Mercedes-Benz Recalls 400,000 Cars In The UK For Potential Airbag Issue

German auto giant Mercedes-Benz has announced a recall of 400,000 vehicles in the UK over a potential airbag issue. The recall affects vehicles that were manufactured between November 2011 and July 2017 and includes certain units of the A, B, C and E-Class models, as well as the GLA, CLA and GLC cars in the company's line-up. Mercedes parent Daimler AG also cleared that the recall is not connected to the Takata airbag scandal. There were no fatalities reported either due to the potential issue on its cars.

Mercedes-Benz says the issue is with the clock spring model in the steering column which could break and cause the airbag to deploy. Owners have been told a warning light will appear on the dashboard as a result of the issue, and if it does, customers should immediately contact their dealer for fixing the issue. If the wiring components are not correctly earthed, it can deploy the driver side airbag on the vehicle.

Under the recall, the automaker will replace the clock spring model on the affected vehicles, a process which is said to take an hour at the most. Mercedes-Benz will be contacting the affected customers and will ask them to bring their vehicle in. The complete replacement will be made free of charge, the automaker said in a statement.

Mercedes also said that there were no cases of airbags being prematurely deployed in the UK. However, 30 cases on the said issue were reported globally. It is not clear if Mercedes-Benz will be issuing a similar recall in other markets as well including India.