On February 8, 2023, I was driving the vehicle when the driver's side front door swung open while I was driving. The door would not close - the locking mechanism in the driver's front door completely failed and would not engage the door latch. My safety was put at extreme risk - the door flew open as I was taking a turn and I was forced to try to hold the door closed while driving the car. The local Mercedes Benz dealer confirmed the problem noting that the door locking mechanism was "defective"; however, Mercedes Benz did not assume responsibility for the failed door mechanism claiming that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. I did receive a very slight discount but was forced to pay for mostly all of the repair costs. There was no warning of the problem in advance - the door simply flew open while taking a turn as I was driving the vehicle and the only thing that stopped me from falling out of the vehicle was the seat belt. Mercedes Benz should institute a recall of this vehicle model - this was a very dangerous situation and I could have been hurt or killed had I not reacted quickly. I did report this to Mercedes Benz North America.
- NHTSA ID
- 11517904
- Incident
- Feb 8, 2023