How to Claim Your $2,000 Mercedes-Benz Diesel Settlement Before September 30

Owners of certain 2009-2016 Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesels and Freightliner Sprinter BlueTEC II vans have until September 30 to file a claim for a $2,000 payment tied to the brand’s diesel emissions scandal. The clock is running out on money that thousands of eligible drivers have not yet collected, and the paperwork takes only a few minutes once the vehicle qualifies.

The payment comes from the Mercedes-Benz Approved Emissions Modification (AEM) Incentive Program, the consumer-relief piece of a $149,673,750 multistate settlement announced in December 2025 between Mercedes-Benz USA, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Mercedes denies wrongdoing and is taking part in the program without admitting liability, but the cash is real and the September 30 cutoff is firm.

What the Settlement Actually Pays For

The underlying dispute traces back to allegations that certain BlueTEC diesel models emitted nitrogen oxides above legal limits under normal driving conditions, on vehicles that had passed certification testing. Nitrogen oxides feed ground-level smog and are tied to respiratory problems, which is why regulators pursued Mercedes long after Volkswagen’s own dieselgate scandal made headlines a decade ago.

A 2021 settlement between Mercedes and the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Attorney General required the automaker to develop and offer a free software fix, called the Approved Emissions Modification, to bring the vehicles into compliance. The December 2025 multistate deal added a direct cash incentive on top of that free repair: a $2,000 payment per vehicle to any owner or lessee who has the fix installed and files a claim on time.

Roughly 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans sold in the U.S. between 2008 and 2016 were covered by the underlying emissions dispute. Of those, an estimated 39,565 remained unrepaired and on the road as of August 1, 2023, and it is that pool of vehicles the AEM Incentive Program is built to reach.

Which Vehicles Qualify

The program covers specific BlueTEC diesel and Sprinter BlueTEC II models: the E250 BlueTEC (2014-2016), E350 BlueTEC (2011-2013), GL320 BlueTEC (2009), GL350 BlueTEC (2010-2016), GLE300d and GLE350d (2016), GLK250 BlueTEC (2013-2015), ML250 BlueTEC (2015), ML320 BlueTEC (2009), ML350 BlueTEC (2010-2014), R320 BlueTEC (2009), R350 BlueTEC (2010-2012), S350 BlueTEC (2012-2013), and both 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder Mercedes-Benz or Freightliner Sprinter vans from 2010 through 2016.

Two groups do not qualify for the $2,000 payment. Owners whose vehicle already had the emissions fix installed before August 1, 2023 are excluded, and anyone who already collected a $2,000 incentive for the same vehicle under an earlier version of the program cannot claim a second payment on it. Newer, mostly gas-engine Mercedes-Benz vehicles fall under a separate, unrelated case known as the Hazdovac settlement, which covers different repair costs and has its own claim process.

How to File a Claim Before September 30

The process differs slightly depending on whether the emissions fix has already been installed.

Owners who have not yet had the fix installed need to book an appointment with an authorized Mercedes-Benz or Freightliner Sprinter dealer before August 31, keep the final repair order from that visit, and then submit a claim online at MBAEMIncentive.com with that repair order and proof of ownership by September 30. The software installation itself is free. Mercedes covers the dealer’s labor and parts.

Owners who already had the modification installed on or after August 1, 2023 can skip straight to the claim step: locate the final repair order proving the fix was installed, gather proof of ownership such as a title, bill of sale, or lease agreement, and submit both documents at MBAEMIncentive.com before the deadline. Acceptable file formats include jpg, png, pdf, and doc, with each upload capped at 20 megabytes.

Epiq, the settlement administrator appointed by the participating attorneys general, processes claims and issues payments after the claim window closes. Filing does not require a lawyer, and there is no fee to submit a claim.

What Happens If a Driver Misses the Deadline

Both deadlines in the program are strict. If the modification is not installed by August 31, the vehicle loses eligibility for the $2,000 payment regardless of whether a claim is filed afterward. If the fix was installed on time but no claim is submitted by September 30, the payment is forfeited outright. Drivers who sold a qualifying vehicle without ever having the fix installed generally cannot claim the incentive after the sale: they no longer have authority to bring the vehicle in for service.

Skipping the free repair carries its own separate cost beyond the missed cash. Some states deny vehicle inspection stickers or registration renewals to diesel owners who have not completed EPA-mandated emissions fixes, so drivers holding onto an unrepaired BlueTEC risk problems at the DMV that have nothing to do with the incentive payment itself.

Where This Fits Among Diesel Emissions Cases

Mercedes joins Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Fiat Chrysler on the list of automakers that have paid out over diesel emissions claims in the past decade, though the Mercedes case moved through state attorneys general rather than the federal courtroom process that defined the Volkswagen settlements. That distinction is worth understanding: there is no class certification, no fairness hearing, and no process allowing consumers to withdraw here, as vehicle owners were never parties to the underlying lawsuit. The states negotiated the consumer payment directly with Mercedes, and Epiq administers the result.

For drivers who bought a used BlueTEC diesel without knowing its emissions history, the VIN lookup at MBAEMIncentive.com is worth running regardless of the deadline. A vehicle that already qualifies but has never been serviced under the program represents both an emissions compliance gap and $2,000 left on the table.

How the Payout Compares to Other Diesel Settlements

Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandal set the modern template for these payouts. Owners of affected VW and Audi diesels collected buyback offers or cash payments that, in many cases, ran into the thousands of dollars per vehicle, funded by a settlement that eventually topped $14.7 billion once environmental remediation and dealer compensation were included. Mercedes’ $149.6 million multistate deal is far smaller in total size, reflecting a smaller affected fleet, but the per-vehicle structure works the same way: a fixed cash amount tied to completing a required repair.

Fiat Chrysler paid roughly $800 million to settle similar diesel emissions claims covering Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel models, and Audi separately settled claims tied to its 3.0-liter diesel V6. Owners who drove any of those vehicles and never checked whether their specific settlement window closed should search their VIN against the relevant program: several of these older diesel cases still have open, unclaimed money sitting with settlement administrators.

Drivers confused about which Mercedes program applies to their vehicle should check the model year first. The AEM Incentive Program only covers the 2009-2016 BlueTEC and Sprinter diesel models listed above. Gas-engine Mercedes-Benz vehicles from 2015 onward, registered in one of 17 states that follow California’s emissions warranty standards, could instead qualify for the separate Hazdovac settlement, which reimburses half the cost of repairs to specific emissions parts rather than paying a flat incentive. A vehicle can potentially qualify for one program, both, or neither, and filing a claim under one does not affect eligibility for the other.

Sources:

• Open Class Actions: Mercedes-Benz AEM Incentive Program
• Office of Governor Josh Green: Free Emissions Fix Available for Mercedes-Benz Diesel Owners
• MBAEMIncentive.com Official Claim Portal