Mercedes-Benz recalls almost one million cars after 51 fires reported

Daimler, a Mercedes-Benz parent company, recalls 75,000 cars in the UK and about 300,000 cars in the US due to a risk of fire. This is part of around one million cars the company is withdrawing after 51 fires were reported on Friday.

Mercedes-Benz determined that the fire incidents were due to an issue with an engine part that can cause an electrical fire. Although no deaths or injuries have been recorded, Daimler said the fault affects the fuse in some of its A, B, C and E class cars as well as its CLA, GLA, and GLC vehicles. As a result, this could cause the cars to overheat in unique conditions.

The luxury brand said these conditions would occur during the starting of the car. "This situation typically occurs in the rare situation where a vehicle is stranded in a significant amount of standing water and the engine stalls and cannot be restarted on the first try," a Mercedes spokesperson told reporters on Friday.

A repair has already been implemented in the production of new Mercedes-Benz cars and those already on dealer lots will be fixed before its sold. Mercedes-Benz has also instructed customers to take their cars, included in the recall, to dealer shops so that it will be fixed. According to Mercedes, the fix will normally take an hour to complete.

"Any affected vehicles in inventory will not be sold until they can be outfitted with the additional fuse," a Mercedes-Benz spokesman said. The recall is voluntary and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that helps the company carry out the recall has already been notified. Further, Mercedes-Benz will alert US customers about the problem over the next 60 days. Of the 51 fires that were reported, 30 were said to be in the US market and 307, 629 Mercedes-Benz cars will be recalled.

The United States is among the three biggest markets for Mercedes-Benz behind China and Germany. The company did not have a breakdown of where vehicles will be recalled outside the US. The recall also affects newer Mercedes-Benz models including those from the 2017 model year.