Mercedes Benz C300 fire or smoke problems

Filed Aug 1, 2025 · Electrical, Lights · 180,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while at the car wash and attempting to wash the vehicle, there was popping sound coming from the vehicle, and the contact saw smoke coming from the speakers and called the Fire Department however, no damages were found. The vehicle was taken to the residence and an independent mechanic inspected the vehicle but found no issues with the vehicle. The trunk was opened, and the contact became aware of water inside the taillight housings. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.

Filed Oct 17, 2022 · Body, Suspension · CT

I bought this car for my 18 year old son based on Mercedes reputation for safety and longevity, only to discover that Mercedes has a widely acknowledged issue with rotted sub-frames -- it's a serious safety issue and recalled in other countries. My son was was driving on the highway and the tire exploded. He was so close to being killed because the car went out of control. After getting it towed to my mechanic, he advised me that alignment adjusters were stuck, the subframe was rotted, the lower control arm subframe mounts were broken from the subframe and they were hitting the gas tank. Luckily, the tire only exploded as oppose to the entire vehicle bursting in flames. There were no warning lights or messages, only the feeling that the tires needed to be aligned. We bought new tires and were told an alignment was done from Town Fair Tires, which was untrue. My son's life was in immediate danger. Shame on Mercedes for not recalling this subframe. This is the first of many avenues I am taking to have this rectified and hopefully prevent a tragedy

Filed Jan 4, 2020 · Lights · 79,345 miles · TX

The tail lights are shorting out. A burning smell is eminating from the wires. The dashboard messages are flashing various problems I.e. Rear tail light, brake lights, turn signals, etc. First it indicates left side then it indicates the right side has the problem. This happens when the vehicle is stationary or rolling. The engine is on.

Filed Jul 24, 2019 · Airbags, Driver assistance · 144,065 miles · CT · fire

"takata recall" when I was driving after a oil change, I heard a noise that sounded like someone hit my car. I was scared and shaky so I pulled over could see anything but I heard a ticking noise. Then I realized the head rest mini air bag blew up and the wiring inside the head rest was burning. This happened while I was driving. I could have got into an accident. I had to pull over right where all the traffic was because my hands were shaking and I didn't know what to do with the burning smell. I had my hazards on and people went around me. Then all kinds of alerts went off on my car. I only had it for a year and a half it shouldn't do that. Something is really wrong and this is dangerous while someone is driving. My tires and all of a sudden the muffler is making noises now too what is going on with this car. It's treated well I'm scared to drive it now. I'm still making payments on it. It's was for me fairly new and still good, do I thought. I'm very disappointed and need some answers. I was told that maybe it's the eps control unit but haven't went to mercedes dealer yet because I'm discouraged about this car and I haven't been feeling good.

Filed Apr 25, 2017 · Electrical, Lights · NJ

Sockets for the parking lights above the headlights melted. Knowing that something similar was addressed with the tail lights, seems to be related. The tail lights melted the carrier and the cables now the same is happening on the front of the car. I am not the only owner of mb c300 experiencing a issue. We are concerned that our cars can catch up on fire.

Filed May 17, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 140,000 miles · CA

My lcd navigation screen does not turn on anymore. It randomly flashes when I'm driving and causes a distraction. After some research, it seems like an extremely common issue with many c300 models of the 2008 year. Some owners have reported smoke coming out of the corner of the screen.

Filed Aug 18, 2014 · Electrical · 52,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mercedes benz c300. The contact stated that while parked the vehicle caught on fire, which started from the rear passenger side. The contact stated that a neighbor extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The fire department determined that a failed fuse box caused the fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

Filed Jun 6, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 61,999 miles · NY

Prior to pulling into my garage, I smelled burning electrical wiring. All warning lights on the dash panel for the left rear lights came on. I opened the trunk to see if a light bulb burned out, and smelled the burning wires. Opening the panel covering the left rear lights, I saw a burn through scorched circuit board. On closer examination, I noticed the ground wire was thin and the cause of the severally overheated and partially melted area on the left rear lamp assembly. Since then, the mercedes dealer replaced the circuit at my expense. About six months ago, the same thing happened on the right rear tail light assembly. It was also a thin ground wire that had overheated and partially melted the circuit board.

Filed Apr 23, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 70,140 miles · IL · fire

Right rear passenger lighting assembly caught fire. Wiring harness and light bulb carrier were burned. Right rear turn and brake lights are inoperable.

Filed Apr 16, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 47,700 miles · OR · fire

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.