Laguna Hills, CA – Dec. 24, 2018 – Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2018 Cabriolet, Coupe, 4Matic, Plug-In Hybrid and AMG vehicles equipped with Audio 20 head units and automatic child seat recognition due to issues with passenger side airbag protection. The potential number of units affected is 104,663.

The Defect

According to the NHTSA Recall Safety Report, Daimler AG, the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, has determined that certain C-Class and GLC vehicles (205 and 253 platforms) which have been equipped with Audio 20 head units and automatic child seat recognition, could have a potential safety risk.

Due to a signal logic error, the status of the passenger side airbags may display incorrectly in the center console, resulting in the user failing to be informed correctly about the actual activation status of the passenger side airbags. A potential false passenger classification could increase the risk of injury for the passenger in case of a crash, and with an incorrect activation status shown, the user will not be warned to correct the situation for maximum safety.

If the passenger air bag is incorrectly displayed as ‘ON’ when it is not, both the driver and the front seat passenger may be unaware that the air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury. While there is a chance that the customer may be made aware of the issue by an incorrect display of the passenger airbag status (such as both on and off lights glowing), in other cases the customer will not receive an advance warning due to the nature of issue (the incorrect light glowing).

Timeline of Events

In late February 2018, DAG launched initial investigations based on an isolated field report which described a condition in which both the airbag off and on light were displayed at the same time. In March 2018, a second vehicle showed similar symptoms in the field, and was requested by DAG for further analysis. By late April 2018, these analyses indicated that there was a potential signal logic error between the seat mat, the head unit, and the display in the center console on the second vehicle. In May 2018, subsequent analyses were begun in an attempt to identify a possible root cause for the error.

In June and July 2018, analyses results pointed to a potential timing issue of the head unit. In August 2018, DAG and the supplier performed further testing, and the potential for both lights to be displayed at the same time, and also an incorrect light to be displayed, was confirmed. In September 2018, the potential consequences of an incorrect display of the passenger airbag status were analyzed, and in October 2018, a plant action was launched to rework first, all affected vehicles within reach of the plant at that time, and second, to rework potentially affected vehicles in the field as they were identified. In November 2018, DAG determined that the possibility of a potential safety risk existing could not be definitively ruled out and issued the recall. A change of the head unit software ensured that this issue could no longer occur from October 12, 2018, onwards.

The Solution

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will update the audio head unit software, free of charge. All involved vehicles remain covered under the new vehicle warranty. The recall is expected to begin January 2, 2019. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. Owners may also call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). The NHTSA Campaign Number for this recall is 18V-838.

Laguna Hills, CA – December 24, 2018 – Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Coupe and Cabrio vehicles due to a faulty nut in the steering rack. The potential number of units affected is 6,162.

The Defect

According to the NHTSA Recall Safety Report, Daimler AG (“DAG”), the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, determined that on certain vehicles with rear-wheel drive, a locknut in the steering rack might have internal material cracks. Additionally, six vehicles were identified as having been previously repaired using the affected locknut. In the unlikely event that such a locknut was installed in the affected vehicle population, large lateral forces, such as those encountered by impacting a curb during maneuvering or parking, could cause the locknut to break. This could also cause the steering to become fixed in a static position, which would increase the risk of a crash.

Timeline of Events

In February 2018, the supplier of the steering rack informed DAG about instances of broken locknuts in the supplier’s production process. Subsequently, DAG launched investigations of this issue together with the supplier. It was determined that the material of a certain batch of locknuts might have internal cracks due to a process deviation at a sub-supplier, and it was concluded that locknuts exhibiting this issue would be identified in the production process of the supplier by the installed quality inspections and application of defined loads and forces to the steering racks in the production process. These conclusions were confirmed by additional high-stress load testing of potentially affected locknuts.

After this investigation was completed, DAG determined in March 2018 that no safety relevance for this issue existed, as all potentially affected locknuts or steering racks would be identified in the supplier’s production process. However, in June 2018, DAG was informed about an instance of a fixed steering assembly during unloading of a new vehicle at a dealer in Asia. The steering rack of this vehicle was shipped to the supplier for investigation and in mid-July 2018 a broken locknut was identified as the root cause. Subsequently, the investigation of the aforementioned issue was re-opened in order to clarify why the locknut was not identified as faulty during the production process of the supplier.

Between August and September 2018, it was concluded that the locknut in question had internal cracks in the material, thus making it impossible for those cracks to be detected by the installed quality inspections at the supplier. Until then, it was assumed that all cracks would be visible on the surface and thus be detectable by the installed magnetic particle testing. Furthermore, it was concluded that the existing conformity-of-production tests that apply defined forces to each steering rack might not in every case lead to a detection of an affected locknut in the supplier’s production process.

In October 2018, further testing was carried out to analyze the forces potentially occurring during vehicle operation as well as the speeds and driving situations under which such forces might occur. It was concluded that a breakage of an affected locknut would only occur under maximum forces acting on the steering rack. Such forces typically appear in case of contact with the curb during parking or maneuvering of the vehicle. These driving situations usually occur at low speeds. At the same time, the range of potentially affected vehicles was determined by analyzing logistics documents of the complete supply chain.

In November 2018, DAG determined that a potential safety risk cannot be ruled out, and voluntarily issued a recall.

The Solution

As a precautionary measure an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer will replace the steering rack on the affected vehicles. The steering racks to be installed in the scope of the recall contain locknuts which meet production specifications. MBUSA does not plan to provide notice about pre-notice reimbursement to owners since all involved vehicles remain covered under the new vehicle warranty. The recall is expected to begin January 25, 2019. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. Owners may also call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). The NHTSA Campaign Number for this recall is 18V-850.

Laguna Hills, CA – December 24, 2018 – Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2019 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic Wagon and E63S AMG Wagon vehicles due to an incorrectly mounted spoiler. The potential number of units affected is 16.

The Defect

According to the NHTSA Recall Safety Report, due to a deviation in the production process, the tailgate spoiler might not have been mounted according to current production specification. The affected vehicles have a tailgate mounted spoiler that may not be properly attached and therefore could detach while driving at high speeds with no warning to the driver. If the tailgate mounted spoiler detaches while driving, it can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Timeline of Events

At the end of October 2018, DAG launched initial investigations based on an individual field report from outside the U.S. in which a customer allegedly experienced the subject condition outlined above. No third-party damages or personal injuries were reported. The parts of the affected vehicle were analyzed and indicated an incorrect mounting of the tailgate spoiler.

In November 2018, further analysis determined that due to a deviation in the production process the tailgate spoiler might not have been mounted according to current production specification. Further investigations were performed to analyze potential impacts and to determine which vehicles might potentially be affected. DAG then determined that a potential safety risk could not be ruled out.

The Solution

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the mounting of the spoiler, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 19, 2018. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA’s number for this recall is 2018120002. Owners may also call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). The NHTSA Campaign Number for this recall is 18V-849.