What 435 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Mercedes-benz C-class Hybrid

My car (vin [XXX] ) a 2015 Mercedes C300 is experiencing the same premature rusting on the subframe. I was told that while a lot of Mercedes are covered, mine is not for some reason but I'm at the same risk for the subframe getting holes in it and wheels breaking off. I only have 78,000 miles on my car, only have it serviced at the dealer and it has been garaged parked. This type of damage is not typical for a car that has been this well cared for and for the amount it has been driven. I called Mercedes to honor the $5600 or to extend the warranty should it have to be replaced and they said to file a claim here. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11610913

The rear subframe is rusted through. It is a known manufacturing defect where water sits and rusts through the subframe. This was a recall on various Mercedes up through 2014. Multiple 2015 models have the same issue, including my Mercedes 2015 C300 4MATIC. I have a 2009 SLK with the same issue, which Mercedes previously fixed and acknowledged the manufacturing defect. The part number under the recall through 2014 is "212 250 3805" My 2015 car has part number "212 350 3605" that is not covered but still has rust issues. See attached picture The subframe can result in the back wheels falling off. My subframe is severely rusted through and a risk as a driver. A certified Mercedes dealer has inspected this issue and confirmed the safety but Mercedes will not cover the repairs for the known defect. There are no warning lights or indicators to this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11608926

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C400. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the front roof panel separated and flew off. The contact drove back and was able to pick the front roof panel off the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the front roof panel needed to be replaced. Additionally, the dealer informed the contact that the recall repair of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000(Structure) was previously performed on the vehicle, and the additional related repair would be at the contact's expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V854000(Structure). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

NHTSA ODI 11607566

SUNROOF SLIDE AND SHOE REPAIR. SLIDES HAVE MELTED DUE TO HIGH TEMPERTURES OWNER OPERATIOR DID NOT CAUSE ISSUE. Opened sunroof and sunroof would not closed. Discovered melted slides inside to sunroof tracks. It was a Rainy day and could not get sunroof to closed. Would have interfered with the visibility to drive due to water getting inside vehicle. Cost to repair is extremely high for this repair and when contacting repair shops they are seeing a large number of Mercedes with the same problem.

NHTSA ODI 11598380

My boyfriend and I were driving my 2015 MB C400 down the road in November 2020 and it was a beautiful day out so we decided we would open the sunroof to get some fresh air. I was driving so my boyfriend pressed the button for the sunroof to open. As the sunroof was opening, there was a cracking and popping sound coming from above us. We immediately pulled over at a gas station to see what was happening. Upon getting out of the car and looking closer at the sunroof, we noticed many cheap plastic components that were just broken and crumbled laying inside the sunroof tract. We removed the broken pieces and then tried to close the sunroof several times. T Each time, the sunroof went into the closed position BUT immediately went straight back to the popped up position and would not completely close again. I took my car to the MB dealership in Athens, Ga where they told me it would be almost $2500 to repair which I did not feel as if I should be held responsible for as I had just purchased the car in January 2020 only 11 months earlier. I was in fear that the sunroof would detach from the car and cause serious injury to any motorist behind me. I also have a [XXX] son who is now scared to ride in my car!! After doing much research on this issue, I have found that this is truly a common problem with this MB model. I have reached out to the corporate office a few times and they only tell me that there is no active recalls with my cars VIN. It is completely unacceptable that MB is fully aware of this issue yet they continue to disregard the potential harm to other motorists. Please help!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11595949

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while washing the vehicle, he observed that the roof panel had become detached. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11593757

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V854000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the panoramic plastic piece suddenly detached from the vehicle. The location where the piece was attached was fractured allowing wind and water to leak inside the vehicle. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11592633

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The vehicle independently pulled to the left and crossed the yellow line into the direction of oncoming traffic. The vehicle was almost involved in a head-on collision due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the repair would not be covered under warranty. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with a fractured subframe and that the subframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The contact was informed that the repair could not be covered under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

NHTSA ODI 11580056

My wife and I were driving our 2015 C-Class Mercedes on a highway, traveling at roughly 55MPH on 2/25/24, at approximately 2pm, conditions were sunny but windy, when suddenly we heard a loud noise above our heads. The noise sounded like it came from around our sunroof, and it sounded as if maybe the car had been hit by a piece of debris, although neither of us saw anything. We looked in our mirrors but didn't see anything, and I also tried opening and closing the sunroof and it worked fine. I also looked in my rear view mirror and didn't see any cars behind me swerve, or in any way adjust their driving. Because there was no safe shoulder on that part of the road, we continued a mile or so further up the road and then pulled over to see if we could visibly see anything wrong with the car. To our disbelief, a section of the body of the car that is just above the front windshield and just before the sunroof, a piece I believe called the "front stationary sunroof panel" , was completely missing! We were unsuccessful at finding the piece. After some research in recent days, I believe this issue is related to MB recall campaign #2021070010, 22V-954 / 2023010004/5/6. If this is however related to the recall, the Mercedes dealership we took our car to on 3/1/24 told us it would cost us over $2,000.00 to repair. As I thought about a piece of the car simply flying off while driving, I realized how much of a safety hazard this could pose to others, hence this written report.

NHTSA ODI 11576462

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer for routine maintenance and was informed that the rear sub frame was rusted and needed to be replaced. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

NHTSA ODI 11574879

My car failed PA State inspection due to a hole and rusted rear subframe. I have determined that there is a recall associated with this issue but that my vehicle just missed the recall limit. The recall affected 2008-2015 models (C Class with chassis 204). My vehicle is a 2015 C Class with chassis 205. It is evident that my vehicle has the same structural/construction defects as the previous years and should have been included in this recall. I have provided photographic evidence (attached/uploaded below). This is a very expensive repair that I should not have to pay for. Please review and consider having this included in the recall process so that I can be reimbursed for this costly repair as it is the result of a faulty construction process. Thank you. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11570624

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for routine service, a corrosion inspection was performed. The contact was informed of a rust hole in the sub frame. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

NHTSA ODI 11567800

I have a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic got a letter from the company car had few recalls to address. Dropped the at Mercedes-Benz Hampton VA dealership on 12/06/2023 at 8:30 AM EST. After few hours got a call from the dealership that rear subframe of the has bad corrosion and because of the rust it got holes in it which is a bad safety risk. Risk is so great that it cant pass Virginia state inspection. I did a good online research and found it is a common issue in Mercedes-Benz vehicles and the company issued safety recall on some years and models but not on all the affected vehicles. Like my car has the exact same safety issue rear subframe got rust from inside so it was hard to notice till it became unsafe to drive the car. The dealer is asking almost $5000.00 to replace it. The Mercedes-Benz customer support center is unable to explain why some cars are covered with extended warranty offered by the factory and some doesn't for exact same issue. There are bunch of more people with same complaint but they don't know where to go.

NHTSA ODI 11559001

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, she heard a rushing air sound as if the sunroof was opened; however, the sunroof was not open. The contact stated that when she reached her destination, she noticed there was a panel missing from the roof between the sunroof and the windshield. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure). The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11537283

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal wind sound coming into the vehicle. After a visual inspection, the contact noticed that the glass was detaching from the panoramic sunroof. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined a failure with the adhesive. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 51,150.

NHTSA ODI 11536925

While driving on highway a load noise was heard pulled off the road to see what it was and the part of the sunroof that meets the windshield had raised up so we tried to push it down and continue towards home the car had to be driven at around 40 miles per hour to keep it from elevating and in fear that it might come off and hit someone's car or cause an accident

NHTSA ODI 11532719

FRONT STATIONERY PANEL FAIL OFF WHOLE DRIVING I SEE IT IS IN RECALL BUT DO NOT SEE MY VIN HOW CAN I GET THIS FIXED PER RECALL

NHTSA ODI 11518471

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the roof carriage started shuddering. The contact veered to the side of the road. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the roof panel had loosened. The contact stated continued driving and the roof panel fractured and partially separated from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an auto glass repair shop, where the roof panel was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same auto glass repair center. The contact then became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure) that he related to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

NHTSA ODI 11516408

Front Roof Panel Discoloring and Detachement

NHTSA ODI 11501868

Glass panoramic sun roof lifted off the vehicle at highway speed, I had to grab the front edge of roof,pull off the expressway. Tried to re seat it in the channels but could not close the roof. Drove 120 miles with roof open holding the front edge down, which continued to try to lift off the vehicle. . My vehicle is Mercedes’ 2015 c300. These vehicles have a recall for this very reason but my vin number is not listed. Don’t know why? Need to get my vin listed for this recall. Please help!

NHTSA ODI 11499161

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11496038

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that there was a crack on the front panel of the panoramic roof. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and found that the roof panel was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V197000 (Structure). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11481157

Problem with Panoramic Moonroof. One side will not close. Mercedes is aware of the issue. Price to fix is $2,500. Roof will not close or seal.

NHTSA ODI 11464700

Recall 2021070010----NHTSA #21V197--Panoramic roof not boned correctly to the vehicle during prior replacement -

NHTSA ODI 11446927

Panoramic sunroof off centered causing glass to tilt on one side above vehicle. Note, a recall for the same on models 2015 c300 for vehicles with prior service but same issues/ problems for my vehicle that has not been serviced.

NHTSA ODI 11438782