Mercedes-Benz Seat Belts: Retractor

Mercedes-Benz is recalling about 24,550 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. If the seat belt does not fully retract, the occupant may find the operation of the seat belt inconvenient and not wear it, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Campaign
21V032000
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Reported
29 January 2021
Vehicles
24,550
Built between
Not published
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
26 February 2021
Repaired
90%
Unrepaired
2,502

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 2017-2020 Mercedes-Benz AMG C43
  • 2017-2020 Mercedes-Benz AMG C63
  • 2017-2021 Mercedes-Benz C 300

Repair progress

2,502 of 24,550 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2022.

90% repaired — 22,048 of 24,550 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 2017-2021 C300, 2017-2020 AMG C43, and AMG C63 vehicles. The front seat belts might not fully retract to their stowed position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

What could happen

If the seat belt does not fully retract, the occupant may find the operation of the seat belt inconvenient and not wear it, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

What gets fixed

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will check the retraction function of the front seat belts and adjust the damping foam within the B-pillars, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 26, 2021.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA29 January 2021
  2. Owners notified26 February 2021
  3. Latest repair reportQ4 2022 — 90% 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 29 January 2021.

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. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2021020010.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
2021020010
Recalling manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Safety standard
FMVSS 208
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