Mercedes announces recall of almost one million cars over faulty brakes

Over the weekend, German carmakers of the Mercedes-Benz announced it is recalling almost one million older vehicles worldwide over potential issues with their braking system, what it is calling “advanced corrosion”.

The recall will impact a total of 993,407 cars, 70,000 of which are in Germany, with the company confirming that impacted cars were built by the manufacturer between 2004 and 2015, from its ML and GL series of SUVs and R-Class luxury minivans.

"We have found that in some of those vehicles, the function of the brake booster could be affected by advanced corrosion in the joint area of the housing," Mercedes said in a statement on Saturday.

"It might be possible for a particularly strong or hard braking manoeuvre to cause mechanical damage to the brake booster," it said.

"In such a very rare case, it would not be possible to decelerate the vehicle via the service brake. Thus, the risk of a crash or injury would be increased," it added.

This is not the first major recall by Mercedes-Benz. Last year, it recalled a similar number over safety issues with their emergency call system.

In its statement, Mercedes said it is beginning the recall immediately, while the process will entail inspecting potentially faulty vehicles and replacing parts, where necessary.