- Mercedes-Benz is recalling certain EQB electric crossovers over a battery fire risk.
- Some cars were already recalled on two separate occasions, where a software update was installed to monitor the batteries.
- That didn’t help, though, so nearly 12,000 cars in the U.S. will be getting new batteries.
The Mercedes-Benz EQB electric crossover is being recalled for the third time in the United States because its high-voltage battery might catch fire due to an internal short circuit. In total, the automaker is recalling 11,895 EQB EVs sold in the U.S., some of which have already been part of two separate recalls for the same issue, but the fixes that were applied have not eliminated the issues, so now there’s a third recall.
Last year, the German automaker started applying a software update to the affected vehicles, in the hopes that it would eliminate the root cause, which had not been discovered when the first battery-related recall was issued. However, after further analysis, the car company, along with China’s Farasis Energy, which manufactured the faulty batteries, found that the software fix didn’t actually eliminate the problem.
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As a result, nearly 12,000 EQB EVs are now getting recalled once again, but this time, their high-voltage batteries will be replaced free of charge. Until this latest recall, Mercedes-Benz was about 74% done with updating the affected cars’ software, according to official documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The cars included in this latest recall are 2022 through 2024 models that were manufactured between December 13, 2021, and May 9, 2024. According to the recall report issued by the NHTSA, a combination of production issues discovered in early batteries and use conditions could lead to an internal short circuit, which in turn might lead to “an increased risk of a fire.”
The document mentions that certain battery cells are not as robust against different stress factors as cells that were manufactured later. Moreover, if a short circuit were to happen, it would occur at a high state of charge, which is why Mercedes-Benz is advising owners who have not had the previous software updates done to limit charging to 80% and park outside until the high-voltage packs in their cars are replaced.
The German automaker said it is aware of two reports of fire in the United States related to this issue, both of which occurred on cars that are part of this recall. However, the company added that it has not received any reports of fires in the U.S. in cars that have had the software update done previously.
Late last year, Mercedes-Benz discontinued the EQB crossover. Its replacement, the new GLB with EQ Technology, will arrive at U.S. dealerships later this year.
