2013 MERCEDES BENZ C250 Electrical System Problems

12 complaints about Electrical System

12
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Deaths

High Severity Issue

This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.

This Problem Across All Years

All Electrical System Complaints (12)

Nov 2, 2025

The vehicle was represented to me as safe to drive, with no major mechanical issues, and that it would pass emissions after only a simple minor fix. After I took possession, the check engine light came on. The car began running rough and showing hesitation. A scan immediately showed a camshaft position sensor fault, cylinder misfire, lean fuel condition, and oxygen sensor/emissions faults. I was also told by a professional shop that the timing chain may be failing. I was then warned that these problems can cause power loss or engine stalling while driving, and that the vehicle in this condition would likely not pass a legal emissions inspection. I was never told about any of these safety or emissions problems before taking the vehicle. This situation creates a safety risk because sudden loss of engine power or stalling can happen in traffic.

Apr 17, 2024

My wife and the kids we're stranded for hours because of the ESL systems lock the steering wheel and did not allow the car to start or steering wheel to move. She smelled something and pulled over and turned car off. No lights, no way to charge cell phone because no power to the car at all. My family was stranded because of this seems like it's a very very serious issue with a lot of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. As a consumer Mercedes-Benz is using cheap parts which can cause people to lose their lives if the steering wheel is to lock up while driving the motor burns out inside of the ESL module

Sep 26, 2023

Mercedes has had an issue with the steering lock for years and continue to not fix the issue. My vehicle would not turn on at random times, and this is due to a fault with the steering lock and key. The worst part of the issue, it’s only solved by Mercedes due to security issues and costs $2000. I was locked out of my car for hours, missing a doctors appointment, and if this was during a snow storm or heavy freeze (I live in CO), this is a potential fatal flaw. I also learned they cannot fix my vehicle for months due to high demand and coming from Germany. Looking online this is a continued problem for over a decade of vehicles and this needs to be resolved either by recall, a price adjustment due to this being a Mercedes flaw, or give the capability to certified maintenance locations to do the job for a fraction of the price (I see the price of the part is marginal compared to the upcharge by the dealer.

Aug 29, 2021

As I sat in my vehicle waiting for the traffic light. I felt a sudden hit on my head. At that moment I was confused, and thought someone had rear ended me. So like anybody would, I pulled over only to find out that the headrest on my 2013 Mercedes Benz C250 had came apart. It seems like the plastic inside tore apart from the springs causing pressure for it to deploy.

Oct 21, 2020

I WAS ON THE 99 FREEWAY DRIVING NORMAL SPEED AND HIT BRAKES TO TAKE THE DENAIR EXIT. THE CAR SPED UP! LIKE TURBO POWER! THE SPEEDOMETER WAS AT 90 MPH AS I FLEW THROUGH A RED LIGHT AT TOP OF THE RAMP! I HAD TO CONTINUE DOWN RAMP BACK ON FREEWAY. PUSHING AND PUSHING ON BRAKES BUT NOTHING HAPPENED! NEXT RAMP WAS A BIT STEEPER , SO TRIED AGAIN TO SLOW CAR DOWN! IT STARTED TO SLOW AND I WAS ABLE TO PUT CAR IN NEUTRAL AS IT CAME TO STOP AND I POWERED THE CAR OFF. I WAS APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES FROM HOME AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO MERCEDES OF STOCKTON. AFTER THEIR REPAIR DEPARTMENT CHECKED MY CAR, THEY FOUND THE BRAKE BOOSTER WAS BAD AND THE TURBO PIPE HOSE WAS TORN( DUE TO WEAR AND TEAR). I HAD PREVIOUSLY (2 MONTHS EARLIER)HAD MY CAR IN FOR COMPLETE CHECK UP BY THE STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA DEALERSHIP AND NOTHING WAS DETECTED. I FEEL THIS A SAFETY ISSUE! I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! ALSO I BELIEVE THIS TO BE MANUFACTURE DEFAULT, THE COST TO FIX IS $2,400, AND I ALWAYS BRING MY CAR IN FOR REGULAR SERVING. THANK YOU

Mileage: 114,000

Nov 21, 2019

THE DAY IN WHICH MY CAR STOPPED WORKING, PRIOR MY VEHICLE WAS OPERATING PROPERLY NO ISSUES PRESENTED. THE IGNITION STARTED WITHOUT ANY INTERRUPTIONS OR ISSUES. I DROVE MY CAR TO VARIOUS LOCATIONS THE DAY I ENCOUNTERED MY ISSUES. I WENT OUT TO MY CAR WHICH WAS STATIONARY, PARKED AT MY RESIDENCE AND PRESSED THE PUSH START BUTTON AND IT WOULD NOT POWER ON. AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS, I CALLED AAA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO CHECK IF IT COULD POSSIBLY BE MY BATTERY, BUT TO OUR SURPRISE THE BATTERY WAS PERFECTLY FINE. I HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO MY MECHANIC WHO THEN INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS MY ELECTRONIC IGNITION SWITCH THAT WAS BROKEN, AND HE STATED HE WAS NOT EXPERIENCED IN REPLACEMENT AND THAT HE'D REFER ME TO A MERCEDES AUTHORIZED MECHANIC WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP ME. AFTER HAVING MY VEHICLE TOWED TO THE NEXT MECHANIC THEY THEN DID A THOROUGH DIAGNOSIS ON MY VEHICLE IN WHICH THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS MY ELECTRONIC IGNITION SWITCH AND THAT THEY HAD BEEN GETTING MANY MERCEDES C 250 MAKES IN THAT HAD THE SAME ISSUE, AND THEN STATED THEY DON'T KNOW WHY THERE WASN'T A RECALL ON THAT PART BECAUSE IT'S A MAJOR ISSUE WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO FIX. I AM ASKING THAT MERCEDES BE RESPONDING FOR THIS DEFECTIVE PART THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN THEIR CARS, AND COSTS AN ARM AND LEG TO FIX WHICH IS VERY UNFAIR. I KEEP UP WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF MY VEHICLE SO THIS SHOULD NOT HAD HAPPENED.

Mileage: 136,478

Feb 25, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 MERCEDES-BENZ C250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MALFUNCTION SERVICE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ALSO RECIEVED TWO RECALL NOTICES FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V043000 (AIR BAGS). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MERCEDES-BENZ OF MIAMI (1200 NW 167TH ST, MIAMI, FL 33169, (305) 707-0147) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE WAS NOT DUE TO THE RECALL AND THAT THE FUSE WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 69,000.

Mileage: 69,000

Feb 9, 2019

I AM WRITING BECAUSE MERCEDES HAS FAILED TO PROVIDE A REMEDY FOR A RECALL NOTICE DATED OCTOBER 16, 2017, OVER 1-1/4 YEARS AGO. I HAVE CONTACTED MY DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY HAVE NO INFORMATION ON ANY SOLUTION FOR THIS RECALL. IT WOULD APPEAR BASED ON THIS PERFORMANCE THAT MERCEDES MAY HAVE NO INTENTION OF PROVIDING A SOLUTION TO THIS RECALL WHICH, ACCORDING TO THE NOTICE, IS POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING. I ASK THAT THE NHTSA TAKE ACTION TO FORCE MERCEDES TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION TO FIX THE PROBLEM ON AN EXPEDITED BASIS GIVEN HOW THEY HAVE NOT DONE SO FOR OVER 15 MONTHS. THE RECALL INFORMATION IS: OCT 16,2017 MANUFACTURER RECALL NUMBER2017120024 NHTSA RECALL NUMBER17V627 RECALL STATUS: RECALL INCOMPLETE SAFETY RISK: AN INADVERTENT DRIVER AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT MAY CAUSE A RISK OF INJURY TO THE DRIVER AND MIGHT INCREASE THE RISK OF A POTENTIAL CRASH. REMEDY: AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE AN AUTHORIZED MERCEDES-BENZ DEALER, WILL ADD SUFFICIENT GROUNDING TO THE STEERING COMPONENTS ON THE AFFECTED VEHICLES. THANK YOU

Jul 31, 2018

I HAVE A HUM DEVICE ON MY VEHICLE AND IT SHOWS THAT I HAVE A CODE P0002 FUEL VOLUME REGULATOR CONTROL CIRCUIT RANGE PERFORMANCE. MY MERCEDES BENZ C CLASS 250 HAS ONLY 44614 MILES, WHEN I BOUGHT IT HAD 36.+ MILES, IF IT WASN'T FOR THE DIVORCE THAT I HAVE ON THE VEHICLE I PROBABLY WON'T KNOW UNTIL THE CAR BRAKE DOWN. WHEN I'M DRIVING THE CAR SEEMS TO LOOSE POWER THEN IT ACCELERATES LIKE IT HIT TURBO POWER. MY MECHANIC ADVISE ME TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU AND SEE IF YOU CAN ADVISE ME ON WHAT TO DO WITH IT, BECAUSE IT SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING. THANK AN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS [XXX], MY PHONE NUMBER IS [XXX]. AGAIN THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *CC *TR

Mileage: 44,600

Jun 27, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 MERCEDES-BENZ C250. WHILE DEPRESSING THE HORN, IT FAILED TO OPERATE AND THE SRS WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MERCEDES-BENZ OF BUCKHEAD (2799 PIEDMONT RD NE, ATLANTA, GA 30305, (800) 399-3804). THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT DEALERS WERE ADVISED NOT TO SERVICE VEHICLES WITH A TAKATA AIR BAG RECALL FOR WHICH THE SRS WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000.

Mileage: 74,000

Feb 24, 2018

TAKATA RECALL, GROUNDING, ELECTRICAL.

Nov 14, 2017 Fire

MY CAR BURNT YESTERDAY MORNING ON MY WAY TO WORK, NO WARNING, NOTHING NOTED. JUST STARTED SMOKING AND THEN FLAMES CAME UP AND BURN THE WHOLE FRONT END

Mileage: 5