U.S. Recall of Mercedes-Benz Diesel Models Will Affect Over 9,000 Cars

January 22, 2008; The Wall Street Journal reported the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit is recalling as many as 9,004 diesel-engine cars in the U.S. from the 2007 model year because of possible problems with the crankshaft sensor.

As a result, the vehicle "may lose power rather than enter a limp-home mode. In addition, the vehicles cannot be restarted after failure of the electrical connection in the sensor, increasing the risk of a crash," the agency said in a report published on its Web site.

The potentially affected vehicles are versions of the M-, GL-, R-, and E-Class model lines and the recall is expected to begin next month, the agency said.