Mercedes-Benz recalls nearly 60000 units of GLS SUVs. Here's why

German luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz has initiated a recall campaign that covers 59,574 units of GLS SUVs owing to a third-row seat issue. The affected Mercedes-Benz GLS SUVs were built between 2018 and 2022. The third-row seats of the affected GLS SUVs are claimed to come with a defect that may not lock the seats in place in the event of an accident, which could result in major injury or fatality for the occupants. Initially, the recall campaign was issued for the North American market. It is not yet confirmed if the automaker will recall more GLS models across other markets.

The automaker claims that the issue was first discovered in February this year when its supplier, Brose North America, advised of a potential defect. Mercedes-Benz was advised that it may have failed to install or incorrectly position the springs in the locking mechanisms of some of the models' third-row seats. The automaker reportedly found that the troublesome springs could fail the seatback lock in case of a crash. In case the seat collapses during. crash, it could increase the risk of injury for the occupants. However, Mercedes-Benz claims that it is unaware of any complaints or injuries relating to this issue.

The recall-affected models include 51,998 Mercedes-Benz GLS SVs from the model year 2020-2022. Also, the GLS450 models were manufactured between 18th September 2018 and 4th July 2022 and are included in this recall. Apart from that, 5,212 units of GLS580s from the model year 2020-2022, made between September 18, 2018, and July 4, 2022, are included in the recall. Also, 2,364 units of 2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLS63s made between September 18, 2018, and July 14, 2022, are included in the recall. This recall affects 100 per cent of the vehicles included.

The supplier of the springs is claimed to have introduced an automated process to insert the springs and an additional test step in the production process to ensure that all future third-row seats are fitted with the part that resulted in this recall.