Mercedes-Benz Steering: Electric Power Assist System

Mercedes-Benz is recalling about 28,452 vehicles over a problem with the steering. If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required, especially at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Campaign
15V845000
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Reported
16 December 2015
Vehicles
28,452
Built between
Jan 2014 – Dec 2014
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
15 January 2016
Repaired
97%
Unrepaired
823

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 2014 and December 2014. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300Built January 2014 to December 2014
  • 2015 Mercedes-Benz C400Built January 2014 to December 2014

Repair progress

823 of 28,452 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2017.

97% repaired — 27,629 of 28,452 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 (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2015 C300 and C400 4matic sedans manufactured January 27, 2014, to December 1, 2014. Due to an error in the electric power steering control unit software, the affected vehicles may have a loss of electric power steering assist.

What could happen

If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required, especially at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will update the power steering software, free of charge. The recall began in January 15, 2016.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 2014 to December 2014
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA16 December 2015
  3. Owners notified15 January 2016
  4. Latest repair reportQ3 2017 — 97% 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 16 December 2015.

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 MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
2015120006
Recalling manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
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