Mercedes issues "do not drive" recall for almost 300,000 SUVs over potential brake failure

[midian182]

Why it matters: Owners of older Mercedes-Benz SUVs are being advised to stop driving the vehicles immediately due to a problem that could cause the brakes to fail. The carmaker is recalling 292,000 of the vehicles and is even offering to tow affected SUVs to the dealerships so they can be serviced.

Mercedes-Benz's statement confirms that certain Model Year 2006 - 2012 ML, GL, and R-Class vehicles could have the function of their brake booster impacted by advanced corrosion in the joint area of the housing, the result of moisture that may wick under a rubber sleeve installed on the housing area.

The resulting vacuum leak at the brake booster could mean more force is required to apply a vehicle's brakes, thereby increasing stopping distances. A worst-case scenario could see damage to the booster, causing the brakes to fail entirely.

While no crashes or injuries resulting from the issue have been reported, Mercedes-Benz is advising owners not to drive affected vehicles—not even to the dealerships. The company is offering complimentary towing to owners to get to workshops, where the rubber brake booster sleeve will be removed, the brake housing inspected, and parts replaced as required. Mercedes-Benz will also help customers secure alternative transport if a necessary repair cannot be carried out immediately.

You can find out if your SUV is part of this or any other recall by entering its 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) into the National Highway Traffic Safety Association's website.

It seems pretty rare these days to see a large-scale recall that isn't from Tesla. The EV firm this week announced that 130,000 vehicles were affected by an overheating CPU issue; 817,000 were recalled over a seatbelt warning flaw earlier this year; and the NHTSA issued a safety recall in January on nearly 54,000 Teslas over their 'rolling-stop' functionality.

Masthead credit: Jim Fawns

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https://www.techspot.com/news/94579-mercedes-issues-do-not-drive-recall-almost-300000.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Fortunately, this is a much older model, and most of these are probably off the road by now.

 

[Lew Zealand]

10-16 years isn't all that old any more. And many people are motivated to keep their M-Bs on the road, as second and third owners.

 

[envirovore]

Fortunately, this is a much older model, and most of these are probably off the road by now.

Being nothing but a glorified Chrysler, I'd be amazed if any were still running to begin with.

 

[VitalyT]

"Advanced corrosion" is the new feature that Mercedes incorporated into all its vehicles since 1999. These days, it is perfected to require less than 3 years for the advanced corrosion to appear, though it comes at a premium.

 

[hahahanoobs]

"While no crashes or injuries resulting from the issue have been reported, Mercedes-Benz is advising owners not to drive affected vehicles—not even to the dealerships."

I was not expecting that. Kudos to Mercedes.

 

[Freddie159]

"Advanced corrosion" is the new feature that Mercedes incorporated into all its vehicles since 1999. These days, it is perfected to require less than 3 years for the advanced corrosion to appear, though it comes at a premium.

That's alot like Carrier heatpumps they have a 'wear' part that's designed to be more expensive to fix than get a whole new unit after 10 years. Some people have had the problem after much less than that though. They COULD fix the problem but the Carrier Executive Rep said they are 'designed to produce income for the Company for years to come'.

 

[Avet85]

Being nothing but a glorified Chrysler, I'd be amazed if any were still running to begin with.

Mercedes-Benz cars are one of the finest cars you could own. It is obvious that you have never owned one or even been in one.

Faults like this are common in pretty much any industry. How the company handles them is what matters.

My girlfriend had hers GLK recalled for passenger airbag issue a year ago and it was flawless. Everything was done in a couple of hours. Service in Mercedes' dealships in Europe is immaculate.

 

[p3ngwin]

"It seems pretty rare these days to see a large-scale recall that isn't from Tesla.
The EV firm this week announced that 130,000 vehicles were affected by an overheating CPU issue; 817,000 were recalled over a seatbelt warning flaw earlier this year; and the NHTSA issued a safety recall in January on nearly 54,000 Teslas over their 'rolling-stop' functionality."

What a load of anti-EV nonsense, the number of recalls from other automakers dwarfs Tesla both in number of recalls AND number of vehicles in the MILLIONS:

https://www.startrescue.co.uk/news/top-10/top-10-biggest-car-recalls-of-all-time
https://www.yourlawyer.com/library/biggest-automotive-safety-recalls/
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9803511/The-car-makers-issued-recalls-1992.html