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ProblemsByVin Index / 2008-MERCEDES-BENZ-CLK-CLASS / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class owner complaints

20 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 3 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.

other 9 complaints shown

11/07/2017 76,860 mi ODI #11044178.0

I purchased the vehicle used from a private party on 10/21/17 with 76,860 miles. I filled the tank with gas, parked it my garage, door closed. Next morning there a very strong odor of raw gas. A Mercedes dealer confirmed through diagnostics and a smoke test that both sending units and seals were defective, and needed to be replaced.

10/04/2016 63,102 mi ODI #10913823.0

Takata recall - the car is stationary in my garage and is emittng a strong order of gas fumes and I am afraid these gas fumes could cause an explosion or fire

07/27/2010 25,257 mi 1 injury ODI #10345740.0

I have sent a communication to Mercedes-benz usa, llc on 7/15/2010, next day after my injury from one of the car's automatic feature (head rest automatically thrusts down when the lever is lifted and seat moves forward). It's a 2 door sports vehicle, so it will be always the action of the consumer/vehicle owner to get in and out of the back seats. On 7/14/2010 @ around 1900: my right arm flesh/skin got wedged/mangled into the head rest 'steel' of the car passenger seat when the head- rest-steel automatically rammed/thrust/push lower continuously downwards; while I was getting things from the back seat of my car-mb (Mercedes-benz clk 350, year 2008 model) car. My outer right arm area (about an inch proximal to my wrist) was resting on that part of the seat wherein I needed to lift the leve

05/20/2016 54,000 mi ODI #10870020.0

After fueling up there is a strong fuel odor until the tank is about 3/4 full. The car has only 54k miles.

03/23/2010 11,000 mi ODI #10321556.0

The driver's side floor mat pulled away from the anchor plug and keeps moving toward the gas and break peddles. I was told this was not covered under my warranty. I have not experienced any failures but because of talk of such a condition causing interference with a gas or break peddle I had to purchase an entire set of new mats. I still have the old mat.

03/02/2015 77,000 mi ODI #10691619.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Mercedes benz clk350. After refueling and parking the vehicle, a strong fuel odor emitted inside the garage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the driver side fuel sending unit was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,000.

02/15/2018 45,000 mi ODI #11073073.0

Routine maintenance identified gasoline leaking from fuel tank's "fuel sender". Small crack in plastic fuel sender at point where fuel hose attached to sender allowed gasoline to accumulate over time in area surrounding sender and then travel to underside of car in an area immediately adjacent to exhaust system. At time leak was discovered approx 1/4 cup of fuel had accumulated. Had problem not been discovered a car fire was inevitable

02/09/2016 ODI #10825252.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-benz clk350. After refueling and parking the vehicle, a strong fuel odor emitted inside the garage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the passenger and driver side level sensor covers were leaking fuel. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

01/30/2019 43,000 mi ODI #11173029.0

Purchased from private individual with mileage 43,000. Filled up the gas tank on two occasions. After each occasion, placed car in garage afterward and closed garage door. The smell of raw gas was overwhelming as soon as garage door was shut. Due to the overwhelming smell and safety concern, car was parked in driveway. No leaks on garage floor were found. Car parked in garage the next day without the smell of raw gas.

electrical 5 complaints shown

5 total in this category · severe · avg repair $850 · see electrical cluster analysis →
12/01/2018 ODI #11155296.0

My partner told me that his passenger headlight was burned out and that he was told it was going to be over $800 to replace. I decided to try to replace the bulb myself, but I found that the insulation on the electrical harness leading the headlight connectors had deteriorated to the point that the wires are bare, causing electrical shorting, equipment failure, leading to potential electrical fire which may cause serious life threatening accidents. I have found at least one other complaint of this nature, reported on november 13 2017, for a 2008 clk350 vehicle with the same leading VIN number of wdbtk56f.... That complaint indicates that "Mercedes benz is not supplying a fix as reported by multiple owners. Also extended warranty insurers are denying coverage due to the wide spread

11/13/2017 74,000 mi ODI #11045751.0

My wife told me her headlight was burned out. When I replaced the bulb, I found the insulation on the electrical harness and headlights is deteriorating leaving exposed bare wires causing electrical shorting, equipment failures, electrical fires, leading to potentially serious life threatening accidents. Mercedes benz is not supplying a fix as reported by multiple owners. Also extended warranty insurers are denying coverage due to the wide spread defect across the Mercedes benz models.

09/05/2018 ODI #11124551.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-benz clk350. While the vehicle was stationary, the air bag indicator illuminated without warning and "check SRS air bag" displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the wiring for both the driver and passenger seats were replaced. The failure recurred. A dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

03/10/2014 51,000 mi ODI #10568245.0

The brake light on the trunk simply fell off. I have searched the internet and have found that there are at least 50 other owners that have experienced the same problem. This does not include those that simply just went ahead and got it fixed without posting it. This is a defect where the red lens separates from the light housing and the brake light no longer shows red when braking. I also understand that this continues to re-occur each time it is replaced at a cost of $352.50 each time, not to mention the safety issue when all of a sudden while driving you loose your brake light. Mercedes benz is apparently sticking their heads in the sand over this one. *tr

02/07/2018 50,000 mi Fire ODI #11067382.0

On 12/31/2017 my car was parked on drive way of 800 villa florence dr. Naples florida and without any prior sign of trouble car cut in fire from left side of trunk. There was nothing in trunk of this car except to light weight beach chairs.

visibility 2 complaints shown

09/30/2020 ODI #11362009.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-benz clk350. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v918000 (visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Mercedes-benz of rockville centre (650 sunrise hwy, rockville centre, ny 11570) was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN was not available.

05/21/2020 40,000 mi ODI #11325411.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Mercedes benz clk350. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal rattling noise coming from the sunroof. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v918000 (visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. Mercedes-benz of rockville centre 650 sunrise hwy, rockville centre, ny 11570 was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and the contact was informed that the vehicle should no longer be driven until the recall repair was performed. The failure mileage was 40,000. The VIN was not available.

powertrain 2 complaints shown

09/25/2020 130,000 mi ODI #11361155.0

Many owners of late-model Mercedes-benz cars equipped with 3.0l and 3.5l v6 engines (m272 or m273) have experienced performance problems that include poor idle, loss of power and a check engine light with a p2006 code (or sometimes other codes). The shafts will fail inside the manifold and bind, causing the lever to break and the caps shown to look like they are popping off the manifold.

09/03/2009 17,600 mi Crash ODI #10282730.0

2008 clk 550 - transmission locked in drive, when shifter indicated that car was in park. We were advised that a shift linkage clip broke. The car drove uncontrolled into a low wall damaging the vehicle. Had this happened 5 minutes before in a hospital parking lot, this could have caused serious injury. *tr

airbags 1 complaint shown

01/02/2017 99,392 mi ODI #10939041.0

Takata recall. SRS light came on. Took car to dealership. Advised that airbag in passenger seat had high resistance.the seat back was removed and airbag replaced. Approximately 3 weeks later and $981.00 my car was returned to me.

Showing 300 of 20 total complaints. The full federal record is available at nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2008/Mercedes-Benz/CLK-Class#complaints.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-07-15. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
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