2014 Mercedes SL and SLK add small expansion to Takata airbag recall

Fri, 11 Jul 2014

Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to be affected by Takata's massive airbag recall. The company has announced a voluntary recall campaign on a small number of model-year 2014 SLK- and SL-Class roadsters.

In Mercedes' case, 300 vehicles are affected, 200 of which are in the hands of customers. According to spokesperson Donna Boland, the affected roadsters were built between March and April of this year.

The issue, which is apparently the fault of one of Takata's subcontractors, rests with some improperly installed fasteners, which could keep the airbag from performing the way it's supposed to. According to Boland, Mercedes isn't sure what, if any, injuries the recalled airbags could cause, but simply claims there's an increased risk in these particular vehicles. There's been no reported instances of the faulty airbags deploying on a customer and the original issue was found in a production test.

Mercedes has informed both owners of the affected cars and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, although at this point, it's unclear if this will expand beyond a simple voluntary recall.

By Brandon Turkus