Your Merc’s parking brake may fail for an unusual reason
Mercedes-Benz has announced its biggest U.S. recall of the year, with over 310,000 vehicles at risk of rolling away due to an issue with a micro-switch in the driver’s door lock. Seven different Mercedes models are implicated in this recall, spanning the 2019 to 2026 model years. So far, 176 field cases have been linked to this recall, but Mercedes isn’t aware of a rollaway having yet occurred in the United States. Still, just one rollaway could be extremely dangerous, so here’s everything owners of affected vehicles need to know.
Mercedes-Benz Rollaway Recall
Mercedes-Benz
The automaker has traced the issue to a door-lock microswitch that could corrode, which initially doesn’t sound like a component that could possibly lead to a rollaway. However, if it does corrode, this could prevent the electronic parking brake and/or Auto-Park function from engaging, which could cause the vehicle to roll away.
“The housing material for the door-lock microswitch might be more susceptible to moisture permeation,” states the recall report published on the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) website. “Over time, this might lead to corrosion on the microswitch and subsequently to the failure of the component. Upon such a failure, the microswitch might not detect when the door is opened. Should the microswitch fail on the driver door, the electronic parking brake and/or the “Auto-Park” feature connected to the driver door opening might not engage automatically. As a result, the vehicle might not be secured against rollaway and the vehicle might move, increasing the risk of a crash.”
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes has supplied a lengthy list of affected models, which total 72 variants in all. All of them are subcompact and compact models. Below, we’ve listed only the model years and model lines that form part of the recall:
- 2020-2021 Mercedes-Benz CLA
- 2019-2022 Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- 2022-2023 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class
- 2020-2026 Mercedes-Benz GLA and GLB
- 2023-2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
In total, the recall involves 310,667 models from the brand.
To resolve the issue, dealers will replace the driver’s door lock at no cost to owners.
What Mercedes Owners Must Do Now
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz will mail owner notification letters on September 18, 2026. The automaker’s customer service can be reached at 1-800-367-6372 for more information. As of July 31, 2026, owners will be able to use their vehicle identification numbers via the NHTSA site to check if their vehicle is involved in this recall.
As a rollaway is a risk, it’s advisable not to park on an incline if possible. While the issue can occur without warning, the radio or lights may remain switched on when exiting the vehicle, which could be a sign that the microswitch is faulty.
According to the NHTSA’s recall count, this is now the biggest of 10 recalls issued by Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. this year. The previous largest recall for the brand was in May, when 144,049 vehicles were recalled for an instrument cluster display that could go blank, an increasingly common issue in modern vehicles. Unfortunately, unlike that recall, the microswitch issue can’t be resolved via a quick over-the-air update.
About the author
Karl Furlong
Senior Editor, Autoblog