[April 30, 2014]DETROIT (Reuters) — Mercedes is
recalling about 284,000 of its C-Class sedans in the United States
and Canada because an electrical issue could cause the tail lights
to dim or fail, according to the company and documents filed with
U.S. safety regulators.
Mercedes, a unit of Germany's Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE>, is recalling
certain C300, C350 and C63 sedans from model years 2008 through 2011
as a poor electrical ground connection could cause the tail lights
to dim or fail, raising the risk of a crash, according to documents
filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Of the cars recalled 252,867 were sold in the United States,
according to the NHTSA documents. A Daimler spokesman said the rest
of the recalled cars were sold in Canada, and no other markets are
affected.
The spokesman said Daimler is not aware of any accidents or injuries
related to the issue.
In 2009, Mercedes received five field reports in which a loss of
tail lamp was due to loss of electrical connection, but the cause
was unknown at that time and designated for further study, according
to the NHTSA documents.
Last year, NHTSA opened an investigation into the issue and Mercedes
responded with information in October, according to the documents.
NHTSA requested further information in March 2014, and in preparing
to respond, Daimler decided to conduct the recall.
Dealers will replace the bulb holders if not previously updated and
replace any corroded connectors, NHTSA said. Parts are not currently
available. Owners will be sent an interim notification in June and a
second letter will be sent when the parts are available, which is
expected in August or September, NHTSA said.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and Ilona Wissenbach in
Stuttgart; editing by Bernadette Baum and Chizu Nomiyama)
