By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
One minute, it was strutting its stuff, and then the next minute, it crashed into four idle cars, injuring three passengers and six passersby, allegedly due to sudden acceleration for reasons that differ, depending on who to ask. The latest accident surrounding the Mercedes-Benz S600 model could be damaging, considering the European maker's safety-first principle.
After the Sept. 18 accident, Mercedes Benz Korea rushed to complete an internal diagnosis to assess whether the crash was caused by a defective car part. The driver claimed that his top grade S600 model that easily costs over 200 million won suddenly moved forward upon start-up.
However, the carmaker argued that its test results indicate that the accident was not caused by sudden acceleration, but was most likely the driver's fault.
Ironically, the claims ― although coming from a top-notch auto firm ― were hard to accept for critics because its once ironclad brand image had already been dented lately over its growing recalls here and abroad.
Most recently, Mercedes Benz recalled last week almost 103,000 sport utility vehicles in the U.S. because of a defect that could cause a loss of power steering. Safety officials said that a clamp used to secure a cooling hose for power-steering systems on the SUVs may not hold with enough force, which may ultimately lead to a crash.
In China, the car maker recalled a number of its luxury vehicles early this month that may have been given incorrect software calibration numbers (SCN) codings in recent visits to workshops.
It said the error could cause a number of problems ― including disabling the fuel pump's reaction to a car crash ― depending on the car model.
Problems were evident here in Korea as well, as the company recalled nearly 500 cars in May for mechanical defects. Seven car models were taken back to have their headlights and wipers fixed.
Additionally in September, about 70 vehicles were recalled for faulty safety sensors that could lead to collisions.
All of this doesn't sound too dependable, considering Mercedes Benz's long-standing safe, reliable and posh image.
Company officials, however, say that recalls occur in almost all types of cars regardless of the maker, but Mercedes incidents stand out more because of the brand's strong identity.
``If we look at the annual recall figures, it's not like ours surpass others,'' said one sales executive of the German carmaker. ``The disappointment only shows that consumers expect more from us.''
According to an auto recall list released by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs earlier this month, 110,782 vehicles were recalled in the first half of this year. Korean models took up 94.5 percent, while other cases involved makers including Jaguar and Mercedes Benz.