Airbag complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Me, [redacted], and my ex-wife went to buy this car from a auto auction, plate where out state, but I figure wouldn't cost me much to register, bought it February 6, 2021 and I am kind of short in money to register car but then couple week after driving check engine pop up so I had free check engine by auto zone parts, so then it wasn't serious needed change oil change and filters, so I drove more so everything was going good ready for smoke check, but i didn't have the money so I ask my ex-wife to let me borrow money around May of month, so I was driving to her home, and out of no where I got hit in the front driver side lower fender from some silver low profile car, I was going 30's mile street but when I got hit by anomies driver the driver side bag pop up and also the passenger side too!! …
The contact owned a 2007 Mercedes Benz C230. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V918000 (Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The manufacturer was notified. The local dealer was not contacted regarding the matter.
Tl* Takata recall. The contact owned a 2006 Mercedes-Benz C230. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a side impact collision with a firetruck. The air bags deployed. There were three injuries that required medical attention. The front driver sustained lacerations to the face due to the air bag deployment, the passenger sustained brain damage, and the rear passenger sustained moderate bruising and pain. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard where it was deemed destroyed. The contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 16V081000 (air bags) after the crash. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. *
Tl contact owns a 2006 Mercedes Benz C230. While merging onto an intersection at 10 MPH, another vehicle crashed directly into the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle sustained severe damage. None of the air bags deployed and the seat belts failed to retract properly. Three occupants were moderately injured. The contact has a copy of the police report and pictures of the failed incident. He is in the process of calling the manufacturer in reference to NHTSA campaign id numbers 05V560000 (air bags). The failure and current mileages were 51,000.
The SAM system failed and car would not start !It took months to be diagnosed by 3 different mechanics! The message said quite often that the Air bags have been deployed !The dealer could not determine the issue! There have been various recalls on the Takata air bags stating my C230 2005 Kompressor is included in the recall over the last few years and when I put in the vin it says my car is not included! My mechanic said I should take it to the dealer before someone is killed. All I want now is to have these airbags replaced! Thank you [redacted]
Takata recall I was involved in an accident on jan 3, 2015 in my 05 mer Benz C230 the airbag exploded causing smoke and dust like particals I immedietly got off the car from that point on the car has been sitting tottalled I recently recieved a recall notification on 2/11/2016 I find it hard to believe this is the date this was figured out due to my settlement back in feb 2015 the insurance company submitted a market value report on my vehicle deducting 2 recalls from my car one being the airbag and this was a year before Mercedes even notified there customers. I have severe asthma and could not believe an airbag would contain the trash it didl. Its going on 2 years and my car is still sitting on lot unreparied with airbag inflated this is unbelievable I have documents showing I was complaining about the airbag before Takata even thought of mentioning there defect shame on you.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz C230. The contact stated that he was driving approximately 30 MPH when he crashed into a tree that had fallen in the street. The air bags did not deploy and he suffered four broken bones as a result; the vehicle was also destroyed. He was told by the manufacturer that the secondary thresholds were not exceeded to deploy the air bags. An independent inspector stated that the air bags should have deployed. The vehicle identification number was not available. The current and failure mileages were approximately 120,000. Updated 3/24/10 updated 06/11/10.
Dt: the contact states the airbag system failed twice in the past ten months. The onboard computer said SRS warning did not drive at that time,. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. There was a code reset in the computer. This happened again, and they replaced a fuse box in the dashboard. The gas gauge has also gone out twice in one month. The dealership drained the gas and reset a computer code. When it happened again they had to replace a part in the gas tank and reset the computer code again. Both items were working correctly at this time.
Related recalls (1)
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 ML320 BlueTec 4Matic, GL320 BlueTec 4Matic and R320 CDI 4Matic, 2011 E350 Cabriolet and E550 Cabriolet, 2009-2011 ML350, ML350 4Matic, ML550 4Matic, ML63 AMG, and C63 AMG, 2010-2011 ML450 4Matic Hybrid, E350 Coupe, E350 4Matic, E550 Coupe, E550 4Matic,…
Remedy: MBUSA will their notify owners, and Fiat Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler owners. Dealers for the respective brands will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge.
NHTSA investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Frequently asked questions
Which Mercedes-Benz C230 years have airbag problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2007 (52), 2005 (50) and 2006 (26) model years. Airbag complaints make up 25% of all complaints for the 2007.
Is there a recall for Mercedes-Benz C230 airbag problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 16V-081 (inflator module, Feb 11, 2016). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Mercedes-Benz C230 airbag problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 91,000 miles; 33% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the frontal (7 mentions), followed by the side/window (4).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.