The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving approximately 2 MPH over a speed bump, there was a loud cranking sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with failure to the rear subframe due to severe rust. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 121,218.
2012 Mercedes-Benz C300 body complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 55 of 55, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound from the rear of the vehicle. The contact lost control of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue normal driving once he regained control of the vehicle. The contact scheduled an appointment with an independent mechanic for the vehicle to be inspected. The contact was informed that the rear subframe had detached from the passenger’s side of the vehicle due to severe corrosion. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls related to the failure on his vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while the vehicle was receiving a routine maintenance, she was informed that the rear sub frame was rusted and had two holes. The vehicle was diagnosed that there was a transmission leak and the rear sub frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving approximately 65-70 MPH, he heard abnormal clicking sounds coming from the rear of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving and depressing the brake pedal to come to a complete stop, the vehicle swerved while stopping. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear driver's side subframe was severely corroded and fractured and needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle would be repaired at his own expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle swerved. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the rear passenger's side sub-frame was corroded and the stabilizer arm had detached from the sub-frame due to corrosion. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the sub-frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Vehicle was in for state inspection at an authorized inspection station. It failed inspection due to severely rusted and deteriorated rear K-Frame which had to be replaced to pass inspection. This is a major defect I feel caused by manufacture negligence. There were no warnings, messages or any signals indicating a problem. This issue could have severely caused an injury or even death had it not been detected by the mechanic inspector. Mechanic stated to me that he had replaced several of the rear K-Frames in the last year on this make and model.
While driving recently we noticed that the vehicle pulled to one side while braking, and very hard under quick stop tests. Vehicle handling felt extremely dangerous when performing a hard brake test. An inspection was performed, and the service center found a rotted out rear subframe, and cracking around the suspension mounting brackets. After researching this repair, we found this to be a common problem in this and similar model Mercedes-Benz (MB) vehicles of that vintage. I understand that a recall may have been issued in Canada regarding this issue, but not in the U.S. Mercedes-Benz and their service stations have acknowledged this issue is common but they have not taken action to rectify this serious problem, or to compensate owners for the repair costs, which range from $3500 to $6000 depending on where the vehicle is serviced. We are the first owners of this car. It is barely 10 years old, is regularly maintained, and thoroughly washed during the winter months to remove road salt. A well maintained vehicle should not deteriorate this rapidly from rust, especially a Mercedes-Benz. We feel that it is unacceptable for MB to remain unaccountable for this problem.
Per the dealership in connection with a regular service, the rear subframe rusted out and became structurally weak and was a safety hazard. The problem was confirmed and repaired by an independent repair shop. From Google searches, this issue does not appear to be an uncommon problem. Car is garaged and receives regular underbody washes for road salt.
This is a followup to a previous report. I now have photos and the actual part that was replaced. While driving on secondary road at 45 mph, braked for stoplight in 2012 Mercedes C300 4matic. Car veered left, rear swung right, and right front dove downward. Luckily regained control and prevented swerving into oncoming traffic. Took car to my regular mechanic and it was determined that the welds on the left rear portion of the rear subframe had rusted out from the inside of the subframe, severing the attachment to the left rear wheel control arms. The car had been inspected 6 months earlier and there was no sign of problem. The failure was catastrophic, not gradual. Upon removal, it was also noted that the right mounting bracket was also in the process of rusting through and failing. When the mechanic called the local Mercedes dealer, the service manager was not surprised and proceeded to outline what parts would be needed to carry out the repair. When I contacted the local Mercedes dealer, myself, they said this wasn’t an uncommon problem, but there was not recall or service bulletin on the problem. Was given a rough quote of $5000 to affect the repair. I also contacted Mercedes Benz USA and was told there were no recalls or service bulletins, but they might be able to provide some “Goodwill Assistance” to offset the expected cost if I had it towed to a MB dealer and got a quote from them. Benzworld.org, an owners forum with over 5 million participants world-wide https://www.benzworld.org/threads/w204-rear-subframes-deterioration.3048088/#post-17965564 has multiple postings about the problem as do other forums including CarProblemZoo.com https://www.carproblemzoo.com/mercedesbenz/c300/suspension-problems.php . This design/manufacturer defect has had recalls in both Europe and Canada. Why this is not being addressed in the US? This sudden failure is potentially life-threatening.
The contact's wife owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer to be serviced, he was informed that the subframe was severely corroded and could fracture. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000.
While driving on secondary road at 45 mph, braked for stoplight in 2012 Mercedes C300 4matic. Car veered left, rear swung right, and right front dove downward. Luckily regained control and prevented swerving into oncoming traffic. Took car to my regular mechanic and it was determined that the welds on the left rear portion of the rear subframe had rusted out from the inside of the subframe, severing the attachment to the left rear wheel control arms. The car had been inspected 6 months earlier and there was no sign of problem. The failure was catastrophic, not gradual. When the mechanic called the local Mercedes dealer, the service manager was not surprised and proceeded to outline what parts would be needed to carry out the repair. When I contacted the local Mercedes dealer, myself, they said this wasn’t an uncommon problem, but there was not recall or service bulletin on the problem. Was given a rough quote of $5000 to affect the repair. I also contacted Mercedes Benz USA and was told there were no recalls or service bulletins, but they might be able to provide some “Goodwill Assistance” to offset the expected cost if I had it towed to a MB dealer and got a quote from them. Benzworld.org, an owners forum with over 5 million participants world-wide https://www.benzworld.org/threads/w204-rear-subframes-deterioration.3048088/#post-17965564 has multiple postings about the problem as do other forums including CarProblemZoo.com https://www.carproblemzoo.com/mercedesbenz/c300/suspension-problems.php . This design/manufacturer defect has had recalls in both Europe and Canada. Why this is not being addressed in the US? This sudden failure is potentially life-threatening.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated her son was driving approximately 60 MPH and noticed that the steering wheel was crooked and vibrating. The driver was manually turning the steering wheel for the vehicle to drive straight. The driver also noticed that while depressing the brake pedal, the rear of the vehicle was shaking going from left to right while coming to a complete stop. The driver took the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be inspected and was informed that the rear driver’s side subframe had separated from the vehicle due to extreme rust. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.
Rear subframe (as recalled in previous years) was completed corroded - failed virginia inspection - in such poor shape that entire subframe had to be replaced - corrosion riddled the piece so that huge holes resulted in no possibility of welding to fix/supplement weakness - auto repair place had not seen such a weak frame in such a relatively new car. Luckily - no accident occured but could easily have occurred due to corrosion. No other part of vehicle was corroded - so part was manufactured incorrectly (no corrosion control?/shipment from germany issue?) - mercedes benz has recall for this part in previous model years - pictures of subframe available upon demand
Takata recall was made on this car in january 2017 and no remedy has been released over two years later. Also, the paint on the whole car bubbled being a defect from mercedes.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the rear passenger side window exhibited a loud, abnormal noise when opened. As a result, the contact experienced a temporary loss of hearing from the high pitch of the noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the loud noise was common for the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 384. Updated 8/21/12
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