What 584 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Mercedes-benz C-class Coupe

While driving on secondary road at 45 mph, braked for stoplight in 2012 Mercedes C300 4matic. Car veered left, rear swung right, and right front dove downward. Luckily regained control and prevented swerving into oncoming traffic. Took car to my regular mechanic and it was determined that the welds on the left rear portion of the rear subframe had rusted out from the inside of the subframe, severing the attachment to the left rear wheel control arms. The car had been inspected 6 months earlier and there was no sign of problem. The failure was catastrophic, not gradual. When the mechanic called the local Mercedes dealer, the service manager was not surprised and proceeded to outline what parts would be needed to carry out the repair. When I contacted the local Mercedes dealer, myself, they said this wasn’t an uncommon problem, but there was not recall or service bulletin on the problem. Was given a rough quote of $5000 to affect the repair. I also contacted Mercedes Benz USA and was told there were no recalls or service bulletins, but they might be able to provide some “Goodwill Assistance” to offset the expected cost if I had it towed to a MB dealer and got a quote from them. Benzworld.org, an owners forum with over 5 million participants world-wide https://www.benzworld.org/threads/w204-rear-subframes-deterioration.3048088/#post-17965564 has multiple postings about the problem as do other forums including CarProblemZoo.com https://www.carproblemzoo.com/mercedesbenz/c300/suspension-problems.php . This design/manufacturer defect has had recalls in both Europe and Canada. Why this is not being addressed in the US? This sudden failure is potentially life-threatening.

NHTSA ODI 11441743

The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated her son was driving approximately 60 MPH and noticed that the steering wheel was crooked and vibrating. The driver was manually turning the steering wheel for the vehicle to drive straight. The driver also noticed that while depressing the brake pedal, the rear of the vehicle was shaking going from left to right while coming to a complete stop. The driver took the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be inspected and was informed that the rear driver’s side subframe had separated from the vehicle due to extreme rust. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

NHTSA ODI 11441459

I was driving my 2012 Mercedes C250 through an intersection on 08/09/2021 when I first heard clunking noises in the rear of my vehicle. Every time I placed my foot on the brakes after that it continued to clunk until I took it to the Mercedes dealership for repair on 08/17/2021. The car had about 57,000 miles on it and was only nine years old, but the dealership said that the entire rear subframe of the vehicle had rusted and was close to completely separating from other parts of the vehicle. This was the first time I heard of any rusting in my vehicle, despite having the 2 rear tires replaced and alignment by the same place on 10/02/2020 (less than one year before). The service rep acknowledged that the car was well-maintained and that this was not due to any accident. This rusting was due to a manufacturing defect and has caused accidents in other Mercedes vehicles (https://www.carproblemzoo.com/mercedesbenz/c300/suspension-problems.php). It has resulted in recalls of rusted parts in both Europe (https://europe.autonews.com/article/19981026/ANE/810260839/mercedes-offers-guarantee-against-rust-for-30-years) and Canada (https://www.wheels.ca/news/mercedes-benz-recalling-vehicles-for-rust-problems/). Had I been travelling at a higher rate of speed when this piece failed, I could have been at risk of serious injury. This event occurred without any warning lamps or messages. The service for replacement and realignment was quoted at $4,358.71. Only after much argument did I receive a final bill of $3448.71. This was an unbelievable cost for replacing a part with a manufacturer defect. Mercedes headquarters tried to claim that the issue was due to exposure to snow and salt on the roads. This region rarely gets any snow. This lack of care for customer safety along with the fact that the dealership did not retain the part they removed from my vehicle after I had requested them to do so, left me realizing that Mercedes doesn't care about safety standards for their products.

NHTSA ODI 11430314

1. The (RH) rear suspension forward link attach point on the rear Suspension Cross-Member (Mercedes-Benz P/N: 204-350-01-41), separated from the sub frame due to internal corrosion of the Suspension Cross-Member. Part available for inspection. 2. When part failed, the RH rear wheel alignment was no-longer fixed; some loss of vehicle steering control was experienced, especially during braking and also turning. 3. Numerous reports of similar episodes of this failure are reported in owners' and maintainers' forums. The dealer service department was familiar with this Suspension Cross-Member part failure. 5. This vehicle passed a Maryland State safety inspection performed by the seller of the vehicle 6 months and 5000 mi prior to the part failure. 6. Part failed with no warning, during normal driving on secondary roads.

NHTSA ODI 11418391

REAR SUBFRAME (AS RECALLED IN PREVIOUS YEARS) WAS COMPLETED CORRODED - FAILED VIRGINIA INSPECTION - IN SUCH POOR SHAPE THAT ENTIRE SUBFRAME HAD TO BE REPLACED - CORROSION RIDDLED THE PIECE SO THAT HUGE HOLES RESULTED IN NO POSSIBILITY OF WELDING TO FIX/SUPPLEMENT WEAKNESS - AUTO REPAIR PLACE HAD NOT SEEN SUCH A WEAK FRAME IN SUCH A RELATIVELY NEW CAR. LUCKILY - NO ACCIDENT OCCURED BUT COULD EASILY HAVE OCCURRED DUE TO CORROSION. NO OTHER PART OF VEHICLE WAS CORRODED - SO PART WAS MANUFACTURED INCORRECTLY (NO CORROSION CONTROL?/SHIPMENT FROM GERMANY ISSUE?) - MERCEDES BENZ HAS RECALL FOR THIS PART IN PREVIOUS MODEL YEARS - PICTURES OF SUBFRAME AVAILABLE UPON DEMAND

NHTSA ODI 11389862

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES-BENZ C250. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V017000 (AIR BAGS). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT CALLED PLAZA MOTORS (LOCATED AT 11654 OLIVE BLVD, CREVE CORE, MO 63141, 314-485-4926) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.*MP CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING IN A SNOW COVER ROAD, HEARD A LOUD NOISE AND REALIZED CAR HIT THE CURVE TAKING DOWN THE PASSENGER BUMPER.*JB

NHTSA ODI 11281852

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES-BENZ C250. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, A SUDDEN LOUD BOOMING NOISE WAS HEARD. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SUN ROOF EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MERCEDES-BENZ OF WACO (1625 N VALLEY MILLS DR, WACO, TX), BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000. *BF CONSUMER STATED IT WOULD COST $8,000 TO REPAIR. VIN IS NOT VALID.*JB

NHTSA ODI 11193015

TAKATA RECALL WAS MADE ON THIS CAR IN JANUARY 2017 AND NO REMEDY HAS BEEN RELEASED OVER TWO YEARS LATER. ALSO, THE PAINT ON THE WHOLE CAR BUBBLED BEING A DEFECT FROM MERCEDES.

NHTSA ODI 11175167

CAM SHAFT ADJUSTERS WENT OUT AND HAD TO BE REPAIRED FOR NORMAL USE AND DRIVERS SIDE DOOR HANDLE BROKE ON THE INSIDE AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED DUE TO REGULAR USE.

NHTSA ODI 11140151

INSIDE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR LEVER BROKE, CAN NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR WITHOUT LOWERING DRIVERS ELEC. WINDOW. DEALER OR OTHERS CAN NOT FIX OR REPLACE, NO STOCK. ALL ON BACKORDER FOR MONTHS AHEAD.

NHTSA ODI 11003777

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MERCEDES BENZ C300. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW EXHIBITED A LOUD, ABNORMAL NOISE WHEN OPENED. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED A TEMPORARY LOSS OF HEARING FROM THE HIGH PITCH OF THE NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE LOUD NOISE WAS COMMON FOR THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 384. UPDATED 8/21/12 *CN

NHTSA ODI 10468811

2012 MERCEDES C250 SPORT. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUES WITH LEVERS ON THE STEERING COLUMN *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE LEVER, WHICH WAS HIDDEN BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL. THE CONSUMER STATED HE HAD TO LEAN FORWARD TO LOOK OVER TOP OF THE STEERING WHEEL TO REACH THE LEVER. HE ALSO STATED THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS IN A HIDDEN AREA AS WELL. *JB

NHTSA ODI 10457288