Mercedes-Benz has issued a recall of around 1 million cars worldwide owing to faults in their braking system.
The company issued a recall for the vehicles produced between 2004 and 2015 and the models are from its ML-Class, GL-Class series of SUVs and R-Class minivans.
According to the company, it will contact the car owners as the brakes might be affected by ‘advanced corrosion’. As reported, there are around 993,407 units that are being recalled to fix the braking system.
In a statement released by Mercedes, the company indicated that it realized the breaks in those cars corrode after years of using it.
“We have found that in some of those vehicles, the function of the brake booster could be affected by advanced corrosion in the joint area of the housing.
“It might be possible for a particularly strong or hard braking manoeuvre to cause mechanical damage to the brake booster.”
Mercedes
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.”
With the current situation, the company further contended that should the breaks be left like that, there is the tendency to cause accident.
“In such a very rare case, it would not be possible to decelerate the vehicle via the service brake. Thus the risk of a crash or injury would be increased.”
Mercedes
The brand stated that it is starting the global recall immediately that will involve inspecting the potentially faulty vehicles and replacing parts if necessary.
Customers who bought one of the cars will be contacted with further information, Mercedes said. The company added that it was recalling the cars for inspection, and had no way of knowing exactly how many would have corrosion damage.
Meanwhile, 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.
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.
Last year, Mercedes-Benz recalled nearly 1.3 million cars sold between 2018 and 2019 in the US over the faulty emergency call system.
The Mercedes-Benz’ emergency call system alerts emergency services of an accident and relays the vehicle’s location. The problem was sorted ‘over the air’ through a wireless download using the car’s mobile data connection. In the European Union, the emergency call system is mandatory for all cars sold from the year 2018.
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