I think the car is possessed by the devil or something. My wife loves the car and says that car never makes any noises when she drives it and everything work great. Everytime I get in it something is always going wrong with it. I think I purchased Hurbie Fully Loaded in a Mercedes in disguiseBecause I think little C has a mind of its own.

 

As I've been trying to tell everyone for years! All you have to
do is search any MB forum and you'll find they're packed with complaints
with the six banger, way, way more than any other C class. Can't believe people continue to buy 'em. Have a '95 C220 with 165K and I've had NOOOO problems whatsoever! Needed nothing but routine maintenance.

 

I am definatly not buying another W202 ever. We have a house in Florida and are looking for a car to keep down there. The W202 was in mind but ever sice all the issues we crossed it off of our list.

 

i have a 99 c280.. havent had any problems except the ac compressor.. but i do keep very good maintenance on it!!!

 

Well again we are facing some issues. Little ones thoue thank God nothing serious. The radio screen today decided that it was going to go black and blue. Like on the calculater when someone pushed on the screen. Also my AC fan is making a loud loud humming sound. Almost like it needs to be oiled or something. I called my shop and they ordered the screen part and told them what happined so the part is comming and hopfully it will be ok. I fixed the sunroof issue by myself and that is in great working order.

 

humming would be blower motor. check some sites first and stop paying for unnecessary parts

 

No the sound is not normal in the blower motor. I know what it is suppose to sound like and this a very loud and annoying sound. As far as parts I only order the screen for the radio because it is black and blue and is cracked a little bit.

 

ohhh i thought by screen you meant cabin filter. and i meant that humming noise would be the blower motor that needs replacing. on the 190 took about an hour or so to replace

 

I always have a problem with my C class too , until I realize, let the car has the self healing and fixing herself ....ha...ha..ha....
1) first time I bought it , it always has a snore sound at the back seat ...boring searching what is the problem , I ignore it , and amazingly the sound is disappear now.
2) The automatic door lock , when you are driving the car it can open without any reason, because I didnt know the reason , I never know how to fix it ....
3) The turn light signal at the Speedometer , sometimes is "OK" sometimes is "not ok" without any reason too...but currently is "OK" without any repairing action from me..
4) Power steering oil is always leak ...boring of repairing, I just added every two weeks, and since it become an habit now, I dont mind to do it....and right now I can extend to every one month only ...and it seems more better...
5) Water coolant leak, it drop from the engine, somewhere...I knew..all workstation suggest me to check entirely the engine ...I just change radiator reserve cap ( $7) , and it can reduce the leak ( the old cap is tear and worn so the system not vacum anymore , so the water can flow and drop , with the new cap the system more vacum so the water is stand still even there is a leak somewhere,it takes two to tango , it takes two hole for water to flow and drip, I close the one at radiator cap and ignore the others) so I just need check and added the water coolant every month ..and now become an habit too for me..

conclusion: yes there is a problem with this car...but as MB anthusiast we still love this car in a good or bad .....and when I"m with her at 200 km/ h on highway , i forgot all of her weakness...just hear its' engine screaming ...and just like "Ruba DUb " sing in a la la long ...." And when you cry out .."I'm gonna push it push it some more...." Acceleration pedal off course what i meant.....

 

Yes I to can agree there. There have been some things that come and go such as noises and stuff. But I just dont understand. I have also a 1987 420SEL with 113,000 miles. The is older and has 5x more options then the C Class and some of the newer C Class and I seem to never have an issue with it. The shop asked me one day if I even still owned the car since that car has not been in the shop for almost 2 years now. I have a 2002 E Class thats the same way. More goodies has about 79,000 miles and its solid as a rock. Then you to a C Class that like the most basic form of trasportation and it has more issues then I can count. Its crazy. But I fixed the fan and the radio today so right now we are running A OK.........For now at least.

 

What I did on my fan was take it and oiled it really well. Its seems to ok for now. No funny noises or anything.

 

don't spill anything on the shifter (as in, don't use the cupholders!!!)....$2000 later...

 

At least don't spill twice

 

" the basic form ..." I think thats the point with our C class ...MB specialized for making luxurious car ..so when they enter to make more economical car class, they got difficulties how to match between the price and the quality....( the same mistake when they took Chryssler...he...he...he...)

meanwhile for the C class owner , we expected more economical after sales services & Spare parts for our C class (the most economical class in MB, although the price is still at the high class range for japanese car ) , but unfortunenately MB service station is build to serve luxurious car ...so we as C class owner ( more ever W202 ) , will be charge for luxurious car service charge.....I think this is a homework for MB how to serve their wide range class of customer ...if not, MB owner will neglected their old car services ,as the result reselling value of MB Car will decreased and it can be negative point when people considering to buy New MB car ....... btw we as C class owner must ready do it yourself repairing....he...he...he....

 

Belive me I dont eat or drink in any of my cars. I especially dont need another major issue with the C Class. I think I will go crazy if another major issue occurs.

 

cool. that's what it is going to take to keep it on the road. MB'z are finicky as hell but I quickly learned that a problematic benz beats a problematic Ford any day.

 

Not about to break your ***** but may I ask how old your son is? Would you happen to know how he treats the car .......

 

He is 20 and treats it very well. I know for a fact because he use to drive my SL600 around and he took very good care of it. I know for a fact how he drives and treats the car. Also everything he owns is kept in tip top shape I know he treats the car well.

 

Just wondering, you know kids nowadays when they know that "Dad" has their back they can sometimes abuse.....
I have a 99 280 sport model , have owned it for 5 years and only issue I have had is the MAF having to be replaced

 

I know what your saying. He is around alot so I see what goes on with the car. He keeps it immaculate. Right now the car is fine no porblems now for about a month. Other then I need to replace the radio because the screen is cracked. Other then that its fine for now.

 

Funny because all the issues I have had with this car I have not had to replace the MAF.

 

Update: Still going fine for now. Its been about a month and no issues thank God. It goes in the shop in 3,200 for the Service B.
Have the replace radio and fix the sun visor. Will get that fixed in 3,200 miles.

 

try this:

Take your mind off the "problems" of the benz and they will start to fade away. Studies show that when you focus on something too deeply it becomes your reality. Maybe you're mentally "waiting" for the next thing to go wrong and then it does. As you drive it, try focusing on the fact that MB is a great brand and they really do build some of the best cars on the road and see what happens. the power of positive thinking. it's works.

 

^^^I was trying to cheer you up here, but who am I kidding? if the car is eating up your wallet and giving you endless hell, get rid of it. It's a plethora of nice used Benz's out there . no use killing your buzz over a C-Class . afterall, it is an entry level Benz anyway.

 

Wow, as a new W202 owner, this is kinda scary to read!! I just purchased a 98 C230 with 136k miles on it, and everything works perfect as far as I can tell, and the car is in like new condition. It has non of the problems you mentioned. The only thing that is a little annoying sometimes is a slight misfire at idle, but its very intermittent.