Lilburn, Georgia – September 26, 2018 – Bentley Motors, Inc. (Bentley) is recalling certain 2018 Bentley Mulsanne vehicles for issues with rear-view camera software, affecting backover prevention. The recall is expected to only include 10 units of the luxury sedan.
The recall population was determined based upon system records confirming which vehicles received incorrect system software during vehicle production, and any vehicles not included in this recall were produced with correct system software.
The defect
According to the NHTSA Safety Recall Report, when reverse gear is selected by the driver, the rear camera view may be obstructed on the screen with other icons or may not be fully visible within 2 seconds.
If the full camera view is delayed or obstructed and the driver does not check their surroundings before reversing, there may be an increased risk of a crash or a backover incident.
The factory production control system responsible for checking the actual software version in a vehicle versus a target software version was incorrectly updated.
This allowed a previous software version to be checked as ok condition. The issue has been addressed on the production line, and the correct system software flashed to new vehicles as well as unsold / undelivered stock.
Timeline of events
In late August 2018, Bentley’s Product Safety department was informed, by engineering, of an older level of software being flashed on the production line for the rear view camera.
By early September 2018 a subsequent investigation found a number of vehicles, including ones already sold and delivered to customers, had been built with an older level of software, which did not fully comply with FMVSS 111 requirements.
Delivery of affected vehicles to customers was stopped and arrangements made for the latest level of software to be flashed onto all other units. The Product Safety Committee informed NHTSA of non-compliance, and the decision to launch a voluntary recall was made.
The solution
All affected vehicles (believed to be only 10 units) will have a software re-flash to the latest software level, via an SD card. Bentley will notify all owners of affected vehicles to instruct them to request an appointment with an authorized Bentley dealer.
Dealers will complete the re-flash on affected vehicles free of charge. Bentley is not offering a reimbursement program under this recall.
The NHTSA Campaign Number for this recall is 18V-632. The Bentley Motors recall number is RE 18/11. The recall is expected to commence in early October.
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