Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle owners who already struggle with range anxiety may find little comfort in the company’s latest advisory. The German automaker has issued guidance urging drivers of certain electric SUVs not to fully charge their batteries, warning that doing so could pose a safety risk. Specifically, Mercedes is asking affected owners to cap charging at 80 percent capacity due to the possibility of what engineers describe as a “thermal event.” Put simply, a fault within the battery cells could lead to a short circuit, which in turn may trigger a fire. Given the well-documented intensity of EV battery fires and how challenging they are to extinguish, the warning is understandably unsettling.
The silver lining, at least from a scale perspective, is that the problem impacts a very limited number of vehicles. According to Mercedes, only 169 units are involved in this latest safety action. The majority of those are dual-motor models, including 100 EQB 300 4Matic SUVs and 48 EQB 350 4Matics. In addition, 21 examples of the single-motor EQB 250 are also affected. While this is a relatively small recall, it is not the first time the EQB has faced fire-related concerns. Earlier in 2025, Mercedes recalled more than 7,000 EQB SUVs in the United States for a similar risk, and at that time issued the same recommendation: limit charging to 80 percent until a fix could be implemented through a software update.
Mercedes has clarified that all vehicles included in the current recall are what it refers to as “early-stage” model year 2022 and 2023 EQBs. According to the company, newer versions of the SUV are equipped with improved battery systems that are not affected by this issue. The automaker also noted that while drivers of the impacted vehicles may receive warning messages on the instrument cluster if excessive heat builds up in the battery during driving, a more concerning scenario exists when the vehicle is parked. In such cases, a thermal incident could potentially occur without any prior alert to the owner.
Given these circumstances, one might expect Mercedes to resolve the problem by replacing the older battery packs with updated, more robust units. However, that is not the approach being taken. Instead, owners will receive a software update intended to mitigate the risk. While this solution avoids hardware replacement, it does require affected drivers to bring their vehicles to an authorized Mercedes service center, a process scheduled to begin in early 2026.
The charging restriction has practical consequences, especially for drivers of the EQB 350. Even when fully charged, this model is rated for a modest driving range of around 366 kilometers. Limiting charging to 80 percent reduces the usable range to roughly 290 kilometers. When drivers factor in a sensible buffer to avoid fully depleting the battery, real-world driving distance between charges could drop closer to 240 kilometers. For owners who rely on their EQB for longer trips, this limitation could translate into more frequent charging stops and extended time spent at public fast chargers—an inconvenience that may test patience, particularly during holiday travel or long highway journeys.