2017 Mercedes-Benz E Class Recall

On certain vehicles, an incorrect passenger-front airbag may have been installed during a previous repair. As a result, the airbag may not inflate properly in a crash.

An airbag that does not inflate properly can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct you to bring your vehicle to a dealer to replace the passenger-front airbag.

On certain vehicles, the trunk spoiler might not be properly attached. At higher speeds, this could cause the spoiler to detach from the vehicle.

A spoiler that detaches from the vehicle could create a hazard for other drivers and nearby people.

Mercedes-Benz will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the trunk spoiler and ensure it is properly attached.

On certain coupe and cabriolet models, the front seatbacks may not fully lock on the right side. In a crash, a seatback that is not properly locked could allow unsecured objects from the rear seats to move forward.

A seatback that is not properly locked could increase the risk of injury in a crash.

The company will notify owners by mail. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect front seatbacks and replace them as necessary. Note: This is an expansion of Recall 2018-161.

On certain vehicles, long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, could eventually degrade the propellant contained in the passenger frontal airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. As a result, if the vehicle were involved in a collision that warrants airbag deployment, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants, and the airbag assembly could be damaged, preventing proper function. These issues could increase the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag module. Note: Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. The recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk, and is expected to replace airbag inflators before their function would be affected.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles originally sold or currently registered in areas of heavy road salt usage during winter months (Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador), the bolts that attach the electric power steering assist motor to the steering gear housing may corrode and break. This could cause a loss of power steering assist. The resulting increase in steering effort could create the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the mounting bolts and apply a corrosion protection coating to the gear housing and bolts. If the bolts bolt cannot be removed, a replacement steering gear will be installed.

A failure of this component (steering) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may have been built with an incorrectly limited passenger seat adjustment range. This could allow the seat to be positioned too far forward, potentially increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant in the event of a crash. Correction: Dealers will inspect the adjustment range of the passenger seat and install the mechanical adjustment range limiter or update the seat control unit software.

A failure of this component (seats and restraints) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may not comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. Vehicles may have been assembled with headlamps that allow for horizontal adjustment, which is contrary to the requirements of the standard. This could reduce vehicle visibility, or could adversely affect the vision of oncoming drivers during low-light and night-time conditions, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will install sealing caps on the headlamps to seal the adjustment screws.

A failure of this component (lights and instruments) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the seatbacks of the front seats may not fully lock on the right-hand side of the respective seat. If the seatback is improperly locked, in the event of a crash, unsecured objects in the rear seats might not be held back and the risk of injury to the front occupants would be increased. Correction: Dealers will inspect the locking of the front seatbacks, and replace the seatbacks as necessary. Note: This recall is superseded by recall 2019091. Please see recall 2019091 for more information.

A failure of this component (seats and restraints) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may not comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. The LED headlamps might not have been adjusted to proper specification during manufacturing, and may deviate from the tolerance range prescribed by the standard. This could result in reduced low beam range, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will check the setting of the headlamps and correct them as necessary.

A failure of this component (lights and instruments) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, electrostatic discharge, when combined with a broken clock spring and insufficient grounding of the steering components, could lead to an inadvertent deployment of the driver's frontal airbag. Unintended airbag deployment, in a non-warranted (non-impact) situation, could startle the driver, which could result in a crash causing injury and/or property damage. In some instances, inadvertent deployment could cause minor injuries to vehicle occupants. Correction: Dealers will add sufficient grounding to the steering components. Note: A broken clock spring would result in a driver airbag warning message appearing in the instrument cluster, as well as a red airbag warning lamp illuminating.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may have been equipped with airbag igniters that do not meet specifications. This could cause the affected airbags to fail to deploy properly in the event of a crash (where deployment is warranted), which could increase the risk of injury to vehicle occupants. Correction: Correction: Dealers will replace the affected passenger frontal airbag, knee airbag or window airbag.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the electric power steering connector may not be properly sealed against water entry. This could allow moisture to enter the power steering control unit which could interrupt the signal and cause the electric steering assist to deactivate. A loss of power steering assist could unexpectedly increase steering effort which would increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction dealers will replace the connector and, if necessary, replace the steering rack.

A failure of this component (steering) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may not comply with Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS 101) – Location and Identification of Controls and Displays. These vehicles may have an incorrect software version for the widescreen instrument cluster. This could result in the cluster not displaying any content upon vehicle start or a display reset may occur while driving, contrary to the requirements of the standard. Correction: Dealers will update the instrument cluster software.

A failure of this component (visual system) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 - Occupant Protection in Frontal Impacts. Certain airbag control units may have been programmed incorrectly. In the event of a low speed crash warranting first stage deployment of the driver's or passenger's frontal airbags, the airbag may incorrectly deploy the second (higher impact) stage. If a front seat occupant was unbelted and out of position, the risk of injury to that occupant could be increased. Correction: Dealers will update the airbag control unit.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may have been equipped with driver and passenger pelvis airbags and/or a passenger frontal airbag that does not meet specifications. This could cause affected airbags to fail to deploy properly in the event of a crash warrants airbag deployment, which could increase the risk of injury to the occupants. Correction: Dealers will replace affected airbag modules.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the front passenger seat occupancy detection control unit might be incorrectly installed. This could result in a kinked pressure hose when the seat is moved towards the rearmost and lowest position, which could lead to the misclassification of a seat occupant. The occupant could be incorrectly reclassified as a child seat, and in the event of a crash warranting airbag deployment, could increase the risk of injury to the front passenger seat occupant. Correction: Dealers will check the routing of the pressure hose of the seat occupancy detection control unit and replace the pressure hose and seat occupancy detection mat if necessary.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the starting current limiter could be overloaded under certain conditions. In the event the starter is blocked, a very high electric current could flow through the starting current limiter during repeated engine starting attempts. The high electric draw could cause the starting current limiter to overheat causing the surrounding components to melt which would increase the risk of fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction : Dealers will install an additional fuse in the electrical line to the starter.

A failure of this component (engine) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the column-mounted shift lever module could become inoperative due to internal circuit board damage. If this occurs while the vehicle is stationary, the vehicle might not be able to move forward or backward as selected by the driver with the shift lever. This could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the steering column module.

A failure of this component (powertrain) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles may have been equipped with an underbody panel which might not provide sufficient clearance to the left catalyst. As a result, heat from the catalyst could melt and potentially ignite the plastic underbody panel, resulting in a fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the underbody paneling.

A failure of this component (structure) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the rear seat bench seat frame could damage the wiring harness to the fuel system control unit. If the wiring harness were to become damaged, the fuel pump, the fuel tank pressure sensor and/or the fuel gauge could fail, depending on the affected wire. Should the fuel pump fail, the fuel supply to the engine would stop, causing the vehicle to stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will modify the routing of the wiring harness, and repair it if necessary.

A failure of this component (electrical) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).