[Exclusive] 20,000 Mercedes-Benz E and C-Class Vehicles Recalled for Engine Stall During Driving

52,222 Units Including E220d·C220d
Vehicles Sold from 2016 to July Last Year
Cause: High-Pressure Fuel Pump Damage
"Recall Preparation Underway Due to Parts Supply Issues"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A manufacturing defect causing engine shutdowns during driving in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class has been acknowledged, leading to a recall. The cause is damage to the high-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Automobile Safety and Defect Review Committee decided on November 10 last year that the engine shutdown issue in the Mercedes-Benz E220d and C220d during driving "constitutes a defect that hinders safe driving and requires a manufacturing defect recall." A defect investigation was conducted on 53,222 units of E220d, C220d, and GLC220d sold from 2016 to July last year. Approximately 20,000 vehicles were actually recalled. For the remaining vehicles, free repairs will be provided if problems occur. These vehicles are representative models of Mercedes-Benz. The E-Class (E250) ranked first in imported car sales for three consecutive years from 2020 to last year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The engine shutdown issue began in 2020. From July 1, 2020, to July 31 last year, a total of eight reports were received by the automobile recall center. Five were E220d and three were C220d. These models exhibited engine warning lights turning on during driving, followed by engine shutdowns and inability to restart. Six cases of engine shutdown occurred within 40,000 km of driving distance, indicating the issue appeared even at relatively low mileage.

The cause is damage to the high-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank. The high-pressure fuel pump increases fuel pressure and supplies it to the fuel rail. The pump uses fuel as a lubricant internally. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority's Automotive Research Institute conducted an on-site investigation and found no unusual maintenance history in the reported vehicles, but multiple fault codes related to system fuel pressure were recorded. The institute explained, "The engine shutdown occurred because the fuel injection system was blocked by metal debris caused by abnormal wear of the rollers inside the high-pressure fuel pump, or because proper fuel pressure was not generated," adding that "restarting was impossible after the issue occurred."

The pump in question is Bosch's CP4-20/1, which is also installed in the Mercedes-Benz A220d, GLB200d, and GLC220d models besides the two aforementioned models.

[Photo by Mercedes-Benz Korea]

Mercedes-Benz Korea claimed that engine shutdowns could occur when vehicles equipped with parts produced in 2018-2019 were operated with fuel that had degraded lubrication properties. They also argued that drivers could recognize the issue in advance through warning lights and power loss before the engine shutdown occurred. However, the Automotive Research Institute rejected Mercedes-Benz's claims, stating, "No evidence of low-quality fuel use as claimed by the manufacturer was found, and the manufacturer failed to provide objective evidence."

When the manufacturing defect investigation began, Mercedes-Benz Korea extended warranty repairs related to the high-pressure fuel pump damage issue. They also made design changes to improve the robustness of the high-pressure fuel pump, such as changing the roller material. However, two months have passed since the authorities' recall decision in November last year, but the recall has not been announced on the automobile recall center website.

A Mercedes-Benz Korea official stated, "We received notification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and made a preliminary recall report, and we informed customers in advance, but due to parts supply issues, we are currently preparing for the recall," adding, "Customers who paid for repairs after the defect investigation started will be compensated later."