“As a consequence, the service brake can stop functioning.”
The KBA said that worldwide 993,407 vehicles were being recalled, including around 70,000 in Germany.
Mercedes-Benz confirmed the recall later in a statement sent to AFP, saying the move was based on “analysis of isolated reports for certain vehicles”.
“In rare cases of very severe corrosion, it might be possible for a particularly strong or hard braking maneuver to cause mechanical damage to the brake booster, whereby the connection between brake pedal and brake system would fail,” Mercedes said.
“In such a very rare case, it would not be possible to decelerate the vehicle via the service brake. Thus, the risk of a crash or injury would be increased.”
The company said it would “start with the recall immediately” and contact the owners of the “potentially affected vehicles”.
“The recall process will involve inspecting potentially affected vehicles and, depending on the results of the inspection, replacing the parts where necessary,” the company said.
“Until the inspection takes place, we ask our customers not to drive their vehicles.”