMILAR TYPE IMPACT. MERCEDES TOLD ME THEY SENT AN INSPECTOR OUT TO LOOK AT THE CAR BUT REFUSED TO PROVIDE ME WITH DETAILS OF THEIR INVESTIGATION, STATING IT WAS CONSIDER INTERNAL INFORMATION. TO THIS DAY, I STILL DON'T KNOW WHY THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. WITH THE AMOUNT OF FRONT END AND PASSENGER SIDE DAMAGE, I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT HAVE DEPLOYED. I WOULD LIKE A THIRD PARTY INVESTIGATION TO BE DONE TO DETERMINE IF THE AIRBAG DID DEPLOY PROPERLY. I HAVE PICTURES OF THE CAR AND WOULD BE WILLING TO SEND THEM. *TT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MERCEDES BENZ C300. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AS THE BRAKES WERE DEPRESSED, THE BRAKE LIGHT AND TAIL LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE. IN ADDITION, THE TAIL AND BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS AS WELL AS THE SRS AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT, ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC WHO CONFIRMED TO THE CONTACT THAT THE WIRE CONNECTOR FOR THE TAIL LIGHTS WAS MELTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 62,500. KMJ UPDATED 01/10/12*LJ UPDATED 03/29/2013 *JS

TIRE AIR LEAKING RESULT FROM RIM CRACK WITHIN 1ST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP OF 2009 MERCEDES C300. IT IS ORIGINAL MANUFACTURING DEFECT, AND THE MANUFACTURE RESPOND VERY SLOW FOR OUR REPORT OF PROBLEM. *TR

THERE IS NO FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE BUT IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. FOG LIGHT LENS THAT IS MADE OF GLASS HAS NO SAFETY BARRIERS TO PROTECT IT FROM BREAKAGE AND IT IS MOUNTED VERY LOW. WITH THE CRACK OF THE LENS, THE FOG LIGHT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED AND THE COST TO CHANGE IS IT $248. MERCEDES IS REFUSING TO ACCEPT IT AS A DESIGN DEFECT. IF I DO NOT CHANGE THIS DUE TO COST, IT IS A BIG HAZARD ESPECIALLY FOR OWNERS LIVING IN FOG PRONE AREAS LIKE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA WHERE I LIVE. IF NOT CHANGED, THERE ARE CHANCES OF ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD DURING FOG DAYS. MERCEDES HAS CHANGED THE DESIGN OF THE FOG LIGHTS IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS (AFTER 2009) OF C300. MERCEDES SHOULD CHANGE THIS DEFECTIVE DESIGN AND FIX IT FOR FREE FOR 2009 YEAR AS WELL FOR FREE. EVEN AFTER I PAY $248 TO GET THE LIGHT CHANGED MYSELF, IT WILL CRACK AGAIN SINCE IT IS MADE OF GLASS AND NOT COVERED BY ANY PROTECTIVE BARRIER. SO, EVEN AFTER PAYING TO GET THE FOG LIGHT REPLACED IS NOT GOING TO FIX THE DESIGN DEFECT.