2001 Mercedes-Benz C240 Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes-Benz C240. The contact stated that he was made aware of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 191V18000 (Visibility) after the vehicle was taken through inspection. Additionally, the contact stated that the sliding roof failed to close as designed. As a result, the contact had to remotely open and close the sliding sunroof repeatedly until properly closed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was denied the recall repair however, the contact stated that the vehicle had not been inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage 140,000.

NHTSA ID

11522525

Incident

May 10, 2023

Mileage

140,000 mi

THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF ON MY 2001 MERCEDES BENZ C240 SHATTERED OR EXPLODED WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT A HIGHWAY SPEED OF 55 MPH. IT SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT AND THE GLASS WAS SHATTERED OVER THE PASSENGER AND REAR SEATS. NO ONE WAS SITTING IN THOSE SEATS FORTUNATELY. MERCEDES DEALER SAYS THERE IS NO RECALL OR WARRANTY FOR THIS SAFETY ISSUE TO DATE. I WILL HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET $1500.

NHTSA ID

11399816

Incident

Mar 8, 2021

Mileage

87,400 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MERCEDES-BENZ C240. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V918000 (VISIBILITY) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. *BF CONSUMER STATED WHENEVER SUNROOF IS OPEN NOISE COULD BE HEARD.*JB

NHTSA ID

11329200

Incident

Feb 26, 2020

MY 2001 MERCEDES-BENZ C240 ENGINE COOLING OR SUCTION FAN RUNS CONSTANTLY AT HIGH SPEED NONSTOP AT STARTUP UNTIL VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF. VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT / MODULE (ECU / ECM) OR COOLING / SUCTION FAN WAS BAD AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. I REPLACED THE ECU 5 TIMES AND THE COOLING / SUCTION FAN ONCE RELYING ON DEALER'S DIAGNOSES. MY C240 WOULD WORK FOR A WHILE BUT THE FAN WOULD MALFUNCTION AGAIN RUNNING CONSTANTLY AT HIGH SPEED. I NOTIFIED MERCEDES BENZ USA OF MULTIPLE FAN MALFUNCTIONS AND THE DEALER'S INABILITY TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD TO FIND ANOTHER DEALERSHIP IF PROBLEM REOCCURRED. THE PROBLEM REOCCURRED 4 MONTHS LATER WHICH I TOOK C240 TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. THIS OTHER DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THAT THE ECU WAS BAD AND FOUND A 2004 TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) P-B-20.40/26A THAT ADDRESSES THE SPECIFIC ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE. TSB STATES PROBLEM MAY BE CAUSED BY THE WIRING HARNESS BETWEEN THE ECU AND ENGINE FAN OR THE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT FAN END STAGE MALFUNCTIONING. THERE MAYBE A CODE P2073 (004). THE ADAPTER WIRING HARNESS PART NUMBER IS A209 540 56 35. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED ACCORDING TO THE TSB WHICH SAYS TO CHECK WIRE CONTINUITY, REPLACE ECU, AND INSTALL HARNESS ADAPTER ONLY. MY FAN WAS ALSO REPLACED ALTHOUGH TSB DID NOT STATE TO REPLACE FAN. NO ADDITIONAL TEST WAS PERFORMED TO SHOW THAT FAN WAS BAD. IT WAS REPLACED TO WARRANT THE ECU. MERCEDES-BENZ USA SAYS MY C240 IS NOT COVERED BY TSB P-B-20.40//26A OR P-B-20.40/33 AND NO OTHER TSB EXIST THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THIS SAME ISSUE FOR MY VEHICLE. I HAVE FOUND MANY C240 AND C-CLASS (W203) OWNERS' COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM BEYOND THE MODELS MENTIONED IN THE ABOVE 2 TSBS. MERCEDES BENZ IS CONCEALING THAT TSBS EXIST TO ADDRESS SAME ISSUE WITH C240 AND OTHER W203 VEHICLES OR IT WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM FROM CONSUMER COMPLAINTS.

NHTSA ID

11192785

Incident

Aug 13, 2013

IN DECEMBER 2017, I WAS DRIVING ALONG A CITY STREET WHEN THE DRIVER'S FRONT AIRBAG SUDDENLY DEPLOYED. MY CAR WAS WELL-MAINTAINED, WITH MILEAGE OF 28,520. IT APPEARS THE SUSPENSION (LOWER BALL JOINT) ON THE RIGHT SIDE FAILED, CAUSING THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE TO BLOW OUT AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE LEFT FRONT TIRE AS WELL. THERE WAS NO COLLISION, YET THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED WITH AN EXTREMELY LOUD BANG THAT SERIOUSLY DAMAGED MY HEARING, PERHAPS PERMANENTLY. AN ONLINE SEARCH INDICATES THAT MERCEDES HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH AIRBAGS DEPLOYING UNNECESSARILY, BUT I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED NOTICE OF A RECALL.*JS

NHTSA ID

11061484

Incident

Dec 19, 2017

Mileage

28,520 mi

ESP LIGHT, INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FADING, ACCELERATION SENSOR AND MULTIPLE LEAKS IN THE ENGINE, POWER STEERING, AXEL SEAL, SPARK PLUGS VALVE LEAKS, OIL LEAKS, TRANS BELL. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT IN FOR AN ESP LIGHT THAT TURNS ON ONCE THE CAR IS IN MOTION, A BURNING SMELL THAT COMES THROUGH THE CAR. MULTIPLE LEAKS DISCOVERED AND THE CLUSTER LIGHTING ALSO FADES OUT ONCE THE CAR HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR A WHILE MAKING THE READINGS UNREADABLE. BENZEL AND BUSCH GENERATED A DIAGNOSTIC THAT DISCOVERED MANY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. MBUSA WAS ALSO NOTIFIED OF THE CONCERNS WITH THE ESP LIGHT, THE FADING OF THE INSTRUMENTS AND THE MULTIPLE LEAKS FOR A CAR THAT HAS LESS THAN 55K AND HAS HAD ALL PROPER MAINTENANCE DONE. THEY REFUSED TO CONSIDER ALTHOUGH OTHER VEHICLES SAME YEAR AND MODEL HAD HAD RECALLS FOR SOME OF THESE ITEMS.

NHTSA ID

11005283

Incident

Jun 30, 2017

Mileage

1 mi

NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS, THEN VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY SLAMS ON BRAKES (SOMETIMES ALL 4 WHEELS, SOMETIMES ONLY 1 WHEEL--WHICH CAUSES VEHICLE TO YAW). AT FIRST, THIS PROBLEM WOULD ONLY OCCUR AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 40 MINUTES. NOW IT CAN HAPPEN UP TO 3 MINUTES AFTER STARTING VEHICLE. ON 1 OCCASION SYSTEM CAUSED THE WHEELS TO SKID FOR ABOUT ONE SECOND, WHICH MADE ME LOSE TRACTION. PROBLEM HAPPENS ONLY WHEN VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. INDEPENDENT OF WHETHER ON HIGHWAY OR IN A TURN.

NHTSA ID

10854486

Incident

Apr 8, 2016

Mileage

107,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MERCEDES BENZ C 240. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE BRAKE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND EXCESSIVE FORCE WAS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE ESP CONTROL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000.

NHTSA ID

10654596

Incident

Apr 1, 2014

Mileage

170,000 mi