Well, the simple answer, to why my Mercedes Benz C class rusting so much, is that it is old. 20 years or close, it’s a W203 chassis C 200 Kompressor pre-facelift manufactured in 2002.
But that Mercedes Benz is rusting quickly because of old age is not a true answer entirely. There are other factors I discovered that led to my Mercedes Benz C class rusting so much. The big reason is it was a neglected Benz.
Here is my healed journey of discovery. Firstly I noticed a lot of mist inside the car. I checked around and didn’t see anything apparent. I concluded since my aircon was not working my car was failing to demystify.
Before I could dig deeper sadly my rear screen was morning found broken. So naturally, I blamed the mist in the car because of the rear broken screen.
The revelation came when I was readying the Mercedes Benz C Class W203 for the rear screen replacement I started with removing broken glass debris and there I found my culprit.
Due to use and environment full of dust especially when the vehicle was imported into the country 9 years ago dust had accumulated into the screen water guides. The soil mixed with water reacted with the metal corroding two adjustment points.
Those were the entries of rain and car wash water. The water would follow some guides into the car settling at the footwell of both the rear passengers.
Looking at this disaster and the corrosion I took further time to inspect the vehicle thoroughly and truly I found another spot. Now it was the far left front wheel arch and battery bay. The corrosion here was worse than in the rear which had only a few centimeters.
In the front wheel arch and battery bay, a layer of metal was completely taken off. What was the cause of the rusty? Why is my Mercedes Benz C Class rusting so much?
Here again, drainage pipes had mixed with leaves and soil blocking the path. So instead of water dripping down to the floor, it was pouring into the battery bay soaking it.
At this point, I actually realized the quick failure of the last battery I had.
While the car still looks intact there are some signs of rusty, especially on the door edges and scratched areas. Other than that the real cause of the massive rusty I found was because aggravated environment and poor maintenance.
If you live in a dusty area please ensure water rails and water passages are always free of blockages
Ensure leaves especially if you like parking under a tree shade don’t fall off in front of the screen. The leaves will rot inside the water passage and block the free-flowing eventually ingressing into the footwell.
In 2007 i had an Audi B4 as my first vehicle and at some point, water ingressed heavily into the driver’s footwell. The culprit was leaves blocking the water passage.
If you drive a Mercedes Benz C class W203 you better be careful with this picture. Water will the electronics bay on the front driver’s side corroding your Front Sam and ECU. That will say goodbye to your Benz unless huge costs are met to rectify the damaged electronics.
