Mercedes-Benz, owned by Daimler AG, has announced the recall of around one million of their vehicles worldwide over a potential fire hazard. The German automaker told U.S. Authorities that they have received 30 reports of their engines catching fire in the U.S. leading to the recall of 354,434 vehicles. Around 650,000 additional vehicles were recalled internationally after 21 fires were reported outside of the U.S. The fires have been linked to a transmission error that prevents the engine from turning over properly. The automaker said that the motor can overheat when the driver repeatedly tries to turn on the engine, which can then allegedly cause a fire in the motor. No injuries were reported at the time of the recall.
Official Mercedes-Benz dealerships have been informed of the defect and are pulling the vehicles off their lots until they can install an additional fuse to alleviate the problem. The models in question are from years 2015 to 2017 and include some C-Class, E-Class, CLA, GLA, and GLC vehicles. Mercedes-Benz first received reports of the problem in June 2016 when a number of current limiters were found to have melted. In the beginning of February 2017 Mercedes-Benz then told U.S. authorities that “a potential safety risk cannot be ruled out.”
Later in February, Daimler AG recalled 15,338 Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner vans over faulty airbag control systems. The airbags found in some vans manufactured from April 2013 to November 2016 were not equipped with all of the necessary components, which can stop the airbags from deploying in an accident. Another 12,400 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were also recalled in February 2017 over similar concerns. Daimler AG told authorities that passenger airbag detectors in some Mercedes-Benz E300 and E43 AMG cars were not installed properly, which can turn off the passenger side airbags in a crash.
Consumers who own a recently recalled Mercedes-Benz will be contacted later this month, but the luxury automaker told authorities that the parts for repair may not be available until July. In the meantime, owners are being told to not try to start their engine repeatedly if it does not start the first time to avoid a fire. All affected vehicles will be repaired free of charge once the fuses become available.
To contact Mercedes-Benz USA call: (800) 367-6372
To read more about the recall see: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCLRPT-17V114-6749.PDF