A couple from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is exactly part of this minority. Back in 2017, Datun Yang and Guifang Ho bought a new W222: the luxury sedan cost them 160,000 Canadian dollars (125.6 thousand US dollars). However, they didn't get to drive the car for long – at just 6,500 km, the steering wheel of the new car locked up right while driving.
The breakdown scared them, so the family decided to take the sedan to an official service center. There, the car was checked and they unexpectedly stated that everything was fine with it, so they could safely continue driving.
However, the couple opposed this decision, rightly believing that operating a car with such a malfunction is unsafe both for themselves and for others. At the same time, the local Mercedes-Benz representative office supported their service colleagues – they stated that the owners could either continue using their S-Class or sell it.
But Datun Yang and Guifang Ho chose a third option and in April 2018 parked the car in the garage, where it remains to this day. Yang stated that he is afraid to drive the car, but also does not want to sell it – so that the problem does not pass to a new owner.
The owners also contacted Mercedes headquarters in Germany, but this did not yield any results. Eventually, in December 2019, the couple filed a lawsuit against the Canadian Mercedes-Benz dealer. The proceedings continue to this day, but the case has not progressed far. Nevertheless, Yang intends to go all the way – according to him, with this lawsuit, he and his wife are fighting for the safety of their family and other owners.
