2001 Mercedes Benz C Class: Reliability Data

25
Total Complaints
17,700mi
Median Mileage
Electrical System
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

10,168 25th Percentile
17,700 Median Mileage
75,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System
4
Exterior Lighting
2
Engine And Engine Cooling
1
Rim
1
Suspension
1
Horn
1
Interior/Under Dash
1
Front Underhood
1
Power Window Devices And Controls
1
Sun/Moon Roof Assembly
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"C240 MODEL. THERE IS VIBRATION AND A SLAPPING NOISE WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS OF 35-70 MPH. THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES EXCESSIVELY AS WELL. TIRES WERE REPLACED, WHEEL ALIGNMENT WAS PERFORMED AND CAMBER / CASTER WERE ADJUSTED HOWEVER PROBLEM STILL EXIST. CONSUMER WAS THEN TOLD THAT HIS DRIVING HABITS..."
"C240 MODEL. CONSUMER STATES THAT RIMS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHCLE WERE FOUND TO BE BENT. DEALER REPLACED RIMS. *TT"
"VEHICLE HAS STOPPED ON THE HIGHWAY TWICE. ONCE HE HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS A GROUNDING PROBLEM. THE SECOND TIME HE HAD IT TOWED, HE WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM. THEN HE BEGUN TO HAVE PROBLEMS OPENING THE VEHICLE WITH THE KEY, THEN ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS ..."

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.

Electrical System 4 complaints
Median: 93,100 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CO: 7 FL: 4 NJ: 4 CA: 4 NY: 1 WA: 1 MD: 1 OH: 1 TX: 1 NC: 1

Who Files Complaints?

4%
Original Owners
96%
Second+ Owners

Mercedes Benz C Class — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1995642
2002461
2004202

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