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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,074 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.

2012 Mercedes-Benz C250 engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Mercedes-Benz C250 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #56

May 102024

C250

  • miles

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

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" As I started my car from a cold start and even when starting the engine, the car was creating this tractor like sound. No system has failed but I read the camshaft adjuster and tensioner pulley has come out of site, which can ruin the engine. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, it was audible by the dealer but I was told that it would be a normal issue on a cold start. Now they will charge $200 for a service diagnosis. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Mercedes Benz gave an extended warranty on the program for extension of 10 years but the problem has been happening for multiple people and it has been happening again that this warrants a recall over a poorly designed part that can destroy the car-??s engine. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" No such codes or messages. Which is why this is so scary. This incident has been happening for the past 8 months or so and besides a letter about a warranty no such information.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #55

Oct 092023

C250

  • miles
1) cranshaft and camshaft position sensors, timing problems and it has to be replaced this is a common damage in Mercedes Benz 2012 c250. 2) this put in risk my life because it can brake the engine in a highway and the car could be off.

- Los ÁNgeles , CA, USA

problem #54

Jan 132023

C250

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle started very rough with a rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed. On another occasion, while opening the front driver-??s side door, the door handle fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- League City, TX, USA

problem #53

Oct 132022

C250

  • miles

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

Faulty camshaft adjusters creating timing chain to stretch and tensioners to fail, causing excessive wear to the crankshaft and wear of the teeth resulting in catastrophic damage and complete engine failure ( I have not replaced this timing chain or camshaft adjuster yet but i can hear the timing chain rattling from the defective parts from manufacturer. )

- Rancho Cucamonga , CA, USA

problem #52

Jun 072022

C250

  • miles
Auto is less than 100K miles excellent condition had the turbo gasket go bad on the auto. Oil leaking in the main engine compartment and on ground due to the gasket issue. Could cause damage to engine and turbo. Gasket should not have gone bad. While at the mechanics same issue with the same exact model of Mercedes, not sure the year but identical body style. Repairs were completed on 06/07/22 cost through mechanic $465 any time due to passing or excelartion the engine would miss out and lose power for the passing or escelartion.

- Pearland, TX, USA

problem #51

Jan 122022

C250

  • miles
The engine in my car died and after inspection by a Mercedes mechanic they concluded the failure was caused by faulty camshafts that have been common in the year and model this car. Mercedes has issued and extended warranty to cover the repairs recognizing this was a manufacturing issue but they are refusing to cover the full cost of repairing my car.

- Arlignton, VT, USA

problem #50

Nov 112021

C250

  • 52,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the variable valve timing solenoid had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the diagnostic test. The manufacturer was notified of the failure through a voicemail message. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

- Hamilton Township, NJ, USA

problem #49

Nov 132021

C250

  • miles
When accelerating to pass a vehicle the check engine light comes on and there is loss power. When this happens there is a huge potential of a crash. The car has to be shut off to try and reset this. When you are on the frwy this puts life at danger. The code is a p002 and if you research it Mercedes is aware of this and is most likely a defective high pressure fuel pump problem that needs replacing but there have been no recalls. I have looked it up on you tube and has been on ongoing issue with no recalls as of yet. I am taking my car to dealer on 11/15/2021 for this issue which they will charge me for even though its a safety issue

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

problem #48

Sep 252020

C250

  • miles
I purchased this 2012 C250 Mercedes from Carmax of Waldorf on 04/26/2017, with 20,046 miles on it. I informed Carmax the engine light was on and the car was rattling at start. I also reported the oil dipstick was broken. When the car was returned, the dipstick was replaced, coolant light off and engine light was off; however, the rattling at start up continued. I reported the problem to Carmax several months later and they pretty much denied fault and went as far to say the car is just cold and does that at startup. For further protection I signed with carshield as my wife drives the car. The car's rattling continued at startup and eventually became difficult to start. I took it to Mercedes of Arlington, Virginia and they stated the timing gear and chain needed replacing. carshield reported back to me that it was a preexisting problem and wouldn't fix it. Meanwhile, we were stuck with a car we were paying on with no one taking the blame. Following research, I found that this is a recurring problem with the 2012 C250 model but there is no recall. I eventually paid approximately $5000 for the engine to be repaired as the engine failed. The engine is currently rattling again; with the engine light coming on constantly. this seems to be a common problem, however, with to consequences and accountability.

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

problem #47

Jun 262021

C250

  • miles
2012 Mercedes C250 caught fire with no warning. Drove about 5 miles to the store and parked the car. A passerby said your car is on fire. Within minutes the entire front of the car was ablaze. The vehicle was towed to the city impound lot and has not been inspected by anyone.

- Grand Prairie, TX, USA

problem #46

Mar 012021

C250

  • 93,000 miles

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

When accelerating to pass on highway car suddenly goes into limp mode and losses power this is dangerous at 70 plus miles per hour, ECM code reads P0002 high pressure fuel regulator failure, check engine light will stay on until car has been shut off for longer than ten minutes or if you have a scanner you can erase code and drive the car normal, no passing. This has also happen pulling out from a stop light car has buckle with immediate power loss and will only creak up in limp mode just enough to get you home. I am a well season mechanic with over 20 years experience and this is absolutely dangerous. Please don't wait until someone gets hurt or killed by this which is a known issue going back before 2012. This happened 3 times this ast week and today.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #45

Dec 252020

C250

  • 117,000 miles
I have been having issues with my vehicle since I purchased it. Starting with me not having enough power from a start, in an attempt to gain enough power to drive at a safe speed from the start, as if the vehicle lags & no matter the gasoline or service, the problem never corrects. When I'm trying to gain speed to maintain with the flow of traffic safely the vehicle lags notably before gaining speed. I'm now having to replace the engine bc the oil coolant hose burst while I was driving on the highway with my child in the car. My check engine light activated but the only notice displayed on the dash was the engine coolant when it was low. When the hose burst while I was driving about 60mph I heard a pop sound under the hood, saw smoke coming from the exhaust, then a clanking noise under the hood that got louder & louder until I was able to pull off of the highway, & then I noticed a very large amount of oil on the ground that left a trail along the ground from my vehicle. That was very dangerous as my vehicle lost power during that incident. I'm told by the mechanic, the engine has to be replaced. This happened without a warning. The Mercedes Benz is supposed to be a safe & reliable luxury vehicle & not a nightmare to have for the owner.

- Mullins, SC, USA

problem #44

Jan 072020

C250

  • 85,000 miles
Cold engine vehicle jerking I took it to Mercedes of fort myers fl and they told me that they couldn't find the problem and I took it to so many other places and still can't find it I'm just wondering if it could be a recall

- Punta Gorda, FL, USA

problem #43

Aug 312020

C250

  • 38,000 miles
2012 C250 purchased new from a dealer. Rattling on starting engine and check engine light is on. Spoke with my mechanic and it is due to faulty camshaft adjusters. Repair will cost $5000 plus and involves replacing the camshaft adjusters, timing chain and sprockets. This problem just started 10 days ago with approximately 38,000 miles on the odometer. Seems to be a well known problem and not an expense I can really afford on reduced income due to covid lockdown. I am very worried about driving this car as this problem can result in catastrophic engine failure and I am regularly on the freeway. Driving this car is no longer safe. I purchased a Mercedes thinking their reputation for safety, quality and engineering would preclude such issues.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #42

Aug 152020

C250

  • 100,000 miles
I was driving a of maybe ten minutes on the highway. As soon as I was off the highway ; the vehicle suddenly stopped without warning of a check engine light.(malfunction). Days before that the vehicle was serviced at a Mercedes Benz dealership without any issues. After their research I've been told that I need a new engine. There are complaints after complaints listed online in regards to engine failure, cam shaft adjusters etc. This is something that clearly needs to be handled. This could have caused a life threatening situation.

- Orange, CT, USA

problem #41

Jun 252020

C250 4-cyl

  • 78,982 miles
In a Mercedes Benz C250 2012-2014 there has been many reports across the United States where camshaft adjusters+timing chain components fail/break. This is a highly risk and safety matter that needs to be addressed by Mercedes Benz as recall. Being newer model cars, the timing chain and camshaft adjusters should not fail. Not even at 100K miles. Some of these models has had their camshaft adjusters+ timing chain fail at 46K miles. Why is Mercedes not owning up to these factory faults" why are new models that are not even 10 years old have this kind of issue? this defect can cause major accidents on the road. Cause you go at highway/freeway speed 60 mph and your timing chain breaks, you can cause a major accident with other cars, and injure your own self and passengers. Can you imagine for those who have babies and drive these vehicles. Why is a hugecompany like Mercedes not owning up to these defects? instead they want to charge $4,000-$8,000 to get this repair done. Even if you have warranty they still hesitate on getting this repair done. I just want to be heard because being one of the many reports with this issue on these vehicles, it's concerning to see many of these vehicles still out on the road. When these parts have are failing, you will get a check engine light that reads "P034062" camshaft position sensor bank 1 electrical failure" after getting diagnosed by many shops, and even Mercedes Benz dealer all the test say the wiring and everything else is ok. Camshaft adjusters are failing will need replacing + timing chain & tensioner. But why on such a newer car" it should run about 200K miles until it needs a new timing chain. Cars being serviced at correct interval & being well maintained. This should not be a issue. Engine when start up will rattle. It will sound like engine is falling apart. Plus car will run really rough.

- Federal Way, WA, USA

problem #40

Feb 102020

C250

  • miles
My check engine light came on while driving and I had it checked by a mechanic, the obc code was P0340 camshaft adjuster. My vehicle has less than 100,000 miles the camshaft adjuster should not need to be replace until around 250.000 miles. Other owner's of 2012 C-250 have experience the came issues. Mercedes Benz should take note of possible defected parts.

- Killeen, TX, USA

problem #39

Jan 022020

C250

  • 90,100 miles
Check engine light is on and upon quick acceleration the car misfires and begins to shake. Also having water come through top frame when it rains

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #38

Apr 162019

C250

  • 0 miles
Hello, this is a flaw in the Mercedes M271 engine. After a certain amount of milage the camshaft and timing chain have been malfunctioning in most Mercedes C250 cars. The dealer is asking $4400 for the repair, and Mercedes did a recall on it years ago the camshaft adjuster solenoid is very faulty as it happens to most C250 vehicle owners. Ever since it happened to my own car every time I start it sounds like its about to blow up. The check engine stays on every day, sometimes it'll go in limp mode and I would carefully take the car off the highway.

- Norfolk, VA, USA

problem #37

Jun 042019

C250

  • miles
My C250 started making a noise when you first start the car. Choking and hesitations to start, but yet would start after a moment or 2. the noise was unfamiliar. This noise would continue through out the day, as long as the car set for more than 15-20 minutes. I would go into the store, to shop come back out to the car an the noise would still be there after 15-20 minutes. I took my car to the Mercedes Benz dealer in houston, Texas North. After a $200 diagnose cost. The cam shaft adjuster is out. Costing another $4,575.68. My car is a 2012, which I brought in 2014 with less than 7,000 miles. Now it is 2019 with only 87,885 miles on my car, I don't know what this part is for or why my car needs this. All I know it cost $4,575.68. Way to much for something I know nothing about. Can't get in touch with manufactory to complain and Mercedes headquarter hasn't return my call. Please give me advise, as to what to do with my complaint.

- Humble, TX, USA

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