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Exterior lightingPart report

2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 Exterior lighting Problems

Complaints
118about this part
Share
20%of 576 total for the year
Median mileage
60,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 118 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300, 20% of the 576 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 60,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 15 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.

“I purchased this vehicle in 2009 and over the years I have replaced both front headlight assembly, left and right at the cost of $800.00 each. I was told that a bulb blew fusing the wires together resulting in the replacement of the entire assembly. The driver seat head rest simply fell apart.”

NHTSA complaint #11324831, filed 2020-05, 3,800 miles

“Takata recall right tail light has a brown burnt wire, and the right rear tail light is dim. So I believe it may have been a recall on this problem. I was wondering if this is something that I need to pay for or would this be something that I could get a recall on? This problem happened while driving on a city street while braking.”

NHTSA complaint #10851628, filed 2016-03, 128,478 miles

“Takata recall right tail light has a brown burnt wire, and the right rear tail light is dim. So I believe it may have been a recall on this problem. I was wondering if this is something that I need to pay for or would this be something that I could get a recall on? This problem happened while driving on a city street while braking.”

NHTSA complaint #10851629, filed 2016-03, 128,478 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 miles

“Tail light problems. We started receiving warning messages regarding a driver's tail light malfunction. We checked the lights but they were fine. Finally in november the light went out. We purchased new bulbs for the tail light but discovered it wasn't the bulbs. The tail light unit was damaged, burned, melted etc. We are now receiving the same warnings regarding the right tail light.”

NHTSA complaint #10558541, filed 2014-01, 70,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Exterior lighting: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202214%
201911%
201822%
201641%
201510%
201331%
201242%
2011204%
20104811%
200911820%
200810816%

Other parts of the 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300

Electrical system
198 complaintsAir bags
182 complaintsSteering
136 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