— Mercedes-Benz drivers may be faced with serious steering control problems if they are driving 2017 B250e, CLA250, 2017-2018 AMG CLA45, GLA250 or AMG GLA45 vehicles.
According to the automaker, about 5,000 of those vehicles are recalled because the universal joint bearings may separate.
Mercedes-Benz says the steering shaft bore hole for the universal joint bearing may move around too much, causing a separation of the bearing and universal joint.
The problem apparently goes back to the beginning of 2017 when Mercedes opened an investigation following a complaint from an assembly plant. The complaint was about noise coming from a steering shaft.
Mercedes says a "very large" number of internally and externally stored parts were checked, but the automaker found no faulty parts. This closed the investigation and Mercedes concluded the steering shaft noise was an isolated incident.
Then in July 2020, Mercedes learned about a customer complaint about a bearing that separated from the steering shaft when the driver was parking the vehicle.
Mercedes recovered the parts and the supplier said the 2020 problem could be related to the 2017 incident.
Mercedes and the supplier found a steering shaft failure could occur at low speeds because the steering forces are highest at this point. Mercedes also learned the faulty steering shafts were installed in vehicles manufactured at different plants worldwide.
A driver may notice a change in steering and may hear noise.
The Mercedes recall is expected to begin April 30, 2021. Mercedes dealers may need to replace the steering shafts.
Owners of the recalled vehicles may contact customer service at 800-367-6372.