Mercedes-Benz is learning a hard lesson about the importance of reliable emergency systems for automobiles. How Car and driver and The Verge report, Mercedes USA is recalling nearly 1.3 million vehicles in the 2016-2021 model year due to a failure in the eCall emergency call platform. A software failure can “fail to communicate” the car’s right location to rescuers if the power supply goes down during an accident, delaying a rescue at a critical time.
The problem affects a wide range of Mercedes products, from entry-level cars like the A-Class to flagships like the S-Class. The company investigated several incidents where the cars were sent to the wrong places, including a European case in 2019.
The automaker will begin the formal recall on April 6 and plans to fix the problem through over-the-air updates (through Mercedes Me subscriptions) or by getting owners to visit dealerships.
In addition to highlighting the technical challenges of emergency call systems, the recall illustrates the growing importance of air updates for cars. Some Mercedes owners won’t have to leave the house to get a life-saving repair – which can offer peace of mind, not to mention that there will be free mechanics to do other repairs.