Mercedes-Benz Tires: Pressure Monitoring and Regulating Systems

Mercedes-Benz is recalling about 158 vehicles over a problem with the tires. If all four wheel sensors in the subject vehicles are simultaneously malfunctioning or missing, the TPMS will provide an initial warning, but this warning will not automatically repeat on subsequent ignition cycles, failing to remind the driver that the system is offline.

Campaign
11V493000
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Reported
3 October 2011
Vehicles
158
Built between
Mar 2011 – Jul 2011
Models
5
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
12 September 2014
Repaired
30%
Unrepaired
110

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2011 and July 2011. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz S400Built March 2011 to July 2011
  • 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz S550Built March 2011 to July 2011
  • 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz S600Built March 2011 to July 2011
  • 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz S63Built March 2011 to July 2011
  • 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz S65Built March 2011 to July 2011

Repair progress

110 of 158 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2015.

30% repaired — 48 of 158 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (Mercedes Benz) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 S550, S550 CGI, S63, S600 Bi-Turbo, S65 AMG, S550 4-Matic, and S550 CGI 4-Matic and S400 Hybrid vehicles manufactured from March 3, 2011, through July 30, 2011, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)." The tire pressure monitoring system indicators may only illuminate for a portion of the time required by the standard and under certain conditions may not re-illuminate immediately after the vehicle is restarted as required.

What could happen

If all four wheel sensors in the subject vehicles are simultaneously malfunctioning or missing, the TPMS will provide an initial warning, but this warning will not automatically repeat on subsequent ignition cycles, failing to remind the driver that the system is offline. Driving unknowingly with incorrectly inflated tires may result in sudden tire failure, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

Mercedes Benz will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the tire pressure monitoring unit, free of charge. The recall began on September 12, 2014.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2011 to July 2011
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA3 October 2011
  3. Owners notified12 September 2014
  4. Latest repair reportQ4 2015 — 30% repaired

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 3 October 2011.

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 may contact Mercedes Benz at 1-800-367-6372.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Safety standard
FMVSS 138
Recall initiated by
MFR

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

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

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.

Same component

Same brand