- Vehicles
- 65,731
- Built between
- Apr 1997 – Jun 1999
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 20 February 2002
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 1997 and June 1999. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1998-1999 Mercedes-Benz C ClassBuilt April 1997 to June 1999
What the defect is
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with hoppecke batteries. The battery maintenance schedule could be less than needed to maintain proper electrolyte levels.
What could happen
The low electrolyte levels result in accelerated battery grid growth, increased potential for inter-cell rupture and sparking, and the potential for a battery explosion.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE BATTERIES, INCLUDING FLUID LEVELS. SOME BATTERIES MAY BE REPLACED IF NECESSARY, ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. IN ADDITION TO THE BATTERY INSPECTION, THE ADDITION OF LABELS IN THE VEHICLE OWNER'S MANUAL AND ENGINE COMPARTMENT WILL BE INCLUDED TO CONSPICUOUSLY REMIND OWNERS AS WELL AS DEALER AND SERVICE PERSONNEL OF THE NEED TO PERFORM BATTERY MAINTENANCE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 20, 2002.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 1997 to June 1999
- Recall reported to NHTSA4 December 2001
- Owners notified20 February 2002
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 4 December 2001.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact mercedes-benz at 1-800-367-6372.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC.
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.