Some recalls only cover a small number of vehicles within a limited span of production dates. Other recalls are so vast, their NHTSA reports may contain pages and pages of model names. Mercedes-Benz’s latest recall definitely leans toward the latter.
Mercedes-Benz has issued a recall for approximately 250,000 cars, SUVs and vans for an emergency-calling system that may inadvertently disable. This is a recall of significant size, due in part to this system’s prevalence across the automaker’s lineup. It affects the following vehicles with model years between 2017 and 2022, including AMG variants:
- AMG GT
- A-Class
- C-Class
- E-Class
- S-Class
- CLA-Class
- CLS-Class
- G-Class
- GLA-Class
- GLB-Class
- GLC-Class
- GLS-Class
- SL-Class
- SLC-Class
- Metris
- Sprinter
- Freightliner Sprinter
The issue comes from the vehicles’ embedded SIM cards, which are used to access features such as the emergency call system. A software issue may prevent the SIM card from connecting to a mobile phone network, which would prevent automatic post-collision emergency calls from being made using the vehicle’s built-in features, potentially delaying the arrival of first responders. Thus, Mercedes-Benz saw fit to issue a voluntary recall. In its report filed with NHTSA, Mercedes notes that the driver will not receive a warning if this occurs.
Thankfully, the fix is rather straightforward. The automaker will attempt to patch the SIM software using over-the-air updates, and if that is not possible, owners will have to make a quick trip to the dealership to have the software applied. Dealers will be notified of the recall this week, and owners will start receiving recall notices in the mail in July.