2010 Mercedes-Benz C 300 Electrical Problems

The contact owns a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the battery and alternator were being drained. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the front air bag sensor message and a fog light message were displayed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown local dealer; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact then reached out to Mercedes-Benz of Tysons Corner Service and Parts, located at 8545 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182, and was informed about a diagnostic test to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11717513

Incident

Jun 1, 2024

Mileage

97,000 mi

Got a car from the dealer soon weeks after the rear subframe was so corroded alignment was able to get done and was snapped on both sides airbag light came on doesn’t go away and the rear right brake like started using the fog light as a turn signal

NHTSA ID

11686269

Incident

Sep 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the steering wheel locked. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was scanned, and diagnostic trouble codes indicating the TRP and Power Steering failure were retrieved. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and required to be towed. An unknown local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle remained parked in the storage. The contact related the failure to an unidentified recall; however, the VIN was not included.  The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11623773

Incident

Jul 15, 2024

Mileage

60,000 mi

For the 2010 Mercedes Benz C300, the failure of the steering lock control unit resulted in the vehicle being unable to start its engine. Vehicle was disabled, and I was left stranded. Car had to be towed to my house and separately had to be towed to the Mercedes Benz car dealership service center. The technician at the Mercedes Benz car dealership service center recommended replacement of the steering lock. Yes, this car is available for inspection upon request. This same problem was reproduced in another Mercedes-Benz C300 car that I own. This other vehicle is a 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300. The car was not inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representative. The car was inspected by the Mercedes Benz dealer service center. No warnings or messages prior to the complete failure. This issue first appeared in August 2024. This steering lock failure is a critical issue as I had the same problem with another Mercedes Benz C300 that I own. Both steering lock failures for both cars resulted in the car being unable to start occurred around the same time period and were separately diagnosed and fixed at different Mercedes Benz dealer service centers.

NHTSA ID

11615786

Incident

Aug 2, 2024

Rusted rear sub frame that needs to be replaced. Premature rusting that Mercedes needs to repair at no cost. Also, premature battery drain on new battery. Needs to be fixed by Mercedes at no cost.

NHTSA ID

11512388

Incident

Mar 17, 2023

Power Seat Button Failed.

NHTSA ID

11488861

Incident

Jul 19, 2022

My husband drove my car home from work on April 18th 2022 and it was a bad rain storm that everyone. He had to drive through a couple of big rain storms. Soon afterwards he got around the corner from the house and the electric system failed lights started going off everywhere in the car, he lost steering and couldn’t see and almost crashed and got the car home safely but it wouldn’t shut off so he had to disconnect the battery for the car to shut off. On April 22 nd the car was towed to the dealership because it wasn’t driveable and they check out the car and discovered water under the carpeting of the drivers seat near the wiring of the car. I submitted an insurance claim and an adjuster went out to see the damage and his thought is that it’s due to a known problem for this car that’s been reported by many people with this same vehicle. The Mercedes Benz c300- 2010-2014 years. I checked online and apparently many people have reported this same issue water underneath the car due to bad firewall manufacturered not sealed correctly which could be a manufacturers/ safety issue. My husband was almost killed thank goodness he made it home safe that night. I believe there are many people that have had this issue and someone needs to be done for safety purposes, and I believe the insurance doesn’t want to cover the repairs because they are blaming Mercedes’ Benz. My cars been in the shop a month and I still have no answer from State Farm or the shop Mercedes Benz.

NHTSA ID

11466578

Incident

Apr 18, 2022

After parking my car , turned ignition off, did some work for 45 minutes I came back attempting to start the car. The car won’t start, I am not hearing any of the normal sound that usually takes place when I place the key in ignition. Message on dashboard telling me to remove the key. Car will not start. After checking battery and calling mechanic they tell me the my steering wheel lock is bad. The ESL went bad out of nowhere. Car won’t start, steering wheel is locked and the only way to fix it is to take it Mercedes’ dealer and pay over $2000. I search on google and found out that this is a common issue with my 2010 C300. This is a manufacturing defect and Mercedes should recall it and pay for repair. In my case I parked my car in my garage, imagine if I was traveling on highway way and the steering wheel locks or failed on the side of busy interstate hwy. the worst part is that Mercedes dealer did nothing t warn me when I bought the car about this issue especially since it is know since 2008, and they will not allow after market parts to be installed by other mechanics. So this is defective and Mercedes should be forced to recall and replace for free. We should not wait for someone to die before this is fixed. This happened without any warning PLEASE FORCE MERCEDES TO RECALL AND FIX THE ESL NOW.

NHTSA ID

11445013

Incident

Nov 16, 2021

During maintenance of vehicle, completely bare wires were discovered. While researching replacement options, I became aware that this is a known issue ignored by the manufacturer and that no cost effective solution exists. This is a car my son has recently purchased on his own and I am assisting in the maintenance of this "German Engineering Turd" You would have thought they learned a lesson on arrogance from the past.

NHTSA ID

11444920

Incident

Dec 24, 2021

The contact owns a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the back-circuit board to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11435423

Incident

Oct 2, 2021

Mileage

80,000 mi

REAR DRIVER SIDE LIGHTS NOT FUNCTIONING. FOUND BROWN WIRE MEETING TO CIRCUIT BOARD WITH HEAT DAMAGE TO WIRE AND CIRCUITBOARD AT CONNECTION. CONTACT THE DEALER. DEALERS STATED RECALL WAS DONE ON OUR VEHICLE. HOWEVER THIS APPEARS TO HAVE HAPPENED AGAIN. DON'T KNOW IF THIS HAPPENED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. NOTICED WARNING LIGHTS INDICATING BAD CONNECTION TO BRAKE LIGHTS AND TURN SIGNALS DRIVER SIDE REAR.

NHTSA ID

11383379

Incident

Nov 1, 2020

Mileage

151,500 mi

SECURITY SYSTEM DISABLES IGNITION DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE ESL (STEERING LOCK). NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR IT JUST WON'T START.

NHTSA ID

11383224

Incident

Dec 12, 2020

Mileage

155,500 mi

I WAS TRAVELING TO NORTH CAROLINA AND PULLED OVER TO CHANGE MY TIRE, MY CAR WOULD NOT START.LEAVING ME STRANDED ON THE INTERSTATE. AGAIN I ARRIVED ON NORTH CAROLINA AND THE WILL NOT START AFTER STAYING AT A FRIEND'S FOR THE NIGHT. I CANNOT GET BACK TO CONNECTICUT. I RESEARCHED AND SEEN THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE THAT IS NOT BEING RECTIFIED.

NHTSA ID

11373602

Incident

Nov 6, 2020

Mileage

120,000 mi

WHILE PARKED OVER NIGHT OR DURING THE DAY WHILE AT WORK THE PARKING LIGHT COME ON BY IT SELF WITHOUT MY KNOWING. THIS DRAINS THE BATTERY AND I HAVE TO GET A JUMP START. . THIS IS REALLY INCONVENIENCE. I COULD BE ANYWHERE AND THIS COULD HAPPEN. THIS HAPPENS ONCE SOMETIME TWICE A MONTH. IT IS NOT THE LIGHT SWITCH , IT IS ALWAYS IN THE OFF POSITION ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I WAS ABLE TO RETURN AND TURN OFF THE LIGHT. ONLY ONE LIGHT COMES ON THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT AND REAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

11329255

Incident

Jun 16, 2020

Mileage

133,357 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. THE CONTACT STATED THE IGNITION WAS DEFECTIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE MERCEDES-BENZ OF SPRINGFIELD DEALER, LOCATED AT 295 BURNETT RD, CHICOPEE, MA 01020 WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE KEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 125,000. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED.

NHTSA ID

11317246

Incident

Mar 7, 2020

Mileage

125,000 mi

REALLY CANT SAY MUCH CAUSE THATS HOW I BOUGHT THE CAR.

NHTSA ID

11315467

Incident

May 15, 2019

KEY IN IGNITION, STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT UNLOCK. ABLE TO GET KEY INTO RUN AND CRANK POSITION WITH NO INSTRUMENT CLUSTER LIGHTS TURNING ON. ALL OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES TO THE CAR WORK (RADIO, POWER WINDOWS, SEATS, LIGHTS). UNABLE TO SHIFT CAR INTO NEUTRAL WITHOUT REMOVING GEAR SELECTOR SHIFT COVER. *TR

NHTSA ID

11312060

Incident

Jan 24, 2020

Mileage

100,000 mi

MY C300 IS HAVING A EIS (ELECTRICAL IGNITION SYSTEM FAILURE). WHERE THE KEY IN THE IGNITION WON'T START THE VEHICLE. IT WILL LEAVE YOU STRANDED AND WON'T ALLOW YOU TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL BECAUSE OF THE AMIR THEFT LOCK OUT BOX. MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE. SIMPLE RESEARCH CAN SHOW YOU THAT.

NHTSA ID

11287936

Incident

Nov 25, 2019

Mileage

160,000 mi

EIS , STEERING LOCK

NHTSA ID

11286537

Incident

Nov 29, 2019

THE C300 MODEL HAS A NOTORIOUS PROBLEM WITH ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCKING LEAVING THE CAR MOBILELESS. CANNOT EVEN PUT IN NEUTRAL FOR TOWING. THE CAR SIMPLY WON'T START. IT WILL LEAVE A MOTORIST STRANDED AT ANY TIME, ANY PLACE AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING AND REPRESENTS A DANGEROUS HAZARD TO MOTORIST'S SAFETY. MERCEDES SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO COURT VIA CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT. *TR *TR *TR *JS CONSUMER STATED CAR HAS BEEN REPAIRED.*JB *JS

NHTSA ID

11230359

Incident

Jun 11, 2019

Mileage

71,517 mi

I CALLED MERCEDES BENZ DEALERSHIP TO MAKE APPOINTMENT, THEY TOOK MY INFORMATION 6 MONTHS A GO WITH OUT ANY ANSWER THE FIX THE RECALL PROBLEMS

NHTSA ID

11208051

Incident

Dec 1, 2018

CAM SOLENOID MOST C300 WILL STOP TURNING ON ALL THE CAR DOES IS ASK U TO TAKE KEY OF IGNITION.. I SEARCHED THE ISSUE AND THERE IS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. IT'S NOT FAIR TO CONSUMERS NOT TO HAVE A RECALL ON A PART THAT IS DEFECTIVE THAT COST OVER A THOUSAND TO FIX . PLEASE HELP US RESOLVE THIS MATTER

NHTSA ID

11204307

Incident

Aug 19, 2018

THE GROUND WIRE FOR THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS IS HEATING UP. MERCEDES DEALER FIXED THIS, PER NHTSA RECALL #14V-177 BUT THE ISSUE IS REOCCURRING.

NHTSA ID

11194832

Incident

Apr 8, 2019

ESL MODULE FAILURE(BRUSHES OF THE SUBSTANDARD ELECTRICAL MOTOR GO BAD) LEAVES THE CAR INOPERABLE. ALMOST ALL C300 AND SIMILAR MODELS WILL EXPERIENCE THIS FAILURE BEFORE THEY REACH 80,000 MILES. THE MODULE IS BURIED DEEPLY INTO THE CAR YET IT WOULD FAIL WITH CERTAINTY. THE MASS FAILURE OF THE MODULE WOULD SUGGEST THAT THERE WOULD BE A RECALL, NEVERTHELESS MERCEDES-BENZ(MB) IS PRETENDING THE PROBLEM DOESN'T EXIST AND OWNERS ARE OFTEN LEFT STRANDED ON PARKING LOTS WITH AN USELESS CAR AND STUCK WITH A BILL OF $2000 FOR SOMETHING THAT IS CLEARLY A MB DESIGN AND ENGINEERING FAULT.

NHTSA ID

11183472

Incident

Jan 24, 2019

Mileage

80,000 mi

STEERING WHEEL LOCKED IN GARAGE. "REMOVE KEY FROM IGNITION" IS MESSAGE ON INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. CAR WILL NOT START. THIS CAR HAS LESS THAN 64K MILES. CAR WAS STATIONARY IN MY GARAGE. NOW I HAVE TO PAY A TOW COMPANY TO SOMEHOW GET IT OUT OF GARAGE, AS IT IS FRONT END IN ORIENTED (PULLED IN INSTEAD OF BACKED IN), AND TOW TO DEALERSHIP, AND PREPARE FOR AN OVERLY INFLATED REPAIR COST.

NHTSA ID

11183311

Incident

Feb 27, 2019

Mileage

63,690 mi