AutoUtility currently tracks 253 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 74 complaints (29.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 12 filings cite a crash, 3 cite a fire, 13 report one or more injuries. The 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class belongs to the 4th Generation (W205) platform.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 253 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (74 reports • 29.2% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (41), Fuel & Propulsion System (35)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 12 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 13 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
253
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
12
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
3
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
13
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 29.2% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

74 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#2 Problem Area 16.2% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

41 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 7 crash reports 🩹 7 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 13.8% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

35 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 1 fire report
#4 Problem Area 13.8% of complaints

Electrical System

35 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🔥 2 fire reports
#5 Problem Area 10.3% of complaints

Body & Structure

26 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11759861
1 Injury Entry Filed: 08/26/2026

"The convertible roof gets stuck partially in open or closed position. It has to be forced closed. The vehicle is always garaged and the convertible was used very carefully but still has been troublesome from the beginning"

Incident Date: 07/19/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11753176
Filed: 07/27/2026

"2017 Mercedes c300 the switchover valve in the diagnostic module of the evaporative emission control system is jammed open. This issue was called for recall for models 2018 or later, but 2017 was not part of it."

Incident Date: 07/27/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11738037
Fire Cited Filed: 05/15/2026

"The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz C300. While driving at approximately 15 mph, the contact observed smoke emanating from under the hood. The vehicle was driven to her work location and parked. Upon exiting the vehicle and opening the hood, she observed orange flames coming from the engine..."

Incident Date: 10/29/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11735746
Filed: 05/05/2026

"strong evident fuel/ gas smell when driving and when the car is in park after driving."

Incident Date: 05/01/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11725960
Filed: 03/20/2026

"Check engine light for P052E which has been coming and going off for years now. Now the check engine light is there permanently. I spoke to Mercedes Benz customer service and requested for them to fix the problem now that the light is on permanently but they refuse to fix it because the car has..."

Incident Date: 03/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 441 11 14 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 315 7 14 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Current Page 253 12 17 Current
2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 0 0 19 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 75 3 16 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 46 5 12 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 16 0 7 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 26 1 9 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 25 2 10 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 15 2 3 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 4 0 2 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 61 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 51 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 0 1 4 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 20 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 19 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 17 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 9 4 0 4 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 9 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 8 1 0 2 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 7 0 0 2 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 5 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 5 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 0 1 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 4 0 0 1 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,COMMUNICATION 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 1 0
STRUCTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (253). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.