- Vehicles
- 28,874
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 15 November 1996
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
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.
- 1991-1993 Mercedes-Benz 300
- 1994 Mercedes-Benz 320
- 1990-1994 Mercedes-Benz 500
- 1993-1994 Mercedes-Benz 600
- 1996 Mercedes-Benz SL Class
What the defect is
If one of the headlamp wiper arms becomes misaligned, the wiper balde can lodge in the groove under the headlamp. If the washers are activated with the wiper blade in the misaligned and lodged position, the washer pump will run continuously expelling all available fluid.
What could happen
Pump operation in the absence of fluid can cause the pump to overheat and cause a vehicle fire.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEADLAMP WASHER PUMP ON THESE VEHICLES.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA19 September 1996
- Owners notified15 November 1996
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 19 September 1996.
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.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- MERCEDES-BENZ USA, INC.
- 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
Owner notification:owner notification began november 18, 1996. Note: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.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.
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.