Mercedes-Benz is expanding a brake hose recall to cover more than 30,000 S-Class vehicles

Mercedes-Benz is expanding a brake hose recall to cover 30,064 S-Class sedans in the United States after field data showed the defect occurring beyond the boundaries of a previous recall issued in early 2025.

The expanded recall, designated NHTSA recall 26V638, covers six variants of the S-Class platform produced between February 2, 2021, and November 28, 2024. The affected models include the 2022–2025 S 500 4Matic, the 2022–2025 S 580 4Matic, the 2023–2025 S 580 E 4Matic, the 2024–2025 AMG S 63 E Performance, the 2022–2025 Maybach S 580 4Matic, and the 2022–2025 Maybach S 680 4Matic.

At the center of the defect is the front brake hose bearing part number A2234201800, a component manufactured by Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Material fatigue caused by thermal and mechanical stress over a vehicle's lifetime can cause the hose to leak or rupture, reducing braking performance in one of the vehicle's two brake circuits and increasing stopping distance. There is no advance warning for drivers; if fluid begins to escape, a red brake fluid warning message may appear on the instrument cluster.

The original recall, filed February 24, 2025, covered roughly 20,000 sedans, according to Cars.com. From March through August 2025, Mercedes-Benz AG received additional field reports originating in non-U.S. markets, some of which concerned vehicles whose build dates and geographic operating conditions fell outside the parameters that had defined the original recall population. According to The Brake Report, the company concluded on September 25, 2026, that it could not rule out a safety risk and moved to broaden the scope of the recall. In the United States, three reports from the expanded population have been received, dated April 2, May 29, and August 10, 2026; the company is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or property damage tied to the condition in that group.

Mercedes-Benz was scheduled to notify its dealer network on October 9, 2026; technicians at authorized locations will swap out the front-axle brake hoses without cost to owners. Letters to affected owners are scheduled to go out in the mail on November 27, 2026. Owners can reach Mercedes-Benz USA customer service at 1-800-367-6372 or check their vehicle identification number through NHTSA's recall lookup tool.

The expanded recall is the latest in a series of significant recalls for the German automaker. Mercedes-Benz earlier recalled 310,667 vehicles over a driver's door lock defect that could prevent the automatic park brake from engaging, and separately recalled 144,049 vehicles over a software fault that caused dashboard displays to go blank while a vehicle was in motion. The automaker also recalled roughly 24,000 vehicles over a driveshaft defect capable of causing a sudden loss of propulsion in certain E-Class and S-Class 4Matic models.