Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2010 Mercedes-Benz C 300 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 48 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 48, in the owner's own words
The vehicle had a previous warranty repair for the taillight burning out repaired but the issue has happened per the recall but the dealer states that since they fixed it then they wont fix it again even tho its what the complaint for the recall was originally
car not able to be driven rear subframe had completely rusted out and rear light housing is burn
I purchased the vehicle in 2010 & immediately had to have the electrical system for all lights replaced. The lights on the vehicle goes out every 2 mos as if theres an electrical issue. Air bags had a recall & have been replaced now the system states there is a malfunction. This started 09/08/22.
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.
The contact owns a 2010 Mercedes Benz C300. The contact stated that the wiring in the left tail light had melted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V177000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) which he linked to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and both informed him that the recall had been serviced prior to the contact owning the vehicle. The vehicle had been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
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.
MERCEDES BENZ C300W LIGHT BULBS ARE CONSTANTLY BLOWING OUT. PRIMARILY DUE TO THE HEAT ACCUMULATION IN THE HEADLIGHTS. THE PLASTIC PARTS ARE MELTING, DRY AND VERY BRITTLE WHICH CAUSES BULBS TO OVERHEAT AND BLOW OUT. LEFT & RIGHT PARKING LIGHTS(4), SIDE LAMPS(2) AND LICENSE PLATE LAMP(2) HAVE BEEN CHANGED OUT AT LEAST 15 TIMES PER LAMP. THE DEALERSHIP SUGGEST I CHANGE OUT THE HEAD LAMP CASING COSTINS APPROX. $2K WITH LABOR. AFTERMARKET $700 PLUS LABOR. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT THREE SEPERATE SHOPS HAVE STATED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE MB C300.
PARKING BULBS MELTED INTO THE LIGHT CASING UNIT. THIS WAS CONFIRMED BY MERCEDES BENZ OF SACRAMENTO DEALERSHIP.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR PARKING LIGHT WAS VERY DIM. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. MERCEDES-BENZ OF HUNTINGTON (1103 E. JERICHO TPKY, HUNTINGTON, NY) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.
TAIL LIGHT WIRING FOR 2010 MERCEDES C300 WAS REPLACED UNDER THE RECALL ISSUED IN 2014. TAIL LIGHT WIRING IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING BURNING/MELTING DUE TO INSUFFICIENT GROUND WIRE CAPACITY (ISSUE OF ORIGINAL RECALL). MERCEDES DEALERSHIP WILL NOT REPLACE THE PARTS UNDER RECALL PROCEDURES AND IS REQUIRING PAYMENT FOR REPLACEMENT. TAIL LIGHTS CURRENTLY INTERMITTENTLY WORK BUT EXPERIENCE TOTAL FAILURE OF ALL TAIL LIGHTS (INCLUDING BRAKE, TURN INDICATOR, ETC) WHEN NOT WORKING.
TAKATA RECALL I HAVE OWNED THE CAR FOR ABOUT 1 1/2 YEARS AND THE RECALL WAS FROM ABOUT 2012 I THINK FROM LOOKING IT UP . I HAVE CALLED THE HOTLINE MANY TIME AND GOT A RUN AROUND. WAS TOLD EVERY TIME PARTS WOULD BE AVAILABLE WITHIN A FEW MONTHS.
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.
I 'M GETTING A MESSAGE FROM THE COMPUTER TELLING ME ABOUT THAT MY RIGHT FRONT TAIL LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING
MY RIGHT TAIL LIGHT KEEPS DIMMING AND GOING BACK BRIGHT. I THOUGHT I NEEDED A BULB BUT BUT IT GAVE ME A MESSAGE TODAY FOR EVERYTHING ON THE RIGHT SIDE BUT THEN THE MESSAGE WENT AWAY. LAST NIGHT SOMEONE TOLD ME THE RIGHT LIGHT WAS DIM THEN IT GOT BRIGHTER. I'VE BEEN SMELLING A FAINT BURNING SMELL BUT TODAY IT WAS KIND OF LOUD. I CHECKED AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE PLASTIC AND WIRE IS MELTING ON RTE RIGHT TAIL LIGHT.
TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY BURNING UP AGAIN. MY 2010 MB C300 4MATIC SPORT HAD A RECALL TO REPLACE BOTH TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLIES ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO. NOW IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN AND MB DEALER WANTS $159 JUST FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. PROBLEMS: DASH WARNING MESSAGES STARTED TO APPEAL SAYING PROBLEMS WITH TAIL LIGHT, BRAKE LIGHT, FOG LIGHT, TURN SIGNAL, REVERSE LAMP... EVERYTHING IS OUT. LIGHT BULBS LOOKED FINE BUT I REPLACED ALL BULBS ANYWAY (FROM AUTOZONE PARTS), WORKED FOR A FEW HOURS, THEN WARNING MESSAGES SHOWED UP AGAIN. REPLACED ALL BULBS AGAIN. SAME THING. THEN ONE DAY, MESSAGES STOPPED AND EVERYTHING IS WORKING AGAIN. THEN A FEW DAYS LATER, IT STARTED AGAIN. WENT TO A MB DEALER (AT CHANTILLY, VA) ON 10/2/18 WHO WANTED $159 JUST FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. I INSTEAD PURCHASED A NEW TAIL LIGHT PANEL (LAMP CARRIER P/N 204-820-15-00-05) AT $20 BEFORE TAX TO REPLACE ON MY OWN. CAME HOME OPENED UP THE PANEL AND FOUND A BURNED WIRE. IT EVEN MELTED THE BLACK PLASTIC HOUSING OF WIRE HARDNESS AND A BLACK BURNED MARK ON THE PANEL (CARRIER). PLEASE SEE ATTACHED PHOTOS. THIS CAN CAUSE A CAR FIRE. ALSO VERY UNSAFE DRIVING BECAUSE TUNE AND BRAKE LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING. SHOULDN'T MB FIX THIS AGAIN AT NO CHARGE? PLEASE RECALL AGAIN.
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP WAS LEAKING FLUID. IN ADDITION, THE TAIL LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE WHILE DRIVING. THE CONTACT CALLED JACKIE COOPER IMPORTS MERCEDES-BENZ AT (918) 420-9156 (LOCATED AT 9393 S MEMORIAL DRIVE A, TULSA, OK 74133) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT SHE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V081000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED FOR THE REPAIR WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.
2010 MERCEDES BENZ C300. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VARIOUS SAFETY RECALLS. CONSUMER STATES THAT THEY WERE NEVER NOTIFIED OF THESE RECALLS. *LD *JS
WIRING ASSEMBLY RECALL. MY 2010 MB C300 HAD A TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY RECALLED 3 YRS AGO DUE TO A FAULT IN WIRING ASSEMBLY. NOW I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM - FAULT IN WIRING ASSEMBLY. NOW I HAVE TO PAY $170 + TAXES TO REPAIR IT.
PREVIOUSLY RECALLED FOR THE SAME ISSUE IN 2014. TAIL LIGHT BULB HOLDERS OR WIRING HARNESS CATCHING FIRE.
TOOK CAR FOR ROUTINE SERVICE AT LOCAL MB DEALERSHIP ON 9/3/16 AND WAS TOLD BOTH FRONT PARKING LAMPS/LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING, FURTHER INFORMED THAT IT IS NOT SIMPLE LIGHT BULB BLOW OUT BUT SOMETHING HAS CAUSED THE WHOLE MOLDING/CASING HOLDING THE LIGHT HAS MELTED AND THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE SERVICE ADVISER STATED THAT HE HAS SEEN THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM BEFORE WITH THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. I AM NOT A TECHNICAL PERSON AND CAN FORWARD EMAIL AND THE DETAILS OF ISSUE AS PROVIDED BY DEALERSHIP. I CONSIDER THIS SERIOUS SAFETY AND FIRE HAZARD AND WANTED TO KNOW IF THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN REPORTED TO YOU BEFORE BY CONSUMERS OR BY THE MANUFACTURER MERCEDES BENZ. MILEAGE ON FORM IS APPROXIMATE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. WHEN THE IGNITION WAS TURNED TO THE ON POSITION, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAYED THAT THE PARKING LAMPS FAILED. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE THE PARKING LAMPS AND OBSERVED THAT THEY WERE MELTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 60,000.
THERE ARE TWO PROBLEMS THAT HAVE SHOWN UP ALL AT THE SAME TIME JUST RECENTLY. OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS IT SEEMS THAT EVERYDAY WHEN I GO LEAVE IN MY CAR I AM GETTING A NEW WARNING MESSAGE ABOUT ANOTHER LIGHT I NEED TO CHECK. AT FIRST IT WAS PROMPTING ME TO CHECK THE RIGHT REAR TAIL LIGHT WHICH APPEARS TO BE WORKING FINE. BUT NOW THE LIST HAS GROWN TO INCLUDE THAT TAIL LIGHT, A TURN SIGNAL LIGHT, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT AND A COUPLE MORE EVEN THOUGH TO ME IT APPEARS THAT ALL ARE WORKING FINE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LICENSE PLATE LIGHT WHICH IS TRULY OUT. HOWEVER THE WARNING ARE LISTED FOR ALL THESE MALFUNCTIONING LIGHTS. THE SECOND ISSUE IS WITH THE POWER STEERING. IT STARTED MAKING A DISTRESSING NOISE ONE EVENING ON MY DRIVE HOME, IN WHICH I WAS ABLE TO REACH MY HOME WITHOUT TROUBLE. HOWEVER WHEN I TRIED TO LEAVE THE NEXT MORNING THE POWER STEERING ON THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY NOT WORKING AND I WAS HAVING SUCH A HARD TIME TURNING THE WHEEL BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVE THAT I THOUGHT IT SMART NOT TO TAKE IT OUT ON THE ROAD AND PULLED IT BACK UP INTO MY DRIVEWAY WHERE IT HAS SAT FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS. LUCKILY MY SON IS AWAY AT BOARDING SCHOOL BUT HE DOESN'T NEED HIS CAR THERE SO I HAVE HAD IT AVAILABLE TO GET ME TO WORK AND BACK UNTIL I HAD THE TIME TO LOOK INTO THE ISSUE WITH MY CAR WHICH I AM DOING NOW.
A LITTLE LESS THAN A YEAR AGO MY DRIVER SIDE INNER PARKING LIGHT BULB FAILED, AND ABOUT A WEEK LATER THE PASSENGER SIDE INNER PARKING LIGHT BULB FAILED AS WELL. WHEN I WENT TO REPLACE THEM, THE BULB AND HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY SHOWED VISIBLE DAMAGE FROM WHERE IT APPEARED AS IF BOTH BULBS CAUGHT ON FIRE AND MELTED INTO THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY, PERMANENTLY DAMAGING BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. THERE WAS THE PRESENCE OF CHARRING ON THE BULB SOCKET AS WELL. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL MERCEDES BENZ DEALERSHIP AND THEY STATED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO EXCEPT TO REPLACE BOTH HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. IF IT WERE MERELY ONE BULB THAT FAILED IN THIS MANNER, I WOULD HAVE CHALKED IT UP TO MAYBE A FAULTY BULB OR SOCKET, BUT IT IS VERY ODD THAT IT OCCURRED ON BOTH INNER PARKING LIGHT ASSEMBLY. FORTUNATELY
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MERCEDES BENZ C300. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TAIL LIGHT FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS MELTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V177000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE PARKING LIGHT FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS MELTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 41,114.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MERCEDES BENZ C300. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM HEAD LAMP CONTINUED TO ILLUMINATE EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. AS A RESULT, THE BATTERY DRAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO REPAIRED THE VEHICLE UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V177000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING); HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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