Mercedes-Benz recalls almost 1.3 million U.S. cars over software fault

Mercedes-Benz will recall almost 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S. due to a problem with their eCall emergency contact system — which could send emergency services to the wrong location.

In the event of a severe accident, medical episode, or other such incident, Mercedes-Benz’ eCall feature is designed to notify emergency services of relevant information so they can attend to the scene more quickly. Either triggered automatically or activated by a button, eCall shares information such as the number of people in the car, the direction in which it was travelling, and its GPS location.

At least, that’s what it’s meant to do. A fault in the software has resulted in the possibility that eCall will communicate the wrong location in a crash, delaying help rather than assisting it. Speaking to Reuters, Mercedes-Benz stated the error could be caused by “a temporary collapse of the communication module’s power supply caused by a crash.” Read more…

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