Sourced from both NHTSA (US) and Transport Canada. 16 of these are critical and require prompt attention. All recall repairs are free at an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer — bring your VIN to confirm which apply to your vehicle.
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Issue: On certain vehicles, the plastic panel located between the windshield and the panoramic sunroof may not have been attached correctly during a prior service repair. Over time, the panel could loosen and separate from the vehicle. Note: This is an expansion of Transport Canada recall 2021-170. Safety Risk: A panel that detaches from a moving vehicle could create a road hazard for others and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the front roof panel.
2023673 · 110 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Due to a manufacturing issue, an electrical wire may have been routed incorrectly in the engine compartment causing damage to its insulation and resulting in a short circuit.
A short circuit may cause a fire and could increase the risk of an accident, serious injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users and bystanders, and/or damage to property.
Consumers are asked to contact their most convenient Mercedes-Benz dealership to have the work carried out as soon as possible at no cost to them. A full list of authorised dealerships can be found at www.mercedes-benz.com.au Alternatively, bookings can be made online at www.merecedes-benz.com.au/servicebooking
REC-005420 · 887 units · NHTSA
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Issue: On certain vehicles, the plastic panel located between the windshield and the panoramic sunroof may not have been attached correctly during a prior service repair. Over time, the panel could loosen and separate from the vehicle. Safety Risk: A panel that detaches from a moving vehicle could create a road hazard for others and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to replace the front roof panel.
2021170 · 229 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Issue: On certain C-Class cabriolet models equipped with the PRE-SAFE system, the front seat belts may not retract completely to their storage position. Canadian regulations require seat belts to retract fully when not in use. Safety Risk: If the seat belt does not fully retract, the occupant may find the operation of the seat belt inconvenient and not wear it. This could increase the risk of injury in a crash. Corrective Actions: Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to inspect the function of the front seat belt retractors and adjust the dampening foam, if necessary.
2021045 · 3,038 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Issue: On certain vehicles, a software problem could cause the rearview camera image not to appear on the central display. Canadian regulations require the rearview image to display when the transmission is shifted into reverse gear. Safety Risk: A rearview camera image that does not display could reduce a driver's ability to see behind the vehicle while backing up. This could increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to update the head unit software.
2021041 · 41,731 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
The headlight adjustment may not be correct.
The deviation in the headlight adjustment may lead to a reduction or an enlargement of the illumination. In the case of headlights that are adjusted too low, the visual range during driving would be reduced. In the case of headlights that are adjusted too high, oncoming traffic could be dazzled. Incorrect adjustment of the headlights may increase the risk of an accident, which could result in injury or death of vehicle occupants or other road users.
Consumers are asked to contact their most convenient Mercedes-Benz Retailer for a free of charge inspection and adjustment, if required. To find a local Mercedes-Benz retailer, visit https://www.mercedes-benz.com.au/passengercars/mercedes-benz-cars/dealer-locator.html
REC-000974 · 291 units · NHTSA
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Issue: On certain vehicles, there may be a problem with the front seat belt buckles. This could cause the seat belt warnings to turn on, even if the front seat belts are buckled. If the driver ignores these warnings, the PRE-SAFE and airbag systems may not function properly. Safety Risk: A seat belt pretensioner or airbag system that does not work properly in a crash could increase the risk of injury. Corrective Actions: Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to check the front seat belt buckles and replace them if necessary.
2019554 · 3,569 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Issue: On certain vehicles, the 12-volt starter battery may not be properly secured by its mounting bracket. In a crash, the battery may shift and the terminals might disconnect. This could interrupt power to the vehicle, which would affect multiple post-crash systems. It is also possible that the battery could detach from the vehicle. Note: A loose battery could cause rattling or knocking noises from the engine compartment while driving. Safety Risk: A failure of the post-crash systems could increase the risk of injury. A battery that detaches from the vehicle could create a road hazard for others and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to replace the battery mounting bracket.
2019398 · 1,818 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Lock nuts with possible production deviations may have been installed in the steering system of certain vehicles.
Affected locknuts could break and the steering could lock. This would increase the risk of an accident.
Consumers are requested to contact their most convenient authorised Mercedes-Benz Dealer for a free of charge repair. To find a local Mercedes-Benz dealer, visit https://www.dealerlocator.mercedes-benz.com.au/
REC-000933 · 1,056 units · NHTSA
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Issue: On certain coupe and cabriolet models, the front seatbacks may not fully lock on the right side. In a crash, a seatback that is not properly locked could allow unsecured objects from the rear seats to move forward. Safety Risk: A seatback that is not properly locked could increase the risk of injury in a crash. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect front seatbacks and replace them as necessary. Note: This is an expansion of Recall 2018-161.
2019091 · 3,713 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
The ESP software may not meet the specifications. In certain scenarios the brake lights may be permanently activated and a warning message about the brake light malfunction would be displayed in the instrument cluster. As a result, the ESP function would be deactivated and the parking brake could no longer be moved from its current position.
If the parking brake was not to activate when occupants are leaving the vehicle, the vehicle could continue to move. The ESP function would also not be available. As a result, there may be an increased risk of accident and injury to occupants of the vehicle and other road users/property.
Consumers are requested to contact their most convenient Mercedes-Benz retailer for a free of charge repair. To find a local Mercedes-Benz dealer, visit https://www.dealerlocator.mercedes-benz.com.au
REC-000929 · 2,442 units · NHTSA
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain vehicles, the locking status of the steering coupling may not have been verified during assembly. If not correctly locked, the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and steering rack could loosen while driving, potentially resulting in complete loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will inspect the steering coupling and lock it, if necessary.
2018685 · 2 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain C 63 models, a locknut in the steering rack may be defective. If the nut fails, the steering could become stuck, which would increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the steering rack.
2018657 · 57 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain vehicles equipped with an Audio 20 head unit and automatic child seat recognition, the status of the passenger airbag may not be displayed correctly. For example, the display may indicate that an airbag is turned off when it is not. This could create a situation where a child or small-statured occupant is inadvertently placed in front of an active airbag. This could increase the risk of injury in a crash. Correction: Dealers will update the audio head unit software.
2018656 · 529 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain coupe and cabriolet models, the switches that detect if a seat belt is buckled may not function properly. This could cause a buckled seat belt to be incorrectly detected as unbuckled. In the event of a crash, this could cause the seat belt tensioning system not to work as designed, increasing the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the affected seat belt buckles.
2018655 · 377 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain vehicles, an incorrect cover for the starter battery may have been installed and may not fully cover the battery (positive) electrical cable. In the event of a crash, components could come in to contact with the cable, creating a short circuit, and increasing the risk of a fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Additionally, if on-board electrical system voltage is lost, post-crash functions (e.g. emergency door unlocking, activation of hazard warning lamps after crash) might not be available. However, the unlocking and opening of the doors from inside the vehicle would not be affected. Correction: Dealers will install a new battery cover with the correct dimensions to cover the electrical cable.
2018564 · 363 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain vehicles, the rear window may not have been properly bonded and could separate from the vehicle. This could create a road hazard and pose a risk to other road users, increasing the risk of crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will remove and re-install the rear window.
2018488 · 188 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
Certain vehicles equipped with a 6-cylinder gasoline engine and all-wheel drive may have been built with incorrect paneling under the engine compartment. This could result in contact between the exhaust system and the plastic paneling, which could create a risk of fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will check the underbody paneling and replace it, if necessary.
2018370 · 10 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain cabriolet models, the rear beltline body trim could separate from the vehicle. If this occurs while the vehicle is in motion, it could create a potential road hazard that could increase the risk of injury for other road users or bystanders. Correction: Dealers will check the rear beltline trim and replace it, if necessary.
2018368 · 1,239 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
On certain vehicles, the seatbacks of the front seats may not fully lock on the right-hand side of the respective seat. If the seatback is improperly locked, in the event of a crash, unsecured objects in the rear seats might not be held back and the risk of injury to the front occupants would be increased. Correction: Dealers will inspect the locking of the front seatbacks, and replace the seatbacks as necessary. Note: This recall is superseded by recall 2019091. Please see <a href="http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/7/VRDB-BDRV/search-recherche/detail.aspx?lang=eng&&rn=2019091">recall 2019091</a> for more information.
2018161 · 710 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain vehicles equipped with AMG Performance Seats, the welding between the backrest rail and the backrest metal fitting of the driver and/or passenger seat might not meet specifications. The metal fitting may disengage from the backrest rail, which could increase the risk of injury to front seat occupants in the event of a crash. Correction: Dealers will inspect the backrest frames of the front seats, and replace them as necessary. Note: This recall affects C43 AMG, C63 and E63 AMG models only.
2018113 · 7 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
Critical safety notice — contact your dealer immediately.
On certain vehicles, electrostatic discharge, when combined with a broken clock spring and insufficient grounding of the steering components, could lead to an inadvertent deployment of the driver's frontal airbag. Unintended airbag deployment, in a non-warranted (non-impact) situation, could startle the driver, which could result in a crash causing injury and/or property damage. In some instances, inadvertent deployment could cause minor injuries to vehicle occupants. Correction: Dealers will add sufficient grounding to the steering components. Note: A broken clock spring would result in a driver airbag warning message appearing in the instrument cluster, as well as a red airbag warning lamp illuminating.
2017490 · 76,728 units · Transport Canada
Free repair at an authorized dealer
2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class recall questions
The 2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class has 22 known safety recalls. 16 are classified as critical and may require immediate attention. We recommend checking with your dealer using your specific VIN for the most accurate information.
Yes, all manufacturer safety recalls for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class are repaired completely free of charge at any authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership. This includes parts, labor, and any related expenses regardless of your vehicle's current mileage or whether you're the original owner.
The best way to check is to enter your 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) in our search tool above. You can also contact any authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer directly with your VIN. Some recalls only affect vehicles manufactured during specific date ranges or with certain equipment configurations.
Contact your nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership to schedule a repair appointment. For critical recalls marked "Do Not Drive," park your vehicle safely and arrange for service immediately. Bring your recall notice or VIN to the appointment. Parts availability may vary, so schedule early.
It depends on the specific recall. Your vehicle has 16 critical recalls that may advise against driving until repaired. Always read the recall details carefully. For critical safety issues, park the vehicle and contact your dealer immediately.
Safety recalls for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class remain open indefinitely - there is no expiration date. Even if your vehicle is many years old or has high mileage, authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers must perform the recall repair free of charge whenever you bring it in.
Recall repairs must be performed at an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership. Any Mercedes-Benz dealer in the US or Canada can perform the repair, regardless of where you purchased the vehicle. Contact your preferred dealer to schedule an appointment.
Manufacturers are required to notify registered owners by mail when new recalls are issued. However, if you've moved or bought the vehicle used, you may not receive notices. We recommend checking periodically using your VIN and registering with NHTSA for recall alerts.
Related recall checks
Compare recall history with competitors and alternatives to the 2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.