Mercedes Recalls S-Class And GLC Over Emergency Call Issue

• A malfunctioning eCall system is behind the recall.

• Sends inaccurate location to emergency services after an accident.

• It had led to recalls of several models in 2021.  

A technical issue has pushed Mercedes-Benz to recall S-Class sedans and GLC SUVs built from September 2016 to July 2020. The revocation is for a problem with the emergency call system that has affected several models globally and led to recalls in 2021 as well. 

Ideally, if you get into an accident in a Mercedes, the car should automatically contact emergency services and share its own location. However, the carmaker has discovered that if the vehicle gets into an accident, it can cause a temporary drop in the electrical system voltage, resulting in a malfunction. According to the SIAM website, “the vehicle position communicated in the emergency call may not correspond with the actual position.” 

Despite this malfunction, “the other functions of the automatic or manual emergency call are not affected by this issue.” Each car is equipped with a manual emergency calling feature that can still get you in touch with the emergency services. 

The carmaker began its investigation into the eCall system malfunction in 2019 after a single instance in Europe. By January 2021, it had found more cases in Germany where the vehicles transmitted inaccurate positions. It observed “that a safety risk cannot be ruled out” and issued the recalls. 

Mercedes’ latest recall is for petrol-powered S-Class sedans and GLC SUVs, but virtually all other model lines sold in India have been called back for this fix since 2021. 

Earlier in January, a German news source reported a malfunction in diesel Mercs powered by the OM 654 and OM 656 engines. It is an issue with the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class sedans and the GLC, GLE, GLS and G-Class SUVs. It reportedly affects around 8 lakh cars worldwide, but there haven’t been any recalls in India yet.