Mercedes Benz C Class
The Mercedes Benz C Class appears on NHTSA's register for model years 1991 to 2008: 6 recall campaigns (9 model-year entries) and 191 consumer complaints.
The component named most often in complaints is electrical system (382 per 1,000 component mentions), followed by engine and engine cooling (97.4).
The 1995 model year has the most complaints (49). Recall campaigns peaked in 1996 with 1; complaints were received in the largest number in 2006 (29). Within Mercedes Benz, this line ranks 18 of 282 by total complaints.
Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Model years
| Model year | Recalls | Complaints | vs line average | Units in campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 8% | — |
| 1994 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 0 | 15 | 118% | — |
| 1995 Mercedes Benz C Class | 0 | 49 | 385% | — |
| 1996 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 1 | 6 | 47% | 149 |
| 1997 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 0 | 3 | 24% | — |
| 1998 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 1 | 6 | 47% | 65,731 |
| 1999 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 1 | 7 | 55% | 65,731 |
| 2000 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 0 | 8 | 63% | — |
| 2001 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 0 | 14 | 110% | — |
| 2002 Mercedes Benz C Class | 0 | 31 | 243% | — |
| 2003 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 0 | 9 | 71% | — |
| 2004 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 1 | 15 | 118% | 4,348 |
| 2005 Mercedes Benz C Class | 2 | 5 | 39% | 61,404 |
| 2006 Mercedes Benz C Class | 2 | 9 | 71% | 61,404 |
| 2008 Mercedes Benz C Class NHTSA record | 1 | 13 | 102% | 5,823 |
"vs line average" is the model year's complaints as a share of the line's average per model year (100% = average). A campaign covering several model years counts once per year. Model years with one campaign and fewer than 25 complaints are listed but have no page of their own; the NHTSA link opens the agency's record.
Components most reported
Per 1,000 component mentions across all Mercedes Benz C Class complaints (267 mentions).
Campaigns by year reported
Complaints by year received
Other Mercedes Benz model lines
- C300 68 recalls · 2,025 complaints
- E350 58 recalls · 1,287 complaints
- E320 21 recalls · 1,075 complaints
- ML320 9 recalls · 703 complaints
- ML350 31 recalls · 697 complaints
- C230 22 recalls · 590 complaints
- GLK350 28 recalls · 547 complaints
- C250 21 recalls · 426 complaints
- E500 13 recalls · 410 complaints
- AMG E55 13 recalls · 324 complaints
- C350 50 recalls · 300 complaints
- E Class 19 recalls · 298 complaints
- GL450 32 recalls · 293 complaints
- S Class 22 recalls · 271 complaints
- 320 1 recalls · 225 complaints
- R350 18 recalls · 206 complaints
- 300 15 recalls · 202 complaints
- C Class 9 recalls · 191 complaints
- SL500 1 recalls · 191 complaints
- S430 0 recalls · 183 complaints
- C320 16 recalls · 169 complaints
- E550 40 recalls · 168 complaints
- CLA250 31 recalls · 164 complaints
- S500 0 recalls · 155 complaints
- SLK230 0 recalls · 146 complaints
- C280 8 recalls · 136 complaints
- ML430 0 recalls · 131 complaints
- C220 1 recalls · 110 complaints
- Sprinter 3500 172 recalls · 108 complaints
- CLK320 10 recalls · 106 complaints
- S550 29 recalls · 103 complaints
- 500 6 recalls · 98 complaints
- 280 7 recalls · 95 complaints
- ML500 6 recalls · 89 complaints
- M Class 33 recalls · 86 complaints
- GLC300 24 recalls · 84 complaints
- Sprinter 2500 168 recalls · 83 complaints
- 240 0 recalls · 82 complaints
- 190 9 recalls · 81 complaints
- CLK350 14 recalls · 77 complaints
- SLK 15 recalls · 74 complaints
- S600 16 recalls · 73 complaints
- C240 15 recalls · 68 complaints
- E300 17 recalls · 67 complaints
- Metris 76 recalls · 63 complaints
- GL350 24 recalls · 63 complaints
- CLS550 32 recalls · 61 complaints
- CLS500 3 recalls · 58 complaints
- GLA 250 62 recalls · 52 complaints
- C 300 90 recalls · 48 complaints
- SLK280 3 recalls · 45 complaints
- AMG E63 26 recalls · 44 complaints
- SLK350 11 recalls · 43 complaints
- 560 5 recalls · 42 complaints
- GL550 29 recalls · 40 complaints
- SL550 13 recalls · 39 complaints
- 400E 3 recalls · 38 complaints
- CLK Class 4 recalls · 35 complaints
- CL Class 17 recalls · 33 complaints
- CLK500 14 recalls · 31 complaints
All 282 Mercedes Benz model lines
Questions and answers
Which Mercedes Benz C Class model years have the most recalls?
2005 (2), 2006 (2), 1996 (1). Across model years 1991–2008 there are 6 distinct campaigns.
Which Mercedes Benz C Class model year has the most complaints?
1995, with 49 of the line's 191 complaints. Newer model years have had less time to accumulate reports.
What do owners of the Mercedes Benz C Class complain about?
electrical system (382 per 1,000 mentions), engine and engine cooling (97.4 per 1,000 mentions), power train (56.2 per 1,000 mentions). Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Where does this data come from?
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint flat files, public domain, dated 24 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019.
Provenance
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall, complaint and investigation flat files, public domain, dated 24 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019. Model names are as NHTSA records them; variants such as "Accord" and "Accord Hybrid" are separate lines. See the methodology.