Class Action: Mercedes’ Discontinued ‘590 Mars Red’ Exterior Paint Is Defective, Can Peel or Bubble [UPDATE]
Last Updated on June 18, 2021
Pinon v. Daimler AG et al
Filed: August 21, 2018 ◆§ 1:18cv3984
A lawsuit claims certain Mercedes vehicles are coated with defective "Mars red" factory paint that can peel, flake or bubble.
Case Updates
June 17, 2021 – Settlement Website Is Live
The lawsuit detailed on this page has been settled, and the settlement website, where those affected can find more information and file a claim, is now live.
The deal covers all current and former owners and lessees of any of the following Mercedes-Benz vehicles originally painted with 590 Mars Red or Fire Opal paint and purchased or leased in the U.S.:
- C-Class (model years 2004-2015)
- GLK-Class (model years 2010-2015)
- CLS-Class (model years 2006-2007, 2009, 2014)
- CLK-Class (model years 2004-2009)
- S-Class (model years 2008, 2015, 2017)
- SL-Class (model years 2004-2009, 2011-2017)
- CL-Class (model years 2005-2006, 2013-2014)
- SLS-Class (model years 2014-2015)
- E-Class (model years 2005-2006, 2010-2017)
- G-Class (model years 2005, 2011-2017)
- GT-Class (model years 2016-2018)
- SLC-Class (model year 2017)
- SLK-Class (model years 2005-2016)
- Maybach 57 (model year 2008)
Under the terms of the settlement, those who fit the above criteria may be eligible to be reimbursed for qualified past repairs or covered for future repairs to fix peeling, flaking or bubbling of their car’s paint or clearcoat not caused by external influences such as accidents, scratches or road debris. The reimbursement amount will depend on how old the vehicle is and its current mileage. More details about how much you’ll get back can be found here.
To be reimbursed for qualified past repairs that occurred before May 28, 2021, you must submit a claim form by July 27, 2021. For repairs that took place after May 28, 2021 but before the settlement’s effective date (i.e., 14 days after the final order and judgment is finalized, according to settlement documents), reimbursement claim forms must be submitted within 60 days of the work. You can submit an online claim form here, or download and mail a paper claim form to the settlement administrator. You may also email the settlement administrator at info@MarsRedPaintSettlement.com to request that a claim form be mailed to you. Find out more about getting reimbursed for past repairs here.
Information about how to obtain coverage for qualified future repairs, which also depends on the age and mileage of your car, can be found here.
A judge will decide whether to approve the settlement at a fairness hearing scheduled for August 30, 2021, and payments will not be made until after the settlement is approved and any appeals are resolved.
Daimler AG and Mercedes Benz USA, LLC are contending with allegations made in a proposed class action lawsuit that the automakers sold vehicles coated with defective factory paint that can “microblister, peel, and bubble.”
Filed in Georgia, the lawsuit identifies the following Mercedes vehicle models—painted in now-discontinued “590 Mars Red”—that may be coated with faulty paint:
- 2009-2015 C-Class;
- 2013-2015 CLA-Class;
- 2011-2015 CLS-Class;
- 2012-2016 E-Class;
- 2011-2015 GLK-Class;
- 2014-2015 G-Class;
- 2014-2016 SL-Class; and
- 2012-2016 SLK-Class.
The lawsuit sticks on the claim that Mercedes and Daimler know or should have known that issues existed with the Mars Red paint prior to selling affected vehicles to class members yet sold the “latently defective product” anyway.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff began experiencing problems with the red paint on her Mercedes shortly after she bought the car in early 2018, when the vehicle was “less than three years old.” The woman claims discussions with the dealership that sold her the car led to a quote of roughly $7,000 to repaint the entire vehicle. Worse, the suit says Mercedes no longer offers Mars Red as a paint option, meaning a repainting of the plaintiff’s car with an entirely different color, according to the lawsuit, “would depreciate the value of the vehicle by a minimum of $2,000.”
“[The plaintiff’s] vehicle is just one of thousands of Class Vehicles that suffer from an irreparable defect in the exterior paint that results in peeling, flaking, bubbling, erosion, and microblistering of the clearcoat,” the lawsuit states. “Upon information and belief, these conditions are all the result of defective paint which has plagued the Class Vehicles.”
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