Car suddenly would not start. Steering locked, ignition would turn, but nothing happened. Had to take it to the dealership. In a loaner car now. Said it would cost approximately $1200 to fix the steering wheel lock problem. Technician said it was a common problem among C300. This is an outrage, and Mercedes Benz should be held liable.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

C300 not starting due to bad electronic steering lock mechanism, seems to be common.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

Electronic steering lock fail car won't turn

- Hawthorne, CA, USA

Car wont start, local mechanic refer to common problem (ignition moduel),I was coming out of the cvs phatmacy and the car just wont start, called mb the Y asked me to jump start but nothing, different key nothing so I towed to the dealer.

- Danville, IL, USA

Driving at night and car was parked. Tried to start the car but it won't start at all. I had the car towed to the dealership and was diagnosed as a steering lock mechanism malfunction. This issue has been submitted by other C300 owners and has been a common complaint. There is a safety concern by all of us regarding the problem especially it can happen anytime. I would like to request that this be escalated to a recall for all affected models from Mercedes. It is unfair to us to keep paying over a thousand dollars for the repair. My car only has 62200miles in it.

- Montebello, CA, USA

Electronic steering lock motor failure - car did not start and engine non-responsive. Only the dealer and Mercedes Benz authorized repair shops can fix this issue. Understand that this is a common problem. Vehicle was stationary.

- Vienna, VA, USA

This occurred in stationary position in my garage. Steering wheel locks up when parked with wheels forward / turning key to start engine does not work. Per the dealer, the electronic ignition lock anti-theft control unit is faulty. There was no indication of a problem prior. This could leave people stranded in dangerous situations.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

I stopped at a kwik trip (2006 N spring St, beaver dam, wi 53916) to put gas in my 2008 Mercedes C300. Car would not start after filling up. My steering was locked and so was my shifting as I was stuck in park. After troubleshooting things such as the battery, fuses, etc I looked online and found out many people have been in the same situation. There are videos on youtube and forums with tens of thousands of views and numerous posts describing what seems to be a electronic steering lock (esl) or electronic ignition system (eis). I know Mercedes has acknowledged the problem and they have argued it is not a safety hazard but there are many instances where it can be a big safety hazard. Luckily it was summer here in Wisconsin where I was stuck at that gas station from 7:30pm - 1:00am. So essentially the problem has nothing to do with filling up with gasoline. It is just with the car suddenly not starting. It is a esl failure and it isn't only a safety hazard, Mercedes is charging 1300-1900 for what they acknowledge has been a known issue with certain models! I filed this thanks to a forum, as I mentioned earlier there is a lot of evidence of this on the web.

- Madison, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes Benz C300. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock and ignition module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Tried to start the car totally dead, steering column locked, towed it to the mechanic the mechanic states that he is trying to purchase the part from Mercedes. Mercedes states that the car might have to towed there because it is a safety issue and they have to handle the repair. Waiting to hear if Mercedes will sell the part 8/1/16. Obviously a recall issue how can the government help us with this obvious safety issue.

- Winter Park, FL, USA

On July 21,2016 at 9am and I parked my car and went to work, 2 hours later came back and try to start the car, did not start. Car door locks and trunk locks open and close but when I turn the ignition on, no response, no display on instrument panel around speedometer gauges. No hissing or cranking or beeping noise also. Steering column was also locked up and inoperable.about 2 years ago command screen with lcd display that controls all functions smoked a little and was shut down display. Going to the last weeks problem steering column has locked me out and also eis that is the communicator from ignition switch and alternator or started do not function also. I happened to see more than hundreds of car with the same year group and model has smiliar problems.my car mileage was 93121. I would like make this as a manufacturing problem of unreliability of the parts and the manufacturer let it roll off assembly line with out doing diligent testing of the parts involved from the suppliers for reliablity and durability and in turn cost the consumers $2000-3000 of unnecessary expense/troubleshoot and fix/ than you very much for your help.

- Monroe, NJ, USA

I went to the cinema as regular day, no rain nor hot. When I'm back after 2 hours, the car suddenly could not start without warnings or anything else. The light still good, battery is good, radio still on. So I went on research and there are tons of complaints about this C300 model on the steering lock problem. I don't know why Mercedes Benz let it happen, there are no fault from customers; they should recall to change the steer wheel, which easy cost you $1,600. I would not happy at all for Mercedes Benz quality control since it let the C300 has that default without any notices or attempt to alert consumers.

- Houston, TX, USA

Malfunctioning electronic steering lock control unit which seems to be a common defect for mb W204

- Schaumburg, IL, USA

08 Mercedes C300W -- went into H.E.B for 5 mins, car was stationed on flat surface. Returning to vehicle I inserted the key, all of a sudden the car would not start, no crank what so ever. Lights and radio worked, but the windows, steering and shifter would not move at all. Dealer says its the steering lock and lots of customers have had the same problem; unfortunately, Mercedes has not put a recall on it as of yet. Total cost $1,500 as of 07/05/2016. Part $575 diagnose $175 and labor $750 wow. I will never own another Mercedes. I now know how to respond to those who ask how I feel about Mercedes. Very disappointing.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Parked vechile to make a quick stop when I returned vechile will not start. Got a jump and it was confirmed it was not the battery car was only at 75000 miles

- Bronx, NY, USA

My car won't start, read online hundreds of others cars that have had the same problem for 2008 4matic C300. Why is this not a recall.

- Austin, TX, USA

On 3/6/16 the vehicle was parked at gas station for a few minutes. Upon my return to the car, the car wouldn't start. Contacted road side assistance and they tried in vain to start car. Had to tow vehicle to repair shop. Next day, mechanic tested and ran diagnostics - found bad ezl steering lock assembly. Mileage was 92950 at time of failure. Cost $1200. Had to wait a week to get parts and for repair. Rental expense was an additional $200. Grand total - $1400.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

Could not start my car while stationary. Put key in the ignition and got a message on the dash to remove key from ignition. No dash lights came on. There was no clicking or noise...it was just dead. The alarm system and headlight and interior lights were all working so it was not the battery. I called roadside and the gave me a jump, but confirmed that my battery was not the problem. My car had to be towed to the dealership on Saturday night after waiting for 5 hours. The dealership did not even conduct the diagnostics on the car until Tuesday afternoon. They determined that the steering lock was defective and needed to be replaced at the cost of $1000. They did not even offer to loan me a car, or ask if I needed transportation. So essentially they left their customer stranded! this is not the service that is expected from Mercedes! I have had cars (Acura and BMW) longer than my 2008 C300 with more miles which did not require a replacement of the steering lock. This is a common problem among all Mercedes and should be recalled by the manufacturer.

- Narberth, PA, USA

Electronic steering lock failure. Couldn't get car started. Only 63K miles. Why has this issue not being recalled yet?

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Cars steering column locked up while car was parked several times and after numerous attempts with the keys it eventually started up. But one day I parked it and it would not start up at all. Had to have the car towed to Mercedes service department and was informed that it was the eis and that it would cost 1300 dollars to repair. Did research online and noticed that this is a common occurrence for this vehicle years 2008-2009 and that this is more a manufacturing defect that should be covered under a Mercedes Benz recall rather than passing this cost off to the consumer. I talked this over with the service tech and he stated that he gets numerous vehicles in for this service and that he anticipates that this will eventually be a recall in the future but presently I would need to pay up front and wait for the recall to be generated by Mercedes. This is unfair that a defective part is being passed on to the customer, my vehicle only has 50,000 and it is apparent that this part goes bad on the vehicle just about the time the warranty expires. Mercedes needs to stand behind it's vehicle and satisfy its customers with a recall of this part.

- Chicago, IL, USA