Takata/Airbag/Bankruptcy Report
 

"Takata Shares Suspended On Tokyo Stock Exchange Amid Bankruptcy Report
It appears that it's belly up for Takata according to the Japanese media. And if the rumor mill is to be believed, Takata will sell its operations by year's end"

I Wonder when Mercedes will replace defective airbags; times is passing and there is concern they are ignoring we: the consumers.

No one would be surprised given the magnitude of the recalls. Their product liability insurance would not be open ended so,I imagine they reached their cap.
Sad really but such is life in the corporate world.

I wonder how long this is going to continue to play out. In the meantime there are millions of cars on the road with no remedy in sight. The driver side airbag recall notice went out in Feb of 2016 and the passenger side in May of 2016. I haven't heard a peep.

I think the problem for MB is that the priority will go to the 10s of millions of other vehicles affected first. MB is probably down on the list just in terms of volume.

If Takata is effectively throwing their hands in the air then where does that leave the auto makers? While they would like Takata to provide a remedy, they may be forced to come up with their own fix. Every day that passes with no solution increases the risk of death or injury to customers.

Takata Expected to File Bankruptcy on Japan & U.S. on Monday
https://apnews.com/4e456cf44b454cf581e4fc06dc8ad338

Mercedes is saying this is a "voluntary recall" implying it's not a risk to the vehicle passengers and driver.... But cannot rule out that there is any risk and that someone could in fact get hurt or killed. They seem to hang their hat on the claim that no one has been injured thus far. I suppose none of their customers are worth enough to them for them to act sooner, or provide loaners, to those who take issue with the notion that an airbag could detonate and take out their face. Sadly, absent a better corporate responsibility attitude or government action, we're stuck waiting for this time-bombs and hoping they don't malfunction in a collision.

Not to try to defend Mercedes Benz, but I think you are misinterpreting the terminology being used here.

Believe it or not, all car manufacturer recalls that are in any way related to the Takata were announced voluntary recalls. (Almost) every recall that was announced in the past year, whether it be related to automobiles or any other consumer product, could be labeled as a "voluntary recall".

So the term "voluntary" is not intended as an indication that the reasoning for the recall aren't serious nor that they do not pose a risk to user, occupant or anyone in particular.

It simply means the manufacturer, even if prompted by the NHTSA investigation, ended up approaching the agency and offering "here is what we have, here is what we know, and here is what we plan to do about it".

The alternative, albeit a very rare occurrence, is not commonly referred to as a "mandatory recall" even though it would have to be ordered by the NHTSA or the CPUC, or mandated by a Federal District Court order.

That is not a claim. It is a fact that no one has been injured or killed in a Mercedes Benz under circumstances that would lead to conclude it was air bag related.

You miss my point entirely and seem to enjoy parsing words needlessly. I'll let it be as it should be obvious to any objective person that Mercedes is and has been dragging their feet on this matter and leaving those who take issue with the possibility of an airbag injuring them high and dry. They have the lowest replacement completion rate of any manufacturer in this matter, have no answers as far as timing, and refuse to offer loaners to those who are uncomfortable with the risk posed. Horrible service and respect for consumers.

Agreed!

From the link below:

"Takata may not be the only company liable for installing the defective and deadly airbags. In fact, Mercedes-Benz installed Takata’s airbags in their 2016 and 2017 Mercedes Benz E-Class vehicles, even after the deadly effects were discovered in 2015. Instead of investing to redesign their airbag module, Mercedes Benz decided to continue using ammonium nitrate airbags in these vehicles until they are forced to recall them again in the future."

http://lemonlawautofraud.com/mercede...recall-lawsuit

In case anyone was wondering, automakers will ALWAYS put profits above safety.

Update
 

Yes I just had mine done this past month. My airbags have been replaced after 3 years or so. It was a fast and good service, but I do tend to agree it has been just a bit tool long to wait. While doing some research to their defense, there are only less than a handful of vendors that manufacture airbags and it had to be some time to get the bags made, approved and tested before installations.

I received a notification letter last week, with the standard "We'll contact you again when parts are available" disclaimer. How are your dealers getting the parts?

My model was a 2011 and they just got to me this year. They did tell me its in order of year and model based upon manufacturing. Not sure whom the vendors are but my guess its either Auotliv or TRW as they now control the market these days. I would ask the dealership what they replace the Takata if they do...
Cheers

Like many others, I have not heard a word for MB on the replacement of my airbags in a 2011 E550. I would agree they need to be a bit more transparent in what is going on with these airbags. I have read that those vehicles that are in the South are getting the first replacements as the humidity is what causes the failure. So being in Arizona must put me low on the list.

I'm in Florida, so it sounds like I ought to be near the top of the list.

Recall Priority According to Mercedes
 

FYI: Older cars have a higher priority than newer cars. Your 2016 may not be at the top of list

I have another update.

This morning I spoke to the head of the Service dept at my local MB dealership.

The dealership has the driver side but not the passenger side air bag. There is no current timetable on availability. Apparently, MBUSA sent letters to affected customers without having sufficient replacement parts supply. There are now more people requesting replacement parts than there are available parts. After this created a lot of angry customers, MBUSA is re-thinking how they address the parts supply problem.

This is what I was told and I am merely passing the information along. I cannot claim to vouch for the veracity of the information.

I was told that letters have gone out to owners of vehicles based on some pre-established criteria about age and location of the vehicles. Since MBUSA has no idea if a customer cares about the recall or even if the car is on the road, they are not setting aside parts proactively. So, if you have received a letter from MBUSA that says "Remedy parts are now available for your vehicle" you should immediately call your local MB dealer and schedule an appointment.

This is what triggers the dealership to acquire parts on your behalf. Parts are being distributed to dealerships based on their availability from production and the order in which customers request service. In other words, it is on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you do not schedule a service appointment, then no replacement parts will be allocated to you.

The service manager also told me that the Takata airbags in question are not the ones that create shrapnel when they deploy. The concern is that the affected units were not assembled in a humidity controlled environment and therefore may not deploy in the event of an accident due to possible corrosion.

I was also told that MB is offering affected customers up to $500 worth of service work for the inconvenience.

Again, I am only stating what was told to me directly over the phone. If you get a different story from someone else at MB, I think it would be good to post it here publicly.

FINALLY!!!
 

Yesterday I picked up my car after FINALLY getting the airbags replaced under the recall. May 6, 2019

The service manager said Mercedes Benz had revamped the recall parts supply process after numerous customer complaints.

And to clarify my previous comment about the $500, the deal is they will match dollar for dollar up to a max of $500. So if you have other work done that costs $1000, you pay $500 and they pay $500. If it costs $2000 they pay $500 and you pay $1500.

Feels good to finally get this behind me.

I haven't heard a thing from MB on the airbag replacement, but then I live in Arizona where humidity is in the low teens or single digit. Still it would be nice to at least get a letter from them as to the status of the recall on my car.

I'm in Central Florida, where the humidity just kicked in like a tidal wave over the last week or so. My dealer still says no word on parts.

I had rang up back in mid January of this year and was told to bring the car in on the 21st of May.
The day before the appointment i receive a call from the dealership saying they apologise but they have to cancel my appointment as they still don't have the parts as yet.
Im pretty sure only the passenger side airbag arrived but no stock of the drivers side and with no estimate when it would.

At the moment i was told to just wait until all parts become available and i would receive a callback but with no rough idea when this would happen.....

I would keep calling once or twice a month. That’s what happened to me (well, until the day they said all the parts were in and they weren’t).

I think they are actually starting to pre-stock some dealerships with parts based on the number of customers they think they will have.

One thing is worth noting... at some point in this whole process I went to a website and had to register and select the dealership that would do the recall service. If anyone hasn’t done that, you might want to check into that so they know you’re out there. It’s been so long since I did that I can’t remember the details.

Yep that i rang MB Head Office Australia they told me the same thing that if i didn't hear from the dealership between 1-2 months from now to give them a call back and check up on things.

Finally Got my Airbags Replaced
 

I received a card from MB telling me to call my local dealer to schedule an airbag replacement 3 weeks ago. I immediately called my nearest dealer, Phoenix AZ, and gave him my VIN number. He said that he had the passenger bags in stock but needed to order the driver side one. 10 days later he called and said they were in and ready to set up and appointment. I had them changed last week, and it took an hour and a half total time. So for those of you that are still waiting, give your dealer a call and have him order the replacement airbags. I didnt get any deals from them for future service, except for the free drinks and snacks, but I now have the peace of mind that they are changed out.