The defect
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2017-2021 C300, 2017-2020 AMG C43, and AMG C63 vehicles. The front seat belts might not fully retract to their stowed position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
If the seat belt does not fully retract, the occupant may find the operation of the seat belt inconvenient and not wear it, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will check the retraction function of the front seat belts and adjust the damping foam within the B-pillars, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 26, 2021. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2021020010.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Mercedes-Benz C 300 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
Components: SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 | 2017 | 23 | 10 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 | 2018 | 13 | 11 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 | 2019 | 7 | 12 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 | 2020 | 12 | 9 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 | 2017 | 4 | 11 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 | 2018 | 2 | 10 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 | 2019 | 1 | 10 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 | 2020 | 0 | 9 |
| Mercedes-Benz C 300 | 2017 | 216 | 15 |
| Mercedes-Benz C 300 | 2018 | 99 | 18 |
| Mercedes-Benz C 300 | 2019 | 69 | 17 |
| Mercedes-Benz C 300 | 2020 | 33 | 9 |
| Mercedes-Benz C 300 | 2021 | 14 | 7 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2021
42 of the 988 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2021 concerned the seat belts; Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC filed 180 campaigns in all.
| 21V979000 16 Dec 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V958000 9 Dec 2021 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 21V900000 18 Nov 2021 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 21V889000 17 Nov 2021 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 21V893000 17 Nov 2021 | Jayco, Inc. |
| 21V680000 5 Nov 2021 | Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc. |
| 21V811000 15 Oct 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V796000 13 Oct 2021 | Hyundai Motor America |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2021