Mercedes recall widens over shaft risk

Mercedes-Benz is recalling 24,092 vehicles in the United States after safety regulators said a defect in the drive shaft universal joint could lead to a sudden loss of propulsion and raise the risk of a crash. The action covers selected 2018 to 2020 model-year E-Class and S-Class vehicles with 4MATIC all-wheel drive, including some coupe, cabriolet and Maybach variants. Owners are due to be notified by June 2, while dealers were scheduled to be alerted from April 10.

The recall filing lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says increased wear can occur at the universal joint on the drive shaft. If lubricant is lost, the joint can fracture, breaking the connection between the transfer case and the front-axle transmission. Regulators said that means propulsion could be lost without warning. Mercedes-Benz said drivers may in some cases notice noise or vibration before a failure, though the company added that such warning signs may not always be detected.

The affected population is broad for what is, on paper, a highly specific component issue. NHTSA documents show the campaign includes selected 2018-2020 Mercedes-Maybach S 560 4MATIC, S 560 4MATIC, S 560 4MATIC Coupe and S 450 4MATIC vehicles, as well as 2018 E 400 4MATIC sedan, wagon, coupe and cabriolet models and 2019-2020 E 450 4MATIC sedan, wagon, coupe and cabriolet variants. Mercedes-Benz USA estimated that 100 per cent of the recalled population could carry the defect, an unusually stark figure that underlines the manufacturer’s confidence in the production tracing behind the action.

According to the chronology in the federal filing, Mercedes-Benz AG received a field report outside the United States in October 2025 alleging loss of propulsion without warning. The carmaker had already seen instances in which customers reported noise and vibration, but that report prompted a deeper investigation. Tests carried out between November 2025 and January 2026 did not fully explain how a failure might occur without advance symptoms. Additional endurance testing from February through March, using pre-damaged shafts driven to failure, led the company to conclude on March 27 that a safety risk could not be ruled out.

Mercedes said it is aware of 30 warranty claim reports in the United States received between January 2022 and April 2025 that were linked to the condition. The filing does not say those claims involved crashes, injuries or deaths. That distinction matters. Warranty claims can indicate a pattern of part degradation without establishing that the issue has produced a wider safety toll on the road. Still, a defect that affects the power path of an all-wheel-drive luxury saloon or grand tourer carries obvious significance because sudden loss of drive can leave motorists exposed in traffic, during overtaking or at higher speeds.

The company’s remedy is to have authorised dealers inspect the drive shaft and replace it if necessary. The filing says vehicles built outside the recall population carry drive shafts that meet current production specifications, and adds that a change in the supplier’s production procedure means the issue should no longer occur on vehicles produced from December 20, 2019 onwards. The supplier listed in the filing is Germany-based IFA Group, identified as a tier-one distributor.

For Mercedes-Benz, the recall comes at a time when premium manufacturers are under heavier scrutiny over the durability of high-value components and the speed with which problems are escalated from service data to full safety campaigns. Modern recall practice is driven not only by crash evidence but by traceability, testing and the possibility that a defect could manifest unpredictably. The chronology in this case suggests the absence of a consistent warning sign was central to the decision, because a defect that might be preceded by obvious noise can be managed differently from one that may leave no reliable cue for the driver.