Mercedes-Benz class action alleges vehicles with M278 engines have defect

Mercedes-Benz engines class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff K.R. Lacey filed a class action lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and its CEO Dimitris Psillakis and Euro Motorcars Germantown LLC and its general manager Scott Weber. 
• Why: Lacey claims Mercedes-Benz failed to disclose that vehicles equipped with its M278 engine contain a defect that causes premature engine failure. 
• Where: The Mercedes-Benz engines class action lawsuit was filed in Maryland Circuit Court for Montgomery County. 

Mercedes-Benz fraudulently concealed that its vehicles equipped with an M278 engine suffer from a manufacturing defect that causes premature engine failure, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff K.R. Lacey’s class action lawsuit claims Mercedes-Benz was aware its M278 engine contained a manufacturing defect, yet failed to disclose the alleged issue to consumers. 

“The defect has been discussed in numerous online videos, biogs, internal corporate Mercedes-Benz memoranda, and technical journals, and is well known to Mercedes Benz technicians and dealers,” the Mercedes-Benz class action says. 

Lacey wants to represent a class of consumers who purchased or leased a Mercedes-Benz vehicle equipped with an M278 engine in Maryland within the past ten years, but who have not yet discovered the engine defect or who only discovered the issue within the past three years. 

Mercedes-Benz won’t pay for repair costs caused by engine defect, class action claims

Neither Mercedes-Benz nor Euro Motorcars Germantown — where Lacey says she purchased a Certified Pre-Owned 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL550 equipped with an M278 engine in June 2019 — were willing to assume responsibility or provide explanation for repair costs she claims she accrued as a result of the alleged defect, the Mercedes-Benz class action alleges.

“Ms. Lacey wrote numerous letters to Mercedes-Benz and EMO and also sought the assistance of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office to mediate a settlement but received no satisfactory response,” the Mercedes-Benz class action says. 

Lacey claims Mercedes-Benz and its co-defendants are guilty of fraudulent concealment and breach of implied warranty of merchantability and violating the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. 

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of compensatory and punitive damages for herself and all class members. 

Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for certain model year 2021-2023 S580 and Maybach S580 vehicles last month over concerns a software issue could cause their engine to overheat or stall. 

Have you purchased a Mercedes-Benz vehicle equipped with an M278 engine? Let us know in the comments.

The Mercedes-Benz engines class action lawsuit is Lacey, et al. v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, et al., Case No. 8:24-cv-02770, in the Maryland Circuit Court for Montgomery County.

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