2006 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Powertrain & Transmission Problems

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz C230. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the transmission failed to shift, and the transmission appeared to be frozen in the 2nd gear. The contact stopped and turned off the vehicle and shifted into park (P); when the vehicle was restarted and shifted into drive (D), the vehicle was lunging and jerking. The contact stated that it was difficult to shift from drive (D) to park (P) or reverse (R), because the vehicle would lunge in the direction the transmission was shifted. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact had researched online and related the failure to the transmission control module sensor. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 131,629.

I PURCHASED MY CAR IN 2018. THE BALANCE SHAFT GEAR HAS A RECALL AND THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT HONORING THE RECALL WITHOUT AN EXTENSION FROM THE MERECEDES BENZ COMPANY. AS WELL MY MOON ROOF NEED THE BONDING REPAIR AND IT IS SHOWING A RECALL IN THE SYSTEM

I have a 2006 Mercedes C280 which I purchased almost a year ago with 57,000 miles. It currently has 73,000 miles and is having major mechanical problems which have been life threatening due to when and where they occur. 1. Loss of transmission upon acceleration. If I pull over, turn it off and restart, it will shift fine until it decides it wants to do it again and I either lose the ability to shift, or it goes into limp mode without a Check engine light. This has happened on the freeway, heavy traffic, and have been several close calls. The shop said the codes were for transmission malfunction and valve body malfunction. Just out of nowhere. 2. Check engine light goes on and off repeatedly and The plastic intake manifold needs to be replaced because it is one of the defects Mercedes was sued for on this particular year, model, and engine. All of the oxygen sensors are going out as well and that is just the start. The cost for the part alone is in the $1000 range. My mechanic said the best is yet to come and explained around my current mileage on up is when most of the damage takes place with the valves and whatever else happened with this engine. I'm not sure exactly what all the problems were but he said to take it to the junkyard and was very serious which infuriates me because it's a beautiful car and I couldn't in good conscience sell it to anyone. Mercedes is fully aware of this but not a lot of people benefited from the settlement. The same problems are known by all owners and German mechanics.

MY CAR HAS A COMPUTER SYSTEM PROBLEM. IT HAS TO BE RESET TO WHERE IT WONT ERASE WHAT IS ALREADY ON THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. I CAN'T DRIVE IT BECAUSE ITS STALLING OR IT SHAKES TO MUCH WHEN U ARE STOPED AT A RED LIGHT IT GIRKS ALOT AND I CAN'T DRIVE IT CUZ IT DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF POWER TO GET SPEED WHEN USING IT ON THE HIGHWAY I HAVE HAD A SECOND OPINION ON WHAT IS WRONG WITH AND ITS THE COMPUTER SYSTEM SO PLEASE HELP I NEED ASSISTANCE MY HUSBAND AND I ARE DISABLED ALSO THE SPEEDOMETERS IS NOT WORKING.

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes-Benz C230. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate above 35 MPH with the traction control warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle started to stall while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the mechanic linked the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: LI03.30-P-050027. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under the service bulletin. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

WHEN DRIVING MY '06 C350 WITH 48 THOUSAND MILES, YES 48K ON IT, THE TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO GO INTO A SAFE MODE. IT NORMALLY OCCURS WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND HAVE TO SLOW DOWN GRADUALLY, THEN UPON ACCELERATION THE TRANSMISSION JUST REVS UP THE RPM WITH NO POWER. I'M AFRAID ME AND MY TWO CHILDREN WILL BE REAR-ENDED DUE TO THE LOSS OF POWER IN THE TRANSMISSION. I THEN TRY TO DRIVE IT TO THE NEXT EXIT, SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART. THIS NORMALLY RESETS EVERYTHING TO NORMAL. BUT IT COULD OCCUR AGAIN MINUTES OR HOURS LATER WHICH IS NOW GETTING FRUSTRATING GIVEN THE CAR IS BARELY REACHING 50K MILES. SO THIS HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY, UNEXPECTEDLY, AND WITH VARYING FREQUENCY. MERCEDES BENZ USA SHOULD HAVE A RECALL ON THIS AS WHEN I CALL THE DEALERSHIP THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AND IT'S A VERY WELL-KNOW DEFECT THAT COSTS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT TO REPAIR. THIS CAR STARTED DOING IT AT 40K AND DOES IT OFTEN. I'VE NOTIFIED MY LAWYER BECAUSE I'M AFRAID IT COULD HAPPEN WITH A VEHICLE BEHIND ME AND THUS CAUSE AN UNEXPECTED REAR END IMPACT FROM ANOTHER DRIVER ON THE HIGHWAY.

TAKATA RECALL- WENT IN FOR RECALL SRS LIGHT TURNED ON.DEALER SAID IT WOULD COST 150- TO FIND OUT PROBLEM, I'VE SAID ISN' THE SRS LIGHT IS THE AIRBAG UNIT? HE SAID NO MECHANIC IS GOING WORK IF THE RED LIGHT IS ON, UNLESS THE RED LIGHT NOT THERE.SO I'VE ASKED WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS ALONG THE WAY? HE SAID SORRY, THEN( I RESCHEDULED IN 5 DAYS. I TOOK CAR HOME TO GET SRS-REDLIGJT OFF.) AT HONOLULU, MERCEDES BENZ.

WHILE TRYING TO MERGE ON THE HIGHWAY THE CAR RESPONSE SLOWLY WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO HIGHWAY SPEED THE ENGINE OVER REV'S BUT NO POWER THE SAME HAPPENS WHEN CHANGING LANES. WHILE REVERSING OUT OF A DRIVEWAY THE CAR LOCKED UP BOTH THE ENGINE AND STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT I HAD TO TURN IN ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES AND THE PUT IT BACK IN DRIVE BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO FINALLY REVERSE THIS INCIDENT PLACED MY LIFE IN DANGER BECAUSE WHEN THE CAR LOCKED UP HALF OF IT WAS ON THE DRIVEWAY AND THE OTHER HALF IN THE STREET IMPEDING TRAFFIC. I AM NERVOUS ABOUT DRIVING THIS CAR BECAUSE IT DOESN'T RESPOND AS QUICKLY AS IT SHOULD WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MERCEDES BENZ C230. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE DECELERATED INDEPENDENTLY TO 10 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WAS FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

WAS DRIVING AT 55MPH AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR SPEED DROPPED DOWN TO 20 MPH EVEN WITH MY GAS PEDAL PUSHED ALL THE WAY DOWN AND THE RPMS WENT BETWEEN 6000 TO 7000. I HAD TO PUT ON MY FLASHERS AND PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THEN CAR HARD SHIFTED TO PARK AND THEN AGAIN INTO DRIVE. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR COMPLETELY OFF IT RESTARTED WITH NO ISSUES AND HAD CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER. *TR

ATTEMPTING TO SPEED UP FROM STOP TO 45 MPH AND RPMS ROSE ABOVE 5000 TO 6000 AND CAR WOULD NOT SPEED UP PAST 35 MPH. I TRIED FLOORING THE ACCELERATOR BUT NOTHING HAPPENED. NO RESPONSE AT ALL PAST 35 MPH. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE CAR FOR 5 MINUTES. THEN I STARTED THE CAR AGAIN AND THE ACCELERATION PERFORMED AS IT SHOULD. *TR

"ATTEMPTING TO SPEED UP FROM STOP TO 45 MPH AND RPMS ROSE ABOVE 5000 TO 6000 AND CAR WOULD NOT SPEED UP PAST 35 MPH. I TRIED FLOORING THE ACCELERATOR BUT NOTHING HAPPENED. NO RESPONSE AT ALL PAST 35 MPH". MY CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE AS IT SHOULD. I WENT TO A AUTO SHOP AND THEY SAID I HAVE AN INTAKE MANIFOLD PROBLEM. *TR

MOMENTS AFTER EXITING THE FREEWAY AND REDUCING SPEED AT AROUND 35 MPH MY CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE AND CONTINUE AS IT WOULD IN NEUTRAL. FAMILY IN THE CAR PANIC AND FOR MY FORTUNE LIGHT TRAFFIC ON AN USUAL BUSY STREET. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT TURN ON AT THE MOMENT OF DAYS AFTER THE INCIDENT. A WEEK LATER WITHOUT A WARNING THE VEHICLE ENGINE LIGHT TURN ON AND LOST SPEED IN THE FREEWAY. THIS INCIDENT COULD EASY CAUSE MY FAMILY AND OTHER DRIVERS A FATAL ACCIDENT AND PREVENTABLE INJURIES. I HAVE FOUND MANY SIMILAR INCIDENTS DESCRIBING WHAT HAPPEN TO ME AND ITS AWFUL THAT NOTHING IS BEING DONE TO FIX IT. I WILL CONTACT MY LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR TO DEMAND ACTION AND A FORMAL INVESTIGATION ABOUT THIS ISSUE. *TR

ON NOV 27, 2013, I WAS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA ON HIGHWAY 14 TRAVELING AROUND 70 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY W/ MANY CARS AND MY SPEED DROPPED TO AROUND 50 MPH IN SPITE OF MY FOOT DOWNING THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR. I HAD TO TURN ON MY EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND MOVE OVER TO THE SLOW LANE FOR SAFETY. RETURNING HOME THAT SAME DAY ON THE SAME FREEWAY, THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE OR TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT DOWNSHIFT TO COMPENSATE FOR THE UPHILL ON THE FREEWAY IN SPITE OF STEPPING DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR- AGAIN I HAD TO FLASH MY EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON AND MOVE TO THE SLOW LANE. THERE IS NO SENSOR LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD FOR BOTH INCIDENTS. MY MECHANIC REPORTED IT WILL BE HARD TO DIAGNOSE THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM SINCE THERE IS NO SENSOR LIGHT ON. ON NOV 29, 2013, I TRAVELED TO LAS VEGAS AND THE TRANSMISSION REPEATED THE DECELERATING INCIDENT AND FAILURE OF THE ACCELERATOR TO INCREASE ENGINE OR TRANSMISSION SPEED. THIS IS DANGEROUS. *TR

THE CAR HAS A BALANCE SHAFT ISSUE LIKE MANY W272 ENGINES...WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO GET MERCEDES INTO ANOTHER CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT...THIS ISSUE WILL COST ME ABOUT 5000 DOLLARS TO FIX...OTHERWISE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME AND NOTICED THAT WHEN I WOULD ACCELERATE AFTER COMING TO A STOP THE CAR WAS EXTREMELY SLUGGLISH. I WOULD HAVE TO ALMOST FLOOR THE GAS PEDAL IN ORDER FOR THE CAR TO BEGIN MOVING. I PULLED OVER AND THEN PUT THE CAR IN NEUTTRAL. THE JERKED VIOLENTLY AND SHIFTED VERY HARD AS I THEN TRIED TO PUT IT IN REVERSE AND THE INTO PARK. I TRIED TO PUT THE CAR BACK INTO DRIVE AND IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL. I HAD TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON AGAIN IN ORDER TO GET IT MOVING. THE GEARS CONTINUED TO SHIFT VIOLENTLY. HOWEVER, WHEN I FINALLY GOT MOVING AGAIN, THE CAR WOULD NOT GO OVER 35 MPH. THE CAR WAS INSPECTED AND AN ERROR CODE FOR THE INTERNAL SPEED SENSOR CAME UP, WHICH IS PART OF THE VALVE BODY FOR THE TRANSMISSION. MY CAR ONLY HAS 59,000 MILES ON IT. MERCEDES IS VERY AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM ON 2006-2007 C230 MODELS! IN FACT, THEY ARE HAVING A DISPUTE WITH THE MANUFACTURER OF THE VALVE BODY BECAUSE IT IS POOR QUALITY AND DEFECTIVE. I HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS RELATED TO THIS ISSUE. MY LOCAL MERCEDES DEALERSHIP QUOTED ME $2,400 TO REPAIR THIS DEFECTIVE PART. I WAS LUCKY IN THAT I WAS NOT DRIVING AT 60 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THIS MALFUNCTION OCCURRED. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ISSUE AND A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED FOR THIS PART. *TR

I WAS MAKING A RIGHT TURN STOP AT A LIGHT, WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE THE CAR TOOK OFF AS IT WAS AT A HIGHER GEAR. WOULD NOT PICK SPEED AND HIGH RPM. THERE WAS A PEDESTRIAN RIDING HIS BIKE AND MADE A RIGHT TURN AND BECAUSE HIS VIEW WAS BLOCK MY THE SUN HE ENDED UP REAR ENDING MY CAR AND FEEL OFF HIS BIKE. THE REASON I AM FILING THIS COMPLIANT IS IF MY CAR WAS NOT HAVING THIS ISSUE THE ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED BC THERE WAS NO CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THANK GOD THE RIDER WAS NOT BADLY HURT AND JUST HAD A FEW SCRAPES AND MY CAR WAS OKAY SO WE WENT OUR SEPARATE WAYS. THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLIANT ABOUT THIS SAME ISSUES ABOUT THE CAR NOT ACCELERATING AND GEARS GETTING STUCK IT IS BECOMING RIDICULOUS. I AM SURE THERE HAS BEEN CASES WHERE PEOPLE ARE SEVERELY INJURED OR PASSED AWAY BC OF THIS ISSUE BUT ONES THAT DIDN'T SURVIVED ARE NOT HERE TO FILE THEIR COMPLAINTS. THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER AND A RECALL NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE BODIES ACTUALLY START PILING UP. MERCEDES.BENZ ARE KNOWN TO BE HIGH END LUXURY CARS AND THEY NEED TO ACTUALLY DRIVE LIKE ONES.. THE MANUFACTURER NEED TO STEP UP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IMPORTANT MATTER AND DO THE RECALL. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH RAPIDLY, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN EXTREMELY ROUGH, HAD LITTLE POWER, AND WAS NO LONGER DRIVABLE. LUCKILY, THIS HAPPENED ON A SURFACE STREET AND NOT ON THE FREEWAY WHERE, I BELIEVE, IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN HARM TO ME OR OTHER DRIVERS. THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE PLASTIC BUSHING IN THE INTAKE MANIFOLD WHICH BROKE AND WAS SUCKED INTO VALVE #4 WHICH THEN BURNED THE VALVE. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, THE VEHICLE HAD APPROXIMATELY 84,000 MILES ON IT. I WAS INFORMED BY THE MECHANIC WHO PERFORMED THE REPAIR ON MY VEHICLE THAT THEIR MB PARTS SUPPLIER STATED THAT MB IS AWARE OF THIS DEFECTIVE PLASTIC BUSHING. HOWEVER, THE PARTS SUPPLIER WAS APPARENTLY NOT PERSONALLY AWARE OF IT CAUSING THE TYPE OF EXTENSIVE DAMAGE I EXPERIENCED. MB REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE, AT LEAST TO ME, THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF PAST INSTANCES INVOLVING THIS DEFECTIVE PLASTIC BUSHING OR TO EVEN CONSIDER THAT IT IS A PROBLEM THAT THEY SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR BEFORE IT RESULTS IN HARM. I HOPE SOMEONE WILL TAKE THIS PROBLEM SERIOUSLY AND INVESTIGATE ITS POTENTIAL FOR HARM. *TR

VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF 3 GEAR WHEN DRIVING 25 MILES PER HOUR. RPM'S WENT TO 4,000 AND I HAD TO STOP VEHICLE AND RESTART. RIDICULOUS BECAUSE NO PROBLEMS WERE "FOUND" WITH VEHICLE BUT SOMETHING IS OBVIOUSLY WRONG. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MERCEDES BENZ WHAT A LEMON. *TR

ENGINE BEGAN KNOCKING WHILE DRIVING. BALANCE SHAFT MALFUNCTION. CAUSED VEHICLE TO BECOME NON-DRIVABLE. LOCAL DEALER QUOTED 6K TO FIX. CONTACTED MERCEDES BENZ WHICH INDICATED IT WOULD OFFER NO ASSISTANCE IN REPAIR OF THIS PROBLEM. INTERNET RESEARCH SHOWS A CONSISTENT PROBLEM WITH THE YEAR AND C-CLASS VEHICLES. OTHER RESEARCH INDICATES A DEFECT IN THE BALANCE SHAFT USED BY MERCEDES BENZ IN THIS MODEL AND OTHER MODELS. MERCEDES BENZ ISSUED A SERVICE NOTIFICATION ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IN 2008. PROBLEM OCCURRED ON THIS VEHICLE WHILE RELATIVELY CLOSE TO HOME PRIOR TO BEING DRIVEN OUT OF TOWN. HAD THE PROBLEM OCCURRED ON THE ROAD, THE DRIVER AND VEHICLE WOULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED. A NON DEALER MERCEDES MECHANIC STATED THERE WAS AN 8-10% FAILURE RATE ON THE BALANCE SHAFTS IN QUESTION. MERCEDES BENZ NEEDS TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE OWNERS TO RESOLVE THE ONES THAT DO FAIL. *TR