- Mercedes is recalling 7,362 EQB EVs in the United States over a fire risk.
- The vehicles have a battery that may fail internally and catch on fire.
- Owners should only charge their crossovers to 80%, until getting a software update.
Mercedes is recalling thousands of EQB electric crossovers because their high voltage batteries may “fail internally.” This could result in a fire, regardless of whether the vehicle is parked or being driven.
A total of 7,362 vehicles are impacted including the 2022-2024 EQB 250, EQB 300, and EQB 350. However, the defect is believed to be present in 100% of the population, so owners need to take precautions.
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According to the government, “Due to the combination of certain production and vehicle use conditions, an internal short circuit of a battery cell in the high-voltage battery might occur.” They went on to cite “variations during … early stage production” as well as “local external influencing factors” – such as electric current ripples in charging infrastructure or potential mechanical damage to the high-voltage battery – as reasons the battery might be “insufficiently robust” at a high state of charge.
Mercedes received reports of fires throughout 2023 and 2024, and investigated each of them. The focus was initially on Chinese vehicles, but the company couldn’t rule out the possibility of problems in other markets so they decided to conduct a recall. This is occurring despite no specific root cause being found.
The company said there have been no reports related to the issue in the United States and they’re chalking the problem up to battery management software. As a result, the fix is pretty straightforward as dealers will simply update the software to address the issue.
Owner notifications are expected to be mailed out on April Fool’s Day and customers are being advised to only charge their EQB to 80% until the software update has been completed. That’s a significant inconvenience considering the EQB 300 only has an EPA range of 205 miles (330 km).
The batteries were manufactured by China’s Farasis Energy and the issue is unrelated to the Samsung SDI recall involving 180,196 vehicles made by Ford, Stellantis, and the Volkswagen Group.
