Mercedes agrees to $13-million US fine for recall reporting flaws

Mercedes Benz will pay a USD 13 million penalty to U.S. safety regulators for a string of reporting failures involving recalled vehicles.

The German automaker agreed to the payment in a settlement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Last year the agency opened an investigation into recall reporting lapses by Mercedes involving more than 1.4 million vehicles.

The investigation covered allegations of recall notification letters being sent too slowly to vehicle owners as well as slow reporting of safety problems to the agency.

The settlement also addresses flaws with the operation and functionality of Mercedes' internet site that lets vehicle owners check for recalls by their vehicle identification numbers, the agency said Wednesday in a statement.

Mercedes agreed to pay the USD 13 million penalty with another $7 million deferred if certain conditions are met.

The automaker will meet with NHTSA regularly to discuss recall execution and reporting, as well as the recall lookup site, the agency's statement said.