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Mercedes-Benz's quality system has once again become a joke. In the first half of 2020 alone, Mercedes-Benz has launched as many as 13 recalls in China and found more than a dozen quality problems, covering all the main models of the Mercedes-Benz brand, involving 800000 models, which is higher than Mercedes-Benz's annual sales in China. Recently, Mercedes-Benz found four more defects and announced another recall.

(Mercedes-Benz recall in the first half of the year)

The recall plan filed with the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration of Mercedes-Benz was officially announced on July 10. The first announcement concerns the recall of two domestic models of Beijing Mercedes-Benz, and the other is the recall announcement of two imported models. In these four models, Mercedes-Benz found four hidden defects.

1. Starting from August 14, 2020, Mercedes-Benz will recall a total of 803 imported S-Class cars equipped with 4.0-liter 8-cylinder engines that were manufactured between March 29, 2017 and October 25, 2018, and the engines may leak oil.

The announcement shows that due to deviations in the development process, the two oil seal plugs on the engine may not be able to withstand the maximum load generated by the vehicle while driving. The material of the seal plug may fail due to high engine oil pressure, especially when the vehicle is in the process of intense driving. The possibility of engine oil leakage from the sealing plug cannot be ruled out, and the oil may leak into the road, increasing the risk of traffic accidents behind the car. If the engine oil level falls below a certain limit, the red warning message in the dashboard will alert the driver to the problem, and if the driver continues to drive ignoring the warning message, the engine may dry out. In this case, the possibility of vehicle flameout due to engine damage cannot be ruled out.

Mercedes-Benz also specifically reminded that after receiving the red alarm message on the dashboard, the driver should stop safely and contact the nearest Mercedes-Benz authorized dealer for handling.

2. From July 17, 2020, Mercedes-Benz will recall a total of 929 imported GLE SUV vehicles from December 3, 2018 to September 20, 2019. The wiring harness is worn due to assembly errors in the factory.

Due to the deviation in the assembly process of the vehicle, the wire harness under the right seat of the second row may not be wired as required, which may cause wear and tear if you move the right seat of the second row back and forth. For vehicles equipped with rear side airbags, the side airbags of the seat may not work as expected, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a collision; in addition, if the occupants on this seat do not fasten their seat belts, the driver may not be reminded.

Mercedes-Benz will check the wiring of the wiring harness under the right seat of the second row of the vehicle, correct it if necessary and repair the damaged wire harness.

3. From September 25, 2020, Mercedes-Benz will recall some domestic C-Class, E-Class and GLC SUV cars produced from November 18, 2019 to December 2, 2019, a total of 3710 vehicles, seat tubes may be broken.

The materials of the front seat height adjuster may not meet the requirements for these vehicles due to the supplier's production deviation. When the vehicle collides, the external force may cause the pipe to break, and the seat and the occupant may move, thus increasing the risk of injury to the occupant during the collision.

The Mercedes-Benz solution is to replace the seat height regulator.

4. From July 17, 2020, Mercedes-Benz will recall some domestic GLB SUV vehicles from April 18, 2020 to April 26, 2020, a total of 499 vehicles, which is also a production process problem.

Due to the process characteristics of these vehicles, the light control unit may be damaged due to the risk of overvoltage, the right rear steering signal may be on all the time, and this failure may also be delayed, which may increase the risk of accident. In addition, the light control unit may overheat, thus increasing the risk of fire.

Mercedes-Benz said it would replace the lighting control unit for vehicles within the recall.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the most well-known luxury brands in China's auto market, with rising sales. From January to June this year, Mercedes-Benz delivered a total of 346067 new cars in China, a slight increase of 0.4 per cent over the same period last year. Under the influence of the epidemic, Mercedes-Benz made efforts only in the second quarter, turning sales in the first half of the year into an increase, which shows the influence of the Mercedes-Benz brand in the Chinese market.

In the face of continuous defects and recalls, many netizens believe that the higher the recall of Mercedes-Benz sales, which is an embarrassing phenomenon in the Chinese market. Active recall can reflect the brand's responsible attitude towards consumers, but in the century-old Mercedes-Benz brand, the continuous outbreak of problems such as production process, design defects and substandard suppliers is difficult to understand.

In addition to the brand's voluntary recall, Mercedes-Benz was "forced" to recall as many as 669000 vehicles in June, including 11 domestic / imported C-Class, E-Class and GLC models because of fuel leakage in some cases.

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