2013 Mercedes-Benz C250: sudden loss of power

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 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 Aug 24, 2020 · Engine · 89,000 miles · TX

Car lost power, didn't overheat. Found out the tension and timing and heads need replacing after 89,000 miles

Filed Jun 24, 2019 · Fuel system · 45,000 miles · CO

When accelerating, the car will just lose all power and stop accelerating. This throws you forward and kills power to the engine preventing you from speeding up. It then goes into limp mode and have to restart the car several times before exiting limp mode. When taking the car to the dealer they say it just detects a fuel error and stops the engine to prevent damage. This happened once on a highway and once on a city street as I was turning.

Filed May 1, 2018 · Engine · 47,000 miles · IL

My car has 47k mileage and the check engine light was on a few weeks ago. The error code was p0340 camshaft position sensor circuit malfunction. The mercedes benz dealer technicians checked the check and found that the issue was caused by timing chain and they had to replace it. I did research online and found lots of mb c250 2012 and 2013 cars with similar mileage (40k to 60k) had exact same issue as mine. It can cause cranky start, failure to accelerate while driving and losing power. It can be extremely dangerous when car with this issue on the road, especially on highways.