When it comes to Mercedes-Benz, one would expect nothing but top notch quality and performance, which comes with a price, of course. However, nobody is perfect, and there is always room for some error at one point in time or another, and the law of averages has affected Mercedes-Benz this time around. The luxury automobile maker from Germany has issued a recall that will affect at least 1 million Mercedes-Benz vehicles that comprise of more recent models. The reason behind that? A defective starter part is the culprit behind at least 51 reported fires. Better to do so now than to end up with more Car-B-Ques cases then.

What makes it all the more strange is the fact that the fires occur even when the engine does not start. Normally, this does not make too much sense, as the car would have been pretty cold under most circumstances. Well, the defective starter part is to blame, since the limiter in the starter motor will end up overheating from too many attempts to start, which will result in the melting of other parts located near the starter motor.

Affected Mercedes-Benz models
Concerned owners of the following Mercedes-Benz models might want to get their vehicles checked out with the nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz workshop or dealer as soon as possible. The C-class, E-class, and CLA cars, plus the GLA and GLC trucks which were made between 2015 and 2017 would fall under this particular category. It would be interesting to see how Mercedes-Benz would compensate their customers while waiting for this particular issue to be cleared up at the nearest workshop.

US recall exercise
The recall exercise in the US will affect a total of 307,629 vehicles. The relevant replacement parts will only be available from this July onward, which is still some ways off so you might want to be careful. Perhaps it would be best to minimize the amount of driving done with your new Mercedes-Benz and use another vehicle instead, but if you have not much choice, having an automobile fire extinguisher would be a good idea to keep on hand just in case your ride ends up charred like a summer steak. Notifications will be sent out to US-based customers this month. What boggles the mind though is this -- the total number reported to US regulators comprise of more than 40,000 vehicles according to Automotive News, so it would be great to figure out where this particular discrepancy comes from.

So far, there has been no injuries or deaths reported due to the self-combusting Mercedes-Benz cases, but this does not mean that things ought to be taken for granted. Out of the 51 reported cases, 30 of those hail from the US alone. The US is the third largest market in the world for Mercedes-Benz, so it makes perfect sense for the German automotive giant to look into the matter urgently and with great caution. Will Mercedes-Benz's rivals take advantage of the situation, and will we see the likes of BMW, Audi, and Volvo obtain better sales in the near and immediate future? After all, getting trapped in a car while burning to death is not one of the nicest ways to go.