Parts giant Bosch has discovered a fault with its common rail pumps, which has caused production at a number of factories to halt while it is rectified, with worst-case estimates suggesting the delay could be ‘several weeks’ for cars to be delivered, with Mercedes-Benz the hardest hit.
A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz confirmed that four cylinder C-and E-class, five cylinder E-class and six cylinder E and S-class were all affected, while BMW said the unit has been fitted to six cylinder diesel engines, which would affect about 600 cars in the UK, although it had not decided whether to issue a recall yet.
Audi also uses the pump in some of its cars, but none had reached owners yet, and any delay is thought to be minimal.
However, production at Mercedes-Benz Vitoria plant in Spain, which produces the Vito van, has been suspended ‘until further notice’ the spokesman said.
Bosch claims to have rectified the problem and all cars fitted with the faulty unit will have a replacement when cars come in for a service, Mercedes-Benz said.
There is unlikely to be a recall as the firm believes there had not been a single instance of a failure ‘in the field’, but evidence of the problem occurring would be rough running. If this happens, fleets should get the car to a dealer immediately.
Mercedes-Benz in the UK said it would offer a temporary replacement vehicle for any customers left inconvenienced by the delay in the arrival of their new car.
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