1.29 Million Mercedes-Benz Vehicles Recalled For Communications Software Issue

Recalls certainly aren't uncommon in the automotive world for various reasons. Recently Mercedes-Benz USA announced that it recalled 1.29 million vehicles sold since 2016 due to a potential software issue in the car. The software issue is a significant one because it could cause the vehicle to fail to communicate correct location information in the event of a crash.

Failing to communicate the vehicle's location in an accident could prove deadly to passengers inside the car. The recall issued by Mercedes covers some 2016 through 2021 model year CLA, GLA, GLE, GLS, SLC, A, GT, C, E, S, CLS, SL, B, GLB, GLC, and G class vehicles. The recall was filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Mercedes says that it will issue a software update to be installed by dealers or over the air for some of the vehicles. The automaker said that it is unaware of any material damage or personal injury in connection with the potential software issue. According to Mercedes, a temporary collapse of the communication module's power supply causes a crash that might lead to the vehicle's position during a potential emergency call being incorrect.

Mercedes did say that other functions of the automatic and manual emergency calling feature are fully operational. A similar issue was noted in Europe in October 2019, resulting in an investigation being launched. In that instance, the Mercedes-Benz eCall Center reported a single instance in the European market where an automatic eCall system relayed an inaccurate vehicle position.

The lengthy investigation in that issue dug deeply into various software combinations for the communication module. In that testing, the research found additional similar events with the vehicle position transmitted was incorrect. It's unclear at this time when exactly the software fix will be available.