Mercedes-Benz to recall over 1 lakh cars in China due to fire risk

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has recalled 1,27,071 of its cars in China due to a possible fire risk and steering issues, Beijing's quality watchdog said yesterday.

The recall involves the CLS-Class and E-Class that were either imported or manufactured by the Beijing Benz Automotive Company Limited, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement.

The recall, which came into effect from 13 March, was issued after a sealing strip for the engine cabin was founding to  have loosened in some vehicles, which could potentially cause an engine fire if the strip fell on hot engine parts, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The affected vehicles were manufactured between 2012 and 2014.

The vehicles would be checked by Mercedes-Benz China and Beijing Benz and the defective parts would be replaced free of charge.

Last month, Mercedes-Benz US, recalled over 147,000 sedans and wagons in the US due to a similar possibility of fire risk.

According to the company, it needed to fix poorly secured rubber seals on the engines of 2013-2015 E-Class and CLS vehicles. The seals could catch fire if, in case, they came loose and made contact with hot parts of the exhaust system, according to the company.

Separately the AQSIQ said Mercedes-Benz China would also recall 705 of its G-class luxury sport utility vehicles as of 9 March due to a steering problem.