A few months ago, I brought my 2015 C in for service. Having noticed that the engine was somewhat loud on cold start, I asked the dealer to check and see if it suffered from the wrist-pin issue that is present in some of the early-build 2015s. It turned out that it did, and the dealer rebuilt the engine, replacing the pistons, some of the turbocharger parts, etc.

A few months later, another issue appeared. Intermittently, under hard acceleration - usually when trying to accelerate on an up-sloping on-ramp in order to merge onto the freeway - the vehicle stutters hard. It feels as if someone briefly slammed on the brakes. I don't know if the appearance of this issue was somehow connected to having the engine repair done or not.

I brought it in for service, the technicians were able to reproduce the problem, and found an error code that they traced to a turbocharger part that was, in their words, "starting to come apart". They replaced the turbo part and gave it back to me.

The vehicle continued to exhibit the same behavior. I brought it back to them, and they kept it for 3 weeks this time, communicating with MB engineers in Germany to try to diagnose the problem. They ended up replacing several more turbocharger parts, including the turbo bearings.

Two days after I got it back, the vehicle exhibited the hard lurch again while trying to get up to speed on the freeway entry ramp near my house. I brought it back in for service last week, but they were unable to reproduce the issue or find any codes for it this time. It's a hard, violent lurch when it happens - in my brother's words who happened to be in the car with me the most recent time it occurred (after the turbo repairs), "it almost gave me a heart attack".

I'm starting to think it might be a transmission issue - for that matter, maybe the turbo problem was even a symptom of damage caused by the stuttering rather than a root cause. But with it being intermittent, and no more codes showing up for the dealer at this point, it's not easy to diagnose and/or fix.

The car is two years old with 21k miles on it. I'd consider trying to lemon it, but it was purchased in Texas, and the service was done in California - which I believe puts me in a sort of limbo type situation as far as that is concerned.

Does anyone here have any advice on how to approach this situation? I can keep driving it and see if the problem becomes more severe (and consequently easier to repro) - I still have quite a bit of warranty coverage left, and could just wait and see what happens.

Really, at this point I think I'd just like to get rid of the car, but I wouldn't feel good about selling it to someone else with this problem present.

 

Typical choice of law situation, not limbo. A California state or federal court, or any other court, will apply the law of the state with the greatest relationship to the underlying transaction. It is an issue of law, not fact. I'd hurry my *** up were I you. Crap doesn't smell better over time, it just changes consistency.

 

I traded my '15 C300 in (for a Hyundai Genesis) about 1.5 years ago, because mine was exhibiting very similar behavior as yours after the wrist pin repair. Mine felt like it was starving for gas or I was on and off the accelerator. Plus I lost about 25% power.

I think I gave the dealer (in Georgia) 3 or 4 chances to fix it. The first time they said there was air in the turbo lines and I don't recall their next excuses.

I really liked the car and if I recall correctly, that was the only issue I had in about 15 months of ownership.

So, now I need to downsize my Genny so I'm starting to shop for an '18 C300. Or maybe an A4, can't decide.

 

Ok - I'm going to try contacting a CA lemon law attorney and see what they have to say.

I've never owned a vehicle before that had these kinds of powertrain problems in the first 20k miles. I knew that expensive maintenance is often expected after a Benz gets out of warranty, but I thought it would at least make it that far before running into major problems.

 

What state is it titled and registered in? Did you buy it new?

 

It's now registered in CA. I bought it new.

 

Have you contacted MBUSA yet? They may be able to help in some way. I got trade assistance and a seven year warranty when I replaced my first C300 ... just before it met our lemon law criteria.

 

It is still an issue of law viz most significant relationship, with post sale movements likely fortuitous or even forum shopping.

The forum will apply foreign law, i.e., that of another jurisdiction, if the issue is raised, or its own law if it finds....

 

Ambiguous, but an adequate place to begin: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice_of_law

Most likely, the law of the state where the contract was formed will be applied unless Cali claims such violates its public policy...in Cali, who knows. You can bring suit in any jurisdiction with which your seller has minimum constitutional contacts.

Also, look for a choice of law/arbitration clause in your sale agreement. You may not have a choice of law....