Mystery Mercedes recall over refrigerants

Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for certain 2022-2023 AMG G63s and 2023 G550 SUVs in the United States due to a data mismatch during production, which resulted in the vehicles being filled with the incorrect refrigerant.

While the recall notice does not explicitly state the refrigerant used, it is likely that the SUVs were charged with R1234yf, as the reason given for the recall notice is that the refrigerant used potentially increases the risk of fire in the event of a collision.

The error, which has now been remedied, was uncovered during a routine quality audit at the assembly plant, which is operated by Magna Steyr, a contract manufacturer that also builds vehicles for various auto-makers at its Austrian factory, including the BMW Z4, Jaguar I-Pace, and Toyota GR Supra.

It seems the recall affects a limited number of vehicles in the US: four G550s and five G63s, and while no fires or other incidents related to this issue have been reported, Mercedes-Benz USA is recalling all G-Wagens manufactured between June 28 2022 and April 20 2023. 

G-Wagen owners have been notified by mail, where they have been urged to schedule an appointment with an authorised dealership to have their vehicles inspected and, where necessary, have the incorrect refrigerant replaced with the required R134a free of charge.

It is a mysterious recall given the G-Wagen’s European sourcing and a domestic market where R134a is banned in new equipment. It is likely the system meets all criteria for R1234yf, so the matter could be related to labelling and servicing information rather than elevated fire risk in a collision (as laid out in the recall notice).

However, well-documented resistance to R1234yf by Mercedes-Benz – ostensibly over over flamability concerns – could also be at play here.