Most people are looking at this whole situation with such short-sightedness it is disgusting!! G-Benz you are absolutely correct. This is a voluntary recall. MB didn't have to do it. It wasn't mandated by the NHTSA. Instead they realize that this is a great step towards restoring their quality and reputation. A recall is never a bad thing as you actually get problems fixed. Also, since everyone's into panning MB's quality, no one noticed that the number of complaints from owners of brand new MBs decreased by an average of 20% as reported by all the quality surveys for 2004. Trust me, the quality of MB will be restored quickly and smartly. This company has seen much worse obstacles and overcame all of them with flying colors (WWI, WWII, arrival of Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, rise of BMW, etc).

Furthermore, how do you explain the SL having one of the lowest reliability scores in Consumer Reports yet also having the very highest owner satisfaction rate in the same report? Well, have you had a look at the complaints lately? Try these: high fuel consumption, confusing controls, excessive electronic intervention, wind noise! Are those really quality-related complaints? No wonder SL owners are happy.

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver