DIESEL FUEL MAY BE DEPOSITED ONTO THE HIGHWAY AND CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
MBUSA WILL CONTACT OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE DIESEL FUEL FILTER IF NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 30, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MERCEDES-BENZ USA AT 1-800-367-6372.
MERCEDES-BENZ USA (MBUSA) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 VEHICLES INCLUDING E-CLASS (212 PLATFORM), MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 2010 THROUGH FEBRUARY 2011, R-CLASS (251 PLATFORM), MANUFACTURED FROM APRIL 2010 THROUGH APRIL 2011, ML-CLASS (W164 PLATFORM), MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 2010 THROUGH MARCH 2011, GL-CLASS (X164 PLATFORM), MANUFACTURED FROM MARCH 2010 THROUGH MARCH 2011, AND MODEL YEAR 2012 S-CLASS (221 PLATFORM) VEHICLES. THE DIESEL FUEL FILTER MAY LEAK FROM THE AREA AROUND THE HEATING COMPONENT.
Serious10V540000
Fuel System, Other:Fuel Filter
DIESEL FUEL MAY BE DEPOSITED ON ROADS AND MAKING THOSE ROADS SLIPPERY, INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 24, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MERCEDES BENZ AT 1-800-367-6372. THIS CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED . PLEASE SEE RECALL CAMPAIGN 11V-496.
MERCEDES BENZ IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 M-CLASS, MODEL W164, GL-CLASS, MODEL X164, E-CLASS, MODEL W212, R-CLASS, AND MODEL V251VEHICLES. THE O-RING MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY LUBRICATED IN ALL CASES. LACK OF LUBRICATION CAN LEAD TO LEAKAGE OF THE FUEL FILTER.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
0Crashes
0Fires
0Injuries
0Deaths
Across 5 complaints. Severity Index 0.00.
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Steering — 2 reports
Vehicle Speed Control — 1 reports
Electrical System — 1 reports
Steering:Electric Power Assist System — 1 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.