2008 Mercedes Benz C300: recalls and complaints

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All updates to the register

• 22V16800018 Mar 2022Electronic Stability Control (ESC) / Control Module / Software
• 17V17700014 Mar 2017Electrical System / Software
• 17V01700010 Jan 2017Air Bags / Frontal / Passenger Side / Inflator Module
• 16V36300026 May 2016Air Bags / Frontal / Passenger Side / Inflator Module
• 16V08100011 Feb 2016Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
• 15V71100027 Oct 2015Air Bags / Frontal / Sensor/Control Module-Inactive
• 14V17700011 Apr 2014Exterior Lighting / Tail Lights

1. 22V168000Received 18 Mar 2022. 22 units.

   Electronic Stability Control (ESC) / Control Module / Software

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2010 E350, 2014 G550, 2008-2009 C300, 2008 C350, 2009 CLK550, 2007 SL550, SLK280, and 2008 SLK350 vehicles. Various control units may have been updated with incorrect software configuration during a service repair. This can result in various system failures, such as loss of drive power, reduced exterior lighting, or loss of dynamic control functions, including stability and traction control.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   Various system failures, such as loss of drive power, reduced exterior lighting, or loss of dynamic control functions including stability and traction control, can increase the risk of a crash.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   Dealers will update the software configuration on the affected control units, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 3, 2022. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2022040003.

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. Manufacturer campaign number 2022040003. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 3 May 2022.

2. 17V177000Received 14 Mar 2017. 51 units.

   Electrical System / Software

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-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, 2008-2014 C300 vehicles, 2013-2014 C300 4Matic and ML350 4Matic vehicles, 2009 C350 vehicles, 2014 CLS550, E350 4Matic, E350 Coupe 4Matic, E350 Wagon 4Matic, GLK350 and SL550 vehicles, 2012 CLS550 4Matic vehicles, 2012-2016 E350 vehicles, 2016-2017 GL450 4Matic vehicles, 2012-2014 ML350 4Matic BlueTec vehicles, 2015 S550, S550 4Matic and C300 4Matic Sedan vehicles, 2015-2016 C300 Sedan vehicles, and 2017 SL63 AMG vehicles. Various control units on these vehicles may have been updated with incorrect software, potentially affecting the correct deployment of the air bags in the event of a crash.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   If the air bags do not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, there would be an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will update software in the affected control units, free of charge. The recall began April 21, 2017. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 21 Apr 2017.

3. 17V017000Received 10 Jan 2017. 104,119 units.

   Air Bags / Frontal / Passenger Side / Inflator Module

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2012 C300 4Matic, C250, C250 Coupe, C350, C350 Coupe 4Matic, C350 Coupe, C63 AMG, C63 AMG Coupe, E350 Coupe 4Matic, E350 Cabrio, E350 Coupe, E550 Cabrio, E550 Coupe, GLK350 4Matic, GLK350, SLS AMG Cabrio, and SLS AMG Coupe vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above MBUSA is recalling certain 2009 C300 4Matic, C300, C350 and C63 AMG vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above MBUSA is recalling certain 2008 C300 4Matic, C300, and C350 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag modules, free of charge. Owners were sent an interim notification in March 2017. Second notices started going out in October 2018 and continue to be mailed as parts become available. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-877-496-3691

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 31 Oct 2018.

4. 16V363000Received 26 May 2016. 258,163 units.

   Air Bags / Frontal / Passenger Side / Inflator Module

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 C300 Sedan, C300 4matic Sedan, C350 Sedan, C63 AMG Sedan vehicles, 2010-2011 GLK350, GLK350 4-Matic and E350 Coupe vehicles, 2011 SLS AMG, E350 Convertible, E550 Coupe and E550 Convertible vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, MBUSA is recalling certain model year 2008 C300 Sedan, C350 Sedan, C63 AMG Sedan and C300 4-Matic Sedan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag modules, free of charge. Owners were sent an interim notification October 2016. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts are available. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-877-496-3691.

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 31 Jul 2018.

5. 16V081000Received 11 Feb 2016. 711,159 units.

   Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 ML320 BlueTec 4Matic, GL320 BlueTec 4Matic and R320 CDI 4Matic, 2011 E350 Cabriolet and E550 Cabriolet, 2009-2011 ML350, ML350 4Matic, ML550 4Matic, ML63 AMG, and C63 AMG, 2010-2011 ML450 4Matic Hybrid, E350 Coupe, E350 4Matic, E550 Coupe, E550 4Matic, and E63 AMG, 2011-2012 GL350 BlueTec 4Matic and R350 BlueTec 4Matic, 2009-2012 GL450 4Matic, GL550 4Matic and R350 4Matic, 2007-2008 SLK280, SLK350, and SLK55 AMG, 2011-2014 SLS AMG Coupe, 2012 SLS AMG Cabriolet, 2013-2014 SLS AMG GT and SLS AMG GT Cabriolet, 2005 C230 Kompressor and C320, 2006-2007 C230, 2006-2011 C350, 2008-2011 C300 and C300 4Matic, 2010-2012 GLK350 and GLK350 4Matic and 2007-2008 Chrysler Crossfire vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   MBUSA will their notify owners, and Fiat Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler owners. Dealers for the respective brands will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. This recall began November 2016. Mercedes-Benz owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372 and Chrysler owners may contact Fiat Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403.

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 18 Oct 2016.

6. 15V711000Received 27 Oct 2015. 127,504 units.

   Air Bags / Frontal / Sensor/Control Module-Inactive

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 C300 Sedan, C300 4Matic, C63 AMG, and C350 vehicles, and 2010 GLK350 and GLK350 4Matic vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the air bag control unit may corrode and cause the control unit to malfunction.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   The malfunctioning air bag control unit may cause the air bags to unexpectedly deploy increasing the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash. Alternatively, the air bag control unit malfunction may cause the air bags to not deploy in the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, increasing the risk of occupant injury.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bag control unit and replace it, as necessary, free of charge. Mercedes-Benz issued an interim notification to owners on December 23, 2015. The recall began on March 14, 2016. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.. Manufacturer campaign number 2015110002. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 14 Mar 2016.

7. 14V177000Received 11 Apr 2014. 252,867 units.

   Exterior Lighting / Tail Lights

   Defect, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Mercedes) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 C300, C300 4Matic, C350, and C63 AMG vehicles manufactured January 26, 2007, through July 13, 2011. In the affected vehicles, a poor electrical ground connection may result in the dimming or failure of the tail lights.

   Consequence, in the NHTSA record

   Dimming or failure of the tail lights reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions of stopping or turning, increasing the risk of a crash.

   Remedy, in the NHTSA record

   Mercedes will notify owners, and dealers will replace the bulb holders if not previously updated and replace any corroded connectors, free of charge. The recall began on August, 18, 2014. Owners may contact Mercedes at 1-800-367-6372.

   Report filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 18 Aug 2014.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

• 2008 Mercedes Benz C300
• All 2008 vehicles

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 24.

Complaints that report a crash

20

Complaints that report a fire

16

Injuries in the complaints

27

Deaths in the complaints

0

Date of the newest complaint

19 Aug 2025

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

1. 20087
2. 20098
3. 20106
4. 20116
5. 20126
6. 20136
7. 20145
8. 201511
9. 201613

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

• Mercedes Benz C300: all model years
• Mercedes Benz: 284 model lines

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• NHTSA page of the 2008 Mercedes Benz C300The recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2008 Mercedes Benz C300?

1,453,885 units in 7 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.

How many recall campaigns does the Mercedes Benz C300 have for all model years?

NHTSA lists 28 recall campaigns for the Mercedes Benz C300, model years 2008 to 2016. 7 of them name the 2008 model year.

Which component do the complaints about the 2008 Mercedes Benz C300 name most often?

Air Bags: 271 of 942 component mentions, or 287.7 per 1,000. For all 2008 vehicles the figure is 156.2 per 1,000.

Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2008 Mercedes Benz C300 open?

1 investigation has no closing date in the NHTSA file, of 3 that name this model year.