Mercedes-Benz air bags problems
Across all Mercedes-Benz models in NHTSA's complaint database, 4,548 complaints involve air bags. The C300 accounts for the largest share (27%). The single worst model year is the 2008 C300 with 271 air bags complaints.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 4,548 about air bags, all Mercedes-Benz models
- Most affected
- C300 27% of these complaints
- Typical mileage
- 64,000 miles 1,160 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 474 and 24
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Which Mercedes-Benz models
Worst model years for air bags
- 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300271 complaints
- 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300250 complaints
- 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300202 complaints
- 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300188 complaints
- 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250168 complaints
Air bags complaints by model year
View the numbers
| Model year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 6 |
| 1991 | 11 |
| 1992 | 2 |
| 1993 | 8 |
| 1994 | 9 |
| 1995 | 20 |
| 1996 | 12 |
| 1997 | 30 |
| 1998 | 19 |
| 1999 | 51 |
| 2000 | 69 |
| 2001 | 49 |
| 2002 | 25 |
| 2003 | 68 |
| 2004 | 35 |
| 2005 | 104 |
| 2006 | 104 |
| 2007 | 112 |
| 2008 | 368 |
| 2009 | 296 |
| 2010 | 580 |
| 2011 | 649 |
| 2012 | 605 |
| 2013 | 493 |
| 2014 | 357 |
| 2015 | 169 |
| 2016 | 105 |
| 2017 | 70 |
| 2018 | 31 |
| 2019 | 28 |
| 2020 | 23 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2023 | 9 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 3 |
| 2026 | 4 |
Among the 1,160 of these complaints that report mileage, the median is about 64,000 miles.
Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many vehicles each brand sells, so large brands naturally have more complaints.