Mercedes is recalling its EQA 250+ and EQB 250+ electric SUVs because the high-voltage traction battery can, in plain English, overheat and catch fire.
And until the fix is in? Owners are being told to cap charging at 80% and park the vehicle outside. That’s not a “minor inconvenience.” That’s Mercedes quietly admitting the thing you keep in your garage might not belong in your garage right now.
The recall covers 51,729 vehicles worldwide. The affected models use a 70.5 kWh battery pack supplied by Farasis, a Chinese battery-cell maker that’s no stranger to the EV supply chain.
Which vehicles are affected—and what Mercedes says could go wrong
The recall targets the Mercedes EQA 250+ and Mercedes EQB 250+ built between February 20, 2021 and July 30, 2024, equipped with the 70.5 kWh pack.
Mercedes’ concern is an internal short circuit inside the lithium-ion battery. That’s the nightmare scenario: a fault that can trigger rapid heat buildup, and once a battery goes into thermal runaway, you’re not “putting it out” so much as trying to keep it from taking other things with it.
Also: this isn’t a quick scan-tool visit and a shrug. Mercedes is talking about a full battery replacement. That’s the big-ticket part of the car.
The interim “fix” is a lifestyle change: 80% charging and outdoor parking
Mercedes says the permanent remedy is swapping the battery, but it can’t happen instantly for everyone. So the company’s stopgap instructions are blunt: don’t charge past 80% and park only outdoors.
Sure, 80% sounds fine if you live in a world where every day goes to plan. In the real world—winter range hits, surprise trips, long commutes—that missing 20% is the difference between “no problem” and “I need a charger, now.”
And the “park outside” part? That’s a direct shot at the core EV pitch for a lot of buyers: charge at home, sleep easy. Plenty of people don’t have a driveway. Plenty of people have garages, underground parking, shared condo spaces—places Mercedes is effectively telling you to avoid.
Mercedes pegs the battery swap itself at about one day of labor, but anyone who’s ever tried to book service at a busy dealer knows the real clock is the waiting list.
What this says about premium EVs: the battery is the whole ballgame
In France, the EQA starts at €46,950—call it roughly $51,000 at today’s exchange rates. That’s not bargain-EV territory. That’s “I paid extra so I wouldn’t deal with nonsense” money.
So when a premium brand tells customers to live under temporary restrictions—possibly after earlier software measures that reduced usable capacity—it chips away at the calm, confident ownership experience Mercedes sells as part of the deal.
The bigger takeaway is the one the industry hates talking about: EVs live and die by the battery supply chain. Cells, modules, pack assembly, software management, service capacity—if any link is weak, the whole product gets shaky fast. A recall that ends with “we’ll replace the entire battery” is a reminder that the most expensive component is also the most sensitive one, and it’s the one that makes or breaks resale confidence.
If you own an EQA 250+ or EQB 250+, the practical move is simple: confirm whether your vehicle falls in the 2021–2024 production window and wait for official instructions to schedule service. But don’t sugarcoat the interim reality—if your daily routine can’t handle an 80% cap and outdoor-only parking, your EV life just got a lot less convenient.