Mercedes Benz GLS 450 & GLS 580 Front Airbags May Deploy Improperly

A small number of 2020 Mercedes Benz GLS 450 and 2020 Mercedes Benz GLS 580 owners will be returning to their dealerships for a problem affecting the front airbags in their vehicles. These vehicles' airbags fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for Occupant Crash Protection. The problem could result in an improper airbag deployment which could potentially increase the risk of injury to occupants during an accident.

Mercedes Benz first became aware of the problem in March 2019, during routine internal crash testing, when the test team noticed an irregularity with the airbag deployment in one of their vehicles. At the time, they were not sure if the deviation affected safety, but decided to initiate a plant action to rework all affected vehicles. During this rework program, there are approximately eighty-one vehicles that may have been released from the production plant prior to being reworked.

According to the defect report, a deviation in the production process may have resulted in the front airbag sensor wiring being positioned incorrectly. During certain frontal crash circumstances, a second stage frontal airbag deployment may be triggered when only a first stage deployment is needed. As such, these airbags fail to meet the Federal requirements regarding occupant load.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the device failure the driver will not receive a prior warning that their vehicle is experiencing this airbag problem.

Owners receiving recall notices will be asked to return to their dealerships to have the wiring harness routed correctly. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) campaign number for this recall is 22V-466.

Airbags are one of the top automobile safety innovations since the invention of seatbelts. NHTSA estimates that the combination of an airbag plus a lap and shoulder belt reduces the risk of death in frontal crashes by 61 percent, compared with a 50 percent reduction for belts alone and a 34 percent reduction for airbags alone. Thanks to changes in government regulations, serious injuries from properly functioning airbags are rare. Still, NHTSA statistics show that an estimated 300 people have died as a direct result of airbags. The main reasons for airbag injuries include defective airbags that fail to deploy, incorrect timing or energy of deployments, and defective parts. Recalled airbags should be replaced to ensure that occupants receive the optimal level of protection in a crash.