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Just happened to my 2014 E350, I am so disappointed and frustrated this isnt a recall yet.... seems like a pretty serious issue to me and not expected on an 8 year old car... it shoudn't happen.
I just heard from my mechanic that my rear subframe and control arms are rotten and need to be fixed before driving it again. Mechanic said it will cost about $2500 to get a used part to fix and it could take a few weeks to ship from the South. I’m not sure if it’s worth fixing a 2012 C300 MB for as I checked on different websites and they are offering around 5-6k for my car even without knowing the current problem. I’m afraid the car might develop other issues that are not visible now, later on. I’m confused on what to do. I had called MB corporate office to file a claim and they said someone will call me in two days and they haven’t. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
I don’t know where you are located but here I’m seeing 2013 c300’s going for between 12-16k with relatively high mileage. I was offered 9k by my dealer even. If your going to sell do it private. If the car has been good then I’d keep it with how ridiculous prices are, unless you have cash to burn. I recently got my new subframe after 3 months. I special ordered it so it was before the bulk inventory shipment to the US I guess. I’ll be doing this myself to save money.
I was told the part will be available sometime in the first quarter of 2023 which would be January to April 2023 at the soonest. I found a used ones from a junkyard out of California and it cost $800!! That also included shipping. My car is currently at Rennen Performance (auburn Maine ) and they quoted me $1200 in labor. So I’ll be looking at around $2k for part and labor. Not bad but still this problem shouldn’t have ever happened to begin with. Mercedes Bangor told me the part has gone up in price to $1410 when it does arrive from back order. ROBBERY!!!!!
It's not Mercedes fault. It's the BS 'brine' de-icer they are using on roads. Two weeks ago I had to put new springs and struts on my mom's car because a coil spring snapped. About 5 years ago it was my own car that I had to do the same. I think I count 4 pieces of broken-off coil spring that I have found in parking lots in recent years. My brother and I had to install a new rear sub-frame on one of his daughter's Camrys because of rot.
2014 GL350 - gone 2014 E350 - gone. I now own a new Volvo and BMW. Goodbye for now Mercedes!
This just happened to me with my 2014 E350. I was on the highway when I braked, and the car swerved hard to the right. It turns out the gas tank was dented by the subframe when it broke free. The dealer wants $5,200 to fix it. I filed a complaint with Mercedes this morning and am now waiting on their call. I can't believe, with all of these reports, that this was not a recall.
This just happened to me with my 2014 E350. I was on the highway when I braked, and the car swerved hard to the right. It turns out the gas tank was dented by the sub-frame when it broke free. The dealer wants $5,200 to fix it. I filed a complaint with Mercedes this morning and am now waiting on their call. I can't believe, with all of these reports, that this was not a recall.
I understand MB is used to dealing with customers who just write another check or buy another vehicle, but I've really been amazed how much they push-back on widespread issues. Such as the clearcoat peeling on Mars red vehicles.
2014 GL350 - gone 2014 E350 - gone. I now own a new Volvo and BMW. Goodbye for now Mercedes!
Originally Posted by pjl
I have a 2011 c300 and the rear axel carrier frame is rotted on the driver's side. This car has only seen 5 winters (2011-2013 and 2019 - 2021) In the in-between years
it was garaged and stored for the winter. There is no corrosion anywhere on the vehicle except the rear driver's side carrier arm as others have noted in the thread. I would
expect rot elsewhere if it were salt in general. In my opinion, this is a design issue. Since Canada has administered a recall I assume it is a valid defect. Lucky the rot is not extensive and my mechanic
said it is still drivable. I have been waiting for parts for 3 months and they are still on backorder. The local Mercedes dealer indicated the same but I assume they are handling their customers first before selling to repair shops. Please log a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (see below). I have seen a number of complaints logged already. If there isn't a recall I hope there is a class action lawsuit. Maybe we should start one?
Reach out to these attorneys, who are investigating a class action against Mercedes. They were part of the firm that sued Mercedes for climate control issues.: Katan Patel:kp@corpus-law.com and Muriel Kenfield-Kelleher: mkenfieldkelleher@lchb.com 678-597-8020 This site will register your complaint https://www.lieffcabraser.com/defect...enz-subframes/
Last edited by cbuck12345; Dec 2, 2022 at 06:07 PM.
Thank you for sharing the link, I have filed the complaint for my C300, 2012 model. Hope it gets addressed soon.
Hi All, I had complained to NHTSA on 10/16/22 regarding subframe issue and also told them that Uk, Canada and Europe they have recall on these subframe issue but no response yet. Does anyone got any response from NHTSA? is there a way to put litigation against MB bu all of us pooling in for this issue?.
I just experienced the same issue with my 2011 C300 which has approx 119k miles.
My son was away at college and started complaining a couple of months ago about the car leaking brake fluid. At that time he took it to a local mechanic near school who replaced the brake line. Fast forward to last week and my son (now home for Christmas break) complained about the rear of the car swaying when coming to an abrupt stop.
I had a shop close to me that specializes in German vehicles take a look at my car and was shocked when they showed me the rear subframe (see attached photo). I was even more alarmed to learn that over the past couple of months this the same shop has replaced the subframe in 3 to 4 Benzs. This is a serious issue that could lead to a catastrophic accident.
I spoke to someone (Laura) at MB corporate office today and was informed that there aren’t any current safety recalls for subframes. She also took my complaint but said she really couldn’t escalate it unless my car had been involved in an accident and I had it diagnosed at a Mercedes dealership. Needless to say I will be writing a safety complaint to the NHTSA shortly! I’m lucky that it didn’t take my son getting into a serious accident for me to uncover the problem.
That could be a pic of my subframe. Rotted to separation. smh...
Rotten Subframe Update - response from MB esclation support team
Hello All,
It is ironic that MB escalation support person responded on Dev 14th to my case reported on Oct 13th after 2 months asking me to take the car to the dealer to inspect and repair. Is this a trick MB play to check with customers can wait for 2 months to repair their car? or is it to brush off the issue just in case customer get the subframe issue fixed on their own cost? I have only one car and dealer said subframes are in backlog will take months to get the parts so they won't provide loaner car either. I had independent MB certified mechanic fix the car who bought the parts from MB germany warehouse although it took little more than 2 weeks till then I had to rent a car on my own expense. Complaint was already launched to NHTSA. Also there is a litigation in process so folks those who have subframe issue or you have that fixed please keep the receipts to get it reimbursed as MB USA plan to make a recall on subframe issue. Also make sure to report complaint to NHTSA as well. See below response from MB support team,============================================= ===============================
We understand your shock and frustration as we wish there could be more that we can handle on our end. The statements made were not to alarm you and we do apologize for the delayed response.
To clarify, There are no recalls attached to your Vehicle Identification Number. However, I see you have mentioned that there is currently a recall in other places excluding the U.S., so we can help get this for review for a potential recall. While we make contact, it is necessary that you report this subframe issue to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to boost the process for review. Also If you are seeking reimbursement for the subframe, the receipts would be submitted to the Dealership to build the case, but this may only be possible when the recall is in place. Below will be the contact information for NHTSA.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration\
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
1-888-327-4236
1-800-424-9153 (TTY)
We wish you many pleasant days.
Best Regards,
Janisha R.
Mercedes-Benz USA
(800) 367-6372
Customer By CSS Email (12/20/2022 09:44 PM)
================================================== ===================================
Although my car had not failed yet, I didn’t trust enough anymore to have more daughter drive it. As mentioned before, I was looking a new car for my wife and we were considering G-Wagon and a AMG GLC, but after this, I used the C300 and traded it on a Porsche Cayenne. I know all car companies and cars have their issues, but this one is so concerning given the potential loss of control, I wasn’t ready to had over any $ to MB. Really disappointed MB
I'm in the UK, I have a 2012 c220 amg line with 102k , it's in perfect condition inside and out , or so I thought. The car started having some weird effect while breaking , the rear of the car wanted to sort of steer itself. After checking it out the rear control arm coming off the subframe, the mount had completely rotted out and the control arm come adrift.....I really didn't expect that from a mercedes benz...
I read so much about people not getting anywhere with mercedes and as I am able to change it myself and needed the car for work I ordered the pattern part from ebay ,it was £389 , it came in a few days and a few evenings of work got it swapped out....the whole unit is very heavy ! Of course we shouldn't be having to deal with this issue in the first place.
Had the same issue like many on this thread. 2012 C300 with 80k miles. Car is in excellent shape when all of a sudden I'm driving down Rt 95, step on the brakes and it feels like the entire vehicle is drifting left. Then comes the ugly "clunk" everytime I step on the brakes. Take to my usual mechanic and they quote 7k to fix. Then I find Phil's Garage in Shirley MA. He fixes for less that 1/4 of that with a guarentee for the lifetime of the vehicle. I'm 6 months in and all is still perfect again. There is nothing fancy about Phil's garage but he's a gem of a person and a very talented welder/frame guy.
I have been in contact with a lawfirm in Chicago who is also researching this issue. They are looking to speak with people who have already experienced this and have paid for the repairs to learn more about the situation.
If you have paid for the repairs for a rusted-through rear subframe on your vehicle and are willing to speak to an attorney to provide information for their research, please message me and I will send you contact information so you can reach out to them.
I have a 2015 E-class which has not yet had this issue occur, but I don't want to experience it and, quite frankly, shouldn't, especially when these vehicles which are suffering from the problem are not decades old.
Hopefully we can get MB to replace these for free in the US or, even better, issue a recall.
As someone looking to buy a used CLS550 which has the same subframe, this is very unfortunate to hear. I had been reading on all the potential problems, but a rusted subframe is the deal breaker.
I sure do hope y'all get this situated. It should be free of charge from MB.
In the meantime, ill look elsewhere for a used luxury sedan
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) has extended the warranty for the rear subframe on the vehicles listed below, from the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty of 4 years/50,000 miles to 20 years/unlimited miles, and applies to the vehicle regardless of ownership.
This warranty extension applies to the replacement of the rear subframe under the standard warranty terms and conditions in the event the subframe experiences corrosion with perforation (holes). The extended warranty is applicable to the following vehicles:
Wanted to reach out to you and let you know that the rear subframe has been added with an extended warranty from the factory. Standard warranty was 4yr / 50,000 miles and has been extended to 20 years / unlimited miles.
You can possibly be reimbursed for this repair you paid for yourself. You should receive a notification in the mail from MBUSA on this. Once you do see your local dealer on how and if they can process a credit for this now covered repair.
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) has extended the warranty for the rear subframe on the vehicles listed below, from the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty of 4 years/50,000 miles to 20 years/unlimited miles, and applies to the vehicle regardless of ownership.
This warranty extension applies to the replacement of the rear subframe under the standard warranty terms and conditions in the event the subframe experiences corrosion with perforation (holes). The extended warranty is applicable to the following vehicles:
Finally. hopefully they'll reimburse everyone who repaired them on their own.
MB has extended the warranty to all provinces in Canada a while back EXCEPT for in British Columbia from my latest info
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
If you live in the New England Area. . .
