"How reliable is the 2002 Mercedes Benz C230?"

"Based on 73 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Mercedes Benz C230 has a median complaint mileage of 44000 miles. The most common issue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Mercedes Benz C230?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Mercedes Benz C230 is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, accounting for a significant portion of the 73 total complaints filed."

2002 Mercedes Benz C230: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 73 complaints

Total Complaints

44,000mi

Median Mileage

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

8,750 25th Percentile

44,000 Median Mileage

72,053 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

ENGINE

VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

SUSPENSION:FRONT

SEATS

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE THROUGH A PUDDLE, THAT WAS ABOUT 3-5 INCHES HIGH, VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED.*AK"

"THERE IS A BLIND SPOT IN REARVIEW MIRROR. WHEN BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE BLIND SPOT HAS NEARLY CAUSED A COLLISION. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK"

"VEHICLE STALLS AND HESITATES AT ANY SPEED. VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES, DEALER REPLACED FUEL PUMP. BUT, IT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.*AK WHEN THE PROBLEM FIRST REVEALED ITSELF IT WOULD ONLY STALL WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC. IT PROGRESSED TO THE ENGINE STOPPING COMPLETELY WHIL..."

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

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