2008 Mercedes Benz C300: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Dec 30, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · MN

Camshaft adjuster solenoid leaked oil into wiring harness, caused vehicle to go into limp mode and not accelerate/shift gears. This is a known problem with the m272 engine, this vin did not show up on the recall list.

Filed Jun 29, 2022 · Electrical, Steering · RI

Pulled into parking space on side of street and turned off vehicle to pick up restaurant food. Returned to vehicle within 5 minutes, turned the key, and vehicle was dead. 93 year old mother was in car which was now stuck in parking space. We had to open the doors, due to vehicle windows not functioning, to try to prevent inside of car from overheating due to outside temperature. Called AAA, who arrived after about 45 minutes, tried to jump start car, indicated appeared battery was fine. Had to re-contact AAA to get car towed. Waited another 45 minutes for tow truck to arrive. Again checked battery and ignition, battery fine, car was locked in park and steering wheel was locked,. Towing technician had to lift up center console to reach underneath to switch to neutral. Technician had great difficulty getting car onto flatbed of tow truck because it kept slipping back into park. Adding to the difficulty was the location of the car in the parking space on the side of a busy street. Car was towed from Newport, RI to Tiverton, RI to Viti Mercedes dealer, who confirmed the problem. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The final bill to repair this issue was $2,214.15. Upon review of other incidents that occurred with this make, model and year, there have been a myriad of accounts of this same issue going back many years. Based on the numerous incidents of this type and the potential safety devastation this could have caused, the $2,214.15 paid for repair in addition to $55 for towing should be reimbursed. This is a major safety issue that could be detrimental to the driver, occupants, towing company and other people around the disabled vehicle.

Filed Jan 28, 2017 · Electrical · 136,000 miles · TX

Eis failure. Vehicle has 136,000 miles. Inserted key into ignition and tried to start the vehicle. Nothing happened, no start. Transmission stuck in park. Tried jump starting, replaced battery even though it tested o.k. But was old enough to make me question it's viability, checked fuses, etc. Online research shows that eis failure is a fairly common issue with mb products, particularly the c class. This is not an owner reparable item. Will have to have the vehicle towed to a dealership and repaired there at the usual inflated cost of doing so.

Filed Dec 20, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 93,000 miles · TX

Ordinary day at my job, got off and went to my car and put the key in lights in the instrument cluster came on and message was " remove the key" turn the key to accessory nothing happens, turn it all the way to start the ignition nothing happens, the vehicle is stuck in park and there is no way to move the shifter. After a research online and few phone calls I found out that this is a very common problem among mercedes vehicles. I took it to the dealer they did diagnose it for steering wheel lock and quoted me $1,300 for repairs. I do believe this should be a recall or at lease mercedes-benz of USA take it's part and reimburse the parts since it's a very common problem. I'm not happy at all of the way they deal with this problem.

Filed Oct 15, 2016 · Electrical · 79,000 miles · TX

Car will not start while parked. Battery checked and tested good by aaa. Steering wheel locked. Car will not shift out of park. Towed to christian brothers automotive and problem was diagnosed as eis failure. Was told that this is a very common problem for this car. However, it is a 'dealer only' repair due to mercedes refusal to either sell parts or release codes to independent dealers. Was also told there is a lawsuit attempting to force mercedes to cease with the proprietary baloney. The repairs are very expensive and there is no alternative to the dealership. This needs to be a recall or, at the very least, all the necessary parts and codes need to be made available to independent repair facilities.

Filed Sep 6, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 81,000 miles · TX

From a parked vehicle, I unlocked car and inserted key and turned to start position 2. No steering unlock, shift lever stuck in park and no engine start. Message "take your key from ignition" appeared as well when I opened door. Voltage from battery was 12.7 vdc. Had car towed to mercedes benz dealer and was diagnosed with eis failure (electronic ignition system). Cost for repair: $1,350.

Filed Aug 14, 2016 · Steering · 88,000 miles · WI

I stopped at a kwik trip (2006 n spring st, beaver dam, wi 53916) to put gas in my 2008 mercedes c300. Car would not start after filling up. My steering was locked and so was my shifting as I was stuck in park. After troubleshooting things such as the battery, fuses, etc I looked online and found out many people have been in the same situation. There are videos on youtube and forums with tens of thousands of views and numerous posts describing what seems to be a electronic steering lock (esl) or electronic ignition system (eis). I know mercedes has acknowledged the problem and they have argued it is not a safety hazard but there are many instances where it can be a big safety hazard. Luckily it was summer here in wisconsin where I was stuck at that gas station from 7:30pm - 1:00am. So essentially the problem has nothing to do with filling up with gasoline. It is just with the car suddenly not starting. It is a esl failure and it isn't only a safety hazard, mercedes is charging 1300-1900 for what they acknowledge has been a known issue with certain models! I filed this thanks to a forum, as I mentioned earlier there is a lot of evidence of this on the web.

Filed Jun 27, 2016 · Electrical · ME

Faulty ignition switch. Hundreds of forums online prove that with the same exact problem in c - class cars and others from mercedes benz their ignition switches prove to be faulty. Car because automatically stuck in park and requires thousands to fix the issue. Car ran fine to work and leaving work I was left in the dark and late hours having to get it towed. Which could not be towed due to it being stuck in park. I've been quoted $1500 to fix the problem and it appears this is common for these vehicles. Completely unacceptable. The nearest dealer to fix the issue was over 20 miles away.

Filed Dec 23, 2015 · Steering · 78,921 miles · GA

I was driving my 2008 mercedes 300c, parked the car for less than 10 minutes returned to leave and it would not start. The key locks and unlocks the doors, the lights come on, the radio turns on, and the dash lights up. You can insert and turn the key but the car will not start. The steering wheel is locked and the drive is locked in park. I tried jumping it and it did nothing I didn't think it was the battery but had it checked anyways. Now I'm stranded and had to call aaa and wait for 2 and 1/2 hours to have it towed on a flat bed by a 2nd tow driver(the 1st tow truck couldn't tow it because the car wouldn't shift in neutral) to the repair shop and was told that the eis and steering lock needed to be replaced and the cost was $1647.24. After researching eis replacement this is a common among among many models and mercedes should be responsible for this.

Filed Aug 4, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 91,319 miles · FL

The key locks and unlocks the doors the lights come on and the dash lights up. You can insert and turn the key but the car will not start. The stering wheel is locked and it is stuck in park. I tried power jumping and it did nothing, I didn't think the battery was the problem but had it checked anyways. The battery checked out fine. I check the fuses that are associated with the starter and all was fine also. Only thing left was get it towed to the mercedes dealership, found out that the steering wheel lock issue is a common thing with my car model, eis failure seems increasingly common on 2008 models for some reason.

Filed Jul 9, 2015 · Transmission · 49,004 miles · WA

Started reversing car when I stopped the car continued moving. Car was in park. Can start car but it appears to be stuck in neutral, will roll back or forward - no gears engage.

Filed Jun 15, 2015 · Electrical · 90,721 miles · SC

This is the second time this has happened. First time I go to start my 2008 c300 and it will not start, will not shift into neutral, no windows will go up or down. I am a registered nurse and was working home health. Was stuck at a patients house and not able to see any other patients for the rest of the week. Took to mercedes dealership and told it was the eis. So $1200 dollars later it was fixed. Again 2 years later the exact same thing happens and what do you know, eis and $1200 repair again. Even the guy from the mercedes service department said this is a very common problem with this year and model. Mercedes should be ashamed to charge so much for a car and not stand behind their work. If this is a common problem it should be a recall. I will never own another mercedes as long as I live. My wifes first kia was more reliable than this car.