Automotiv Exports July 2022

Mercedes recalling about 1 million older
cars over faulty brake fears
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is
recalling almost a million older vehicles
from around the world due to possible
problems with the brake booster, the
company said.
The recall affects models of the SUV series
ML and GL (BR 164) and the R-Class (BR
251) luxury minivan produced between
2004 and 2015, it said.
The German federal transport authority
(KBA) had also confirmed the recall, which
it said covers 993,407 vehicles worldwide,
including around 70,000 in Germany.
“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,” Mercedes-
Benz said in a statement.
This could result in an increase in the brake
pedal force needed to decelerate the
vehicle and/or to a potentially increased
stopping distance, it added.
The KBA said that “corrosion on the brake
booster can in the worst case lead to the
connection between the brake pedal and
the braking system being interrupted.”
“As a consequence, the service brake can
stop functioning,” it noted.
The move was based on an “analysis of
isolated reports for certain vehicles,”
Mercedes-Benz said in a statement to
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“In rare cases of very severe corrosion,
it might be possible for a particularly
strong or hard braking maneuver to cause
mechanical damage to the brake booster,
whereby the connection between the
brake pedal and brake system would fail,”
the statement read.
“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.”
The company said it would “start with
the recall immediately” and contact
the owners of the “potentially affected
vehicles.”
“The recall process will involve
inspecting potentially affected vehicles
and, depending on the results of the
inspection, replacing the parts where
necessary,” the company said.
“Until the inspection takes place, we ask
our customers not to drive their vehicles.”
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