Mercedes recalls 1 million cars
Reuters news agency says Mercedes-Benz has launched a recall campaign involving around 1 million cars worldwide, for a problem detected in the brake booster system; Mercedes' 2022 to date has been quite marred by recall campaigns of a certain weight, with a first recall of around 800,000 cars occurring in the first months of the year.The recall campaign that has just started involves, as anticipated, about 1 million cars, but these are not recently produced cars but models made between 2004 and 2015: the models involved are the second generation Mercedes ML (W164), GL (X164) and R ( W251), all made with the same platform and using many common components. Basically, the problem arises in the housing of the brake booster, which on some models has corroded to the point of preventing the correct operation of the brake booster; needless to underline that this is a risk that no one wants to take, that of finding oneself without a brake servo in time of need.
If on the one hand this problem could be simple enough to solve, given that it does not require the use of parts that are particularly difficult to procure, on the other hand Mercedes has not yet managed to close the recall campaign started a few months ago. ago: in that case the problem was identified in the pump that turns the coolant, which can lead to episodes of extreme overheating or even fires due to its malfunction. Unfortunately, Mercedes today does not have all the spare parts needed to solve the problem, and has limited itself to recommending its customers to use the car "as little as possible" - a paradoxical situation for those who have spent several tens of thousands of euros for a Mercedes.
Mercedes-Benz recalls nearly 1 million vehicles over brake issue.
Mercedes-Benz is recalling nearly one million cars that were sold around the globe between 2004 and 2015 over concerns that the brakes could fail, the company said on Monday.
The immediate recall affects the ML and GL series of sport utility vehicles, both of which are popular with drivers in the United States, as well as the R-Class luxury minivans, Mercedes said in an emailed statement.
Tests showed that advanced corrosion in the joint area of the brake booster housing in some of the vehicles could cause problems with the braking mechanism, the company said.
“After extended time in the field and in conjunction with significant water exposure, this corrosion might lead to a leakage of the brake booster,” it said. The problem could lead to “an increase in the brake pedal forces required to decelerate the vehicle and/or to a potentially increased stopping distance.”
Customers who bought one of the cars will be contacted with further information, Mercedes said. More than 933,400 vehicles are affected, said Germany’s Motor Transport Authority, the agency that issued the recall.
Mercedes said it was recalling the cars for inspection, and had no way of knowing exactly how many would have corrosion damage.
The German auto giant is not the only manufacturer struggling with braking issues. In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into complaints from more than 750 Tesla owners who have reported problems with the cars’ brakes. Known as phantom braking, the issue causes a car to decelerate without warning and at random, according to NHTSA.