Mercedes Benz C Class owners have reported 2 seat belt related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common seat belt problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's seat belt (2 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seat Belt problems |
The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz c240. The contact stated while driving 15 mph the vehicle in front of him suddenly stopped causing him to crash into the rear of the vehicle. The passenger seat belt did not hold the passenger in the front seat which caused her head to hit the windshield. Both the driver and passenger side air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. The passenger was taken to the hospital for a head injury. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 20,000.
I was involved in a crash where I was run off the road and into a center median steel barrier. My mercedes c300 is equipped with electronic stability program (esp) and active seatbelt restraints (both of which failed in the crash). The roads were slick, however, when a car swerved over on me and I attempted to hit the brakes to avoid being hit, my car began to fish-tail and I lost control of the vehicle. At the time, a warning light came on indicating (post-crash) that my esp malfunctioned. In addition, upon impact, my seat restrained me, however, when the car bounced back into the center of the highway, the seatbelt came completely detached from where it's holder (where you click it in). The rest of the safety features worked (airbags, active head-rest restraints, steel framing, etc. ) however, if the esp failed or malfunction, then there was no possible way to prevent the accident based on the vehicles failure to deliver in a panicked situation. The mercedes esp program is suppose to enable the driver the ability to correct the vehicle from oversteer (fish-tailing) in critical situations, and it did not do so. At the time, I was traveling at 55 mph. The brake-assist program helped to decelerate the vehicle minimally, and I slammed into the guardrail around 50-55 mph. I am concerned that the esp and seatbelt failed in this crash. I'm very fortunate to have survived this accident. Took pictures for evidence, and plan to go back to the car upon review by the mercedes accident specialist to access why there was an evident failure in both of these safety features (critical to preventing such an accident)!.