Mercedes Benz has recalled nearly one million cars around the world due to a potential issue that in rare cases could see the braking pedal disconnected from the braking system.
The German auto giant said over the weekend that it would start to contact affected customers whose vehicles were built between 2004 and 2015.
Cars from the ML and GL series of SUVs and R-Class luxury minivans are being recalled, with a total of 993,407 vehicles impacted, including 70,000 in Germany.
Mercedes did not say how many cars in the UK would be affected.
In 2021, the company recalled a similar number of vehicles over problems with their emergency call systems.
“Corrosion on the brake booster can in the worst case lead to the connection between the brake pedal and the braking system being interrupted,” the German transport regulator KBA said.
Mercedes added that it “might be possible for a particularly strong or hard braking manoeuvre to cause mechanical damage to the brake booster.”
“In such a very rare case, it would not be possible to decelerate the vehicle via the service brake,” the Stuttgart-based company said. “Thus the risk of a crash or injury would be increased.”
The recalled vehicles will be inspected and have parts replaced if affected, Mercedes said.
“Until the inspection takes place, we ask our customers not to drive their vehicles.”
In recent years, the carmaker has been forced to recall hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
Some 774,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles across Europe had used software to beat diesel emission tests, requiring them to be recalled, Germany’s transport ministry said in 2018.
A year earlier, Mercedes had to recall 75,000 cars in the UK because of the risk of fire.
The issue relates to a potentially faulty fuse in starter components which causes vehicles to overheat.
The fire risk prompted Mercedes owner Daimler to recall around a million vehicles worldwide.
