AI Damage2012 Mercedes-Benz C 300: common problems
Owners of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 300 filed 267 complaints with NHTSA, most often about air bags and suspension. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 267
- involving a crash
- 5
What fails most often
- 1 Air bags 43% of all complaints
- 2 Suspension 26% of all complaints
- 3 Structure 21% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 6% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 4% of all complaints
- 6 Fuel/propulsion system 3% of all complaints
- 7 Steering 3% of all complaints
- 8 Engine 2% of all complaints
- Air bags: 114 complaints (43% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Suspension: 69 complaints (26% of all).
- Structure: 55 complaints (21% of all).
- Service brakes: 15 complaints (6% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 12 complaints (4% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 267 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 114 | 3 | 0 |
| Suspension | 69 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The air bags did not deploy and the seat belt pretension did not function. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. There was one injury that required medical attention. The contact sustained short term memory loss, a seizure, and liver damage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 mercedes benz c300. While stopped at a red light with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle accelerated extremely fast into an intersection. As a result, the contact's vehicle was struck by another vehicle on the front driver's side door.
The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained fatal injuries and the passenger was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure.
I made a sharp turn into a parking area then another sharp turn into the parking space and when I straighten the wheel out to complete parking an applied my foot on brake the pedal went to the floor and car would not stop the only thing that stopped me was the concrete curbing which I hit hard and damaged the under…
Did a winter inspection of vehicle and found rust on the rear frame. Rust has already made a hole on the subframe and hair line crack already forming, only a matter of time before it brakes.
Fuel tank is rusting. Leaking fuel, heavy fuel smell inside cabin. My saftey and anyone around the vehicle would be at risk due to fire chance. Confirmed by independent service center Vehcile has only been inspected by me and the shop Only symptom that appeared was fuel smell in my garage and a puddle of gasoline…
The repair invoice states: âInstalled used lt fuel tank incl switchover fuel pumps replace section of steel fuel line front of tank from lower braided line.â I am submitting this complaint due to: serious gasoline leak safety concerns, severe gasoline fume exposure, potential fire hazard, and the alleged extended…
I have a rust free, relatively lower mileage car I bought for my teen daughter. Despite being such a clean car the rear subframe has rusted and rear suspension has broke off while driving, hitting the fuel tank and is unstable. We avoided an accident but the car is not drivable.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 1,531 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 4% most complained about).
On average one model year of the C 300 has 199 complaints (20 years in the data). This year has 267, above average.
What to check before buying
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Suspension. Wheel alignment, control arms, subframe, even tire wear.
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Other years of this model
- C 300 2008672 sources
- C 300 2009576 sources
- C 300 2010453 sources
- C 300 2011480 sources
- C 300 2013262 sources
- C 300 201494 sources
- C 300 2015382 sources
- C 300 2016417 sources
- C 300 2017365 sources
- C 300 2018259 sources
- C 300 2019231 sources
- C 300 2020215 sources
- C 300 2021192 sources
- C 300 2022417 sources
- C 300 2023381 sources
- C 300 2024325 sources
- C 300 2025171 sources
- C 300 202689 sources
- C 300 202710 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 300?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: air bags, suspension, structure. Total complaints: 267. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: rust, corrosion (34%), warning lights, check engine (7%), knocking, grinding or other noise (4%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 300?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 300 from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2012 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.