The National Transportation Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the mission of saving lives, preventing injuries and economic loss by ensuring that the vehicles we purchase and drive meet all safety standards. Recalls are issued to make sure that auto manufacturers meet those standards and repair any defects. The most recent recall issued by the NHTSA is for approximately 744,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles for model years 2001 – 2011.
According to a report by Fox 10 in Phoenix, the recall covers nearly one dozen models of cars manufactured in the U.S. by Daimler Chrysler for C-Class, CLK-Class, CLS-Class, and E-Class models because the glass panel and sunroof frame do not meet NHTSA safety standards. Defective units have shown that the sunroof may detach while driving and possibly cause a crash.
On Friday, January 3rd, the government agency sent a letter to Greg Gunther, of Daimler-Chrysler advising him of the safety recall. As part of the government-mandated recall, Chrysler will be required to inspect and either repair or replace the defective sunroofs on the affected vehicles free of charge to consumers. Mr. Gunther will be required to submit a remedy plan on how the recall will be handled.
Mercedes-Benz USA, which is handled by Daimler-Chrysler, will be required to send letters to owners of the affected vehicles advising them of the defect and further information on having the cars repaired.
This is not the first time that the company has gotten into trouble with the federal agency. In the last quarter of 2019, Mercedes-Benz was fined some $20 million for how quickly the company notified U.S. consumers of recalls of over a hundred different defects in its vehicles manufactured between 2016 and 2018.
This latest recall will begin by February 14, 2020.
