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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
65,791 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2006 Mercedes-Benz C230 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2006 Mercedes-Benz C230 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #26

Dec 302022

C230

  • 131,629 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Frazier Park, CA, USA

problem #25

Jan 052021

C230

  • 5 miles
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.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #24

Dec 222018

C230

  • 150,000 miles
Takata recall" 2006 Mercedes Benz C230 I was driving home and my car started misfiring really bad, the check engine light came on and started flickering and stayed on and the lights in the car on the dash and on the radio started to flicker on and off and then the car just was limp it wouldn't even pick up speed it was slowing down on the freeway with very busy traffic.I was scared for my life and my friend that we were going to come to a complete stop in rush hour traffic. I tried to hurry home but it was would not pick up speed it keep going slower and slower and when we had to slow down or stop due to traffic it actually turned completely off twice and I was so scared that an acceident would happen it was misfiring and just a terrible experience this should be some kind of recall or something they need to look into it abc fix it before someone gets hurt or worse.

- Ft Worth, TX, USA

problem #23

Nov 082017

C230

  • 41,060 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Kailua,, HI, USA

problem #22

Nov 202014

C230

  • 90,000 miles
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.

- Irvine, CA, USA

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problem #21

Jun 072014

C230 6-cyl

  • 152,000 miles
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.

- Pittsboro, NC, USA

problem #20

Dec 132013

C230 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

"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.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #19

Dec 312013

C230

  • 71,000 miles
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.

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #18

Dec 052013

C230 6-cyl

  • 84,234 miles
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.

- Daly City, CA, USA

problem #17

Nov 272013

C230 6-cyl

  • 125,375 miles
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.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #16

Mar 132013

C230 6-cyl

  • 84,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #15

Apr 252013

C230 6-cyl

  • 58,965 miles
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.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #14

Apr 102013

C230

  • 86,650 miles
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.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #13

Feb 092013

C230 6-cyl

  • 71,012 miles
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.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #12

Jul 162012

C230 6-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
2006 Mercedes C230, loss of power and acceleration. First time it happened when the mileage was 62K. I was driving on shennandoah valley then suddenly the acceleration and engine power keep decreasing though my foot was completely pressing on gas pedal. I decided to full-over to cool down the engine. After re-starting it, the problem went away for awhile and back to normal driving condition. Then it happened again when my car had 65K miles, I experienced the same problem but this time from a complete stop from traffic light, when I tried to accelerates.. the car was no acceleration at all though the pedal was completely to the metal. This will be a very bad situation when all of a sudden it will not accelerate to normal running condition, when I needed to enter the highway to merge to a fast moving traffic.

- Herndon, VA, USA

problem #11

May 172011

C230 6-cyl

  • 83,312 miles
On or about May 17, 2011 my 2006 C230 at the time with 83,312, you drive normally, make a stop on a traffic light for example, when it's time to go, you release the brake, accelerate, and nothing happens except for rpms revving up. The gear shifter is in "D" drive, gauge between the odometer/tachometer shows "D" drive as well, however the car acts as if it was in neutral!!! shifting into neutral, reverse, or park, or back into drive - doesn't help! it's like a transmission is stuck in neutral!!! also, shifting into D+/- to engage manual shifting doesn't work! and as far as you keep moving the shifter into reverse, neutral, manual shift, drive - the car electronic gear display on the dashboard still shows that the car is in "D" drive regardless of what position you move the shifter; and the car behaves as if it was in neutral all this time (you accelerate, rpms goes up, remove the foot from the pedal - engine idles). The only way to make the transmission work again is to shift it into park "P", and then turn off the engine, and then turn the engine back on, and then transmission works well again for tens or hundreds of miles before it gets "neutralized" paralyzed again. This also happened to me while driving down the I-5 in California around 70 mph's and I had to pull to the side of the road and turn the car off and back on, in order for it to start working normal. That is dangerous, what if I wouldn't have been able to stop on the side of the road it would have caused an accident.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #10

Mar 212012

C230 6-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes Benz C230. While driving 25 mph, the contact attempted to accelerate and noticed that the vehicle had shifted into neutral even though the gear indicator displayed that the vehicle was in drive. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that a sensor which controlled the transmission shift sequences needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 61,000. Updated 05/02/12 the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired at a cost of $1200. Updated 05/04/12

- Vista, CA, USA

problem #9

Mar 172011

C230 6-cyl

  • miles
Having problem with the gear shifting, believe this is caused by the shaft balancer, etc. The car grabs and jerks from time to time making me unsure of the safety of my car. My car only has 84,000 miles on it. The car is like new, but as I read the class act against Mercedes I noticed that my car has several of the same issues as others listed in the complaint. The interior and exterior of my car is in excellent condition, and I can't believe that the Mercedes company would allow an error like this to continue. I would like for this to be corrected by Mercedes or to be placed on the class act suit as well.

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #8

Nov 152011

C230

  • miles
Periodically the car would lose acceleration and rpms would be high and the vehicle would jerk when I tried changing gears. As I change gears from park, reverse or drive, the gear shift jerks and I am unable to accelerate past 20 mph no matter how much pressure I place on the gas. : extreme loss of acceleration up hill and the steptronic (+/- shifting) did not work... (I could only go 35mph when every one else was going 70mph up hill) when I traveled on a flat surface with no inclination my car worked fine, I then decided to put it on neutral while traveling at 65mph...when I put it back in drive it did not pick up the gears it just continued as if it was in neautral. I had to pull over and shift it into park...as I shifted form "D" to neutral it shifted fine, but then from neutral to "R" the car jerked...from reverse to "P" it jerked again and shifted hard. I then shifted again to reverse, neutral, and drive thus the car jerked and did a hard shift with knocking noise and would not drive. I shifted to neutral again and shut the car off. When I turned it back on it shifted smooth and I drove off without any problem. Took it to a repair shop and received P0717/P0718 fault codes and something about the valve body. I was also told that it was an transmission internal speed sensor issue. There is something faulty with the design and operation of this model year transmission and losing power and being able to only go 35 mph no matter how much you press the gas on the interstate or heavy fast moving traffic is extremely dangerous. Mercedes Benz is aware of this problem as many owners have complained but they will not institute a recall.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #7

Dec 012011

C230

  • 1,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes Benz C230. The contact was driving 50 mph when the check engine warning light illuminated and the engine started sputtering. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the balance shaft needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 1,000 and the current mileage was 1,300.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

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