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My 2011 c300 made 4/11 in south africa has a rusted subframe that is about to break, dealer said its unsafe to drive. Just posted about before i found this thread for c350, i assume they are similar. Quoted $5000 to replace along with brake lines near there and motor mounts
The story is finally over. Local MB dealer couldn't get any goodwill from corporate, but gave me the customer care number. The first MBUSA rep took all my information and said someone would give me a call. A guy called the next day and it was not a pleasant conversation. He essentially chastised me for buying used from an unknown source (a BMW dealer is shady?). Kept repeating that the warranty has expired and that they aren't responsible for it. I told him several times that I understood this, but expected that a top class car manufacturer would stand behind the core of their product.
Ultimately, he said he would offer a credit if I bought a new car or a CPO. If I decide to go new, I have a $1k credit. If I go CPO, I have $1k toward an E class or $500 toward C, CLA, GLA, GLC class.
I did have the car fixed, rather than trade it in on anything (MB or other). The local MB dealer gave me an estimate of $2800 ($1500 parts, rest labor). However, there is a long time independent shop that does a lot of work on German cars. I took it there and they had it back on the road for under $1200 in less than a day. Good people at Huber's (www.huberauto.com) in Ephrata - they deserve business if you live in the area.
When Huber's had the car on the lift for the estimate, the lead tech had all the other techs come over and check it out. He said that they needed to watch out for it on the other C-Classes that they service.
I'll post a few more pictures shortly.
Thanks a ton for the info. I called and talked to Sal at huber auto since I am also local. He says they are replacing the subframes with 2012 and newer. He is going to get me a quote in a day or so.
My 2011 c300 made 4/11 in south africa has a rusted subframe that is about to break, dealer said its unsafe to drive. Just posted about before i found this thread for c350, i assume they are similar. Quoted $5000 to replace along with brake lines near there and motor mounts
105,000
Can anyone confirm this defect is for models not made in Germany? Did anyone have this issue with a car having a VIN starting with W ? My 2008 C300 has served me well and just crossed the 260k mark. I have been good at cleaning the undercarriage before every winter and applying fluid fill but I'm wondering if the fact it was assembled in Germany has anything to do with it.
This is intersting. I will have to inspect my car. My car was sort of a special order at that stage I ordered it, with AMG Pack +Advanced Suspension pack, which all dealers told me was not a possible combination and refused to order it, however the SA website has no problem making the choice. One dealer was able to try to order it, I waited 7 months for the car to eventually arrived as ordered. They then told me the subframe with engine and wheels comes from Germany because of the order, but the body is mounted in SA. Thats how I understood it from then(2008). At that stage one noticeble difference between this one and all the other AMG pack cars ordered, was the speedo cluster was different, this one looked like the AMG cars while the other looked flat like all the other W204 models variations available.The dealer never informed me of a subframe problem over 6 years, and I did made a written complaint about the munroe shock absorbers failing in comfort mode over a corrigated road, it had a proper inspection(Factory man came out) and no mention was made of this. Regarding this my personal opinion is that if the shocks dont leak, they dont replace, my personal experience is a shock does not have to leak to be faulty.
Last edited by Moto_Guzzi; 10-29-2019 at 01:50 PM.
Can anyone confirm this defect is for models not made in Germany? Did anyone have this issue with a car having a VIN starting with W ? My 2008 C300 has served me well and just crossed the 260k mark. I have been good at cleaning the undercarriage before every winter and applying fluid fill but I'm wondering if the fact it was assembled in Germany has anything to do with it.
I have seen it in W204's made in S.A. and Germany and in W212's made in Germany. Remember, these modern vehicles may say "Made In XYZ," but are made of components from all over the world sold or transferred from one country to another in the form of a knock-down kit. For example, the new 167's say their country of production is USA, but most components underneath say Made in Mexico or Made in Germany, etc..
The metal on the subframes in question is just really (dangerously) thin, and seeing as how there is no shield to cover them from the wheel, water, & more importantly where I am, salt, just destroys them.
My Mercedes is made in Germany, late 2009 and also had this huge problem. It was made for the Swiss market and almost 7 years is driven there and it has significant corrosion, you can see on the photo. I've recently replaced my subframe with a used one from a italian car donor and everything is fine now. Also there is no corrosion underneath at all, you can see on the photos. I drive the car in Bulgaria for a year and a half now, it's a C200 Kompressor 184 Hp and I absolutely love it. Corrosion on both sides...
Cheers mates!
Count my wife's 2011 C300 as another with a rusted subframe. Took it in for an oil change and got hit with a $3,500 estimate. My wife works from home so the car only has 53,000 miles on it and it sits in the garage 99% of the time. She bought it used in 2012 when it had roughly 15,000 miles on it and has had all maintenance done through MB since purchasing it. We are in Indiana and our roads get salted in the winter, but this is a defect plain and simple. I will be calling MBUSA to see if there's anything they are willing to do. Any other advice?
nah not trolling I bought my 2008 c300 last year with 79k miles and now a year later with 103k the subframe is trashed it’s snapped going down the road and made me fish tale. Looks like I got lucky thou compared because it was only $1300 fix but I also purchased a used subframe
Originally Posted by ChazThePhoenix
there are like 3-4 people who posted about this as their first post.... that screams trolling. No offense guys....but this is how one brand attacks another brand these days
Count my wife's 2011 C300 as another with a rusted subframe. Took it in for an oil change and got hit with a $3,500 estimate. My wife works from home so the car only has 53,000 miles on it and it sits in the garage 99% of the time. She bought it used in 2012 when it had roughly 15,000 miles on it and has had all maintenance done through MB since purchasing it. We are in Indiana and our roads get salted in the winter, but this is a defect plain and simple. I will be calling MBUSA to see if there's anything they are willing to do. Any other advice?
Following up to say that MBUSA only offered me 20% off the repair, which is extremely disappointing.
My car was made in Stuttgart, Germany and sits outside all year. Does not have any subframe rust. 2010/88k
And that quite frankly is the key.
For those of you who live in salt prone regions and have a pre 2012 car, you need to get the underbody rinsed if/when it's above freezing. Ryobi makes a 'water broom' which you attach to the end of a pressure washer and it has wheels on it and you just slide it underneath the car to get the salt off.
People who are the exception, not the norm (adi-benz is one which is why I'm singling him out) has cars that don't have subframe rust because he leaves it outside all year. Remember folks, salt by itself is corrosive, but add in heat (those of you with garaged cars), and moisture (snow melting in a garage adds humidity) and you have a big issue. A car COVERED and caked in salt which is outside/cold and is dry out (a la winter) don't really rust.
So if you have a pre 2012 car, leave it outside, leave it as cold as possible, and when it gets above freezing, get all of that salt off, both underneath and on the paint. Now that many of you are aware of the subframe rust issue, get some rust-o-leum or tar-in-a-can and spray it all over that area.
For those of you who live in salt prone regions and have a pre 2012 car, you need to get the underbody rinsed if/when it's above freezing. Ryobi makes a 'water broom' which you attach to the end of a pressure washer and it has wheels on it and you just slide it underneath the car to get the salt off.
People who are the exception, not the norm (adi-benz is one which is why I'm singling him out) has cars that don't have subframe rust because he leaves it outside all year. Remember folks, salt by itself is corrosive, but add in heat (those of you with garaged cars), and moisture (snow melting in a garage adds humidity) and you have a big issue. A car COVERED and caked in salt which is outside/cold and is dry out (a la winter) don't really rust.
So if you have a pre 2012 car, leave it outside, leave it as cold as possible, and when it gets above freezing, get all of that salt off, both underneath and on the paint. Now that many of you are aware of the subframe rust issue, get some rust-o-leum or tar-in-a-can and spray it all over that area.
That is a very good point. It's why I am against keeping cars inside a heated garage during winter since that is when the rust happens as you mentioned. My car also sits outside and I've never had an issue although I have been rustproofing my car ever since I've owned it, making sure to rinse the subframe prior to applying the rust proofing. I highly recommend Fluid Film, you can get it in a can and spray the subframe yourself. I've switched to a spray gun and buy it by the gallon which allows me to put much heavier coatings at a reasonably cheap cost.
I strongly recommend NOT to spray the subframes with any rubberized/tar based product. It will trap moistures and accelerate the oxidation.
You can spray whatever you like, but you will never get the spots that the water can get into, all you will do is stop corrosion from where you can see when you look under, you will never stop it rusting from the inside especially if you live in a area where salt is used.
Looking at the pictures of the corrosion you can see that the rust has started from the inside and only visible once it breaks the surface, im sure if you hit it with a hammer you will see its more rusted on the inside.
In Aus we dont have the salt problem, we have the red dust problem, same thing though, you cant see most of the places it gets into, then when wet it has the same affect, the only way to stop it is to get the hose out and wash every hole out, but are you really going to do that every time you drive it?
Only way you will slow it down or stop it is to Galvanise the cross member, with the Galvanise getting into all the interior of the cross member
Last edited by prktkljokr; 11-23-2019 at 09:33 PM.
You can spray whatever you like, but you will never get the spots that the water can get into, all you will do is stop corrosion from where you can see when you look under, you will never stop it rusting from the inside especially if you live in a area where salt is used.
Looking at the pictures of the corrosion you can see that the rust has started from the inside and only visible once it breaks the surface, im sure if you hit it with a hammer you will see its more rusted on the inside.
In Aus we dont have the salt problem, we have the red dust problem, same thing though, you cant see most of the places it gets into, then when wet it has the same affect, the only way to stop it is to get the hose out and wash every hole out, but are you really going to do that every time you drive it?
Only way you will slow it down or stop it is to Galvanise the cross member, with the Galvanise getting into all the interior of the cross member
Rinsing it before and after winter will do more then you think. I've also made an extension tube for my spray gun so I can get deep inside the subframe and hard to reach areas. They sell those kits for truck bed rustproofing where they can reach inside the frame. It's not hard getting our subframes full coated, inside and out, they made them very accessible.
I strongly recommend NOT to spray the subframes with any rubberized/tar based product. It will trap moistures and accelerate the oxidation.
Maybe I missed a memo somewhere in life but prior to owning German cars I owned several Japanese cars and between oil based rust protection and rubber based rust protection I always opted for the latter. Now, obviously the surface needs to be clear of salt and dry prior to application of a rubber based product but even if so, that causes an issue?
I mean, I'm just trying to think this one through here. Let's presume rubber based products trap moisture as per your allegation, but shouldn't it also keep air from hitting it which would then cause rust to not occur?
Just asking - it's the first I've heard of this and thus am learning.
Maybe I missed a memo somewhere in life but prior to owning German cars I owned several Japanese cars and between oil based rust protection and rubber based rust protection I always opted for the latter. Now, obviously the surface needs to be clear of salt and dry prior to application of a rubber based product but even if so, that causes an issue?
I mean, I'm just trying to think this one through here. Let's presume rubber based products trap moisture as per your allegation, but shouldn't it also keep air from hitting it which would then cause rust to not occur?
Just asking - it's the first I've heard of this and thus am learning.
That type of undercoating will only work if you have no rust what so ever which is unlikely. If you spray it over a rusted subframe, it will keep rusting and you won't even see it. It may slow down and protect the metal from road salt, but moisture will get under the undercoating and rust the metal. Just stick to a wax based undercoating and reapply every year or two.
Maybe I missed a memo somewhere in life but prior to owning German cars I owned several Japanese cars and between oil based rust protection and rubber based rust protection I always opted for the latter. Now, obviously the surface needs to be clear of salt and dry prior to application of a rubber based product but even if so, that causes an issue?
I mean, I'm just trying to think this one through here. Let's presume rubber based products trap moisture as per your allegation, but shouldn't it also keep air from hitting it which would then cause rust to not occur?
Just asking - it's the first I've heard of this and thus am learning.
Now i'm tempted to take a regular nail, cover it with that stuff and to douse it in salt water. It just blows my mind that rubber tar like material, if sprayed to a brand new piece of metal, allows water/moisture to get through it!
I'd like to add myself to the list of shocked and disappointed individuals. Same exact thing happened to me last week, the dealership here in Minneapolis is quoting me almost $5000 to repair. I can't seem to find any good indie shops to do the work so I guess I'm just going to tow the car home and take the loss. Did everyone here file an NHTSA complaint? We need to bring attention to this.
I've had the car since Feb 2015...bought it with 55k on the odometer. Based on the history, I think it was always a local (Pennsylvania) car. We get snow, but our road crews don't use a lot of salt. No accidents or off road since I've had it, and nothing on the history. It has hit potholes (we get them around here during the winter), but none were deep enough to break metal.
Hello, Mac Morgan here. I recently read about your problems with a rusted subframe on your C350. I recently had the same issue on my 2010 C300w4. Car was bought new while I was working at MB of Devon in PA. I started selling MBs in 1971 so I’ve got a bit of experience with the product. After a trip to my local dealer in Wilmington DE, I got the news that the claim had been declined and I followed up with a call to the MBCC. Got the exact same response and offers. It’s now at a friends shop who’s MB certified. Looks like there’re a number of owners with similar problems and I’m wondering if a class action suit should be started... any thoughts?
Mac Morgan
Hockessin DE
302-743-6354 cell
Same here, bought new, dealer serviced, suggested new springs 4wks ago then rusted subframe!
I'd be happy to join any class action on this. And I think it would be great if we all filed on the NHTSA site as well. Mine has been regularly serviced at the dealership as well so it sure came as a surprise that they never noticed this. So much for the vaunted complimentary multi-point inspection.
10-28-2019, 03:51 PM
