What 14 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 Mercedes-benz C-class Hybrid

Issue: Post-Airbag Deployment PCM Lockout Description: I am reporting a critical safety concern regarding the 2024 Mercedes-Benz C300. After an airbag deployment, the vehicle's Powertrain Control Module (PCM) is designed to automatically lock, preventing the engine from being restarted. While this feature is intended to enhance safety, it poses significant risks in certain emergency situations. For instance, in scenarios such as a landslide, attempted robbery, or a collision with wildlife in a remote area with poor cell signal, this design could leave the driver stranded without the ability to restart the vehicle and drive to safety. The inability to restart the vehicle could result in life-threatening situations where immediate evacuation from the scene is necessary. Recommendation: To mitigate this risk, I strongly suggest implementing an emergency override function that allows the driver to restart the vehicle after airbag deployment if they are in a clear state of consciousness. This could be achieved by incorporating a method such as long-pressing the ignition button, which would allow the driver to force-start the vehicle and improve their chances of survival in critical situations.

NHTSA ODI 11610577

Within the first week of ownership (delivery on 1/15/24), the car's parking and/or front collision sensors started malfunctioning on a regular basis. The sensors repeatedly gave off false alerts when the car would approach intersections even though no obstacles were in front of, or behind, the car. The false alerts were quite startling and they consisted of loud alarms and warning images in both the driver's display and the car's heads up display. The repeated false alarms posed a significant safety hazard because they initially caused me to slam on the brakes risking a rear end collision. Once I realized the sensors were malfunctioning, I started to ignore them which is equally dangerous if a real collision needed to be averted. The car is currently in the service department, and it has been there for a total of 29 days thus far. It was initially thought that a software update would resolve the problem, but that did not work. After the software update was completed, a new "parktronic" module was installed. That also did not solve the issue. I am now being advised that the car is issuing fault codes related to the airbag system. It seems that there are some serious electrical problems that are plaguing the vehicle. The service department has advised me that they have no clear date on when this issue will be resolved.

NHTSA ODI 11576712