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2014 MERCEDES-BENZ S550 — VISIBILITY/WIPER

crash · 1192602 · 2015-06-22

Vehicle

Make
MERCEDES-BENZ
Model
S550
Year
2014
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Component
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Miles at failure
8,000
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THIS VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 2014. THE VEHICLE HAS A REVERSE TILT FUNCTION FEATURE ON THE RIGHT PASSENGER MIRROR. WHEN FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, THE RIGHT PASSENGER MIRROR TILTS DOWNWARD AND TO THE RIGHT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PLACED IN REVERSE SO THAT THE DRIVER CAN SEE ALL OBJECTS TO THE RIGHT REAR OF THE VEHICLE (IN THE VEHICLE'S BLIND SPOT). ONCE THE VEHICLE IS SHIFTED INTO DRIVE, THE RIGHT MIRROR IS SUPPOSED TO RETURN TO THE DRIVER'S (MEMORY) SETTING POSITION FOR THE MIRROR SO THAT THE DRIVER IS ABLE TO SEE OUT OF THE RIGHT MIRROR WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE MIRROR ON THIS VEHICLE FAILS TO RETURN TO THE DRIVER'S (MEMORY) SETTING AFTER SHIFTING THE VEHICLE INTO DRIVE AFTER BEING IN REVERSE. THE MIRROR REMAINS IN THE DOWNWARD AND TO THE RIGHT POSITION THUS LEAVING THE DRIVER COMPLETELY UNABLE TO SEE OUT OF THE MIRROR WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE DRIVER IS FORCED TO TAKE HIS/HER EYES OFF OF THE ROAD, AND THE SURROUNDING VEHICLES, TO MANUALLY ADJUST THE MIRROR THUS PLACING THE DRIVER AND ALL PASSENGERS AT A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF INJURY. WHILE IT IS UNCONFIRMED, THIS VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A SIDE-SWIPE TYPE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT, AND IT IS SUSPECTED THAT THIS MIRROR DEFECT WAS A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE TO THE ACCIDENT. MERCEDES-BENZ USA IS AWARE OF THIS DEFECT AND IS AWARE THAT AT LEAST TWO CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE 2014 S550 MODEL. MERCEDES-BENZ USA IS ALSO AWARE THAT THIS DEFECT EXISTS IN THE 2015 S550 MODEL. MERCEDES-BENZ USA HAS B

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10726601
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown