The Recall Desk
SevereNHTSA·16V081000·Announced 2016-02-11

Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler Recall Vehicles Due to Air Bag Inflator Defect

Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler are recalling specific vehicles because the driver's frontal air bag inflator may rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious injury or death.

What this means for you

Illness, injury, or structural failure has been reported. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The source text explicitly states that the defect could result in 'serious injury or death' due to metal fragments striking occupants, which aligns with the rubric criteria for a Severe (4) rating involving significant injury reports or potential for serious harm.

Plain-English summary

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) and Fiat Chrysler are recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mercedes-Benz and 2007-2008 Chrysler Crossfire vehicles. The recall involves a defect in the driver's frontal air bag inflator module. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death. The affected vehicles include various Mercedes-Benz models such as the C-Class, E-Class, ML-Class, GL-Class, R-Class, SLK-Class, SLS AMG, and GLK-Class, as well as the Chrysler Crossfire.

MBUSA will notify Mercedes-Benz owners, and Fiat Chrysler will notify affected Chrysler owners. Dealers for the respective brands will replace the driver's frontal air bag module free of charge. This recall began in November 2016. Mercedes-Benz owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372, and Chrysler owners may contact Fiat Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Owners may also contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit www.safercar.gov.

The recalled product

Product
MERCEDES-BENZ, MERCEDES BENZ, CHRYSLER E63, ML63, GL350, GL450
Brand
MERCEDES-BENZ
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Category
Vehicle — Air Bag / Inflator
Hazard
Affected units
711,159

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Model numbers (25)

  • E63
  • ML63
  • GL350
  • GL450
  • GL550
  • R320
  • SLK280
  • ML550
  • GLK350
  • ML350
  • C63
  • E550
  • E350
  • C350
  • C320
  • C230
  • ML450
  • GL320
  • SLK55
  • ML320
  • SLK350
  • C300
  • CROSSFIRE
  • R350
  • SLS

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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