2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 Electrical system Problems
- Complaints
- 198about this part
- Share
- 34%of 576 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 70,400miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 198 complaints about the electrical system of the 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300, 34% of the 576 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 70,400 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 12 a fire, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Car was parked by side walk next to my house. Inserted the key in the ignition and turned it. The car did not start, and the steering wheel was locked. No lights flashed on the dashboard. Car had to be towed on truck bed since it's rear-wheel drive. Dealer told me it's the ignition switch lock cylinder. Cost $1500 to fix. This is a manufacturer's defect. Not fair.”
NHTSA complaint #11372335, filed 2020-10, 55,000 miles“'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??”
NHTSA complaint #11193559, filed 2019-04, 90,000 miles“My C300 was functioning perfectly with no issues. When I came out to start the car, it would not recognize the key. I had it towed to a dealer and they informed me that it's the electronic steering lock fail. I looked this up and it is something very common with the 2009 model. There are several post on the internet asking for this to be a recall item.”
NHTSA complaint #10807137, filed 2015-11, 140,000 miles“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.”
NHTSA complaint #11024038, filed 2017-09, 81,000 miles“After the car was warmed up, the message display reported tail light outages in the right rear tail light assembly. The problem persisted so I took the vehicle to my mechanic. The pig tail and circuit board that holds the bulbs showed burn marks which caused the circuits to short out. The printed circuit board and pig tail assembly were replaced.”
NHTSA complaint #10531751, filed 2013-07, 55,000 milesRelated recalls
- 17V177000Mar 14, 2017Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2016 AMG GT-S, GLC300, CLA250 and GLE300d 4Matic vehicles, 2013 C250, E350 BlueTec and G63 AMG vehicles…Covers: Mercedes-Benz C300 2008–2016, E350 2012–2016, ML350 2012–2014 +13 more
Related service bulletins
- 11017119Apr 21, 2025Complaint A popup is seen on the HU with the message "data connection temporarily not available". Potentially affected functionalities in NTG4.5, NTG5 1.Weather 2.Local Search…
- 11015640Mar 5, 2025Complaint During a phone call, the called party has difficulty understanding/cannot understand the driver, or interference/background noises are audible to the called party…
- 11008091Sep 28, 2024Complaint During a phone call, the called party has difficulty understanding/cannot understand the driver, or interference/background noises are audible to the called party…
- 10207198Jan 27, 2022Complaint The garage door hand transmitter cannot be initialized with the integrated garage door opener in the inside rearview mirror. Cause 1. The integrated garage door opener…
- 10207199Jan 9, 2022Complaint The range of the integrated garage door opener (GTO) is too short. Cause 1. Vehicles equipped with infrared windows and/or a heated windshield may suffer from…
- 10205790Aug 2, 2021After starting the engine, the instrument cluster shows the "EBD not available, diagnosis/test stand" message in yellow.
- 10186141Dec 10, 2020NTG5.5: Incorrect time shown on instrument cluster, COMAND display, and analog clock
- 10235983Feb 26, 2016Daimler AG (DAG) has decided that a supplier production error in the SRS control unit could lead to a failure of the SRS control unit. This malfunction of the SRS control unit…
- 10167510Feb 28, 2014The vehicle cannot be started The vehicle may start by itself shortly after the startup attempt with a delay, as the relay can be late closing. and/or The gear selection is…
- 10167009Feb 25, 2014Battery discharged, vehicle does not start.
Electrical system: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 36% |
| 2023 | 5 | 23% |
| 2022 | 7 | 28% |
| 2021 | 1 | 7% |
| 2020 | 3 | 9% |
| 2019 | 13 | 19% |
| 2018 | 10 | 10% |
| 2017 | 31 | 14% |
| 2016 | 32 | 11% |
| 2015 | 50 | 13% |
| 2014 | 9 | 10% |
| 2013 | 19 | 7% |
| 2012 | 12 | 4% |
| 2011 | 43 | 9% |
| 2010 | 84 | 19% |
| 2009 | 198 | 34% |
| 2008 | 228 | 34% |
Other parts of the 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300
182 complaintsSteering
136 complaintsExterior lighting
118 complaintsSuspension
36 complaintsOther or unknown
31 complaintsBody and structure
27 complaintsBrakes
21 complaintsElectronic stability control
20 complaintsEngine
16 complaintsTires
9 complaintsSeat belts
8 complaintsVehicle speed control
8 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology