general problems of the 2009 Mercedes Benz C300 - part 1

I have messages on my instrument panel stating I have airbag malfunction going on I also have tail lights that are not working and after trying to replace the bulbs it still don't work so obviously it's the light bulb panel so I went and looked at recalls and says that these are all recalls on my car but that they were fixed. So I don't know why I have them all bad again so I need to know what to do.

The contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz C300. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine, seat belt, and air bag warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the headlights and navigation lights failed to activate for a while. There was burning odor inside the vehicle with the heat activated or turned off. The contact also stated the vehicle failed to start for three days before eventually being able to start. The contact attempted to charge the battery, which resulted in a visible spark. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a sound module and the signal acquisition module (sam) failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 217,000.

While driving the car on [xxx] at 9pm on Sunday, [xxx] in lane two during a heavy rain a audible clicking noise came from the drivers side front of the dash instrument cluster area and all of the lights on the car simultaneously turned off without ever touching the light switch I was unable to see the road in front of the vehicle also the windshield wipers quit working and the radio and navigation display went off and closed and opened and closed( turned off and then on and off again) the instrument cluster went dark as well, luckily I was able to turn the steering and apply the brakes and steer the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road and come to a complete stop after several attempts to turn the headlights back on I determined that the vehicle was not safe to drive , and had the vehicle towed to a reputable mechanic, and upon diagnosis he contacted me and stated that the drivers side front signal acquisition module a. K. A. The (sam) module had failed due to water intrusion into the fuse panel sam module area , the mechanic stated that I should file an incident /complaint form with your office , upon searching the Mercedes Benz forums and sites on the www I found many customers with a broad range of models (w204)approximately this same year model have identical complaints and nothing has been done by mb USA to remedy the problem, I believe this matter to be a major safety concern and I am wondering why this matter hasnt been taken into consideration by your agency and by mb USA as a safety recall to replace the failing modules and retrofit the fuse panel sam module area to prevent water intrusion thats causing the obvious safety concern and possible liability on the part of the mb/ daimler corporation. It seems this is clearly a problem and it needs fixed we are terrified to drive the vehicle for fear of a repeat incident. Sincerely the [xxx] family information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Check right tail and brake lamps warning light will not go off for months. They are working fine but the light won't go off. Googling on mb world, it shows mercedes is aware of this problem and a recall is needed to get it corrected being safety issue with warning lights not working properly. See all info. Below from owners, conversations and work done by dealers, etc. People note it is a middle school education problem. Please alert me when the recall is confirmed to get this important problem fixed. [xxx] thank you, [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I drove my car to get lunch. Came back out to go back to work and the car would not start. Would not even turn over. My radio did not turn on and I couldn't even roll my windows back up. Luckily they were only cracked open a small amount. My steering wheel cannot be turned, it's locked in it's current position. I am told the esl (electronic steering lock) and possibly the eis is the cause of this problem. The display on the dash says "take your key from ignition" and that is all I get. Had to have my car towed and now I have a dead car with the windows partially open that I cannot close.

Headlight harness on drivers and passenger side is melting and my lights are flickering. I was advised to night drive my vehicle at night, because it could start an electrical fire. This is caused by heat from the lights.

Last week just before thanksgiving my car of 134,000 miles wouldn't start. Had it towed to my mechanic only to find out like so many others that the electronic steering module(esl) is 1,500. 00 defective. Yet with this being a common issue there is no recall. Guess I'm going to a Toyota.

I was driving in the highway 50 mph and I was braking and my car slipped in the other line of the highway and almost had and accident !!!! and cars switched off when driving almost had incident!!!! I saw that many people have the say problem like me about rusted component please do something because people are losing their lifes.

While driving and when parked the headlights flicker on and off. I have no headlights while driving at night, during adverse weather conditions and during dawn hours. I could crash into other drivers, or they could crash into me because they can’t see me. When a parking bulb blows it fuses and melts everything together causing the replacement of the entire headlight unit, this has happened twice.

The contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz C300. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch and the steering lock had failed and needed to be replaced. The local dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts were on national back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.

Steering lock malfunction and unable to start car. Vehicle has completely shut down.

The contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz C300. The contact stated while driving and activating the turn signals, the taillights were inoperable. Additionally, the contact stated while driving and depressing the brake pedal to come to a stop, the brake lights were significantly dimmed except for the third brake light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with electrical failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 14v177000 (exterior lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Electrical ignition switch and electronic steering lock the component malfunctioned with no symptoms. I got stranded for 5 hours past midnight car has been inspected by a shop and mb dealer no warning lights and no symptoms.

My vehicle continuously gives me warning/alert messages of headlight/signal/parking lamp issues. Upon inspection and taken to certified, reliable mercedes repair shops, lights are fully functioning, yet alerts continue on my display/dash. More importantly the electronic steering lock (esl) has failed on more than once costing very considrable amounts of repair bills, and it has happened without warning, I parked the car which has been perfectly maintained and with low mileage, and the steering wheel locks, making it almost impossible to even have it towed to be repaired.

My eis/esl went out in the middle of no where. It's a common issue for mercedes and it plagues every mercedes. It's a safety harzard and happens to a lot of people. Mercedes also charges $1500 out of warranty to get it fixed when it's a common issue and should be recalled and repaired.

Turned ignition key to start vehicle. Nothing happened. No cranking or clicking. Complete silence. Steering wheel and transmission shifter were both locked into position and could not be moved even though ignition was in the �on� position. Apparently this is a common problem associated with a defect in the �electrical ignition system/electronic steering lock (eis/esl)� and is the subject of a technical service bulletin from the manufacturer. This condition occurred on one previous occasion within the last 45 days. On both occasions vehicle was stationary however if it were occur while moving the steering wheel would lock and driver would be unable to avoid a collision. This is a well documented and widely known safety defect for which the manufacturer should bear the cost of correcting (at the current time vehicle owners are charged between $1200-$1700 to perform the defect correction outlined in the manufacturer's technical service bulletin).

�takata recall � drive my 2009 C300 to store everything worked perfectly . Came out of store car dead , nothing . Mercedes tech jumped car (nothing) checked all fuses they are great . Long short eis needs replacing . I have read blog after blog about this very same issue yet no recall . I am a fifty yo woman stranded outside publix by myself . Extremely dangerous !!! cost to repair 1200 . Seriously??.

Tl the contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz C300. While driving various speeds, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. In addition, both turn signal indicators and windshield wipers failed to function when the air bag indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 16v081000 and 18v043000 (air bags). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 118,599.

Passenger seat airbag sensor not working when someone sits on the seat also passenger side electrical system not working and causing the passenger side lights to stay on when vehicle is off and mercedes does not want to do anything about and says it is out of warranty and I need to pay to have the whole system replaced.

I put the key in the ignition turn it to start the car and nothing happens, none of the electrical comes on except for lights on the instrument panel. The car doesn't even try to start. Something is wrong with the electronic ignition system.

Takata recall - nhsta recall number 16v081 and 17v017 and nhsta recall number 15v711 regarding the srs control model. I have received several notices of these 3 very dangerous and urgent recalls. My vehicle is subject to these recalls and no remedy has been provided for all. I have contacted the manufacturer and Mercedes Benz dealership to have these recalls fixed, but I am told they have no parts to fix the recall, no remedy has been provided and there is nothing they can do to address the recalls - meanwhile, I am at risk every time I get behind the wheel and continue to receive notices about how dangerous this recall can be, life threatening. Now takata is filing bankruptcy and it has been years since the recalls were issued - why is there no remedy available to fix this? no dealership will address the issues, it in just an on going, never ending game. I want to know how I can fix my defective car before my wife, children, or myself are injured or killed due to the severity of this specific recall.

Car was off and parked in the giant (limerick, PA) parking lot. I put the key in the ignition, turned it, and nothing happened. Dash read "remove key. " I had the vehicle towed to dealer. Steering lock mechanism went bad. Fuse 22 blew every time we put the key in the ignition. Had to replace part.

09 mercedes C300 this is a very common problem after 80k miles the solution to this problem is to replace car needs a new electronic steering lock (esl so they make a recall.

The contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz C300. While attempting to start the vehicle, the ignition failed without warning. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer (mercedes-benz of long beach, 2300 east spring street, signal hill, CA 90755) where it was diagnosed that the steering lock and column failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Sockets for the parking lights above the headlights melted. Knowing that something similar was addressed with the tail lights, seems to be related. The tail lights melted the carrier and the cables now the same is happening on the front of the car. I am not the only owner of mb C300 experiencing a issue. We are concerned that our cars can catch up on fire.

This 2009 C300 was purchased new from the Mercedes Benz dealership in jacksonville FL as a retirement gift for 20 years of naval service. About a year later I noticed the daytime running lights continuously blinking during the day. The next problem is with the front headlight units each time a blubs blows, it fuses everything including wires together requiring the replacement of the entire headlight unit. This has happen three times with both the left and right headlight units. The difference in price is $28. 00 for a replacement blub vise $600. 00 plus dollars for the entire unit. The dealership has no problem charging me the cost to replace a manufactures defect and safety issue. There should be an immediate recall of this unit.

Els/eis sysytem. My 2009 C300's ignition/steering locked up. Neither key will work. Car completely shut down. Have found 100's of the exact same faulty equipment complaints regarding this issue online. . Read more...

Unable to start the car. Able to operate lights and radio, but nothing else. There was no warning of an issue. Battery was good. Checked on line for problems with starting for this model and notified the dealer. Car was in the garage at the time. This could have occurred at any time. Unable to put the car in neutral or turn the steering wheel. Car ended up being towed to the dealer. They replaced the electronic steering lock. This is not the type of issue that you want to happen to you when you are away from home.

The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes Benz C300. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to start. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,076. The VIN was not available.

Rear passenger tail light housing melted together the connector/ harness to the housing. Limiting the power to the light bulbs and or blowing them before they should be burnt out or not working at all periodically. Effectively limiting the safety of having the brake light or parking lights or even the blinker work like they're supposed too.

Esi and key went out and car only has a bit over 100,000 miles; locks steering and shifter.

My car will no longer start. Although the lights and radio still work, the windows and ac don't, and the car won't start, nor can I change the gear. It seems to be a problem with the steering column/ eis. I now have to take it into the benz dealership and pay a hefty amount to get it fixed, since no other mechanic can seem to do it. This seems to be a common problem with the 2009 C300 yet there's not a recall on it. Go figure.

I have a 2009 Mercedes Benz C300 4matic, my vehicle was just serviced one month ago for 2 recalls. Airbag/tail lights. After my vehicle is serviced I ask the mb tech regarding the eis switch - which starts the vehicle. I was concerned this may happen to my vehicle and for him to inspect the element. Technician said I am all set, and now my vehicle is stranded just picked up by a flatbed to my local mechanic. I called mb the issue I was having and I told them the situation. The tech from shrewsbury mb will get back to me on Monday. Today is Saturday 09/24/16.

The electronic steering lock suddenly failed making it impossible to start the car. This is a very common problem with mercedes of this era, this happens without warning, and mercedes is aware of the problem, but charges approx. $1,200 to replace the lock. This leaves motorists stranded.

With the vehicle parked, the car won't start, battery and lights work fine, when turning key the engine does not turn over. When inserting the key it doesn't make the locking sound it usually makes. The steering wheel is locked and it won't shift into neutral. Sounds like the same eis problem that so many others have ran into.