Pretoria - Mercedes-Benz SA has announced a recall of 3085 C-Class and E-Class units as its contribution to a global fix of more than 85 000 cars with potentially faulty steering.
Shirle Greig, spokesperson for Merc SA, said the company would notify affected customers and the repairs to the steering pump would be done free of charge at authorised Mercedes-Benz dealers.
The vehicle, Greig said, remains steerable at all times.
Whining noise
Greig said the power-steering system on C- and E-Class units produced between June 2009 and February 2010 may develop a leak where the high-pressure line and the steering pump connect.
A gradual loss of hydraulic fluid is generally followed by a whining noise from the pump and can lead to the driver having to apply more muscle power than normal to steering - particulary during slow-speed manoeuvres such as parking.
This recall comes less than two weeks after its rival BMW SA made recall plans of its own.
In South Africa, BMW SA has recalled about 3700 cars as part of a global drive to fix potentially leaking braking systems on 350 000 vehicles, which also includes 5 800 Rolls-Royce Phantom models.
http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/General_News/3000-Mercs-recalled-in-SA-20101012