Unexpected fires rank among the topmost fears of any automaker, and Mercedes-Benz is dealing with plenty of them.
After reports of 51 fires in late-model vehicles, 30 of them in the U.S., the German luxury automaker will recall roughly one million vehicles worldwide to prevent an electrical fault from causing even more.
The issue afflicts a number of different models and stems from a starting current limiter that can become overloaded during the starting procedure. No injuries have been reported from the fires, and the automaker has already installed a fix on new models coming off the production line.
However, Reuters reports that Mercedes-Benz has placed a stop-sale order on all unsold vehicles left on dealer lots. Those vehicles won’t budge until fixed.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the models include 2015-2017 C-Class vehicles, CLA models from the same time period, 2017 E-Class and GLA models, and 2016-2017 GLC vehicles.
The NHTSA recall report states:
In the event the starter is blocked due to engine/transmission damage (e.g. hydro locked engine), a very high electric current would flow through the starting current limiter during the subsequent start attempt. Should the driver attempt to start the engine repeatedly despite the engine not cranking, the very high electric current draw might lead to overheating of the starting current limiter. In a worst case, surrounding components might melt, and potentially ignite and lead to a fire.
Of the one million models recalled, 354,434 were sold in the U.S.
Parent company Daimler AG launched a preliminary investigation in June 2016 after receiving reports of fires. Over the following months, investigators zeroed in on the starting current limiter as the culprit.
“Owners will be notified with an interim letter in late March, and again when parts become available in July 2017, approximately one week after recall launch to the dealers,” the report reads.
So, if your Mercedes doesn’t start on the first try, consider going back inside and watching Netflix instead of cranking that sucker again.
[Image: Mercedes-Benz]
Low displacement turbo engines continue their quest to kill everyone.
Are they having head gasket failures that allow coolant leaks into the cylinder after the engine is shut down? That would be the most likely reason to hydro-lock, unless they have coolant passages associated with the intake manifold that could be leaking due to porosity or seal problems.
Source?
I’m thinking it has more to do with the fact that the ECM is doing the actual cranking now – the driver merely initiates the process. So how long does the ECM keep the solenoid energized, and shouldn’t the ECM realize that there the engine is locked by monitoring the crank position sensor?
This sounds more like a software problem to me.
Note they said, “In the event the starter is ‘blocked’,” which implies the engine doesn’t even turn. That has nothing to do with “low displacement turbo engines” as such.
Why the assumption?
As long as 2013 E350 BlueTEC ain’t on that list…
I don’t see anything naturally aspirated or over 3.0L on the recall list in the link…
Sounds like the E300 and CLA is self-aware and would rather immolate than continue its unnatural existence.
And also:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joke
Well, if there are issues with CH gasket, this could easily correlate with higher specific power. Increased thermal stress, differential expansion of components, narrow cooling channels and walls…
Why waste any hard-earned money on a POS Mercedes-Benz when you can drive a 1974 Toronado?
Those are hard to find. The ’68 would be my sweet spot, since I REALLY like the original styling. Unfortunately, I also like the base bench seat with fold down armrest, and the column shifter. It’s especially hard to find one that has all the engine rubber and plastic replaced with versions that can handle the ethanol in modern gasoline. If you’ve already got a ’74, go ahead and gloat.
Well you know some folks do have to get to work on time and that wasn’t really a priority for 1974 GM.
Source?
My 1974 is Cranberry colored with the deep red brougham interior. It has never failed to start since I got it for free in 2005.
Google the 1974 Toronado and you’ll see the GM postcard advertisement – mine exactly. Other 1974 Toronados got the “optional for 1974 only” sealed side windows which are model-year specific in parts and application. 1975 to 1978 are standard and quite different in the design.
I’m a fan of the big ‘ole cruisers, but I do know there is no way it has ran for 30 years without an extensive amount of work.
Source?
Actually, 43 years. No engine work done. Transmission resealed because the vehicle sat six years at high elevation near Yosemite.
If you research the 1974 Toronado you will come across several photos of mine taken in 1997. You’ll see a Bob Black Oldsmobile license frame and an original blue/yellow California plate with the numbers ‘929’.
Currently at my mechanic’s shop waiting for upgraded GM HEI from a 1976 455.
” engine/transmission damage (e.g. hydro locked engine)”
The fires are probably less a concern to M-B engineers as the reason why 50 cars had hydro locked engines or damaged transmissions.
Source?
Exactly.
Mercedes-Benz sold one million vehicles? Volume über alles.
2.08 million worldwide in 2016, not including Smart or commercial trucks.
Yes they are a volume producer these days.
Stalin is reputed to have said that quantity is a kind of quality all on its own.
Source?
Sauce?
What is your source anyone is on the sauce?
Note I said “reputed”.
Also note that anyone who can comment here can also google, or bing, or duck duck go, and find a zillion pages discussing whether or not Stalin said it, or could have said it, or others who could have aid it.
Anyone asking for historical referencing on a web forum is probably trying to look clever by exposing someone else for a dunce.
Source?
Well, you know what Lincoln said: “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is hard to verify their authenticity.”
@indi500fan
The CLA is outselling any Ford sedan in Australia. Hard to fathom,but it shows how much the Automotive scene has changed in Australia
I also understand sh!tty properties in Melbourne are going for over a million AUD or more, thus I would say there are many things a bit different in the land down under.
@28-Cars-Later
Putting it mildly. Ridiculous house prices are a major problem. Seeing MB replace Ford as a mainstream sedan and SUV supplier, would not be conceivable a few years ago.
That is why the up coming X-Class Pickup is not being looked at as a luxury Pickup
“possible root causes for the electric overload were investigated based on descriptions from field reports. Additionally, internal tests on test benches and in exemplar vehicles were conducted. It was determined that the blocking of the starter due to prior engine/transmission damage was an essential pre-condition for the observed defect on the starting current limiter. In November and December 2016, the defect mechanism on the starting current limiter in the event of a blocked starter was analyzed. It was determined that multiple start attempts after the occurrence of a blocked starter might lead to the condition of an electrically overloaded starting current limiter.”
The solution is an in-line fuse. “The best or nothing.”
You beat me to it. This is precisely what 50-cent fuses were designed to prevent.
If this story was about a fire hazard in a GM, FCA, or Hyundai product, it would be less surprising. But when you sell what’s supposed to be such a prestigious super-German-engineered vehicle that it’s priced 30% more than its plebeian competition, one begins to wonder if there’s really anything behind that luxury badge beyond image.
Agree. MB seems to get a free pass on these issues when if it were a mainstream automaker dealing to the peasantry, everyone would assume malice, incompetence, etc right off the bat.
I also agree when it comes to luxury cars that are decidedly mainstream, like the C class, even E class, the bulk of your extra dollars spent on German engineering prowess is going into Daimler’s bank account rather than content.
I am a firm believer in the law of diminishing returns when it comes to cars. A Toyota Avalon or Fusion Platinum are fine vehicles that represent a great deal of content and engineering for your dollar. To go the next step into entry luxury vehicles, the value doesn’t add up and the extra price does not equal the sum of its parts. But I suppose if feeding your ego and keeping up with the Jonses is worth the extra cash, more power to ya.
The official fix from MB is to install a fuse. So you are on the right track.
Why did they cheap out on this circuit? (And where else did their German Engineers omit something important in order to save half a Euro?)
The other day I met this long time, now retired Daimler master tech who told me that he would only buy a Merc with either an inline 6 or a V8, nothing else. No fours no V6 and absolutely no turbo. I think the same should apply to BMW.
I think the only thing right now from Mercedes, Audi, or BMW that I’d actually “buy” is the GLE350.
Anything else is strictly a lease only affair.
Looks like a leasee to me. No Mercedes keepers after MY96 IMO.
One of those little CLAs was parked next to me last night when we had finished the grocery shopping. I had no idea they were so dangerous. ;-)
So 1/3 of the recalled cars are in the US, but 2/3 of the fires are in the US.
Why do Americans keep trying to crank an engine that doesn’t turn?
For the same reason Americans marry multiple times: “the triumph of hope over experience”.
That same precept is why people buy GM cars – maybe the next one will work out and not have so many defects – until they finally learn their lesson.
You laugh, but VW would put this on the customer somehow.
Also, with my F150 you flip the key and it will turn over until it cranks or for like 10 seconds ( I once parked it on a hill really low on gas). It isn’t like an old school car where the starter only turns while you have it in the start position. Not sure if these cars are the same but if a Ford has this then a new benz might.
“You laugh, but VW would put this on the customer somehow.”
Source?
“Source?”
Source is my experience owning a VW AND none other than Mr. Jim Beam himself!
There, cited
And oh yeah, Bertel Schmitt told me!
YEAH BABY!
In this case, the engine would not make a complete turn at all! Read the article! And yes, to hold down the start button of a 150A circuit when said circuit is clearly not working as expected, is dumb.
In a modern Mercedes-Benz the starter button ‘holds’ itself down long enough to fry a circuit– by design.
You don’t think luxury car buyers would hold a key/button in the start position long enough for an engine to actually start, do you?!
very German in that the device they came up with to protect the system in these cases is itself causing the very fires it was meant to prevent.
Pretty much all vehicles on the market have “tip” start (PCM controls the starter,) guaranteed if it’s a push-button. So why not instead have an in-line current shunt and have the PCM disengage the starter if it sees excessive current draw?
I would imagine that is how it is probably designed now, but to retrofit it into a million cars? No, a fuse will do. ALL car makers are concerned about a buck and these fixes have to be implemented as cheaply as possible, even on prestige brands. M/B of the past would have had such a safety system as engineering came first- unlike today where pinching pennies gets you the Muntz award…Now there’s an obscure reference…
Developing a failure analysis which assumes a catastrophic mechanical failure and repeated attempts by the owner to remedy by pressing the start button would not result in extraordinary design considerations, as is evidenced by the simple fix. You can assume that they thought that the “current limiter” would protect the motor/battery in this case…which it did…but analyzing the thermal impact on nearby components should have been part of the design analysis. It is likely they underestimated the temperature of the current limiter in this worst case.
So while it is certainly a case of buggered engineering it was probably a design compromise which necessitated relocating the component to make room for some other convenience device.
Are they having that many hydro-locked engines? My brother managed to hydro-lock a ’70 Olds 455 (in a Ninety-Eight), which bent a rod and ruined two pistons (numbers 5 and 7, on the driver’s side at the rear). He had let the thing overheat on several occasions (leaky radiator), and eventually warped the heads, block(!), and intake. Attempted cranking drained the battery and cooked the insulation on the positive battery cable.
There is something very fishy about this recall – “Dozens of fires”? I can count on one hand how many vehicles I’ve seen with a locked engine that wasn’t due to driving through water – – Mercedes is lying about the cause – it’s not because of a locked engine. A locked engine could do it and that’s why they use the excuse – but floods being the most common reason of a locked engine would never become a recall and other reasons are so rare that it is extremely unlikely – I’m calling it BS – Mercedes just lied to NHTSA about the cause