Common and known issue with m benz c300 eis/els/steering column. Car engine just dies and will not start due to electrical component malfunction. An expensive, possibly dangerous problem that has not been recognized by mercedes-benz it appears from the other comments on this forum and others. My 2009 c300 was running fine. I maintain regular service. Stopped to grab lunch. Fortunately, I was not in motion or in a dangerous area or in the middle of night in the middle of nowhere. The car would not re-start, yet the lights, radio, panel all appeared to be working, although "remove key from ignition" message appeared. Thought it could be a battery or alternator issue. Had to have car towed to 2 different places, the last of which was the mbenz dealership over an hour away. This occurred at 80k miles on odometer. A major safety and possibly dangerous situation. I thought the mb brand was about reliability, quality, safety. So disappointed. Manufacturer's defective product.
2009 Mercedes Benz C300 engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 22 of 22, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz c300. While stopped at a red light, the engine revved and the vehicle accelerated. The brake pedal was depressed, but failed and the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000. Updated 02/21/17*lj updated 9/5/18
Last week took vehicle to get serviced at mercedes benz of beverly hills. When I got it back I heard a whistling/flapping noise. Immediately returned to mercedes service. Was told its nothing of concern if the noise only happens in the mornings and dissipates when driving. Expressed concern about a 1100 mile road trip ahead and wanted to make sure it was safe to drive. Was reassured it was just fine. Upon arriving at my destination the noise escalated non-stop come to find out it was the belt tensioner on my vehicle. The serpentine belt was nearly shredded. The vehicle had about 70,000 miles on it. After doing some quick search online, it seems that this is not an isolated issue, but rather a widespread issue with this vehicle. I'm pissed that the service advisor played stupid as if this was not a known widespread issue and put my safety at risk. I've read some owners have had this failure with as little as 15,000 miles and so forth. Mercedes is a fraud and are well aware of these issues they just hope its not apparent while the vehicle is still under warranty.
I went to class on the date of 11/13/2015 and when I came out the vehicle would not start. After having the vehicle towed to the dealership, I was advised it would be $952.56 for an electrical issue due to no fault of my own and can happen at anytime. So I inquired on how long this would be covered for? I was told its electrical and can happen at anytime, it's like a cellphone or a computer. Yet those have warranties against issues like that whereas something I paid thousands of dollars does not. I have seen many complaints about this online and don't understand why they have not recalled this and continue to rip consumers off. Some even advising this has happen to them on the road which could very well lead to a major accident , it it has not already.
Parked my car overnight and went to start it in the morning and would not start. The key would turn but got no lights on the dash and radio would not work. The steering wheel did not unlock. Tried to jump it but same results. Battery tested fine, checked all the fuses and they were all good. After researching on the internet the steering lock failed. This seems to be a more than frequent issue with this car. This happened out of the blue without any indication that something was going wrong. I'm glad I was home and not hundreds of miles away. Why is there not a recall?
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mercedes benz c300. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle shook and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,000.
Noise coming from front of engine. Brought to a local mercedes benz independent shop. They replaced the belt tensioner, idler pulleys, and the multi rib belt. Why would the belt tensioner cause the rib belt to rip with only 62k miles on the car?
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that the transmission failed and the contact was not able to change the gears. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who was not able to replicate nor diagnose the failure more than once. The vehicle stalled on multiple occasions and was only able to driven at a speed of less than 20 MPH each time the transmission failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the authorized dealer a third time for further inspection, diagnosis and repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000. Updated 09/15/14*lj updated 1/16/15
Without any warning, my car will not start. Thought it was the battery, but no luck. The key open the door, the lights inside of the care come on, and the screen still pops up on the dashboard. The steering wheel is locked and you can not change the gear. I had to get my car towed to the dealership. Car has almost 70 k miles on it. Very dissapointed to read the other complaints and the projected cost to fix. About a year and a half ago I also paid out of pocket for the rear light panel due to it not working. I recently learned that the rear lighting issue is an official recall. Now the hurdle begin for me to get refunded for nearly $500. :(
Defective electronic steering lock (esl): hi, my steering lock just went on me as well and was left stranded with no car this past weekend! My 2009 c300 4matic sport has approx. 56,000 miles on it and I am out of warranty. I called mb USA and begged for warranty assistance but was basically told no because as a second owner I did not have the vehicle serviced enough times at the local mb dealership! I guess I haven't spent enough money to date on unwarranted repairs at the local dealership?? After extensive online research I too found that this is a very common problem with the 2008 and 2009 mb c300, and most likely later models as well!. I also found out that the electronic steering lock (esl) failure typically happens right after expiration of the basic warranty. Just like the thousands of mb c300 owners stuck in this situation, I need my vehicle and have no choice but to shell out the money for this repair! (over $1,000). I am scared to death to drive this car anywhere far in fear that another technical/mechanical breakdown will occur. In addition to esl failure, another concern of mine is finding out that electronic ignition system (eis) failure is another common problem with the 08-09 mb c300's. Shame on mercedes for not issuing a recall on the esl & eis issues and sticking it to the consumers. I too plan on contacting my attorney regarding this issue.
My vehicle experienced a failure of its starting and steering lock functions. The underline problem and areas of concern is the frequency of this failure and the dangers associated with having the vehicle immobilized when the associated parts fail. Mercedes benz has not taken any responsibility for this issue yet it can't be fixed without dealership intervention. The costs associated with this particular issue besides having your car towed is in the excess of $1,000.00. In my case I have been quoted &1700.00! Although my particular instance happened when the car was parked, there is no exception that it can occur when the vehicle is motion causing the vehicle to shut off and the steering wheel to lock in any position. Updated 11/24/2014
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that the vehicle would fail to start intermittently and the ignition switch would sporadically misfire. The manufacturer advised that the vehicle was dumping fuel into the engine when the ignition switch would misfire. When the contact was finally able to start the vehicle, it would vibrate excessively for approximately 15-20 minutes. The manufacturer provided a replacement 2010 version of the same vehicle while the 2009 model went through a series of tests. The same failure occurred in the 2010 model. The manufacturer then advised that the failure was normal. The failure mileage was 13 and the current mileage was 2,900.
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