Recall · 26V216000
Mercedes-Benz USA recalled 12 models over power train
24,092
Vehicles covered
12
Models
24
Model years
April 3, 2026
Filed with NHTSA
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:UNIVERSAL JOINT
- The defect
- Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2018 E 400 4MATIC Sedan, E 400 4MATIC Wagon, E 400 4MATIC Cabriolet, E 400 4MATIC Coupe, 2018-2020 Maybach S 560 4MATIC, S 560 4MATIC Coupe, S 450 4MATIC, 2019-2020 E 450 4MATIC Sedan, E 450 4MATIC Wagon, E 450 4MATIC Coupe, and E 450 4MATIC Cabriolet vehicles. The drive shaft universal joint may break, resulting in a sudden loss of drive power.
- What it can cause
- A sudden loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
- What the dealer does
- Dealers will inspect and replace the drive shaft as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed May 22, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning April 10, 2026.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
| Vehicle | Model years | Safety record |
|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-BenzE 400 4Matic | 2018 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 400 4Matic Cabriolet | 2018 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 400 4Matic Coupe | 2018 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 400 4Matic Wagon | 2018 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 450 4Matic | 2019 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 450 4Matic Cabriolet | 2019 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 450 4Matic Coupe | 2019 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzE 450 4Matic Wagon | 2019 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzS 450 4Matic | 2018 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzS 560 4Matic | 2018 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-BenzS 560 4Matic Coupe | 2018 to 2020 | Not published here |
| Mercedes-MaybachS 560 4Matic | 2018 to 2020 | Not published here |
How this campaign compares
At 24,092 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 85% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2018 to 2020, so the oldest vehicles on it were 8 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been recalled over the power train 26 times before this, most recently in December 2024 as 24V941000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 1 of the 24 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 7 complaints with NHTSA, 7 of them before this campaign was filed. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in October 2023, 2 years before this filing.
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC with NHTSA on April 3, 2026 as campaign 26V216000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-04-03.
Independent developer and analyst