2010 Mercedes-Benz C300: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Jun 3, 2025 · Seat belts, Seats · TN · crash · 1 injury

1. Driver seat back broke in a rear collision. Documented in EMS report and Kentucky State Police official investigation photos. 2. Driver head rest failed, completedly came off during rear collision. Front passenger side did not fail. Documented in Kentucky State Police official investigation photos. 3. Driver side seat belt failed, completedly came off during rear collision.Documented in Kentucky State Police official investigation report and photos. Driver sustained massive and severe injuries. Prior issues: both front door and left rear door handle interior plastic broke and had to be repair. Major safety issue

Filed Mar 23, 2020 · Steering · 74,000 miles · CA

Seized steering lock and passenger door won't open from the inside

Filed Oct 31, 2018 · Electrical · 86,000 miles · NE

The steering lock failed. Stopped at the post office and my car would not start when I got back to the car. The door locks would work but the ignition would not read my fob. I did a little research and found that this is a common problem.

Filed Apr 9, 2018 · Body · 70,000 miles · MS

After purchasing my vehicle in 2013 the driver inside door latch broke and will not open drivers door. This occurred approximately 3 yrs after I purchased the vehicle. Around 12/16. In order to get out of my vehicle I must roll the window down and unlock door, reach out and open from outside latch. I feel very unsafe in this vehicle in the event I lose power due to wreck, I will be trapped inside this vehicle. I've reported this to mercedes's and when I've tried to order this part, I'm told it's on national backorder ! It's very expensive to fix, but I can't even get it fixed because the part is not available. Mercedes won't even give me a date when it will be available. After googling this subject online, I've learned there is a huge amount of theses door latches breaking. I'm pleading for help!!

Filed Dec 25, 2017 · Body · AZ

I am writing you regarding a serious and potential life threatening safety hazard that has been ignored by mercedes-benz. Clearly this is not an isolated problem as I have found this issue has plagued many other mercedes drivers on the internet. On 1 october 2017, the inside passenger door handle malfunctioned and would not open the door. (see attached photo). The passenger door can now only be opened from the outside. When taken to the local mercedes of arrowhead dealer in peoria, az, it was determined that the entire door panel must be replaced, needs to be manufactured and would not be available until nov 2017, then dec 2017 and now feb 2018. The inability to open the passenger door presents a grave safety hazard because if the car is in a accident where the driver door is disabled both the passenger and driver cannot escape from the vehicle. Therefore, mercedes should have placed this model on the recall list which it did not and the local mercedes dealer said I am not alone with this engineering malfunction in this model year and perhaps others. The length of time to correct this engineering defect is unacceptable and this situation requires an immediate and concerted investigation because it presents a potential life threatening scenario.

Filed Nov 28, 2017 · Body · CA

Driver side door handle broke. This was not due to excessive force, unusual wear or use, etc. The part can only be repaired by replacing the entire interior door panel. Dealer is aware of the problem and knows that the piece is faulty and prone to breaking. The cost to fix it is nearly $1,000 to repair. In order to exit the vehicle, I have to roll down my window, open the door from the exterior, roll my window back up and then exit. This is a major safety hazard if I needed to exit the vehicle quickly due to a fire, accident, etc. When the handle broke, the vehicle was stationary (I had just parked), I went to open the door and there was no movement of the door. There was no sound indicating a break, it simply did not open the door any longer. When researching the problem, I found additional evidence of this being a common issue among other mb owners and they were equally aghast at the fact that this had not been recalled and addressed due to the severe nature of the issue.

Filed Oct 11, 2016 · Body · 76,276 miles · NY

While attempting to exit the vehicle, the driver side interior door handle broke. The vehicle was stationary at the time of the occurence. This is a safety problem. If there had been smoke or fire in the cabin related to an attempt to quickly exit the vehicle and the door handle brakes, it could cause a catastrophic event leading to possible death. It is made of cheap plastic.

Filed Jun 27, 2016 · Body · 31,000 miles · WI · 1 injury

I only have 30,000 miles on my 2010 c300. The driver interior door latch broke leaving me unable to open the door. I took to dealer and I even had an extended bumper to bumper warranty till 60,000 miles... The dealer or the warranty would not cover my door latch, stating it is wear and tear... This part is cheap plastic, that is pulled on numerous times a day. Plastic is not durable, especially in states with multiple extremes in temperatures. It was $150 just to remove the door panel by the mercedes dealer to tell me that it would not be covered. They told me that the part is $618 plus labor, making the total close to $1000. I have rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and polymyositis, making it painful to try and reach out an open window to open door by using exterior handle. I recently had a dead battery and needed to be inside my car for safety, but was unable then to open car until help came. I could not physically climb over center console to go out passenger side. Living in a state with extreme temperatures, this could be fatal. After researching my problem, many have had the same issue. 17 on this site alone. This is not wear and tear! The handle is cheap plastic, that brakes very easily. Please help, this is a very expensive safety repair! I have even heard of some people having multiple door handles on their car break.

Filed May 14, 2016 · Body · TX

Passenger side door handle broke creating a safety issue as passenger could not open door from inside in an emergency. For example, if the car stalls in a dangerous situation requiring immediate evacuation from the car or risk major injury or death (e.g, car fire, stuck on a railroad track, etc.) the passenger would be stuck in the car. Lowering the electric windows does not offer enough clearance to reach over the door to open the outside handle from the inside. Mercedes requires the purchase of an entire door panel to repair the cheap plastic handle on the interior of the car door (set. $800 for the panel pus labor for a total of $1100). The dealership, and mercedes benz, was well aware of this problem and the cost to repair it, but, hasn't reported it to the authorities as a risk.

Filed Apr 11, 2016 · NY

The door handle is broken on the driver side. The driver cannot get out rightaway if there is an emergency. The handle was not forced, it just start moving by itself. Looks life the cable is not atached. This is a safety issue. How come no body is looking at this.

Filed Mar 12, 2016 · MO

The door handles are broken on 3 doors causing the door panels to be replaced this really needs to be looked into by mercedes and recalled a mercedes is a high end vehicle and should not have these type of issues

Filed Feb 4, 2016 · 65,000 miles · TX

Inside door handles should be recelled due to safety hazard I got trapped in my car and everyone has same issue its a $1600 fix and have to replace door panel