50,000 Mercedes SUVs May Think Adults Are Actually Kids

Hot on the heels of three minor recalls, Mercedes has issued another

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by Carscoops Staff

January 5, 2017 at 20:32

Hot on the heels of three minor recalls, Mercedes has issued another – only this time it’s for a larger number of vehicles, and for a potentially more serious issue.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the manufacturer has discovered that the occupant classification system on some of its SUVs may be calibrated incorrectly. So when an adult is sitting in the front passenger seat, the system might think there’s a kid there and deactivate the front airbag.

The problem affects an estimated 47,799 models of the GLE and GLS, all of them from the 2016 and 2017 model years. Those include the GLE300d, GLE350, GLE350d, GLE400, GLE450, GLE550e, GLE63 AMG, GLE43 AMG Coupe, and GLE63S AMG Coupe, as well as the GL350 Bluetec and GL550 (before they were rebadged), and the GLS63 AMG.

Fortunately fixing the problem will require simply reflashing the relevant software, a process which it will begin undertaking still this month.