Mercedes issues sweeping recall

DETROIT — Mercedes-benz is telling the owners of more than 292,000 vehicles in the U.S. to stop driving them due to a problem that could cause the brakes to fail.

The German automaker is recalling the vehicles and said it will offer free towing so the owners can get them to a dealership for service. The recall covers certain ML, GL and R-class vehicles from the 2006 through 2012 model years.

Mercedes said in documents posted Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that moisture can get into a brake booster housing and cause corrosion. Hard braking could damage the booster, and it may not be possible to stop the vehicles with the brake pedal. A foot-activated parking brake would still work.