2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 electrical system problems
43 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the electrical system on the 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 — 9% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“The electronic steering wheel lock went out causing the car to not start. Upon checking the Internet to see if anyone else was having this problem I found that it was a problem many Mercedes Benz owners have had and it's an expensive one. It's not just with my particular model and it's not limited…”
filed Aug 25, 2025
“The ESL or electronic steering lock is a very common issue with this year and model at around the 70k mile mark. You cannot start the car once this goes out and it’s over $2k to fix”
filed May 2, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related recalls
- Various control units on these vehicles may have been updated with incorrect software…Campaign 17V177000 · Mar 14, 2017
Electrical System problems in other C300 years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 C300 | 32 | 11% |
| 2015 C300 | 50 | 13% |
| 2014 C300 | 9 | 10% |
| 2013 C300 | 18 | 7% |
| 2012 C300 | 12 | 5% |
| 2010 C300 | 84 | 19% |
| 2009 C300 | 198 | 34% |
| 2008 C300 | 228 | 34% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.