Parked car at a gas station for 5 mins. Returned and car would not start. Dash states remove key from ignition. Dealer states eis failure. Very common in these cars. This should be recalled!! Mercedes benz should be accountable for this failure. Very dangerous and could happen anywhere at anytime.
2008 Mercedes Benz C300 electrical complaints
Page 7 of 9: complaints 161 to 190 of 228, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Parked the car in my drive way n t car would not start. Key would not function.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The battery was removed, charged, and re-installed, but the vehicle did not restart. The radio and headlights activated when the battery was re-installed. The failure occurred twice. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 83,000.
The entire car loses power, nothing works.
Car completely shuts down. Nothing worked and would not restart. This has occurred to many other cars and the manufacturer is well aware of this condition. Does someone have to be injured or killed (if this has not already happened) before this defect is addressed ?
Parked my car in the parking lot of my job, came back sand the car would not start. We tested the battery and no results. We eventually towed the vehicle to the dealership and determine it was the electronic steering lock and the electronic ignition switch. I was told by the service advisor that the car generally does not let you know when this issue will arise. I was quoted $2,428 to fix both, after arguing with them about this issue, they later discount it to $1,780. I think this issue should be investigated. I could have been on the freeway when it stop and would have been a catastrophic event. Also, I am constantly replacing my light bulbs. Can you investigate if there is an electrical issue with these car.
Car will not start. Windows, sunroof, steering inoperable. No power to car with exception of radio and lock/unlock. Need to override to get car out of park. Occurred first time on 7/7 and I was stranded in a parking lot. Second time occurred on 7/12, car was parked on side of road and would not start. Needed to be towed on flatbed to dealer. Dealer confirmed electronic steering lock defective and $1,000 for replacement and part. Very common in mercedes c300 models. Please research to see if there should be a recall. I performed a google search on the issue and there are multiple owners and forums complaining of the same issue from a number of countries including USA. Thank you.
It appears that the eis module has failed, I have done some research and have found several other consumers having the same issues with this particular year and model vehicle. This concerns me. Why hasn't any recalls been done to fix this issue. It seem like this is a safety issue. What if I were driving my car and the eis had malfunctioned. I would have lost power to my vehicle as well as all steering abilities. Could you please investigate this issue?
On way home from work in pouring down rain, I stopped at supermarket. When I returned to vehicle and turned the ignition to start car, nothing happened. It was dead. After trying for third time, warning message appeared, "remove key from ignition." when tower arrived, the gear shift would not move out of park. Garage mechanic eliminated battery problem and recommended it be towed back to dealership, 50 miles away. I am waiting for their mechanic to discover root cause. I do not like the unexpected problem of being stranded. There were no indications of a pre-warning. If mercedes-benz does not own this, I will trade it solely on grounds of reliability and will not purchase a mercedes-benz again.
Ignition/engine and complete system failure. Safety issue. The car loses all control, including brakes and steering. Does someone have to be injured or die (if it has not already happened) before this issue is addressed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start and the steering wheel seized. The dealer stated that the steering lock/ignition component needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 83,000.
While on highway I noticed burning plastic smell coming from rear of car. When I pulled over and opened my trunk, I noticed that the tail light was smoking. When I detached the lighting plate I noticed that the brown wire connector had melted through the lighting plate and that all of my tail lights were very dim.
Good morning, I am emailing you regarding an incident that occurred on may 13, 2014 on the lie 495. My vehicle, a 208 mercedes c300 stalled in the emergency lane and the wheel locked soon afterward. I was unable to move my car, causing a very dangerous situation for me. I want to make sure that this situation goes noticed. This issue consists in these vehicles and I urge for it to get recalled. The issue is the "steering lock column". This causes the wheel to lock and become immovable. I am aware that an incident such as mine happened to a friend who has the same vehicle. It is not safe and needs to be fixed before it risks somebody else's life. Thank you for your time.
Numerous light issues connected to the rear and front lighting. Dimming - low strength - and complete non-function of the rear lights and front lights also. So many events that required repairing. Incidents with law enforcement requiring repair. Inability to utilize the vehicle in the evening. It was a great car - but I felt a lack of confidence in it's safety because of and what I perceived as electrical issues. I decided, after much consideration, that the car needed to be traded in. It was purchased by [xxx]in newport beach. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c-300. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, the engine stalled. The problem recurred three times. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the ignition system was defective and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000.
Right tail light warning signals appeared, upon examining the tail light connection it appeared burned and melted. All right tail lights were out including signaling.
Tail light connectors overheat and melted the light holder assembly. Fire risk.
Good afternoon. I currently own a 2008 c300. I noticed my rear tail light warning indicator came on about a month ago. Upon checking the bulb, I noticed the jacket on one of the wires going into the connector was frayed. I put some electrical tape on it hoping that would solve the issue. 1 month later, I am now having the same issue again. I went to check on the light and noticed the fraying was growing worse and the wire was so hot I was concerned it was going to start a fire. I have since removed the bulb to prevent a fire from starting. In doing some research, it seems as though this is a common issue on this vehicle. Being that this is a pretty significant safety hazard and could potentially lead to a fire and even the loss of life, I am curious how and why there is not a recall on this defect. If you have any information on this issue please let me know. Thank you
I began to get warnings that the left rear tail light brake light and turn signal was malfunctioning. The left rear signal indicator in the dash blinked rapidly, and the computer gave warning message. When I removed the bulb panel I noticed that the wiring harness plug was burnt and the plastic housing that held the bulbs was burnt. The brown wire on the end of the harness connector was burnt and the metal tab that the connector connected to was melted along with the plastic plug.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that the passenger side tail light failed to illuminate. The contact stated that the bulbs were changed on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake wiring harness and the lighting board needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 70,000.
The rear wiring for the tail light lighting sparked. While driving the car smelled strongly of burning plastic. After a quick look over I didn't see anything alarming. The very next day all of the lighting on the rear right tail lights went out, all indicators came on in the dash showing that all bulbs were malfunctioning. After pulling the housing unit out, I found that the wire was burned and so was the unit the wires attached to; melted and burned. Wiring should not catch on fire, this could have easily spread and when taken to the dealer to fix, they cut the wire to attach more but cannot guarantee that it won't happen again.
Rear passenger tail lights in my 2008 c300 were dim and got dash warning light to check rear lights. A couple bulbs were out so when I looked at the assembly and pushed on it the lights that were out lit up temporarily and I noticed the cable harness that plugs in it was corroded on the end and the brown wire at the end was exposed (melted?) and the black plug looks warped (melted?), looks like a common problem based on forum reports.
Right side taillight wiring melting, lights not working.
Dash panel read an error of tail lights, brake lights, turn signal lights out on right side. Drove home from work , approximately 3 miles, smelled wires burning. Waited took car to autozone to get bulbs replaced. By the time I arrived, there was smoke coming from the compartment. The light assembly had caught fire and burned the plug and the board.
Received warning on dash to check rear driver tail light. Took the car in to the dealer to get it checked out and was told the wires from the tail light were melted from the electrical panel and my car is running on back up lights. The only solution is to replace the entire electrical back light system since the melted wires would eventually damage the entire brake light system. The cost to repair $900. Car smells burnt inside, and in the trunk. I am afraid of a fire, and getting rear ended if my brake lights stop working.
As I was stopped at a red light both my wife, kids and myself smelled a strong odor in the cabin of the car. It was worse towards the back seat where the kids were. I immediately pulled over and got the family out of the vehicle (mercedes benz c300 2008) and saw that grey smoke was coming out of the trunk of the car. When I opened the trunk I noticed that the smoke was coming out of the right tail light. The cable that feeds electricity to that panel shorted and caused a small fire which turned off the minute I shut the vehicle down. I then tried pulling out the cable from the light panel and it did not budge because it melted and fused together with the light panel.
Getting instrument cluster messages about tail and brake lights to be checked. I replaced bulbs and have the same messages. I understand that the sensor monitors resistance and the bulbs may be fine. Getting message for both sides now and I am very concerned reading some of the other responses that we have a defect in this car that could cause injuries or fires, this should definitely be a recall from mercedes. Danger! Danger!
Right & left rear tail light assembly wiring harness plugs have melted where attached to the tail lamp assembly, causing brake, turn signal, hazard, and running lamps to not work intermittently. Brown wires get too hot to touch. Safety issue with electrical connectors.
Randomly I started receiving check bulb messages for the rear lights on both sides of my car. I didn't think much of it as I don't think they had ever been changed so I changed them and all was fine and then a few weeks later the messages started to pop up again. I rechecked the bulbs to make sure they were securely in place and they were so I started doing a little research and discovered that this was a known issue. Presently the entire left rear side is out and it looks like the wiring has overheated and been singed (looks like it had burned).when calling all the local southern cali dealerships (orange county/long beach) none of them will admit to it being a widespread problem and fixing it for free because the parent company, mercedes benz, hasn't yet. I have no desire to pay for a problem that should have never occurred in the first place. My major concern is about potential fires in the trunk due to this. All it will take is one spark to catch on something in the trunk and then well car is on fire. As much a mercedes benz claims to be about safety, I'm shocked, one at the design flaw and two that they are going through the motions of pretending like the thousands of owners who have reported this are making it up. They need to get on this asap.
Right tail light connector, brown wire has melted and has affected the brightness of the bulbs on the right side of the car.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2008 Mercedes Benz C300?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history