1998 Mercedes Benz C230: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 54 complaints
54
Total Complaints
127,874mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
Top Issue
1
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

83,000 25th Percentile
127,874 Median Mileage
149,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
7
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
3
SUSPENSION:FRONT
3
SUSPENSION
3
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
2
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR
2
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
2
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
2

Severity Assessment

1
Crashes
0
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"GAS GAUGE ONLY READS EMPTY. DRIVER'S SIDE MIRROR--ASSEMBLY PROBLEM. LEFT DOOR WINDOW WEATHERSTRIP LOOSE."
"GAS GAUGE ONLY READS EMPTY. DRIVER'S SIDE MIRROR--ASSEMBLY PROBLEM. LEFT DOOR WINDOW WEATHERSTRIP LOOSE."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

SUSPENSION:FRONT 3 complaints
Median: 149,000 mi
SUSPENSION 3 complaints
Median: 148,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 10 WA: 10 PA: 7 MA: 6 MD: 4 CT: 2 FL: 2 NE: 2 MI: 1 IN: 1

Who Files Complaints?

38.9%
Original Owners
61.1%
Second+ Owners

Mercedes Benz C230 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1999355
2000443
2002733
2003761
2004440
200512016
20061538
200727213

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28