2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Around the 58,000 mile mark my check engine light on my 2016 Mercedes C300 4MATIC came on . I checked the gas cap, as that can set off the check engine light, and the check engine light went off the next day. 3 days later the check engine light comes on again, so I repeated the steps of taking the gas cap off and putting back on. The light did not go off the next day. 5 days later the light goes off again. This happened several times over a span of 2-3 weeks. I then take my car to be checked with an OBD-II Scanner. It read off every time the check engine light had been on, which was several times. The error code the scanner displayed was "P052E" and a description of "Positive Crankcase Ventilation Regulator Valve Performance". It was the same code multiple times. At this point I did a little research to see if this was something I could repair. While researching the issue, I found that case after case of the very same issue was being reported by owners of cars like mine. I then came across a post that said they had reported the issue to NHTSA and was told that it was such a widespread issue that if "A few more cars are reported to have this issue then a recall would potentially be issued because of the amount of cars that are having the exact same issue at very similar mileages, and it is a very expensive repair. I just feel that this is too common of a problem by the same cars, at the same mileages from the same Manufacturer.
Failure in the performance of the Crankcase Ventilation Regulator valve, research online indicates this is a very common issue especially in w205s. Mercedes has omitted this from their gasoline powered, emissions control warranty, but is listed under the BLUtech/ Diesel warranty. The car will fail the emissions test, and Mercedes Models have a recurring problem with this part which is charged out of pocket once vehicle warranty is up.
The vehicle lost power on the Freeway, coasted the off-ramp, and came to a stop, the dealership after describing the issue said that it sounded like a bad piston. Said they have had a couple come in with the same problem. Their diagnosis was a bad piston a day later. The mileage is less than 50,000 miles and the car was driven daily to work 4 miles each way. There were no warnings or symptoms of failure prior to happening. The warranty on the vehicle has expired on 7/1/2021
P052e positive crankcase ventilation
Car lost all throtle on the highway, and when pressed on gas pedal nothing would happen. A death trap. it was very dangerous and car behind me almost hit me. Happened many times and the dealer could not fix it. Car just went out of warranty couple months ago
MY 2016 C300 4MATIC, WHICH HAS BEEN SERVICED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL, TURNED 57,000 MILES (7K MILES OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY), HAD THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURN ON. I WENT TO MY MECHANIC, WHO HAS A STATE OF THE ART DIAGNOSTIC UNIT, AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS CODE P052E WHICH MEANS THAT THE CRANKCASE VENTILATION REGULATOR VALVE INCLUDING THE FUEL RAIL NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. MERCEDES HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS BEING A MAJOR PROBLEM AS THEY MODIFIED ONE OF THE PARTS. MY DEALERSHIP QUOTED ME OVER $ 2100.00 TO FIX IT AND DEEMED IT NOT COVERED BY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I HAVE GONE ONLINE TO SEVERAL MERCEDES BENZ FORUMS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN WITH THIS PART FAILING AROUND 52K MARK. SINCE MERCEDES KNEW ABOUT THIS - ISSUED AN IMPROVED PART TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE ONE - NHTSA SHOULD MANDATE A RECALL. THIS IS NOT SOME SIMPLE DYI MATTER. IT IS A COMPLICATED REPAIR CONSUMING MANY HOURS. IT IS WRONG THAT DRIVING THIS, WITH THIS CODE, COULD LITERALLY KILL YOU. I IMPLORE NHTSA TO MANDATE A RECALL BASED ON THE FACTS SPECIFIED HEREIN. BY THE WAY I HAVE A 1999 ML320 THAT I HAVE METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED AND DRIVES PERFECT AND I HAVE OWNED MANY OTHER MERCEDES BENZ. I AM 58 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE NEVER FILED A COMPLAINT WITH NHTSA BEFORE. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS MATTER. PLEASE HELP
2016 C300 4MATIC AT ABOUT 50K MILES, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THEN AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY THE CAR JUST STOPPED ACCELERATING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY AND HAD TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE SIDE AND TOWED IT TO THE DEALER IN WEST COVINA. LUCKILY THERE WAS NO ONE ON THE FREEWAY SINCE IT WAS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. DEALER IS NOW SAYING THE CAR MIGHT NEED ENGINE REPLACEMENT WHICH WILL COST ME $20K BUT THEY WANT $3000 TO DO A TEAR DOWN TO MAKE SURE. OPENED A CASE WITH THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT THEY SAID THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT SINCE THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I AM INCREDIBLY UPSET WITH MERCEDES BENZ - I HAVE NOT USED THE CAR THAT MUCH AND MAINTAINED IT MYSELF ACCORDING TO THEIR MAINTENANCE BOOKLETS. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ENGINE DEFECT PROBLEM THAT MERCEDES NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF.
FUEL SMELL IN CABIN - FUEL LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. FROM DEALER INVOICE: FOUND FUEL LINE LEAKING FROM RUBBER LINE THAT COMES FROM BELL HOUSING FUEL LINE CONNECTOR TO HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP ON ENGINE HEAD.. R AND R BATTERY GROUND.. R AND R BELLY PANELS.. DEPRESSURIZE FUEL SYSTEM.. REPLACED RUBBER FUEL LINE THAT COMES FROM BELL HOUSING FUEL LINE CONNECTOR TO HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP ON ENGINE HEAD.. CLEANED AWAY CONTRAST SPRAY AND TEST DROVE AGAIN,, PROBLEM IS RESOLVED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE PRODUCED AN ABNORMAL MOLD ODOR, WHICH DISTRACTED THE CONTACT WHILE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MERCEDES-BENZ OF MCKINNEY (2080 N CENTRAL EXPY, MCKINNEY, TX 75069, (844) 302-4009) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT AN AIR CONDITIONING FLUSH WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE ODOR RETURNED THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 16,000. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE ENGINE SIEZED AND THE VEHICLE ENTERED INTO LIMP HOME MODE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MERCEDES-BENZ OF TYSONS CORNER (8545 LEESBURG PIKE, VIENNA, VA 22182), BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 29,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MERCEDES-BENZ C300W. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V114000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 MERCEDES-BENZ C300. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, A FIRE ERUPTED FROM THE BATTERY OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE AND STATED THAT WATER ENTERED INTO THE ENGINE, WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO HYDROLOCK. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND DEEMED DESTROYED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FIRE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,500.
I BOUGHT A NEW 2016 C-CLASS MERCEDES BENZ . I HAD THE CAR FOR LESS THAN 24 HOURS WHEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE VEHICLE IN AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE AMBIENT AIRFLOW. THE ENGINE DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY, CAUSING A ROUGH RIDE. WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE THE ENGINE WILL STALL AND THEN SHOOT FORWARD.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class has 63 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.