Mercedes Withdraws To EQS Model For Potential Loss Of Power

Mercedes-Benz EQS 2021. (Doc. Mercedes-Benz)

JAKARTA - A luxury car manufacturer from Germany, Mercedes-Benz, has again held a recall program for the EQS electric vehicle model.

More than 3,000 cars in China have been affected by this move, but manufacturers have taken two different approaches to address the issue.

As reported by InsideEVs on Tuesday, August 8, the first phase of the recall involved 2,324 EQS sedans imported, due to issues in the electrical drive system caused by software errors. This condition can potentially cause power loss and increase the risk of accidents.

The affected Mercedes-Benz EQS unit comes from production between June 14, 2021, to July 8, 2022. In an effort to provide peace of mind to customers, the manufacturer will provide free software updates through the official Mercedes-Benz dealers network.

Meanwhile, the second step in the recall involved 1,051 imported EQS units assembled between June 14, 2021, and February 16, 2022. Unlike the previous case, this recall was triggered by problems with the high-voltage battery management system.

More worryingly, the drivers did not get an error-related warning on the battery system. The manufacturer will address this issue by providing a free software update to the battery management system through the official dealers' network.

This is not the first time Mercedes-Benz EQS has faced a recall. Earlier in May, 7,558 vehicles were affected, including the Mercedes EQS 450 and EQS 580 models in 2022. The recall also includes other models such as Mercedes S580e in 2023, as well as Mercedes-Maybach S580 and S680 in 2023 in the United States.

The previous recall trigger was an error in the software system in both models. This problem can be seen in a speedometer that always shows 0 km/h, does not reflect the actual speed.

Mercedes realized this problem on the ESPN system in January 2022 after receiving a report on the loss of dynamic control. This error became significant as it could result in the loss of functions such as acceleration slips, electronic brake distributions, and even anti-lock braking systems. Based on field simulation results, Mercedes technicians found that these errors could trigger the failure of the ESPN system.