2016 Mercedes-Benz AMG C63S

2016 Mercedes-Benz C63 S AMG, M177 4.0L twin-turbo V8. This engine is marketed under Mercedes-Benz's "One Man, One Engine" philosophy — hand-assembled by a single master technician. It failed irreparably at 67,323 miles on a properly maintained vehicle owned by a 14-year Mercedes-Benz customer who has purchased six Mercedes-Benz vehicles. All maintenance performed on schedule with genuine OEM Mercedes-Benz parts at Mercedes-certified shops. At approximately 65,000 miles, check engine light illuminated with cylinder 7 misfire. A Mercedes-certified shop found and replaced a burnt spark plug and all 4 ignition coils with OEM parts. Misfire cleared. Three months later at 67,000 miles, shaking and check engine light returned. All 8 spark plugs replaced with OEM parts. Misfires returned within 100 miles — now on cylinders 1, 3, and 7 — accompanied by violent engine shaking and a fuel smell. Vehicle brought to authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer. Full diagnostic performed including borescope inspection. Confirmed: broken spark plug ceramic and unrepairable piston pitting in cylinder 4 and engine damage. Dealer confirmed engine is not repairable and recommends complete engine replacement. All findings documented on dealer repair order. Vehicle remains at the dealer and is available for inspection. Mercedes-Benz has published at least three Technical Service Bulletins on persistent misfires specific to this engine: LI54.21-P-062006 (multiple revisions — ECU ground faults, borescope protocol anticipating internal damage), LI07.61-P-073583 (post-turbo exhaust clamp failures), LI07.61-P-069688 (intake manifold cracks). Mercedes has acknowledged this defect pattern internally and has not issued a recall. Sudden power loss and violent shaking at highway speed is a direct safety hazard. NHTSA investigation warranted.

NHTSA ID

11728122

Incident

Nov 3, 2025

My coils are faulty and needing to be replaced, but not part of the existing recall for C63s coils. On the message forums for C63s I’ve come across a lot of owners that are having issues not being part of the recall. Campaign No. 2017060008.

NHTSA ID

11563384

Incident

Jan 3, 2024

Car lost all throtle on the highway, and when pressed on gas pedal nothing would happen. A death trap. it was very dangerous and car behind me almost hit me. Happened many times and the dealer could not fix it. Car just went out of warranty couple months ago

NHTSA ID

11439685

Incident

Nov 6, 2021

The steering wheel won’t go up or down The auxiliary ratidator keeps getting damaged from road debris my 3 time replacing it

NHTSA ID

11419734

Incident

Jun 5, 2021

I BOUGHT MY 2016 MERCEDES C63S AMG FROM A DEALER IN EDMOND, OKLAHOMA (JACKIE COOPER BMW) AND THEY SOLD ME THE CAR WITH LESS THAN 10% TREAD LEFT ON THE TIRES. SHORTLY AFTER THE PURCHASE I CALLED THE DEALER FOR ASSISTANCE AND THEY FLAT OUT DENIED ANY WRONG DOING. THEY CLAIMED THEY DID A "RIGOROUS INSPECTION" BUT SOMEHOW THE TIRES THAT WERE DOWN TO THEIR WEAR BARS PASSED IT. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, I PURCHASED A $4100 TIRE/WHEEL PACKAGE FROM THEM AND THEY ALSO HAVE NOT ACTIVATED THE SERVICE (AFTER 23 DAYS OF PURCHASE) SO I CANNOT GET NEW TIRES PUT ON WITHOUT PAYING AN EXTRA $1200 OUT OF POCKET FOR THE HIGH PERFORMANCE TIRES THAT THE CAR REQUIRES. MANAGEMENT HAS NOT RETURNED ANY OF THE CALLS & THE SALES AGENT (BRYAN LEONARD) ALSO HAVE NOT BEEN VERY HELPFUL. NEARLY A MONTH LATER AFTER THE PURCHASE THE CAR IS STILL SITTING IN THE GARAGE WITH TWO BUSTED TIRES & NO WAY TO REPLACE THEM UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE THE DEALER IS REFUSING TO EXPEDITE THE WARRANTY ACTIVATION. I FINALLY GOT TIRED OF WAITING SO I TOOK THE HIT FOR THE FRONT TWO TIRES AND PAID A MOBILE SERVICE TO COME OUT AND REPLACE THEM. THE DEALER IS REFUSING TO REIMBURSING ME FOR THOSE 2 & ALSO REFUSING TO ACTIVATE THE WARRANTY SERVICE IN A TIMELY MANNER. I'VE ATTACHED THE PICTURES OF THE DRIVER SIDE FRONT TIRE THAT IS ON IT'S LAST THREAD & ALSO THE RECEIPT FOR THE FRONT TWO THAT I REPLACED OUT OF POCKET. IT'S DECEMBER 21ST NOW AND STILL NO ACTIVATION ON THE WARRANTY. I'VE NEVER FELT A BIGGER BAIT & SWITCH FROM A DEALER BEFORE.

NHTSA ID

11162951

Incident

Dec 3, 2018

Mileage

25,400 mi

Complaint During part of the steering movement, it feels heavier or more difficult to steer in the same spot every time. OR Rattling, humming, dry sliding/gravel noise from the electric steering system when steering (see attachment). Complaint does not impact the ability to safely steer or control the vehicle. Cause Ball screw drive (KGT) of electric steering damaged by: 1. External force due to: ‑ Hitting the curb/posts with the front wheels. ‑ Driving over obstacles (e.g. pothole/ threshold/ speed bump/ gully) at an inappropriate speed. 2. Corrosion/ water ingress through a damaged boot (see attachment). ‑ Cracks (1) ‑ High pressure cleaner (2) ‑ Animal bite (3) See various examples listed in the attachments for examples of outside influence. Remedy Remove boot clamps closest to steering gear housing on both left and right (as seen in "Steering Rack Boot Clamp Location"). Pull back boot and inspect for rust, broken end stops, water, or any other anomalies. Replace electric steering. Note: Steering gears replaced due to outside influence or damage must not be claimed under warranty!

Complaint Tailgate opens unintentionally. Cause Accidental or unnoticed activation of the button to open the tailgate on the vehicle key. EXAMPLE: when stored in trouser pocket, handbag etc. Remedy As of the 6th generation, the vehicle key can be recoded so that the tailgate no longer opens as a result of a long press on the button, but by double‑clicking on the button instead. This reduces the likelihood of the button being activated accidentally or unintentionally. The recoding can be carried out as follows: 1. Add SA Code O19 into VeDoc (O for Oscar, not "zero") • an XSS ticket may be necessary to add the SA code 2. Perform SCN coding of EIS N73 control unit 3. Deactivate the vehicle key (a successful deactivation is indicated by the LED lighting up 2x briefly and then 1x for a long period). 4. Place the vehicle key in the storage compartment on the key symbol and turn on the ignition. IMPORTANT: all other vehicle keys must be outside the recognition range of the vehicle when doing this! Perform steps 3 and 4 successively for all vehicle keys. Notes: 6th, 7th and 8th generation keys can be deactivated as follows: Up to modification year 22/1 by double clicking the "Lock button" As of modification year 22/1, by press and holding the “Lock button", then double‑click the “Unlock button" at the same time. On model series 167, the storage compartment with the key symbol is located in the armrest. The SCN coding from the EZS is only transferred correctly to the vehicle key under the following conditions: Only one vehicle key is located in the vehicle, this key has been deactivated and it is positioned on the marking in the storage compartment for the data transfer. The costs for this adaptation are to be borne by the customer. For the newer BR 174, 178, 244, 248, 520, and 540, a software update must be initiated, as there is no way to perform SCN coding.

Complaint 1. General Diagnostic Tips 2. One or More PARK Sensor Activations 3. Red Ring Around Vehicle 4. "Active Parking and Parking Assist Inoperative" on Instrument Cluster 5. Cameras 6. Other Park Topics. Cause Various root causes Remedy See attached diagnostic guide.

Complaint Oil leaks found on M176 or M177 engines diagnosed to be from the cylinder head cover area Cause Unknown (under investigation) Remedy If oil leaks are found at left or right cylinder head cover area please collect the following information and open TIPS case. 1. Collect photos of the leak 2. Include close up and wide view photos to accurately represent the location 3. Include if the vehicle has a "check oil level" Light on in the cluster or fault codes 4. Check oil level as per WIS to verify level and calculate possible oil loss from the leak 5. Identify and communicate the severity of the leak and provide supporting documentation 6. Open a TIPS case with the above information and submit to the Powertrain team for processing

Complaint Customer reports Check Engine Light with possible loss of power concern. The Following DTC's are present • P210185 - The throttle valve actuator has a malfunction. There is a signal above the permissible limit value. • P213500 - The values from the position sensors of the throttle valve are implausible relative to each other • P213600 - The values from position sensors "A/C" of the throttle valve are implausible relative to each other • P210B85 - The throttle valve actuator 2 has a malfunction. There is a signal above the permissible limit value. • P2AD300 - The values from the position sensors "A/G" of the throttle valve are implausible relative to each other • P2AD200 - The values from position sensors "B/G" of the throttle valve are implausible relative to each other. Cause Increased electrical resistance in pins for left and right throttle actuators. (M16/60 and M16/61) Remedy Replaced left and right throttle actuator Sockets with updated part. Silver Coated Pins 8x A 003 982 70 26 (according to wiring diagram 0,5mm) Gold Coated Pins 4x A 003 982 75 26 (according to wiring diagram 0,75mm) ELA Seals 12x A 001 545 50 80

Complaint A popup is seen on the HU with the message "data connection temporarily not available". Potentially affected functionalities in NTG4.5, NTG5 1.Weather 2.Local Search 3.IP Radio 4.Send2Car 5.Speech Detection Service 6.Navigation 7.iHeartRadio 8.Traffic Cams Cause MB Apps is sundowned for all vehicles with NTG4.5 and NTG5 Head Unit Variant. Remedy No support available for NTG4.5 and NTG5 Head Unit Variants for MB App related topics. Note: Please do not create TIPS. Please do not replace any components. HU/Hermes SW update / SCN coding will not fix the issue.