By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 17 Oct 2017 • 7:02
BRITISH owners and drivers of Mercedes-Benz cars in Spain have been alerted to a massive recall notice affecting the German luxury car manufacturer.
Mercedes-Benz in the UK is recalling almost half-a-million cars that have a potential short-circuit electrical fault which could deploy the airbags by mistake.
The warning has also gone out to Brits in Spain who might have taken their cars abroad and be unaware of the recall notice.
The fault affects about half the vehicles sold by the German luxury car manufacturer since 2011.
Mercedes has said that there had been 30 cases worldwide of airbags deploying prematurely as a result of the fault and had caused minor injuries in some cases but no fatalities.
A Mercedes spokesman said, “We are recalling certain A, B, C, and E-Class, and CLA, GLA, and GLC, built between November 2011 and July 2017.’
The company said the cars are safe to drive under normal conditions. But owners are warned that if a red airbag warning light appears on the dashboard they should immediately call Mercedes’ roadside assistance.
“If the steering column module clock spring is broken, the driver airbag warning light will be displayed in the instrument cluster, as well as a red airbag warning lamp.
“In rare circumstances, if the clock spring is broken and the wiring components are not sufficiently earthed this could lead to an electrostatic discharge which could inadvertently deploy the driver’s airbag.”
The recall repair takes about an hour and involves replacing a spring in the steering column.
In March Mercedes recalled about one million cars worldwide over a starter component that could overheat.
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