Model years Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
This year drew an ordinary 632 complaints for a Mercedes-Benz C-Class — the model's median is 254. What they were about is the unusual part: 28.6% of them mention valve, against 7.9% across the model's other years.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 632 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 254 |
| Involving a crash | 14 |
| Involving a fire | 10 |
| Recalls | 0 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 27.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- valve — 28.6% of this year's complaints, against 7.9% across the model's other years (3.6×). Owners wrote it as: valve, crankcase, p052e, ventilation.
- cabin — 12% of this year's complaints, against 4.1% across the model's other years (2.9×). Owners wrote it as: cabin, inside, heater.
- odor — 6.3% of this year's complaints, against 2.5% across the model's other years (2.5×). Owners wrote it as: odor, fuel system, entering.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
Check engine light and error code P052E - Positive Crankcase Ventilation regulator Valve Performance. Within a year of having the same error code repaired using warranty, I'm again getting the same error code. This is a very expensive repair costing upwards of…
My check engine light popped on with code p052E for the Positive Crankcase Ventilation Regulator Valve Performance.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class? What happened to yours?
Loading comments…