Skip to content
Emergency

Before you buy a used Mercedes-Benz Clase C (W204).

2007–2014 · Petrol / Diesel · 6 engines

Taken only from Testigo's sourced sheets. Use it to question the seller and on the test drive: it does not confirm that any particular car is affected.

Mercedes-Benz Clase C (W204), real photo of this generation
MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo source

The essentials.

Typical faults by engine

The period and mileage are those mentioned by each sheet's sources. They are not a maintenance interval and do not predict that any particular car will fail.

All versions

Sheets the catalogue links to all 6 of its engines.

  • 7G-Tronic conductor plateGearbox
    Period mentioned
    2004 onwards (more failures in 2004–2008)
    Mileage mentioned
    The sheet does not mention a mileage.

    Applies if: Only if fitted with 7G-Tronic. Confirm the gearbox type.

C 180 / 200 / 250 (M271)

Petrol

C 200 / 220 CDI (OM646, hasta 2009)

Diesel

C 200 / 220 / 250 CDI (OM651, desde 2009)

Diesel

C 320 / 350 CDI (OM642)

Diesel

C 350 (M272, 3.5 V6)

Petrol

  • M272 / M273 balance shaft sprocketTiming system
    Period mentioned
    2004–2008 (engines below serial number 2729..30 468993)
    Mileage mentioned
    The sheet does not mention a mileage.

C 63 AMG (M156, 6.2 V8)

Petrol

Which engine has the fewest documented faults?

Documented faults and recalls by engine for the Mercedes-Benz Clase C (W204)
EngineDocumented faults
C 180 / 200 / 250 (M271)Petrol21 with conditions
C 200 / 220 CDI (OM646, hasta 2009)Diesel21 with conditions
C 200 / 220 / 250 CDI (OM651, desde 2009)Diesel21 with conditions
C 320 / 350 CDI (OM642)Diesel21 with conditions
C 350 (M272, 3.5 V6)Petrol21 with conditions
C 63 AMG (M156, 6.2 V8)Petrol21 with conditions

According to the data we have, all its engines have the same number of documented faults.

We only count the sourced sheets we have. An engine with fewer is not guaranteed to be more reliable: it may have been studied less or sold in smaller numbers.

Official recalls: ask before you pay

We have no official recalls on record for this model. Our list is not complete: ask anyway, with the chassis number.

  1. Ask the seller for the chassis number (VIN): it has 17 characters, appears in the car's documents and can usually also be seen at the base of the windscreen.
  2. Ask an official Mercedes-Benz dealer, or the brand's official website if it lets you check by chassis number, whether each recall has been done or is still outstanding for that VIN.
  3. Manufacturer recalls are normally carried out free of charge by the official service network. If one is outstanding, ask for it to be done before you close the sale.

On the test drive: what to look and listen for

Taken from each sheet's symptoms and checks. You can tick off what you have already looked at: it is saved only in this browser.

0 of 7 checked

Timing system

  • Look out for: Rattle for 2–3 seconds or more on a cold start; engine light for camshaft timing deviation.

    Ask them to check: Listen to a cold start, read timing fault codes and check the chain replacement history.

  • Look out for: Engine light with P0016 and P0017 (1200 and 1208 on Mercedes diagnostics), rattle on start-up, hesitation, misfires and, in severe cases, stalling.

    Ask them to check: Compare the engine serial number with the 2729..30 468993 cut-off, read cam correlation codes and, if in doubt, inspect the sprocket with a borescope. First rule out the cam adjuster magnet (a cheap fault).

Injection / intake

  • Look out for: Puffing or “chuffing” at idle, a diesel smell under the engine cover and a hard black crust around the injectors; power loss from sooted intake flaps or turbo.

    Ask them to check: Remove the engine cover and look for black residue around the injectors, listen at idle and check the intake flaps.

Timing / injection

  • Look out for: Chain rattle on a cold start; on early units, loud injector knocking; coolant loss from the plastic coolant manifold or the EGR cooler.

    Ask them to check: Listen to a cold start, check the dealer's injector campaign history and check the coolant level.

Oil leaks / injectors

  • Look out for: Oil pooling in the engine's V, burning oil smell, drips under the engine; or a hiss or chirp next to an injector with an exhaust smell.

    Ask them to check: Visual inspection of the engine's V and the base of the injectors.

Engine (cylinder head / valvetrain)

  • Look out for: Coolant loss, coolant in the oil or white smoke (broken head bolts); rattle or ticking on start-up (camshaft and lifter wear).

    Ask them to check: Overnight cooling system pressure test, oil analysis and camshaft inspection with a borescope.

Gearbox

  • Look out for: Gearbox stuck in 2nd or 3rd (limp mode), harsh shifts, delay engaging D or R, gearbox warning often without an engine light; turning off and restarting clears it for a while.

    Ask them to check: Diagnose with Xentry/STAR to see the sub-codes (a basic reader only shows P0700). Check for oil in the gearbox connector.

OBD codes worth looking for

If they let you read the fault memory with an OBD reader, these are the codes mentioned in this model's sheets:

P0016P001712001208P0700P0705P0706P0710P0717P0718

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from these Testigo sheets and their original sources. Sources are not checked in real time.

More Mercedes-Benz buying guides

View the model pageAll buying guides