— Nearly 10,500 Mercedes-Benz S560 and Maybach S560 vehicles are recalled because the engine oil plugs may leak.
The 2018-2019 Mercedes S560 and Maybach S560 vehicles are equipped with 4-liter 8-cylinder gasoline engines that could run out of oil and cause the engines to stall.
The engine oil plugs may not withstand high engine loads while driving, causing oil to leak.
Mercedes says the oil plug material can't handle the high engine pressures and leaking oil could not only damage the engines, but the leaking oil can create road hazards to other vehicles.
A driver will see a red warning message if the oil level drops below a certain point, and ignoring that message will cause engine damage or complete failure.
At the end of July 2019, the automaker launched an investigation following a failure of oil plugs on engines in two internal test vehicles for new car models. The plugs were made to specifications, but engineers determined the plugs failed due to fatigue.
This upgraded the investigation to test the engine oil plugs under different oil pressure levels, but engineers couldn't replicate the failures.
No reports from the field have been received, but Mercedes says the recall is issued out of an abundance of caution.
About 9,791 S560s are recalled in the U.S. and another 698 are recalled in Canada.
Mercedes-Benz dealers will replace the engine oil plugs when the recall begins May 19, 2020.
Mercedes-Benz S560 and Maybach S560 owners with questions can call 800-367-6372.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported complaints about numerous Mercedes models.
