Mercedes-Benz has told 292,000 SUV owners to stop driving their vehicle until it has undergone a safety check.
The automaker is recalling certain model year 2006-2012 ML, GL, and R-Class vehicles over a potential problem with the vehicles’ brakes.
It considers the issue so serious that it doesn’t even want owners to drive their vehicle to the workshop, instead offering to pay for towing costs.
In a statement published by its U.S. team on Thursday, Mercedes said that to date there have been no reported crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the issue.
The car giant explained that after extensive analysis, it discovered that a brake component could become damaged by water exposure over an extended period of time.
“Moisture may wick under a rubber sleeve installed around the brake booster housing,” Mercedes said in its statement. “Following extended time in the field and in conjunction with significant water exposure, this condition could result in corrosion in the joint area of the brake booster housing, thus contributing to a vacuum leak at the brake booster.”
Vehicles impacted by the issue could result in drivers having to press the brake pedal harder than usual to decelerate or stop the vehicle.
Mercedes added that in “rare cases of very severe corrosion, it might be possible that a strong or hard-braking application may cause mechanical damage in the brake booster,” potentially leading to a complete braking failure that could lead to a crash.
The automaker is advising affected customers to stop driving their vehicle until it has been checked and, if necessary, repaired.
Mercedes will begin notifying owners via mail on May 27. Concerned customers can also contact the automaker at 1 (888) 548-8514.
You can easily find out if your vehicle is subject to this or any other recall by heading to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association’s website and entering your vehicle’s 17-digit VIN (vehicle identification number).
Mercedes’ recall comes just a few days after Tesla recalled 130,000 vehicles over a safety issue linked to the touchscreen device.
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