Mercedes will have to recall more than 144,000 vehicles in the United States because of a software defect that can cause the multimedia system to reboot continuously and, in the worst cases, make the digital instrument cluster suddenly shut off. The issue affects several models produced between 2024 and 2026, including the C-Class, E-Class, GLC, CLE and SL.
Mercedes recalls more than 144,000 cars in the U.S. over infotainment system defect
The defect is reportedly linked to the infotainment control module, which under certain conditions enters a protection mode and begins restarting repeatedly. When the instrument cluster shuts off, the driver loses access to essential information such as speed, onboard indicators, warnings and navigation directions. This situation can become risky, especially at night or in poor visibility conditions, although no injury crashes linked to the issue have been reported so far.
Mercedes had already tried to solve the problem with an over-the-air update released from the middle of last year, designed to reduce the frequency of system freezes. However, that intervention was not enough. In South Korea, customer complaints led authorities to require a formal safety procedure, and later the NHTSA, the U.S. road safety agency, opened an investigation into the case. Faced with a growing number of warranty claims, Mercedes decided to proceed with an official recall.
Owners of the affected vehicles will receive a notification by the end of June and will need to take their cars to a dealer for the update, which will be performed free of charge, as required for all safety recalls. The case highlights how software is becoming a crucial safety element in new-generation cars, where an onboard electronics malfunction can lead to a large-scale recall even without mechanical problems.
