Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEATS | |||
| 07/01/2007 | 50000 | 1 | |
| I came out and my battery was dead without warning. i took the vehicle to downtown la motors(mercedes benz) dealer, where they explained that the seat control modules were staying on and causing the battery to drain. i subsequently had to unhook the seat controls and now i am unable to move my seats or steering wheel. they estimated that the repair would cost around 1500. numerous customers have the same issue on the same vehicle, it is obvious that this is a manufacturer defect and not the fault of mercedes benz consumers. *tr | |||
| 07/01/2007 | 50000 | ||
| I came out and my battery was dead without warning. i took the vehicle to downtown la motors(mercedes benz) dealer, where they explained that the seat control modules were staying on and causing the battery to drain. i subsequently had to unhook the seat controls and now i am unable to move my seats or steering wheel. they estimated that the repair would cost around 1500. numerous customers have the same issue on the same vehicle, it is obvious that this is a manufacturer defect and not the fault of mercedes benz consumers. | |||
| 04/02/2012 | |||
| I have a 2002 mercedes c320. my battery is dead after seating overnight. took the car to the austin mb dealership to diagnose the problem. i was told that the power seat motor is draining my battery. both seats. come to find out that many other people have experienced the same problem. i called mercedes usa and they said that since the car is out of warranty, there is not much they can do. that is bull!! obviously since so many people with this car model have the same problem, it has to be a manufacturer fault. i was wondering how many people need to experience this problem before mercedes will admit that they have a bad component on this model. i figured,if enough people call and tell mb that they have this same problem, they will realize that this is a defective part and they will issue a recall and pay for necessary repairs. please call mercedes usa and report this problem. 1-800-for-mercedes (1-800-367-6372) or 201-476-6200 | |||
| 02/25/2011 | 44000 | ||
| Battery dies. after diagnostic, found that driver seat control unit drained battery. replaced battery and eventually all controls fail on the seat and steering wheel. i am one of many many people with the same problem. no solution found and no recall to repair. | |||
| 03/15/2011 | |||
| Mercedes 2002 c320. power seat control module for both driver and passanger drain the battery to a extent tha car can not be started up. only solution is buy a new ($500.00 plus labor) control module. i've done a research in different mercedes forums and it seems to be a common problem among these models. mb dispite of all the people having the same problem has not issued any recall. | |||
| 01/25/2010 | 1 | ||
| We have a 2002 mercedes c320 wagon. the automatic driver and passenger seats drained the battery completely where the car will not start. we have disconnected the module seats so that it will stop draining the battery. the replacement for each module system for the seat is about $500 or more. i believe this is a manufacturer's defects as it is dangerous if owners are not aware of the situation and leave their car park for a period of time will cause the owners not able to start their car, especially in an emergency situation. *jb | |||
| 01/07/2008 | 92887 | 1 | |
| Mercedes benz 2002, c320 *steering wheel malfunction *srs warning *seats malfunction *brake and oil fluid misleading info *battery drain *turning signals requiring new harness that cost a lot $$$. *tr | |||
| 07/20/2009 | 85000 | 1 | |
| Seat control units draining the battery if car is parked. car will not start if parked for more then 24h. drain amps between 1.2 and 1.4 amps. had to disconnect the seat modules, now seats can't be adjusted. *tr | |||
| 10/10/2008 | 72000 | 1 | |
| Faulty seat controller of a mercedes c32 amg, drains car battery overnight, causes new battery replacement and controller replacement (not cheap - appr $400). no new controller purchased from mb usa, just disconnected plug (moving seat is inoperable). i noticed almost all us mercedes benz vehicles with that body style (w203) have that issue. sources: bay area dealerships, a repair shop and online forums. *tr | |||
| 06/15/2008 | 65000 | 1 | |
| Car battery drains due to a short in the power seat control units in my 2002 mercedes benz c320. replaced battery, recharged battery numerous times. every other owner of this make / model complains of same problem. *tr | |||
| 11/10/2007 | 45000 | 1 | |
| The car parked in the garage overnight and the morning i had an emergency at the business and could not start the car. the battery was totally drained. had it towed to the shop to be diagnosed that it was the front driver side power seat that has drained all the energy from the battery even when the car is not running. the power seat is now continuously excessively drain the battery even when the car is not running. the consequences are that the car is not trusted to be able to start in an emergency situation when the car is needed for transportation. the car has very low mileage on it. the power seat has been rarely used and it should not fail for having been idle/not used for the length of time that i have own the car. i am the original first time owner of the car and i hardly have to adjust the power seat. i believe that the power seat is a manufacture defect and could be a dangerous impediment in an emergency situation. the are lots of mercedes owner who have experiencing the same malfunction in their power seats. i feel that with these many people, it warrants a recall by mercedes for all the power seats. *tr | |||
| 02/06/2008 | 82200 | 5 | 05/08/2005 |
| I own a mercedes benz c320 and lately i've been experiencing some problems, few weeks ago, my car wouldn't start all of a sudden. i jump started and i noticed 2 faults .. esp warning light and light sensor ,for some reasons something was draining my battery, i went and purchased a brand new battery and 2 days later it did the same thing again, i was told that it was a seat sensor that caused it,s o we unplugged the seats, everyting seamed fine for like 4 to 5 days,while i was driving,the car just came to a complete stop would not move,the engine light came on, i've come to realize that i'm not the only one with this problem, i hope the government would do the right thing by recalling those vehicles. *tr | |||
| 07/08/2007 | 48200 | 3 | 03/28/2006 |
| My vehicle would not start, so i received a jump, two days later when i did not drive the car it would not start received another jump and replaced the battery. did not drive the car from 7-4 to 7-8-07 and car would start. went to mercedes dealership on 7-9-07 and was told that it was a common problem on my car that the seat modules do not power down when the car is off and that it is draining the battery. went to several mercedes-benz forum websites and found that there were hundreds of people having the same problem. once the seat module are replaced for $1200.00 that the seat modules would continue to drain the battery and would have to be replaced again and this became a cycle. please visit websites www.benzworld.org/forums or m-benzforum.com or type in google or yahoo mercerdes benz forum and connect. here you will see a list of people with the same problem. *ak | |||
| 01/13/2007 | 45800 | 2 | 11/26/2006 |
| Both internal seat control modules have electrical fault. test code 8e3l-k8nnq. found 1.66 amp of draw (out of spec. range) amp drop when disconnected: passenger side to: .1114 and driver side: 0.59 milliamps. 1/13 alarm sounds and battery dies. technician replaces battery, but warns likely to happen again-many cases. 1/16 same problem. car taken to other m-b dealership. diagnosed as above. replaced both modules 1/25. dealership had trouble getting part due to unusually high volume for this repair. 18 modules gone or on reserve in one week in santa monica alone. mercedes corporate office unresponsive. carmax denies known fault, but reports customer with same complaint previous week. *nm | |||
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - POWER ADJUST | |||
| 06/08/2007 | 30 | ||
| I have a 2002 mercedes c320 and the car's battery keep dying and i have to jump start my car every day. battery was replaced and same problem happens again and again. i went online and found out that i am not the only person who has the problem. it happens to many many many people - see attached link http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w203-c-class/1196568-mercedes-c320-battery-drain-4.html i have paid the dealer $375 just for the diagnoses with nothing fixed and according to these complaints, even after they have the recommended replacement, the problem persists. it seems like they should have all these cars recalled and have the problem fixed when it's their production/component problem. | |||
| 1 | 03/25/2002 | ||
| The drivers seat fails to return to the preset memory position. when inserting the key into the ignition, consumer noticed that the seat would not stop at the preset setting. *jg | |||