Mercedes-Benz Recalls More Than 70K Vehicles in China

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced on December 16 that Mercedes-Benz (China) Automobile Sales and Beijing Benz Automobile have initiated a recall involving a total of 76,357 vehicles.

According to the announcement, from January 20, 2023, Mercedes-Benz (China) Automobile Sales will recall certain imported CLS and E-Class cars with production dates from January 11, 2018 to June 29, 2022, totaling 11,353 vehicles. Also starting from January 20, Beijing Benz Automobile will recall certain China-made E-Class cars with production dates from October 18, 2018 to March 8, 2021, totaling 59,177 vehicles.

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The reason for this decision is that the fastening devices for 12V batteries stored in the trunk of some recalled vehicles may not be able to bear the load caused by accidental collisions, resulting in battery displacement. In extreme cases, the battery will be disconnected from the electrical components, leading to the failure of safety protection functions such as emergency calling, electric seat adjustment, hazard warning lights and automatic door unlocking.

In light of these potential defects, the two companies will install additional fastening devices for the 12V batteries free of charge through authorized dealers of Mercedes-Benz in China, so as to eliminate the safety hazards.

The announcement also shows that, starting from December 30, Beijing Benz Automobile will recall 950 EQE vehicles dated from July 14 to September 9 of this year.

The reason for this particular recall is that there might be cracks in the right front steering knuckle of some vehicles, and the imperfections will be exacerbated with the driving load. In extreme cases, this may lead to the fracture of steering knuckle, affect the vehicle’s handling, increasing the risk of collision and bringing about potential safety hazards. In view of these defects, the company will replace the right front steering knuckle for vehicles within the scope of the recall free of charge through an authorized dealer in China.

In addition, since December 16, Beijing Benz Automobile has recalled some China-made GLC cars with production dates from July 2, 2021 to October 21, 2021, totaling 4,877 vehicles.

The reason for this recall is that console vehicle position data provided by the control unit software to the communication module is inaccurate, due to a design problem with the host software. When an emergency call is triggered automatically or manually, the position of the vehicle sent to the Mercedes-Benz Emergency Call Center will be deviated, which may cause delays in rescue following accidents, and pose a potential safety hazard. The company will update the host control unit software for vehicles within the scope of the recall free of charge.

Mercedes-Benz has conducted many recalls in the Chinese market. As of December 17, the firm had carried out a total of 21 recalls in the country, involving both imported and electric vehicles.

The number of Mercedes-Benz recalls announced for China in 2021 were the most conducted by any firm that year. According to statistics by Chinese media outlet Autochat, a total of 44 brands in the domestic passenger car market issued 155 recall plans in 2021, and a total of 8.73 million passenger cars were recalled, an increase of 31.88% compared with that of 2020.