13 problems related to service brakes have been reported for the 2004 Mercedes Benz E500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The car has smelled like gas from the minute I received it. The previous owner told me that mercedes had quoted 5 grand to fix it so I would only put half a tank in at a time. Turns out there was a warranty on it but has since expired. Why wasn't it fixed for free when the previous owner brought it? this is very dangerous and can cause an explosion. The warranty should have been fixed rather than quoted and seems very greedy to not disclose that information but instead giving a quote. I have lung and heart problems and this is a definite safety issue that needs to be corrected regardless of the age of the car also brought it to dealership scared and they told me too bad it's been too long. How is a gas leak an ok thing to dismiss?????? I have been trying to get this fixed for years and this is my 2nd attempt for a recall with no response at all.
The contact owns a 2004 mercedes-benz E500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the brake malfunction warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the sbc hydraulic unit needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 04v296000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 199,700.
Sbc unit has a limit that is showing a fault yet brakes seem fine now must fix and all that is available are remanufactured units.
The contact owns a 2004 mercedes-benz E500. While driving various speeds, the brake warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic braking system failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 146,000.
The contact owns a 2004 mercedes-benz E500. While driving approximately 75 mph, the brake warning indicator illuminated. The brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when the pedal was depressed and failed to respond. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was turned off. After restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the sensotronic brake control would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,103.
Turning into a shopping center when all of a sudden my brakes totally went out. I had just a tiny bit of breaks and couldn't stop to make the turn into the shopping center safely. I had to go into the shopping center parking lot and see what happens. What had happened was my spc brakes went out on my mercedes and I had to get it towed to my mechanic to get it repaired. This was scary as heck sense if I was on the freeway I'm going freeway speeds I probably would have crashed , but since I was slow enough and was able to maneuver I didn't crash. They're definitely should be a recall for this spc braking system.
The cars brakes just quit without any warning which I was driving, as described below. This vehicle is equipped with sensotronic brake control that has a service threshold. When this threshold is reached the brake system defaults to non power assisted hydraulic mode to the front wheels only. This occurs without any prior warning and results in increased stopping distance. I have sent a copy of the mercedes service bulletin s142. 46-p-0012a which addresses this issue. Mercedes stopped installing this system in 2006. At the very least, mercedes should issue a mandatory recall to interrogate these vehicles with star das to determine how close to the service threshold the sbc unit is and replace them at the dealer's expense. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed.
Benz E500/55k miles. I have had two major safety issues with the car. One being fuel tank related and the second sbc pump failure while driving. On the first, too little too late, so many years after the incident and purchase of the car, Mercedes Benz has sent a letter covering the repair and parts for 15 years. I think that in itself is an offense and a crime. On the second issue, sbc pump Mercedes Benz refused to give me in detail the effect of failing sbc pump on other parts of the car or the effect of failed sbc pump. More importantly, service managers are telling customers that they are expecting all models equipped with sbc pump to come to the shop. Now that the 10 years is up in most cars and out of warranty. That is a scam when the dealer knows all these customers will come to the shop (because it cannot be fixed in any auto shop) thereby taking advantage of a safety issue. How do car manufacturers get away with things like this and how dealers get away with things like this. The right thing to do is extend the warranty on sbc pump to 15 years just like they did in fuel tank, that way dealer won¿t take advantage and customers have peace of mind and won¿t compromise on safety. Even that is a slap on the wrist compared to the offense and crime.
The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes Benz E500. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled abnormally to the floorboard. As a result, the vehicle failed to reduce in speed and the vehicle was shifted into neutral. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.
About 10 minutes after leaving my house to work the red sign came on ( brake malfunction stop vehicles ) I stopped the car and after 5 minute started it and it was ok half way to work red sign came on (bakes longer stopping dist start engine ) and its was doing that all day the next day the when I started the car red sign came on (brake malfunction stop vehicle ) and next sign was (esp malfunction visit work shop )called mercedes dealer and towed the car I was told the car needs( brake pressure pump modulator and aux battery ) I looked up online there was extended warranty for modulator and they it was expire a month ago the only thing they can do 10%disscount I think it is not fair since the was serviced at the same dealer for last ten years it should have been free and its brake malfunction and the car shifts to safety mood is un safe.
While my wife was driving the vehicle at approximately 45 mph the dash warning system turned bright red with the following message, brake malfunction, stop the vehicle. She tried to apply the brakes but the brake system had completely failed, she had no brakes. She let off the accelerator to help slow the vehicle as she slowed down she pulled onto the shoulder of the road and the slowly applied the emergency brake to bring the vehicle to a stop and shifted it into park. She then shut the vehicle off and cycled the ignition key. There was no longer the red warning light or message displayed and when testing the brakes everything was functioning normal again. She then slowly drove the vehicle home. I then researched the symptoms online and found many complaints for this exact complaint. I found where the sbc (sensotronic brake control) unit had a safety recall (2005070007) along with an extended warranty of 10 years with unlimited mileage. I then contacted mbusa customer service and was advised to take the vehicle to my local mb dealer. The vehicle was taken to the mb dealer on 7/14/14 to be checked. The dealer service adviser advise that the sbc unit was defective and needed to be replaced. I was given an estimate of 1851. 00 to complete the repairs due to the fact that my vehicle had passed the 10 year warranty extension. My vehicles in service date is 4/20/04, so it is now past the 10 year warranty by 2 1/2 months. I then contacted mbusa for post warranty review on 7/15/14. I was contacted by tara from mbusa on 7/16/14 but was not able to make actual contact until 7/18. 14. She indicated that she would to discuss with the local mb dealer service manager to review the needed repairs. Tara called back on Monday morning 7/21/14 to advise me that after talking to the service manager along with the regional manager no financial assistance would be extended.
The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes Benz E500. While driving at approximate speeds of 20 mph, the entire dash board illuminated followed by the illumination of the brake system warning light. The contact attempted to depress the brakes but the brakes would not engage. The contact was able to drive to his residence without incident and utilized the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The contact was awaiting a tow to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure and current mileages were 51,000. Updated 12/10/10 the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and they diagnosed the problem as sensotronic braking system failure. It was replaced free of charge under the manufacturer's warranty. Updated 12/27/10 the consumer stated when he stepped on the brake, the vehicle not respond. The consumer then decided to use the combination of the foot brake and the hill which brought the vehicle to a stop. Updated 01/31/11.
2004 500e anti-lock brake system is not functioning properly. ** answer required***. The consumer stated the purpose of an anti-lock braking system is that when all brakes are locked, it will then pulsate the brakes so that the driver does not have to. The consumer stated on his vehicle the brakes system could lock without pulsing. The consumer believed the brakes did not lock and the bas did not perform as designed.