The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation has opened a probe into an issue impacting 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 models that could cause it to not start.
The investigation was opened on July 25 and comes after the NHTSA received a petition alleging that a defect with the GLC 300’s 48-volt mild-hybrid system can cause the engine warning light to frequently illuminate and can lead to an inability to start the vehicle.
As is typical with open safety issues being addressed by the Office of Defects Investigation, details are limited at this early stage. What we do know is that the original petitioner claims to have experienced a shutdown while driving and that the SUV could not be restarted despite the owner trying for over 90 minutes. The same owner asserts that when the vehicle could finally be restarted, all the lights and alarms came on and that the issue re-occurred three other times. The petitioner’s vehicle had just ~2,400 miles (~3,800 km) on the odometer when the issues first appeared.
A Mercedes-Benz service manager allegedly told the owner that several other 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 owners had informed him of similar issues.
Read: 2023 Mercedes GLC Gets Hefty Price Hike To Accompany Redesign, Starts At $47k
The Office of Defects Investigation will evaluate the alleged issues and determine whether a recall is needed. If it is, some 8,000 vehicles in the United States will likely have to be fixed. It is not yet clear how long the investigation will take.
If a recall is announced, it would not be the first involving the 2023 GLC. In early July, a plethora of Mercedes-Benz passenger models, including 2021-2023 GLC 300s, 2021-2023 GLC 43s, and 2021 AMG GLC 63 models, were hit with a recall over a fuel pump problem. In this case, the fuel pump impeller could deform and if it were to come in contact with the fuel pump housing, it could lead to mechanical resistance, triggering a shutdown.
