2009 Mercedes Benz C63 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (4) · Engine (2) · Electrical System (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mercedes Benz C63 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-01-10 · campaign 17V017000 · 104,119 vehicles
Defect: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2012 C300 4Matic, C250, C250 Coupe, C350, C350 Coupe 4Matic, C350 Coupe, C63 AMG, C63 AMG Coupe, E350 Coupe 4Matic, E350 Cabrio, E350 Coupe, E550 Cabrio, E550 Coupe, GLK350 4Matic, GLK350, SLS AMG Cabrio, and SLS AMG Coupe vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag modules, free of charge. Owners were sent an interim notification in March 2017. Second notices started going out in October 2018 and continue to be mailed as parts become available. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-877-496-3691
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2016-05-26 · campaign 16V363000 · 258,163 vehicles
Defect: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 C300 Sedan, C300 4matic Sedan, C350 Sedan, C63 AMG Sedan vehicles, 2010-2011 GLK350, GLK350 4-Matic and E350 Coupe vehicles, 2011 SLS AMG, E350 Convertible, E550 Coupe and E550 Convertible vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin I
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag modules, free of charge. Owners were sent an interim notification October 2016. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts are available. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-877-496-3691.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2016-02-11 · campaign 16V081000 · 711,159 vehicles
Defect: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 ML320 BlueTec 4Matic, GL320 BlueTec 4Matic and R320 CDI 4Matic, 2011 E350 Cabriolet and E550 Cabriolet, 2009-2011 ML350, ML350 4Matic, ML550 4Matic, ML63 AMG, and C63 AMG, 2010-2011 ML450 4Matic Hybrid, E350 Coupe, E350 4Matic, E550 Coupe, E550 4Matic, and E63 AMG, 2011-2012 GL350 BlueTec 4Matic and R350 BlueTec 4Matic, 2009-2012 GL450 4Matic, GL550 4Matic and R350 4Matic, 2007-2008 SLK280, SLK350, and SLK55 AMG, 2011-201
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: MBUSA will their notify owners, and Fiat Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler owners. Dealers for the respective brands will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. This recall began November 2016. Mercedes-Benz owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372 and Chrysler owners may contact Fiat Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403.
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2015-10-27 · campaign 15V711000 · 127,504 vehicles
Defect: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 C300 Sedan, C300 4Matic, C63 AMG, and C350 vehicles, and 2010 GLK350 and GLK350 4Matic vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the air bag control unit may corrode and cause the control unit to malfunction.
Risk: The malfunctioning air bag control unit may cause the air bags to unexpectedly deploy increasing the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash. Alternatively, the air bag control unit malfunction may cause the air bags to not deploy in the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Fix: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bag control unit and replace it, as necessary, free of charge. Mercedes-Benz issued an interim notification to owners on December 23, 2015. The recall began on March 14, 2016. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.
Exterior Lighting:tail Lights 2014-04-11 · campaign 14V177000 · 252,867 vehicles
Defect: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Mercedes) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 C300, C300 4Matic, C350, and C63 AMG vehicles manufactured January 26, 2007, through July 13, 2011. In the affected vehicles, a poor electrical ground connection may result in the dimming or failure of the tail lights.
Risk: Dimming or failure of the tail lights reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions of stopping or turning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Mercedes will notify owners, and dealers will replace the bulb holders if not previously updated and replace any corroded connectors, free of charge. The recall began on August, 18, 2014. Owners may contact Mercedes at 1-800-367-6372.
Service bulletins (101)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Service Brakes 2026-09-22 · LI42.10-P-078779 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint repeat workshop visit for vehicle vibration while braking from 60mph. note: although the symptom is similar to a tire or wheel vibration, it is usually readily noticeable that it is distinctly different if it happens at all times or only while braking. cause although the cause of the vibra
Structure:body 2026-09-14 · LI82.62-P-078631 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint clanking noise from the area of the speakers in the doors. cause under analysis. remedy to narrow down the cause, first of all remove the door trim. • if the noise continues to occur even with the door trim removed, then continue the diagnosis working towards the speaker and if necessary,
Structure:body 2026-08-06 · LI82.62-P-078631 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint clanking noise from the area of the speakers in the doors. cause under analysis. remedy to narrow down the cause, first of all remove the door trim. • if the noise continues to occur even with the door trim removed, then continue the diagnosis working towards the speaker and if necessary,
Wheels 2026-07-21 · LI40.10-P-059248 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint crackling and cracking noise from the outer wheel on the front axle when cornering cause the noise is generated by a micromovement on the contact surface between the rim and the brake disk (wheel bolt group) and may be intensified by potential soiling. the more lightweight rim (amg forged
Power Train 2026-07-14 · LI35.30-P-058566 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
single throttle lift-off clunking noise from the side shaft when moving off (audible at the outboard end). the noise is heard once in each instance when changing direction of travel. note: sound file in attachment cause if the complaint is eliminated by experimentally loosening the outboard collar n
Visibility/Wiper 2026-05-19 · LI82.30-P-059239 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint there are several types of complaint about noises or poor windshield wiper wiping performance: a: wiper blades squeaking, chattering, shuddering b: the windshield is not wiped completely (streaking) c: during the downward movement water is pulled back onto the windshield from the a-pillar
Showing the 6 most recent of 101 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2021-09-05 · Visibility/Wiper“glass sunroof while driving, heard a loud bang/pop, glass sunroof began to shatter, and fall onto me, creating a unsafe conditions. pulled over immediately and closed plastic sunshade to prevent entire glass window from collapsing on top of me. particles of glass and finite glass dust covered interior, and my person. reported to local police dept,…”
2018-09-04 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz c63. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v081000 (air bags). the dealer (mercedes-benz of calabasas, 24181 calabasas rd, calabasas, ca 91302, 855-744-2458) was contacted and confirmed that parts were not available. the manufacturer was not notified. the contact had n…”
2018-06-20 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz c63. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 16v363000 (air bags) and 16v081000 (air bags); however, the parts to remedy the recall were not available. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. mercedes-benz of p…”
2018-04-24 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz c63. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 16v363000 (air bags) and 16v081000 (air bags); however, the parts needed for the repairs were not available. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. the contact call…”
2016-12-12 · Electrical System“electronic steering lock failure common problem…”
2016-08-25 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz c63. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 16v081000 (air bags) and 16v363000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. the manufacturer…”
2015-05-14 · Engine · 45,000 mi“cel illumination, engine misfire, stalling, rough running, low coolant indicator light ups. no external coolant loss detectable. coolant in the engine oil and/or in the combustion chamber. this is caused by a broken cylinder head bolt. engine coolant enters into engine oil. coolant might be present in the combustion chamber. affected engine nu…”
2014-04-15 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 42,000 mi“as i was driving i had a light come on my dash telling me i had low coolant and that i needed to have it filled. this has happened a number of times since my short ownership of this vehicle. from what i understand this is a sealed unit and should not be losing antifreeze anywhere. i had the vehicle looked at and i do not have any leaks whatsoever.…”
2014-04-11 · Engine · 43,639 mi“the vehicle experienced a headbolt failure resulting in coolant flooding one of the cylinder, leaking inside the engine and causing engine failure. i was lucky that i was driving at 20mph at the time of the failure, otherwise it would most likely result in a crash. mercedes-benz usa denies the widespread nature of the problem affecting all of the…”
2013-12-15 · Exterior Lighting · 51,000 mi“brown wire in left tail light connector melted through the connector and tail light failed to operate, including turn signal. *tr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.