2013 Mercedes-Benz C250: check engine light

Filed Nov 2, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · CA

The vehicle was represented to me as safe to drive, with no major mechanical issues, and that it would pass emissions after only a simple minor fix. After I took possession, the check engine light came on. The car began running rough and showing hesitation. A scan immediately showed a camshaft position sensor fault, cylinder misfire, lean fuel condition, and oxygen sensor/emissions faults. I was also told by a professional shop that the timing chain may be failing. I was then warned that these problems can cause power loss or engine stalling while driving, and that the vehicle in this condition would likely not pass a legal emissions inspection. I was never told about any of these safety or emissions problems before taking the vehicle. This situation creates a safety risk because sudden loss of engine power or stalling can happen in traffic.

Filed Apr 21, 2025 · Fuel system · WA

Hola a todos. hace 3 meses compre un mercedes benz c250 año 2012 en argentina. A eso de tener un mes el auto salí a la ruta. (Acá en argentina es muy normal que las rutas sean de un solo carril y doble mano, por lo que hacer un adelantamiento tiene que ser una maniobra muy precisa). Al querer acelerar mi auto a fondo se me cortó la aceleración bruscamente. Perdió la potencia y me encendió la luz amarilla del check engine. Por suerte pude llegar a pasar. Legué a mi casa sorprendido e investigué en las redes. Me encuentro con que la bomba de alta presion de mi vehículo tiene una falla (aparentemente le pasó a mucha gente) Espero que estas quejas lleguen a las autoridades de mercedes benz y se hagan responsables antes de que esta falla provoque un accidente mortal. ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Hello everyone. Three months ago, I bought a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250 in Argentina. About a month after I had the car, I hit the road. (Here in Argentina, it's very common for roads to be single-lane, two-way, so overtaking requires very precise maneuvering.) When I tried to accelerate my car fully, the acceleration abruptly cut out. I lost power and the yellow check engine light came on. Luckily, I was able to get through. I arrived home, surprised, and I did some research online. I discovered that my vehicle's high-pressure pump was faulty (apparently, it's happened to a lot of people). I hope these complaints reach the Mercedes-Benz authorities and they take responsibility before this fault causes a fatal accident.

Filed Jan 27, 2025 · Fuel system · TX

HIGH pressure fuel pump malfunctions Yes it is available for inspection The car was put in limb mode when at high speed this could have caused an accident with many drivers do to the loss of power Yes it’s been re produced 3 times and others by me No it has not been inspected by a dealer or police or insurance No lamps or symptoms that may be super noticeable, but reduce power and as soon as the high pressure pump fails a check engine light goes off and car has trouble changing gears and accelerating,

Filed Jan 10, 2025 · Engine · 60,000 miles · WI

The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The failure occurred on several different occasions. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the diagnosis was pending. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Filed Nov 20, 2024 · Engine · 94,328 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated while driving 25 MH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the camshaft adjuster had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under an Extended Warranty because the 10-year time frame had been exceeded. The failure mileage was approximately 94,328.

Filed Nov 18, 2024 · Engine · 40,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the cam shaft adjusters needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

Filed Dec 31, 2020 · Fuel system · 90,000 miles · TX

I was driving on the freeway i10 I was doing 65 MPH I try to pass a car so I accelerated the car but the car was not getting the power and my check engine light came on so I safely pull out of the freeway and inspected the car with a scanner and it showed a code so I search in google and it appears a failure of the high pressure fuel pump, I managed to take the car to my house disconnected the battery and the check engine light disappeared but the RPM's where irregular and the acceleration was failing more often. It appears that I'm not the only one that have had this problem while I was looking in google and youtube many people had the same problem while trying to accelerate.

Filed Nov 12, 2020 · Engine · 69,000 miles · FL

Hello, I bought my car from local dealer, used with 69k miles. Delivered it with check engine light. Dealer claimed it was low windshield washer fluid. I test drive it and took car to my house. After a month, I went to mercedes benz service station where I found out the camshaft adjuster is out. Costing another $4900. I research more on this issue; this is a flaw in the mercedes m271 engine. After a certain amount of mileage, the camshaft and timing chain have been malfunctioning in most mercedes c250 cars. Mercedes did a recall on it years ago the camshaft adjuster solenoid is very faulty as it happens to most c250 vehicle owners. The check engine stays on every day, there are 1000s of people reported this issue with mercedes.

Filed Aug 31, 2020 · Engine · 88,500 miles · SC

I was driving on the highway doing around 70 MPH and all of a sudden my car lost power and start shaking acting like it didn't want to go forward, I was afraid that it was going shut down on me and a lot of cars was coming behind me I was so afraid I was going to be in a bad accident, I was able to get over and come to a complete stop without incident, but I was afraid the car was going to shut off on me and not start back up but I manage to make it home because I was only a few miles away. The next day I took the car to be diagnose because the check engine light came on I went to the automobile repair shop to have it diagnose and the code came up for camshaft position sensors I had them replaced, then my car started hesitating to start and the check engine light would come on and then go off while I was driving and I would drive it for about 30 mins and the check engine light would come back on again stay on for a little while and go back off again, I took it to the dealership again and I was inform that it was the timing chain but I didn't believe it, because I had just replaced the sensors and the spark plugs and I didn't have that many miles on it and I have only had the car for 3 1/2 years, I still didn't believe it then my car started to hesitate on starting up and loosing power when I was driving it again, so I took it to another automobile repair shop that specialize in fixing mercedes benz and it came back with the same diagnose check engine light is due to timing chain, timing chain need replacing. I have already replace 2 camshaft position sensors on this car. I was told it will cost me around 5000.00 to fix it. I have always had my car maintenance service on time, I can't believe that this car is having this type of problems. I am so afraid to drive this car.

Filed Jan 29, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 89,000 miles · NC

Whenever I accelerate engine light comes up and it turns into limp mode.this is a serious safety issue, alot of other people with the same vehicle as me are having same issues. This has happened more than 3 times, this is a error in high pressure fuel pump.

Filed Dec 9, 2019 · Engine · 46,700 miles · CA

At 46,000 miles my mercedes benz c250 began hesitating to start and then after starting made a slight grinding noise for 3 to 4 seconds. After the car had hesitated to start for several days the engine light then came on. When taken in for repair I was told the cam sensor as well as the cam gears needed to be replaced. I have done all scheduled maintenance on this vehicle and am a very conservative driver, as this car has very low miles for being a 2013 model. After a brief online search I found countless complaints from other consumers that had the exact same problem with their mercedes benz c250. If the vehicle is out of warranty the dealerships are unwilling to perform this work at any kind of discount because a formal recall has never been made for this engine model. This repair ranges in price from $4,000 to $5,000. This seems like an issue that urgently needs to be looked into as many consumers are being left to pay this excessive bill for an issue that I believe mercedes benz knows is a systemic problem with the engine in the c250 model.

Filed Nov 27, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 92,300 miles · FL

Whenever I want to speed up to pass a vehicle or/and to enjoy a rapid accelarating engine light comes up and it turns into limp mode.this is a serious safety issue