Nearly 6,000 Mercedes Recalled For Fire Risk

Mercedes-Benz has become the latest automaker forced to order a recall due to a potential fire risk on almost 6,000 of its luxury sedans, coupes, and crossovers.

A who’s who of automotive brand names has been caught up by fire-related issues — ranging from leaky engines to power window switches that could inadvertently short-circuit – throughout 2012.

The latest entrant into this select club is Mercedes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordering the recall of about 5,800 of the German maker’s products – covering eight separate models sold during the 2011 and 2012 model-years – because of a faulty fuel filter flange.

According to regulators, a defect in the molding process can led the flange to crack and possibly spill gasoline during refueling. That, in turn, could cause a fire.

The models covered by the recall include the C300, CL550, CL63 AMG, E350, GLK350, S400 Hybrid, S550, and S63 AMG.

The maker plans to notify owners and begin the repairs in January – at no charge – once dealers across the country have a sufficient supply of replacement parts.

The Mercedes recall follows a series of other fire-related safety actions that affected around four million vehicles in the U.S. market alone.

The largest of the recall was announced in autumn 2012 when Toyota recalled 2.5 million vehicles sold in the U.S. – and nearly 7.5 million worldwide – due to a faulty window switch that can short-circuit and cause a fire.

Ford most recently recalled its newest Fusion and Escape models because of a potential engine coolant leak. The fluid could come in contact with hot engine components and catch fire.

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