Although all car manufacturers are now primarily talking about electric cars, the aftermath of the diesel scandal has not yet been overcome for one or two companies. Now the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has asked Mercedes to recall more than a hundred thousand diesel cars in Germany alone and to give them a software update.
The arrangement affects various diesel models from Mercedes with the Euro 5 and Euro 6b emissions standards. According to the car manufacturer, their owners will be informed in writing that they must take their car to the workshop in order to have new software installed. The callback is mandatory. Anyone who does not comply with this even after repeated requests will risk having their vehicle immobilized.
It is quite possible that other manufacturers will soon be affected
This recall is particularly tricky for Mercedes because it shows for the first time the effects of new case law regarding the diesel scandal. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in a landmark ruling in 2022 that so-called thermal windows generally represent an impermissible shutdown device. However, this technology is installed in many diesel cars and ensures that the vehicle’s emissions control system is switched off at certain temperatures – causing the cars to emit large amounts of toxic nitrogen oxides. The manufacturers argue that this shutdown is necessary to protect the engine from damage. However, the judges at the ECJ rejected this general argument.
Now the KBA has apparently changed its assessment of these thermal windows and has therefore initiated the major Mercedes recall. It is quite possible that other manufacturers will soon also receive mail from the authorities, because there are still thousands of cars with such thermal windows on German roads, for example from Audi or VW. And it should give new hope for compensation to thousands of diesel drivers who have sued a car manufacturer.