MERCEDES-BENZ C180 · model year

2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C180

6 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2011MERCEDES-BENZC180 carries 6 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2011 C180 is electronic stability control (esc) with 1 filings, followed by electrical system (1) and exterior lighting (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 15 investigation files overlapping the 2011 C180. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

6
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

6 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING1
AIR BAGS1
STRUCTURE:BODY1
SUSPENSION1

Recent Complaints

20210114STRUCTURE:BODY

PROBLEM STARTED TO BECOME APPARENT WHEN THE CAR BEGINS TO MOVE FROM A STOP. A CLUNKING SOUND WAS HEARD NEAR THE REAR RIGHT WHEEL OF THE VEHICLE. ISSUE BECAME MORE PROMINENT ON THE HIGHWAY. WHEN BRAKING AT SPEEDS OVER 40MPH THE REAR END WOULD WAVER AND THE CAR WOULD START TO FISHTAIL. THE PROBLEM WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE REAR SUBFRAME OF THE VEHICLE. THE SUBFRAME WAS COMPLETELY RUSTED WHERE IT IS CONNECTED TO A TORSION LINK. RUST WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT THE PART OF THE SUBFRAME CONNECTED TO THIS SUSPENSION LINK FAILED COMPLETELY AND BROKE AWAY FROM THE REST OF THE SUBFRAME. THIS IS A 9 YEAR OLD CAR AND THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AT 73,000 MILES.

Mileage: 73,000

20210114SUSPENSION

PROBLEM STARTED TO BECOME APPARENT WHEN THE CAR BEGINS TO MOVE FROM A STOP. A CLUNKING SOUND WAS HEARD NEAR THE REAR RIGHT WHEEL OF THE VEHICLE. ISSUE BECAME MORE PROMINENT ON THE HIGHWAY. WHEN BRAKING AT SPEEDS OVER 40MPH THE REAR END WOULD WAVER AND THE CAR WOULD START TO FISHTAIL. THE PROBLEM WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE REAR SUBFRAME OF THE VEHICLE. THE SUBFRAME WAS COMPLETELY RUSTED WHERE IT IS CONNECTED TO A TORSION LINK. RUST WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT THE PART OF THE SUBFRAME CONNECTED TO THIS SUSPENSION LINK FAILED COMPLETELY AND BROKE AWAY FROM THE REST OF THE SUBFRAME. THIS IS A 9 YEAR OLD CAR AND THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AT 73,000 MILES.

Mileage: 73,000

20210112AIR BAGS

ABS LIGHT WAS FIXED, BYT LIGHT IS BACK ON

20200427ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

IT WAS MY IPHONE THAT GOT HACKED FIRST, THERE WERE THESE HEAT LASERS STARTED TO TARGET ME, ONE DAY I WAS SLEEPING IN MY CAR, THE CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING GARAGE, THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR JUST STARTED DEFROSTING. YES, MY DEFROSTS CAME ON AND MY WINDOWS BEGIN TO FOG UP. NEXT, I STARTED TO NOTICE THOSE SAME "HEAT LASERS" THAT WERE TARGETING ME FROM MY IPHONE ARE CONSTANT ON MY HEAD AND STOMACH WHILE I'M DRIVING MY CAR. ALSO, A SYMBOL STARTED TO APPEAR ON MY DASHBOARD, LATER DISCOVER IT WAS THE "AUXILIARY BATTERY" ., THEN MY LIGHTS ARE ALWAYS FLICKING, AND WHEN I HAVE THE HEAT OR AIR CONDITION ON, THEY ARE NOT AS COLD OR HOT, THE TEMP WAS BEING TAMPERED WITH, AS IF THE CAR WAS ADJUSTING THE CONTROLS. NOW, A GREEN LIGHT SYMBOL IS CONSTANTLY APPEARING ON MY DASHBOARD, SO THE HACKERS WERE USING MY "AUXILIARY BATTERY" , NOW THEY ARE USING THE "LIGHTS" ON MY CAR TO TARGET ME NOW. YES, THIS HACKER, HACKED AND IS ATTACKING ME WITH SOME TYPE OF LASER WHILE DRIVING MY

20200427ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

IT WAS MY IPHONE THAT GOT HACKED FIRST, THERE WERE THESE HEAT LASERS STARTED TO TARGET ME, ONE DAY I WAS SLEEPING IN MY CAR, THE CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING GARAGE, THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR JUST STARTED DEFROSTING. YES, MY DEFROSTS CAME ON AND MY WINDOWS BEGIN TO FOG UP. NEXT, I STARTED TO NOTICE THOSE SAME "HEAT LASERS" THAT WERE TARGETING ME FROM MY IPHONE ARE CONSTANT ON MY HEAD AND STOMACH WHILE I'M DRIVING MY CAR. ALSO, A SYMBOL STARTED TO APPEAR ON MY DASHBOARD, LATER DISCOVER IT WAS THE "AUXILIARY BATTERY" ., THEN MY LIGHTS ARE ALWAYS FLICKING, AND WHEN I HAVE THE HEAT OR AIR CONDITION ON, THEY ARE NOT AS COLD OR HOT, THE TEMP WAS BEING TAMPERED WITH, AS IF THE CAR WAS ADJUSTING THE CONTROLS. NOW, A GREEN LIGHT SYMBOL IS CONSTANTLY APPEARING ON MY DASHBOARD, SO THE HACKERS WERE USING MY "AUXILIARY BATTERY" , NOW THEY ARE USING THE "LIGHTS" ON MY CAR TO TARGET ME NOW. YES, THIS HACKER, HACKED AND IS ATTACKING ME WITH SOME TYPE OF LASER WHILE DRIVING MY

20200427EXTERIOR LIGHTING

IT WAS MY IPHONE THAT GOT HACKED FIRST, THERE WERE THESE HEAT LASERS STARTED TO TARGET ME, ONE DAY I WAS SLEEPING IN MY CAR, THE CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING GARAGE, THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR JUST STARTED DEFROSTING. YES, MY DEFROSTS CAME ON AND MY WINDOWS BEGIN TO FOG UP. NEXT, I STARTED TO NOTICE THOSE SAME "HEAT LASERS" THAT WERE TARGETING ME FROM MY IPHONE ARE CONSTANT ON MY HEAD AND STOMACH WHILE I'M DRIVING MY CAR. ALSO, A SYMBOL STARTED TO APPEAR ON MY DASHBOARD, LATER DISCOVER IT WAS THE "AUXILIARY BATTERY" ., THEN MY LIGHTS ARE ALWAYS FLICKING, AND WHEN I HAVE THE HEAT OR AIR CONDITION ON, THEY ARE NOT AS COLD OR HOT, THE TEMP WAS BEING TAMPERED WITH, AS IF THE CAR WAS ADJUSTING THE CONTROLS. NOW, A GREEN LIGHT SYMBOL IS CONSTANTLY APPEARING ON MY DASHBOARD, SO THE HACKERS WERE USING MY "AUXILIARY BATTERY" , NOW THEY ARE USING THE "LIGHTS" ON MY CAR TO TARGET ME NOW. YES, THIS HACKER, HACKED AND IS ATTACKING ME WITH SOME TYPE OF LASER WHILE DRIVING MY

Compare 2011MERCEDES-BENZC180 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C180 have?
The 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C180 has 6 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C180?
The most-complained component for the 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C180 is ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and EXTERIOR LIGHTING.
Is the 2011 MERCEDES-BENZ C180 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.