LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LOCK
2023 Mercedes-Benz C 300
Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Overview
Our database contains 22 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2023 Mercedes-Benz C 300, most frequently naming the driver assistance, brakes and electrical categories. 9 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; and 364 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Complaint activity over time
When owners filed reports about this model year
View as table
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | 4 | 4 |
| Jun 2023 | 1 | 5 |
| Jul 2023 | 1 | 6 |
| Aug 2023 | 1 | 7 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 9 |
| Nov 2023 | 1 | 10 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 11 |
| Apr 2024 | 2 | 13 |
| Jun 2024 | 1 | 14 |
| Aug 2024 | 1 | 15 |
| Sep 2024 | 2 | 17 |
| May 2025 | 1 | 18 |
| Jul 2025 | 1 | 19 |
| Aug 2025 | 2 | 21 |
| Nov 2025 | 1 | 22 |
What owners report
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
- Driver assistance1035.7%
- Brakes517.9%
- Electrical517.9%
- Tires & wheels27.1%
- Engine27.1%
- Visibility13.6%
- Fuel system13.6%
- Powertrain (other)13.6%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Safety recalls
9 campaigns cover this model year
Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.
Check a VIN on NHTSA.govELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
SEAT BELTS:FRONT
Recent owner complaints
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
When going into Reverse the passenger side mirror angles down to see curbs. When putting back into Drive it should be going back up to normal angle, but 20% of the time it does not go back up. If you're driving in the dark you may not know it's reverted back up and get into a car accident. Dealership said there are no issues and a technician stated it goes back up at +9 mph. I've gone over 30 mph driving on public street only to realize it late. I am hoping this gets publicity before an accident occurs due to a defective safety-comfort feature.
- NHTSA ID
- 11699593
- Incident
- Nov 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that on occasion while driving at various speeds, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped without the brake pedal being depressed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed twice by the local dealer, and the contact was advised that the Forward Collision Avoidance sensors needed to be recalibrated; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer where the vehicle was inspected, and the contact was advised that further diagnostic tests were required to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 28,000. The VIN was not available.
- NHTSA ID
- 11680376
- Incident
- Jan 13, 2025
- Mileage
- 28,000 mi
My panoramic sunroof spontaneously exploded while driving down the highway, no external impact was made. The glass exploded from the inside out. It made a loud boom, it startled me on the highway resulted me to swerving on the road, which would have put me and other drivers at risk. There's plenty other MB drivers reported similar issues that stated. MB has also settled a class action lawsuit regarding such manner. UNKNOWN There were no warning signs prior to the event. The event spontaneous and sudden.
- NHTSA ID
- 11678947
- Incident
- Aug 5, 2025
On 4 different occasions car brake assist activated causing car to come to an immediate stop and jerk. At stop light as I started to accelerate a left turn car came to an immediate stop almost causing the car behind hit rear end. Brake assist light activated. This happened twice. And twice when in reverse backing out of a parking space and backing into driveway. Dealership notified look at my car and stated they did not see anything wrong. 4th incident happened within 30 minutes after leaving Wilmington Mercedes Benz.
- NHTSA ID
- 11674663
- Incident
- Jul 18, 2025
While driving at 60mph my panoramic sunroof completely shattered. Nothing at all hit the sunroof to cause it to shatter. If my sunshade cover had not been on, the glass would have fallen on me while operating my vehicle. This is not only dangerous but unacceptable. It was also a distraction that could have caused an accident. Mercedes did not make me aware of the class action lawsuit they have with the panoramic sunroofs, and I feel that was neglectful on their part. Upon inspection from a service advisor at a Mercedes Benz dealership, they told me something must have hit it (nothing hit it) and want to charge me $4,000 to fix it.
- NHTSA ID
- 11662742
- Incident
- May 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes Benz C300 equipped with Pirelli Tires, Tire Line: P Zero, Tire Size: 255/35/VR19, DOT Number: [XXX] . The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an unknown bumping sound heard. The contact pulled over and noticed that the passenger's side front tire was flat. The TPMS warning light was illuminated. The infotainment screen showed a reading of the tire 0 PSI. The contact noticed there was a hole in the tire and the side wall was damaged, and the rim was damaged. The contact depressed the SOS button but received no assistance. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was taken to a tire center, but no assistance was provided. The contact called the local dealer and was provided information for the tire replacement. The dealer informed the contact that the tires on the vehicle were not correct for the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle and tire failure mileages were 16,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- NHTSA ID
- 11615020
- Incident
- Sep 2, 2024
- Mileage
- 16,000 mi
This car has the driver assistance package including Active Speed Limit Assist which is supposed to automatically adjust the speed of the vehicle based on detected speed limits. However, it gets the speed limit wrong an excessive amount of the time sometimes resulting in the car suddenly decelerating which I consider to be a serious safety issue that could result in collisions. In my situation, I have experienced the car suddenly slowing to 40 mph for no reason in an area where the speed limit was 65 mph. I have also seen this problem documented on a number of blogs related to Mercedes-Benz vehicles. When I reported the problem to the dealership, I was told that it was a known issue and was encouraged to turn this feature off. I think Mercedes-Benz needs to fix this known issue for those of us who have cars with Active Speed Limit Assist.
- NHTSA ID
- 11612912
- Incident
- Jan 4, 2023
While driving on the highway I had decided to tilt my sunroof open. When it opened the sunroof completely cracked/shattered discarding tiny particles of glass all over me. There were no previous compromising cracks nor did anything hit my pano sunroof causing this to happen
- NHTSA ID
- 11606333
- Incident
- Aug 1, 2024
Manufacturer communications
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; POWER TRAIN
Complaint Diverse functional limitations in the vehicle in combination with various warning and fault messages in the instrument cluster display. Cause Communication timeouts mean that communication errors may occur in the on‑board electrical system, which can result in various fault messages being displayed in the instrument cluster. This could be down to delayed feedback from the drivetrain control unit (N127) (CPC) to other control units networked to the CAN bus. Information: Only valid for vehicles through production period 10/2025. Not valid for vehicles with control unit CDCC (N125, central controller charging and driving) • It may not be possible to attribute any communication errors stored in the control units on the CAN bus to a specific cause • In rare instances, there may be a brief activation of the yellow warning lamp for engine diagnosis or there may be a sporadic delay with the start enable. • There may not be any specific fault codes present that indicate a specific component. Example image: Fault messages in instrument cluster: The reason for this could be down to delayed feedback from the control unit CPC3 to other control units networked on the CAN bus. Remedy Do not replace any components!!! ******************************************************************************************************* 1. Connect charger (see AR54.10‑P‑1127WT). Note: An adequate voltage from the on‑board electrical system battery must be guaranteed for the entire duration of the work procedure. Otherwise, the control units could be damaged if an undervoltage occurs. Information: Observe the operating instructions of the charger. Information: Use the charger to ensure an adequate voltage (at least 12.5 V) from the on‑board electrical system battery. ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ 2. Connect diagnostic system (see AD00.00‑P‑2000‑06FR). Note: Always use the latest XENTRY Diagnostics software release. Information: Strict compliance with the operation steps in XENTRY Diagnostics is absolutely essential. ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ 3. Select control unit N127 (CPC) via the direct link using XENTRY Diagnosis. Information: To do so, select the following menu items: Control units view → Drive systems → N127 ‑ "Drivetrain" control unit (CPC) ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ 4. Update software for control unit N127 (CPC) (see AR54.21‑P‑0014‑01Y). Info: To do so, select the following menu items: Adaptations → Control unit update → Update control unit software. Information: You are then automatically guided through the steps "Update of control unit software" and "SCN coding". Always observe the following operation steps at all times ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ 5. Disconnect diagnostic device from vehicle (see AD00.00‑P‑2000‑06FR). ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ 6. Disconnect charger from vehicle (see AR54.10‑P‑1127WT).
SUSPENSION
Complaint Wheezing noises/squeaking noises from the front shock absorbers when passing over surface undulations and rough road. Noise MUST match those heard in the attached videos. Cause • Wheezing noises: Flow noises of the damper oil • Squeaking noises: From the mechanical rubber valve in the dividing piston Remedy In case of complaints, the front shock absorbers must be replaced. If shocks have been replaced and noise persists, please open a TIPS case to the Body, Chassis, Entertainment inbox.
STRUCTURE:BODY
Complaint Wheezing noises/squeaking noises from the front shock absorbers when passing over surface undulations and rough road. Noise MUST match those heard in the attached videos. Cause • Wheezing noises: Flow noises of the damper oil • Squeaking noises: From the mechanical rubber valve in the dividing piston Remedy In case of complaints, the front shock absorbers must be replaced. If shocks have been replaced and noise persists, please open a TIPS case to the Body, Chassis, Entertainment inbox.
ENGINE
Complaint Oil seeping from turbocharger oil return line at connection to engine block. Low oil level warning. Oil observed under vehicle. Cause Return line under tension due to turbo rotation. Remedy Inspect turbocharger housing for rotation (refer to attachment). If rotation is confirmed, the turbocharger and oil return line must be replaced.‑Resealing or replacing only the oil return line is not sufficient and will not resolve the symptom.‑Clean noise insulation on right side of engine if necessary. Replace insulation if cleaning is not sufficient.‑Observe foot notes regarding additional parts in XENTRY parts information when ordering turbocharger.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Issue A software update will be performed that provides enhancements to the robustness and system stability of the communication module. The update is free of charge and runs in the background, which takes about 8 minutes to install. During this time, the vehicle can be driven without any restrictions, and the new software will be active with the next ignition cycle. Remedy MBUSA will conduct an OTA service campaign. Remote software updates are automatically downloaded and installed in the customer’s vehicle free of charge and do not require a dealer visit.
POWER TRAIN
Complaint Customer complaints relating to automatic transmission 725.0 (NAG3 Classic /9G‑TRONIC automatic transmission) and 725.1 (NAG3 facelift/9G‑TRONIC automatic transmission facelift) For faster, more effective and more targeted diagnosis, Intelligent Predictive Repair (IPR) has been developed and integrated into XENTRY Diagnosis. This ensures an automated diagnosis process. Cause As part of the on‑going quality monitoring process and associated quality and damaged part appraisals, a high number of ineffective repairs have been discovered. Such ineffective repairs have a negative impact on all those involved. For the customer, it means high costs and long repair times and for the dealer, it may result in the warranty claim being rejected. Remedy General note: IPR is available for: ‑ NAG3 Classic (automatic transmission 725.0) ‑ NAG3 Classic ‑ AMG sport model (AMG 43 and AMG 53 with converter, automatic transmission 725.0) ‑ NAG3 Classic ‑ Hybrid (automatic transmission 725.0) ‑ NAG3 Classic ‑ AMG 63 (automatic transmission 725.0) ‑ NAG3 MOPF ISG2 (automatic transmission 725.1) ‑ NAG3 MOPF Hybrid (automatic transmission 725.1) ‑ NAG3 MOPF AMG sport model (AMG 53/AMG 53e with ISG48V2 & converter /hybrid, automatic transmission 725.1) ‑ NAG3 MOPF AMG 43/63 with engine 139/177 (automatic transmission 725.1) Steps for the Service Advisor: Important: The more information and detail that can be given to the workshop about the complaint, then the more effective the subsequent diagnosis with IPR can be. To this end, a detailed service reception questionnaire has been provided to help the Service Advisor ask the right questions about the complaint. ‑ Ask precise details about the customer complaint and the conditions and context. ‑ Fill out the service reception questionnaire (please see WIS document: OF27.00‑P‑3000‑05A) for customer complaints in detail and forward it to the workshop. Operation steps for the workshop employee: 1. Perform quick test 2. Access the transmission control unit via XENTRY Diagnosis 3. Select "A customer complaint has been received" and carry out all subsequent operation steps (IPR diagnosis path). 4. The IPR repair instructions are displayed, Carry out the IPR repair instructions without performing any further diagnostic or repair steps. ‑ Important: The IPR repair instructions are binding and must be carried out. Differing repairs are possible; such repairs must be documented in XENTRY in free text. Please observe the information regarding the IPR diagnosis process in XENTRY. Conventional diagnosis and subsequent appropriate repairs are only permitted if IPR does not specify any repair instructions. Invoicing for the guided IPR steps: Operation item 27‑0640 and 0.1 hours Notice regarding warranty: The use of IPR in association with warranty claims is mandatory! If the IPR repair instructions are disregarded without justification, the warranty claims may be rejected and/or are subject to debit. IPR will provide a measure to repair the vehicle based on various data sources (EEPROM, fault codes, etc). Please consider the vehicle maintenance record of the vehicle. For warranty and goodwill repairs, the transmission ECU test log and/or IPR test result must be uploaded into Paperless XENTRY Diagnosis (pXD) . If repair is being determined based of oil pan condition pictures of oil pan MUST be provided to warranty as justification. ·Tamper‑proof documentation: The IPR repair instructions are stored in the control unit log. Please file this document in a tamperproof manner ‑ either in digital form or as a hard‑copy printout and also enclose a printout with the damaged part. In this regard, please comply with the country‑specific warranty requirements of the MPC/general distributor.
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Compare model years
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Investigations | Issue Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2026 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 57.5 |
| 2023Viewing | 22 | 9 | 0 | 51.8 |
| 2022 | 25 | 9 | 0 | 54.0 |
| 2021 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 57.4 |
| 2020 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 70.2 |
| 2019 | 70 | 17 | 1 | 62.8 |
| 2018 | 99 | 18 | 2 | 58.1 |
| 2017 | 216 | 15 | 2 | 61.7 |
| 2016 | 292 | 13 | 2 | 63.0 |
| 2015 | 385 | 11 | 3 | 59.0 |
| 2014 | 94 | 5 | 1 | 55.1 |
| 2013 | 262 | 6 | 1 | 54.9 |
| 2012 | 267 | 6 | 1 | 55.1 |
| 2011 | 480 | 6 | 2 | 56.6 |
| 2010 | 453 | 6 | 2 | 56.7 |
| 2009 | 576 | 8 | 3 | 58.5 |
| 2008 | 672 | 7 | 3 | 58.2 |
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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.