2003 Mercedes-Benz C230 engine problems
Owners reported engine problems in 24 complaints for the 2003 Mercedes-Benz C230, 32% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 24 32% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 22 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When engine problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 22 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 66,000 miles, and 41% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 3 fires.
What owners wrote
The 2003 mercerdes benz 300c engine suddenly caught on fire while driving it to work. The car stalled, flames shoot out the front hood, the car would not restart, so I coasted to the firm. I opened the hood to see blue flames shoopt 20 feet in the air. A passerby tried to put out the firwe unsucessfully with a fire extiquisher. The flames got hotter and shot 60 feet in the air, and police and fire department responded and were finally able to put out the fire .
At 178,000 miles the timing chain tensioner failed while the car driving approximately 25 MPH and allowed the timing chain to skip several teeth leaving the car stranded and potentially causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to the engine internals. The car was dealer serviced since new and always had maintenance on time.