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.
Mercedes-Benz C250 loss of power problems
18 of the 727 owner complaints about the Mercedes-Benz C250 describe sudden loss of power, most of them for the 2012 model year.
- owner complaints
- 18
- worst model year
- 2012
- typical mileage
- 89,000
By model year
Often reported together
Check engine light 12Won't shift 5Fuel pump 4Hesitation 2Won't start 1Steering lock-up 1Stalling 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P0340 1P0002 1
What owners say
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.
Lost of drive power and the vehicle steering wheel locked on my mercedes from a damaged malfunctioning steering lock actuator module due to mechanical issues within the steering column such as bad steering wheel assembly, faulty steering lock module or issue with the wiring or other electrical components and the mercedes dealer is the only one who solves this issue no other mechanic in general. My safety was at risk due to I lost power and lost of front brakes due to bad sway bar assembly or components could of caused and accident when this happened on November 12, 2024 the problem dealership found during vehicle inspection was code 25464 they told me recommend to replace electric lock module and repair estimate was $2,829.78 and before I approved the the amount I told Mr Ivan Velasco service advisor that after they replace the module that if my vehicle was going to be working again and that if I was just going to make 1 payment of $2,829.78 then I would approved it so I did. Weeks later I got an email asking for more money they wanted another payment for $600 saying it needed a sensor that has something to do with the transmission because after replacing the new module the vehicle did not start up there was no type of communications nothing at all and I responded that I was not going to pay $600 more just cause they don't know what their doing because they promise me the car was going to work after they replace the module now that it did not want to crank up they found another issue that's their fault on not doing there job the right way and for telling lies yes their was flashing blue or red icon on my dashboard that look like a car and a lock would go on and off and it displayed a message saying The theft protection is activated. I want to know if I can get this issue approved and to be considered a recall can you please help I'm so frustrating and mad that they want more money when it's already so expensive please help I would of appreciate it thank you.
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,
Driving on [XXX] to Atlanta GA my car would not automatically shift and began to vibrate badly. I was almost hit by other vehicles as I pulled off the highway to check car out. Car was vibrating badly in idle and when I resumed my trip back home the car would not accelerate properly and caused tremendous stress and danger. Figured out that car would not shift automatically and I was forced to shift the car manually. Car would sputter and vibrate badly and would only slightly less vibrate to where I could drive it home in gear D5 and would less vibrate at 75+ mph very dangerous, and would lose power and shake violently going up highway hills. I prayed all the way home and barely made it shaken. I called my Mercedes Benz Dealer from the highway and immediately scheduled appointment on 8/15/24. This was a major safety hazard and life threatening situation with my Mercedes Benz C250 2014 car. My car 100% serviced over the years at dealership I bought it from Rick Hendricks Mercedes Benz of Lake Norman NC. Thank you for your time! Actor & Model [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Auto is less than 100k miles excellent condition had the turbo gasket go bad on the auto. Oil leaking in the main engine compartment and on ground due to the gasket issue. Could cause damage to engine and turbo. Gasket should not have gone bad. While at the mechanics same issue with the same exact model of mercedes, not sure the year but identical body style. Repairs were completed on 06/07/22 cost through mechanic $465.00 any time due to passing or excelartion the engine would miss out and lose power for the passing or escelartion.
2012 C250 has a known defect with high pressure fuel pump. I personally have had an intermittent issue where vehicle will unpredictably stop working under heavy throttle and enter limp mode as the computer throws a fault code. This results in loss of power after the code making vehicle unpredictable and dangerous in passing situations. It leaves you stranded in the passing lane with oncoming traffic with a vehicle that will not accelerate. I have submitted a request multiple times with Mercedes benz corporate who has declined my submission. This issue has been ongoing since 2016. They have offered an extended warranty on the vehicle 10 years and 120,000 miles as they know there is a defect. It is dangerous and needs to be covered for all of the affected vehicles.
When accelerating to pass a vehicle the check engine light comes on and there is loss power. When this happens there is a huge potential of a crash. The car has to be shut off to try and reset this. When you are on the frwy this puts life at danger. The code is a p002 and if you research it Mercedes is aware of this and is most likely a defective high pressure fuel pump problem that needs replacing but there have been no recalls. I have looked it up on you tube and has been on ongoing issue with no recalls as of yet. I am taking my car to dealer on 11/15/2021 for this issue which they will charge me for even though its a safety issue
I was trying to merge onto a freeway from a complete stop and because this freeway has an extremely short on-ramp, you need to get up to a high speed in very little time. As such, I put my car in Sport driving mode and accelerated very hard from a complete stop. The car accelerated as normal for a few seconds (I reached approximately 40 to 50 MPH), then I felt the car lag and felt a loss of power. The car was in limp mode and I couldn’t accelerate even though I was pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor. A few seconds after this occurred, I notice that the check engine light turned on. I was able to maintain a speed around 50 MPH and got off the freeway. I took my car to both the Mercedes dealership and an independent mechanic and both diagnosed a failure of the high pressure fuel pump. I also tried to see if this will happen again and after hard acceleration in regular driving mode, the exact same issues occurred. I have read that there are issues with the high pressure fuel pump with my car model and I ask that you guys please investigate thoroughly to see if a recall would be necessary. Losing power while accelerating is extremely dangerous and a huge safety hazard for all drivers on the road. I could have easily been rear ended by another driver since I couldn’t accelerate to a faster speed. I have not yet replaced the high pressure fuel pump but plan to do so in the next few days. Attached is the diagnostic invoice from the Mercedes dealership. As stated on the invoice, please note that my car only has 43,000 miles, which makes the high pressure fuel pump failure very surprising.
When accelerating to pass on highway car suddenly goes into limp mode and losses power this is dangerous at 70 plus miles per hour, ECM code reads p0002 high pressure fuel regulator failure, check engine light will stay on until car has been shut off for longer than ten minutes or if you have a scanner you can erase code and drive the car normal, no passing. This has also happen pulling out from a stop light car has buckle with immediate power loss and will only creak up in limp mode just enough to get you home. I am a well season mechanic with over 20 years experience and this is absolutely dangerous. Please don't wait until someone gets hurt or killed by this which is a known issue going back before 2012. This happened 3 times this ast week and today.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Mercedes-Benz C250 loss of power
Which Mercedes-Benz C250 years have sudden loss of power problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2012 (8 complaints), 2013 (7 complaints) and 2014 (3 complaints).
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