Every documented recall and technical service bulletin affecting the Mercedes E-Class, W210 to W213, plus how to run a definitive recall check by VIN — free, official, under a minute.
Every E-Class generation covered
Official free routes, explained step by step
At any Mercedes-Benz retailer, any age, any owner
The 2025 dataset behind our cost and failure data
The Mercedes E-Class has been subject to official recall actions and technical service bulletins across its four modern generations — the two most significant being the SBC brake hydraulic recall on early W211 cars and the starter-motor fire-risk recall on 2014–2015 W212 petrol models.
Run the VIN check below first, then review what recalls don't cover before you buy or service.
The E-Class is one of the most heavily represented Mercedes models in our enquiry data — 959 requests across the W210, W211, W212 and W213 in 2025 alone [EM-VERIFIED] — and a parc that size accumulates recall history across four generations. Two distinctions matter before you read the table. A recall is a safety or compliance defect acknowledged by Mercedes-Benz: the repair is free at any retailer, never expires, and follows you through ownership. A technical service bulletin (TSB) is different: it is documented repair guidance issued to the workshop network because a fault is common enough to warrant a standard procedure — but you generally pay for the work unless goodwill applies.
Campaign identifiers also vary by market: the UK DVSA, the US NHTSA and the German KBA each number actions differently. We list identifiers where they are recorded in our sources; where they vary by market, the VIN lookup in the next section is authoritative. Anything we cannot source is not published on this page — our data methodology explains how recall material is verified and dated before it appears.
| Reference | Date | Affected Vehicles & VIN Range | Issue | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHTSA 17V674 (US campaign; UK equivalents confirmed by VIN) | October 2017 [THIRD-PARTY] | W212 petrol — E350, E400, E550; 2014–2015 model years (confirm exact range by VIN) | Starter motor can overheat during cranking, creating a fire risk | Starter inspected; additional fuse fitted; starter replaced where necessary — free of charge |
| Multi-market recall action; campaign ID varies by market (DVSA / NHTSA records) | From 2005 [THIRD-PARTY] | Early W211 with Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC), production circa 2002–2006 (confirm by VIN) | SBC brake hydraulic unit wear can reduce brake servo assistance | SBC hydraulic unit replaced or upgraded — free of charge |
| Mercedes-Benz TSB LI80.20-P-050001 (service bulletin, not a safety recall) | Issued during W212 production; dates vary by market | OM651 diesel — E200 CDI, E220 CDI, E250 CDI (W212) | Timing chain tensioner wear; cold-start rattle and chain stretch risk if left unaddressed | Tensioner inspected and replaced per TSB procedure — charged per normal service terms |
| Workshop service advisory — no official safety recall issued [PATTERN DATA] | During W211 production | M271 supercharged petrol — E200 Kompressor (W211) | Timing chain and tensioner wear on higher-mileage engines | Chain and tensioner replacement per service procedure; owner-funded unless goodwill applies |
Recall campaigns open and close over time, and this table reflects actions documented in our sources at publication. The only definitive recall status for a specific vehicle is the VIN lookup below. Corrections are logged publicly, never silently edited.
The definitive way to establish whether a specific Mercedes E-Class safety recall applies is a lookup against your car's full 17-character VIN — not the registration, not the engine code, and not a partial match. You'll find the VIN at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, on the build plate in the driver's door shut, and stamped on the bodyshell; our engine number location guide shows the stamp positions and how they relate to the engine code.
Three official routes cover every E-Class sold:
Alternatively, any Mercedes-Benz retailer will run the check for free and book the work in the same visit — recall repairs cost you nothing regardless of age, mileage or service history. Our own VIN decoder is useful for one step earlier in the process: it decodes your chassis, generation and engine from the VIN. It is not a substitute for the official recall lookup, and we say so plainly rather than pretend otherwise.
This is where owners get caught out. The E-Class's real ownership costs come from failures that are not recalls — wear-pattern faults the service network knows intimately but which were never classified as safety defects. On the diesel side, the OM642 V6's oil cooler seal leak and swirl flap motor failures are classic examples, as are the OM651's injector seal leaks and balance shaft concerns on earlier units. On petrol cars, the M271 timing chain, the M272 balance shaft chain, the M274 timing chain tensioner and the M276 camshaft adjuster all fall into the same category: well documented, workshop-routine, and entirely owner-funded unless goodwill applies.
Goodwill is worth understanding. Mercedes-Benz may contribute toward a non-recall repair when a car has full Mercedes-Benz service history, low mileage for its age, and a fault that matches a known bulletin — the TSB list above is exactly the kind of documentation that supports a goodwill conversation. It is never guaranteed, and it fades quickly with age, so treat it as a negotiating position, not an entitlement.
The practical consequence: when you run your VIN and find no open recalls, don't read that as a clean bill of health. Read it as "no free fixes pending" — then check the TSB-relevant items for your specific engine at the next service, before a £400 tensioner job becomes a five-figure engine decision.
If a recall applies to your E-Class, get it done without delay — it is free, never expires, and exists because the fault is a safety matter. If nothing applies, do not relax: the E-Class's real financial risk is unrecalled wear, and that is budgeted for by engine code, not by luck.
Our position in one line: check the VIN first, treat any open recall as an urgent free fix, then redirect that same attention to the TSB and wear items for your engine. A recalled E-Class with the work completed is a safer, cheaper car to own than an unrecalled one with an unknown chain history.
The same approach applies across the range — our C-Class and S-Class recall pages follow this format, and commercial operators should see the Sprinter recall page, where the duty cycle changes which actions matter most.
Use your full 17-character VIN with one of the official channels: the Mercedes-Benz UK recall checker, the gov.uk DVSA recall search, or the NHTSA VIN lookup for imports. Any Mercedes-Benz retailer will also run the check and complete any open recall work free of charge.
Yes — the VIN is the only identifier precise enough. Registration and engine code lookups can narrow it down, but recall campaigns are defined by production ranges that only a full VIN resolves. You'll find the VIN at the windscreen base, the door shut plate and the bodystamp.
Yes. Official recall repairs are free at any Mercedes-Benz retailer regardless of the car's age, mileage or ownership history, and they never expire. Technical service bulletins are different — TSB work is normally charged unless a goodwill contribution is agreed.
A recall is a manufacturer-acknowledged safety or compliance defect, fixed free of charge. A TSB is documented repair guidance for a common fault — the workshop knows the procedure and the parts, but the owner pays unless goodwill applies. Both matter when assessing an E-Class, but only one is free.
Every recall entry carries its source; unsourced items don't publish
Recall data is amended openly, never edited silently
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Whether a recall applied or not, compare quotes from our vetted Mercedes specialist network for whatever your E-Class needs next.
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