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On Wednesday, Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and Daimler AG were hit with a class action lawsuit alleging vehicles with Mars Red paint have a defect that causes the paint to bubble, peel and flake off, leading to rusting and corrosion.
Ten plaintiffs filed the Mercedes-Benz class action lawsuit in New Jersey federal court on behalf of themselves and a proposed Class of owners and lessees with Mercedes-Benz automobiles with Mars Red paint sold in the United States.
The court documents indicate that Mars Red is an automotive paint color made by PPG Industries Inc. It is also commonly known as Fire Opal and was used by Mercedes between 2004 and 2017. Mercedes identifies the color by paint code 590 and PPG identifies the color by paint code 905264.
According to the Mercedes-Benz class action lawsuit, the Mars Red paint defect manifests over time and causes the exterior clearcoat to bubble, peel and flake off, leading to rusting and corrosion which decreases the vehicles’ value.
The plaintiffs note that the Class Vehicles include a variety of models and model years of Mercedes-Benz automobiles, but they say the paint used and the process used to apply the paint was identical for all of the Class Vehicles.
They allege that degradation of the coatings, either due to the defective nature of the materials or the improper manner in which they were applied during the painting process, causes a loss of adhesion that manifests as peeling.
The Mercedes-Benz class action lawsuit states that the Mercedes defendants have been aware of the paint defect but concealed it from consumers while continuing to market its vehicles as “state-of-the-art,” “fine craftsmanship,” “luxury,” “enduring quality,” and “the most advanced vehicles on the road.”
The plaintiffs assert that Mercedes had a duty to disclose the paint defect at the time of sale, including the risk of rusting and corrosion and associated loss of value that could occur upon manifestation of the paint defect.
“Further, Defendants have refused, and continued to refuse, to provide a meaningful remedy to those who have suffered economic harm as a result of the Paint Defect,” the Mercedes class action lawsuit says.
Mercedes either provided the affected car owners and lessees with inadequate repairs or forced them to pay out of pocket for inadequate repairs, even when the vehicles were still under warranty, the Mercedes paint defect class action lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiffs claim that, as a result of the Mercedes defendants’ failure to disclose the paint defect, they overpaid for their vehicle because the paint defect significantly diminishes the value of the vehicles, they must suffer from premature rusting and corrosion or they must pay a significant sum of money to have the vehicle repainted inadequately and any corrosion or rust damage repaired.
The Mercedes class action lawsuit asserts claims for fraudulent concealment, unjust enrichment, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of express warranty, and violations of various state consumer protection and warranty laws. The plaintiffs are seeking damages, injunctive relief, equitable relief and declaratory relief.
The plaintiffs are represented by James E. Cecchi and Caroline F. Bartlett of Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello PC; Mark J. Dearman, Stuart A. Davidson, Jason H. Alperstein and Eric Dwoskin of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP; and by Steven G. Calamusa, Robert E. Gordon and Daniel G. Williams of Gordon & Doner PA.
The Mercedes-Benz Paint Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Robert Ponzio, et al. v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-12544-JHR-JS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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58 thoughts onMercedes-Benz Class Action Alleges Paint Defect Leads to Corrosion
I have a 2014 c250 please add me
Please add me. Its embarrassing to drive my vehicle. Please include me in this lawsuit.
Please add me
2014 cla250, how do I get added?
I have a 2014 E-350 Mercedes Sport Coupe with 28,000 miles. Took it into service yesterday and pointed out that it looked like there was an issue with the clear coat as it has all these tiny bubbles. I was informed that it was the paint bubbling, “Mars Red”. The service mangers took pictures and I was told they would send them off to Mercedes to get authorization to fix it.
I came home and researched and found that this is a major problem and it seems Mercedes is not taking care of the problem. How do I get into this class action suit? I was getting ready to go to my attorney because when researched I saw that there were a number of bulletins that were sent to Mercedes Dealerships notifying them of the problem yet they still sold me the car. Need help!
Mercedes is doing a total repaint of my 14 C300 sport now…no cost…better than watching it rot but unsure what it does to value overall
Hi David, How did you get them to take responsibility? I am sure we would all like to know more of your situation. What were your circumstances? Please share if you can. Thanks. Adam
At first Mercedes said they were baffled by what was happening and sent me to their repair center..the repair center said I was their 4 car that they had seen and should be a warranty issue. They advise going to Mercedes USA myself as the dealership wouldn’t be much help which they were not..I contacted Mercedes USA and received a response asking for repair estimate. I supplied and was told it would be reviewed at Mercedes weekly meeting. They gave a phone number and direct email number for correspondence. It took about 3 weeks and Mercedes contacted me saying approved. The next week I dropped car off demanding a loaner or rental which dealership said no…I called Mercedes USA and they approved..I was given a rental of a new jaguar SUV…quite nice..had it a month at no cost..car was stripped and painted at cost of 10k..no cost to me..while paint isn’t factory its way better than what it was…on a funny note the paint center replaced the letters on back end with CLS 300. which there is no such car that I know of so now I have a one only..the guys name at Mercedes Benz USA was Darrell…
I am a USA citizen, resident of Huntsville Alabama. I am the owner of a 2011 GLK Mercedes Benz, Red. I am experiencing the same issues with the clear coat and paint. Over time,at first I noticed what looked like bubbles on the clear coat on the hood of the truck, also on the doors. This escalated into the clear coat then flakeing off leaving the red paint exposed,I then noticed discoloration,as if the paint was fading.I contacted the dealership where I made my purchase, in hopes of a resolution. But was told,I was not covered by the warranty,it had expired ,they went as far as advising me to go through my insurance company to have my vehicle repainted. Each time my vehicle was examined, I was advised to return to Mercedes,who tried a sales pitch, to trade in my truck. How do I go about joining this class action suit??
Contact Mercedes Benz USA
I also have this issue and would like to be part of the class action lawsuit. This manifested on my car during the warranty period and Mercedes USA refused to fix it stating that they didn’t think the issue was bad enough to warrant action.
I too would like to be added to this class action suit.
I would like to be added to this class action, please. My 2011 E-550 is having the same problem. It was already a known problem to MB when my car was sold to me in 2014 w/8K miles on it and I even paid for a Permaplate treatment and policy (fool me once) which also refused to cover the problem. MB of Boerne never mentioned the manufacturer defect when my problem started after owning the car about a year. Also, when I inquired at MB of Sarasota as the problem worsened significantly, they initially sent me to the AutoNation paint concierge who was painfully slow to respond and offered no help. Now, MB corporate wants to offer me a small discount on a new Mercedes.
A small discount on a new merc is what they offered me back when I filed a warranty claim. Pathetic of them. Like I’d ever want to do business again with a company that doesn’t honor their warranty and stand behind their cars.
Is it too late to be added to this class-action lawsuit? Who do we contact about that?