RoadVitals

2002 Mercedes-Benz 230 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
4
Latest Feb 7, 2013
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 11, 2007

What this page shows

Our database holds 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2002 Mercedes-Benz 230. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–4 of 4

ElectricalInterior & seats
Filed Feb 7, 2013

DRIVER AND PASSENGER POWER SEAT MODULES DRAIN BATTERY. *TR

NHTSA ID
10496711
Incident
May 10, 2010
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical+2 more
Filed Sep 5, 2009
Crash reported

PRIOR TO FOLLOWING INCIDENT, THE VEHICLE, A 2002 MERCEDES BENZ C230 KOMPRESSOR HAS EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL FAILURES RESULTING IN THE COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE ENGINE, POWER STEERING, SRS SYSTEM, CAR LOCKS, AND BRAKING SYSTEMS. THE AFOREMENTIONED FAILURES IN BRAKING, POWER STEERING WHICH RESULTED IN TOTAL LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING HAVE OCCURRED 6 TIMES WITHIN A 2 MONTH PERIOD (AUGUST 15TH 2009- SEPTEMBER 5TH 2009). THE MOST RECENT EVENT IS LISTED BELOW. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AT A GAS STATION ON SEPTEMBER 5TH 2009 AT 10:30 AM IN FIRST GEAR WITH THE FOOT BRAKE ON. AFTER THE OWNER LEFT THE PARKED VEHICLE, IT BEGAN ROLLING FORWARD AND CRASHED INTO A NEARBY CONCRETE WALL OF THE UNION 76 GAS STATION ON RINALDI AND BALBOA IN GRANADA HILLS, CA. NO SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS CAUSED TO THE WALL, AND NO INJURIES WERE CAUSED, HOWEVER ON IMPACT THE CAR CONTRACTED A MAJOR DENT ON THE RIGHT FRONT BUMPER ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE OF THE CAR. THERE WAS NO KEY IN THE CAR, IT HAD BEEN ENTIRELY TURNED OFF AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS ON. THE OWNER HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED THE CAR STARTING ON ITS OWN WITHOUT THE KEY IN THE TRANSMISSION OR WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ACTIVATED. THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY AND THE MERCEDES DEALERSHIP FOUND NO PROBLEMS WITH THE C230'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AT THE LAST CHECK UP. PRIOR TO SERVICING THERE WERE MULTIPLE WARNINGS THE CAR DISPLAYED IN MARCH 2009, SPECIFICALLY SRS MALFUNCTIONS AND LIGHT SENSOR MALFUNCTION. THESE WERE ABSOLVED AFTER MAINTENANCE BUT REAPPEARED AGAIN AT 1500 BEFORE SERVICE IN LATE AUGUST. THERE HAVE BEEN NO PRIOR REPAIRS MADE ON THE CAR. THE MOST RECENT REPAIR WAS ON AUGUST 27TH WHEN THE DOOR LOCK REGULATOR FAILED AND ALL DOORS OF THE CAR WOULDN'T CLOSE. THE ACCENTUATOR IN THE DRIVER'S SIDE WAS REPLACED ON AUGUST 27TH WHICH RESOLVED THE DOOR LOCK PROBLEM. HOWEVER NONE OF THE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR HAVE BEEN RESOLVED AND WILL REQUIRE DEALERSHIP EVALUATION. *TR

NHTSA ID
10282967
Incident
Sep 5, 2009
Mileage
71,004 mi
Electrical
Filed Aug 21, 2007

MY 2002 MERCEDES 230 SLK FAILED TO START, STRANDED MY WIFE, BECAUSE OF A FAILURE IN THE IGNITION LOCK AND STEERING INTERLOCK. THIS IS THE SECOND FAILURE IN 50,000 MILES. *TR UPDATED 09/11/07 *TR

NHTSA ID
10200371
Incident
Aug 16, 2007
Mileage
51,000 mi
Transmission
Filed Jul 11, 2007

THE C230 MERCEDES BENZ 2002 STARTED LURCHING WHEN COMING TO A STOP. UPON BRINGING THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER THEY DID A GLYCOL TEST ON THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID TO FIND GLYCOL IN THE TRANSMISSION. THE CAUSE WAS DUE TO A LEAK IN THE RADIATOR TO THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER. REPAIRS CURRENTLY INCLUDED A NEW RADIATOR, TRANSMISSION FLUSH, AND A NEW TRANSMISSION MODULE FOR ABOUT $2100, IF THAT DIDN'T WORK THEN A TORQUE CONVERTER FOR ANOTHER $2700. *AK

NHTSA ID
10196144
Incident
Jul 2, 2007
Mileage
66,000 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .