What breaks most · 2001 to 2007 model years
Mercedes-Benz C240 problems by year
Owners have filed 88 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Mercedes-Benz C240 across model years 2001 to 2007. Three years stand out: 2005 for air bags complaints, 2003 for fuel system complaints and 2004 for electrical system complaints. The quietest years are 2001.
- Years to check closely: 2005, 2003, 2004
- Fewest complaints: 2001
- Complaints on file
- 882001 to 2007, all trims
- Worst year
- 200530 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 45 fires · 6 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 90kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 15Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 3 | Visibility (2) | |
| 13 | 1 | 3 | Electrical system (4) | |
| 20 | 0 | 3 | Fuel system (8) | |
| 16 | 0 | 3 | Unknown or other (5) | |
| 30 | 3 | 3 | Air bags (8) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) |
What fails on the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C240
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 27% |
8 | 2 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 10% |
3 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C240 |
| Seats | 10% |
3 | 0 | — |
| Seat belts | 10% |
3 | 0 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 10% |
3 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C240 |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 10% |
3 | 0 | Shop steering parts for the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C240 |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 7% |
2 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C240 |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 7% |
2 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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The rear end of the vehicle is adhered to the frame via four bolts. On the left one of those bolts broke off due to metal fatigue. That means the rear end of the vehicle is held on by three bolts. A serious saftey hazard because if one more gave while driving it could cause an accident.
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I bought the car yesterday, and today realized the car is leaking fuel, pooling under the back seat and spilling out under the car. The passenger headlight will not work; we tried 3 bulbs. The panel displays a message stating one of the tag lights is out, but it actually works.
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Passenger seat caught fire when using the seat heater. Fire protruded through the side seat panel and burned driver and clothing. The driver was operating the car for about 15 minutes on a city street and pulled off the road to extinguish the fire. Portions of the seat melted.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Mercedes-Benz C240 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2005, 2003, 2004 carry the most filings on the Mercedes-Benz C240. The 2005 alone has 30 complaints, led by air bags.
What is the most common Mercedes-Benz C240 problem?
On the 2005 model year, the most-reported component is air bags with 8 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Mercedes-Benz C240 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Mercedes-Benz C240 complaints that include mileage is about 90,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.