NHTSA complaint: 2010 MERCEDES-BENZ C300 — STRUCTURE:BODY
I ONLY HAVE 30,000 MILES ON MY 2010 C300. THE DRIVER INTERIOR DOOR LATCH BROKE LEAVING ME UNABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR. I TOOK TO DEALER AND I EVEN HAD AN EXTENDED BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY TILL 60,000 MILES... THE DEALER OR THE WARRANTY WOULD NOT COVER MY DOOR LATCH, STATING IT IS WEAR AND TEAR... THIS PART IS CHEAP PLASTIC, THAT IS PULLED ON NUMEROUS TIMES A DAY. PLASTIC IS NOT DURABLE, ESPECIALLY IN STATES WITH MULTIPLE EXTREMES IN TEMPERATURES. IT WAS $150 JUST TO REMOVE THE DOOR PANEL BY THE MERCEDES DEALER TO TELL ME THAT IT WOULD NOT BE COVERED. THEY TOLD ME THAT THE PART IS $618 PLUS LABOR, MAKING THE TOTAL CLOSE TO $1000. I HAVE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, LUPUS AND POLYMYOSITIS, MAKING IT PAINFUL TO TRY AND REACH OUT AN OPEN WINDOW TO OPEN DOOR BY USING EXTERIOR HANDLE. I RECENTLY HAD A DEAD BATTERY AND NEEDED TO BE INSIDE MY CAR FOR SAFETY, BUT WAS UNABLE THEN TO OPEN CAR UNTIL HELP CAME. I COULD NOT PHYSICALLY CLIMB OVER CENTER CONSOLE TO GO OUT PASSENGER SIDE. LIVING IN A STATE WITH EXTREME TEMPERATURES, THIS COULD BE FATAL. AFTER RESEARCHING MY PROBLEM, MANY HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE. 17 ON THIS SITE ALONE. THIS IS NOT WEAR AND TEAR! THE HANDLE IS CHEAP PLASTIC, THAT BRAKES VERY EASILY. PLEASE HELP, THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE SAFETY REPAIR! I HAVE EVEN HEARD OF SOME PEOPLE HAVING MULTIPLE DOOR HANDLES ON THEIR CAR BREAK.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation