Jacksonville, Florida – Nov. 29, 2017 – The luxury auto maker Mercedes-Benz USA recently issued a recall for nearly 9,400 vehicles nationwide that may have been equipped with defective sunroof panels, according to a letter filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The recall effort affects the three different types of Mercedes-Benz’s popular GLC 300 – the standard version, the GLC 300 4MATIC and the GLC 300 AMG – produced between March 7 and Aug. 4, 2017.
Mercedes-Benz projects that this represents about 1 percent of the vehicles manufactured as those models.
The Defect
Specifically, the vehicles being recalled have panoramic sunroof paneling – on both the front and side panels – that does not meet bonding requirements, and could therefore detach from the vehicle while driving. That, in turn, is expected to increase the risk of crash or injury for vehicles behind the affected GLC 300s.
This issue arose because of a “supplier production deviation,” Mercedes-Benz noted.
Timeline of Events
In June, Daimler Auto Group started to investigate the issue, based upon two separate incidents in which drivers saw the paneling around their sunroofs detach. And while no damages or injuries to third parties were reported, the company determined that additional analysis of the situation was required. The following month, DAG began testing the parts with the help of a supplier, and found that the adhesive used to bond the panels to the vehicles were outside of specifications.
In August, more investigations found that only certain panoramic sunroofs were affected by the adhesive deviation, which led to a review of documents to determine which sunroofs – and subsequently, the associated vehicle models – were affected. Then in October, DAG did further analysis to identify how many affected vehicles were in the field. Finally, the company found that it could not rule out the safety risk that led to the recall in November.
The Solution
As of the start of December, local authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers are now directed to inspect the bonding on panoramic sunroof paneling on suspected affected vehicles, and rework it as needed to ensure the panel bonding is within specification once again. All those costs will be covered under new vehicle warranties. Owners will be notified starting Dec. 8.
At that point, owners will be able to call either Mercedes-Benz USA’s customer service line at 1-800-367-6372, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236. They can also visit www.safercar.gov for more information.
