Mercedes-Benz C-Class Lemon Law

If your C 300's rough idle substantially impairs the vehicle's use, value, or safety and the dealer has been unable to repair it after a reasonable number of attempts, you may have a valid lemon law claim under the Song-Beverly Act. California courts have consistently held that drivability issues like rough idle and stalling constitute substantial impairments. You should continue presenting the vehicle for repair and document each visit with detailed descriptions of the symptoms.

Yes, a software reflash or update performed by a dealer under warranty absolutely counts as a repair attempt under the Song-Beverly Act. Each time the dealer works on your C-Class to address the transmission shudder, whether through software updates, parts replacement, or adjustments, it constitutes a separate repair attempt. Multiple failed software reflashes for the same transmission complaint strengthen your lemon law case significantly.

Yes, having a loan on your C-Class does not prevent you from filing a lemon law claim under the Song-Beverly Act. If your C-Class qualifies as a lemon, Mercedes-Benz must pay off the remaining loan balance as part of the repurchase. You would receive a refund of all payments made, including your down payment, minus a mileage offset calculated from the purchase price divided by 120,000 miles.

A dealer's inability to replicate an intermittent defect does not eliminate your lemon law rights under the Song-Beverly Act. You should document the battery drain with photos, timestamps, and any dash cam or diagnostic app data that captures the issue. Each time you present the vehicle to the dealer for the same complaint, it counts as a repair attempt regardless of whether they can reproduce it during the visit. California courts recognize that intermittent electrical defects are still actionable under the lemon law.