NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE10-017: Driver Air Bag Circuit High Resistance
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE10-017 on May 14, 2010 and closed it on November 24, 2010. NHTSA's investigations file lists 8 Mercedes Benz models for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE10-017 (also written PE10017)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed November 24, 2010
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
- Components
- Air Bags; Air Bags — Frontal; Electrical System; Electrical System — Wiring; Electrical System — Wiring — Interior/Under Dash
- Vehicles and equipment
- 8 Mercedes Benz models, including the AMG E55 and E
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-017.
Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has reported a high number of warranty claims for air bag warning lamp illumination due to a diagnostic fault code 9103 or 9123 indicating a high resistance in the driver's frontal air bag firing circuit.
MBUSA's testing and evaluation have shown that this condition is the result of a faulty connector (specifically, improper wire crimp) but that it will not prevent proper deployment of the driver's frontal air bag.
The faulty connector can cause the air bag circuit resistance levels to exceed the threshold that illuminates the air bag warning lamp, but they do not exceed a higher limit at which proper deployment of the air bag may no longer occur.
The agency believes that further expenditure of agency resources does not appear to be warranted at this time.
The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.
The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances.
During the investigation, ODI learned that MBUSA will initiate a warranty extension program to address the faulty connectors in subject model year 2005 and 2006 E-Class and other MBUSA model/model year vehicles.
This action will extend the warranty coverage for this issue to 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
MBUSA will notify all affected vehicle owners of this action.
A bulletin describing this program is available in the investigative file.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-017. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Mercedes Benz VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE10-017
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.