The Mercedes C-Class is among those being recalled.
Mercedes-Benz has become the latest automaker forced to order a recall due to a potential fire risk on almost 6,000 of its luxury sedans, coupes and crossovers.
A who’s-who of automotive brand names has been caught up by fire-related issues — ranging from leaky engines to power window switches that could inadvertently short-circuit – so far this year.
The latest entrant into this select club is Mercedes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordering the recall of about 5,800 of the German maker’s products – covering eight separate models sold during the 2011 and 2012 model-years – because of a faulty fuel filter flange.
According to regulators, a defect in the molding process can led the flange to crack and possibly spill gasoline during refueling. That, in turn, could cause a fire.
The models covered by the recall include the C300, CL550, CL63 AMG, E350, GLK350, S400 Hybrid, S550 and S63 AMG.
The maker plans to notify owners and begin the repairs next month – at no charge – once dealers across the country have a sufficient supply of replacement parts.
The Mercedes recall follows a series of other fire-related safety actions that now have affected around 4 million vehicles in the U.S. market alone this year.
The largest of the recall was announced earlier in autumn when Toyota recalled 2.5 million vehicles sold in the U.S. – and nearly 7.5 million worldwide – due to a faulty window switch that can short-circuit and cause a fire.
Ford most recently recalled its newest Fusion and Escape models because of a potential engine coolant leak. The fluid could come in contact with hot engine components and catch fire. It was the third fire-related recall of the Escape this year.
(Ford develops software fix to resolve engine fire problems. Click Herefor that report.)