Service Brakes Problems of Mercedes Benz E500 - part 1

The contact owns a 2003 mercedes-benz E500. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed but the pedal was stiff. The vehicle was taken to two dealers where it was diagnosed that the brake pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.

See all problems of the 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 🔎.

Per incident was back glass detached from window and broke all over the road and on the back of my car while driving. 2: sbcc pump goes in and out admittedly and type of a no brake issue at all hard as a rock will not move car only has 180,000 miles on it and it’s been doing that since 140,000 miles which did cause me to get in a minor accident on the right side of the car the passenger side where now I’ve had to replace a fender and still have problems because of it.

See all problems of the 2005 Mercedes Benz E500 🔎.

The contact owns a 2003 mercedes-benz e 500. The contact stated that there was leakage coming from both the driver and the passenger side sunroof. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local dealer. The contact was informed that the only warranty would be for the module. The contact stated as he was driving the vehicle into the dealer service center the esp light illuminated and after it went away he saw the brake light illuminated. The contact stated that when the brake pedal was applied it did not respond. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,648.

I was traveling at about 60mph and started to slow to turn off the highway. Suddenly a red brake warning light came on and it took tremendous pressure to slow the car down and I overshot the turn. Then the car had no power. I was 36 miles from my home. I limped at 5-20 mph to a friends house and had the car towed to my home. There was absolutely no warning of any kind of brake problem. The car was driving just fine before this happened. I believe it could have been a much worse situation had I been in any kind of traffic.

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.

See all problems of the 2004 Mercedes Benz E500 🔎.

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.

Vehicle started flashing a red warning sign while driving at which point I lost all brakes it was only right that I used a runaway ramp at the moment otherwise the car would have not stopped. I turned off the vehicle and then upon restarting everything brake related disappeared. Also this has happened a few times already.

Mzb issued a 25-year-warranty/safety recall extension on my 2003 E500 mzb car; #2005110001 -for the sensotronic brake system. Around August 2020 I was driving on surface street when suddenly the dashboard started flashing red warnings and the speed immediately reduced and transmission was locked in first gear. I was almost rear-ended and managed to pull car curbside. I then slowly drove car home, and the next day contacte a master ase mzb mechanic and had car towed there in temecula. He determined the sbc unit was the cause and even called mzb temecula to assure they had the part. He then informed me my car was under a 25-year recall extension to repair the safety- hazard issue. Dealer and mzb USA refuses to repair - they say since their computer does not show faults, the codes that the ase master mechanic ( who is know to temecula mzb service manager for years) sent to them do not matter. . . Only their system codes. I live in an area where freeway drives are essential and frequent; a sbc limp mode breakdown would put mine and others lives in danger. Mzb temecula and mzb USA in georgia told me that is not their problem unless ifthe system goes down and I have towed to them.

Tl the contact owns a 2005 mercedes-benz E500. While driving at an unknown speed, the brakes lost power and did not stop the vehicle. In addition, the �stop driving the vehicle� warning indicator illuminated. The contact used the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to mercedes-benz of encino (888-280-0902, located at 16721 ventura blvd, encino, CA 91436). The technician was unable to diagnose the failure, but assured the contact that the vehicle would be repaired. The failure recurred a couple of times and the vehicle was taken to keyes european mercedes-benz (818-574-5053, located at 5400 van nuys blvd, sherman oaks, CA 91401) where a diagnostic test was recommended. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that he would be called back. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN and failure mileage were not provided.

I was exiting the interstate freeway onto a frontage road (travelling ~45mph). A warning message said that there was a failure of the braking system. I tried to slow down, but had lost all braking power. Fortunately, there was no one in front of me. The vehicle automatically downshifted to a low gear which helped slow me down. I came to a stop in a safe location, put the car in park, and turned off the engine. When I re-started the car, normal braking function returned. The mercedes dealership said that this was a normal issue with this model. A hydraulic unit of some sort needed replacing.

Mercedes E500 2005 126,000 miles while travelling 40mph on city streets the car flashed a red warning message indicating "reduced braking power depress brake prdal fully". This is in relation to the sbc braking system that in the event of a failure resorts to a emergency hydraulic emergency brake back up that mercedes claims allows for adequate braking stopping distance. I would like to stress that the aforementioned statement is not true as I had to swerve on to a sidewalk to avoid an accident. Depressing the brake pedal fully is not suffice and the system loses 90% braking power with only the front axel brakes as operable. The condition and circumstances described herein are not in compliance with the fmcsa in regards to brakes being operable at all times and emergency braking situations. The red warning message cleared upon the next time the engine was engaged which is also of note. Mercedes should be advised to consider recalling cars equipped with sbc as it is a clear safety hazard.

Mercedes benz placed faulty and defective braking systems including a defective sbc hydraulic unit on all of their Mercedes Benz E500 model vehicles. Mercedes is aware of this faulty and defective party that could cause serious bodily injury to occupants at the time of failure. Mercedes benz failed to issue a recall for this faulty brake system and instead extended the brake system warranty for 10 years. However, mercedes never notified any owners of this defective product, therefore, never actually fixed or replaced this defective part. Owner had no knowledge of the defect, were not notified or contacted and received absolutely no communication from mercedes or its dealerships regarding this defect. You only learn of the defect once it fails! upon failure, mercedes is now refusing to take responsibility for this defective product of which they, their company, dealerships and franchises, and certified repair shops have admitted to have knowingly sold cars with this defect and have all failed to provide communications and/or disclosures of any kind to its customers. I have personally contacted mercedes about this defect and am looking to pursuing legal and civil action against them for circumventing the federal safety recall laws to the detriment of its consumers and the general public. Mercedes is in violation of federal law and criminal and civil penalties should ensue. Myself and other similarly situated consumers should be made whole and mercedes should take care of all expenses incurred for this repair. My vehicle failed while driving on a business interstate highway-highway 75 south in atlanta, GA. The vehicle was in motion and began to abruptly come to a stop with warning lights flashing and car disabled itself. Once disabled in the road, the gears would not move and car could not be put back into motion.

While driving down street brakes engaged on their own. Pulled car over due to warning light for brake malfunction as car down shifted itself. Tried to drive car once stopped and brakes were still engaged not allowing car to operate. Car was towed to dealership. They said the sbc hydraulic pump was defective and had been recalled by mercedes but their time frame to get it fixed had expired. I had no knowledge due to buying the car used. I was informed that this defect affect several years of this model. I contacted mbusa they explained NHTSA didn't do the recall for this defect and the time they set for repair had expired. I told them the repair is $2100. And asked mbusa do they stand behind their product being the part was defective that they used on their vehicles. They told me they will do nothing about it. That they could give me $200. 00 of $2100. 00 toward the repair being the part was defective. Mdusa has no integrity to stand behind a problem they created with defective braking system.

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 2003 mercedes-benz E500. While driving, the red brake warning indicator illuminated and a "decrease braking" message appeared. When attempting to apply the brakes, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. Approximately five minutes later, the vehicle was restarted and functioned normally. The contact stated that the warning indicator remained illuminated and the brakes performed at a slower rate. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehcle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 04v296000 (service brakes, hydraulic), however, the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

I was driving and when I tried to brake. The brakes went all the way to the floor. Red light let up in the middle of the dash it said that brake malfunction. Sbc system failure. Had to glade to a stop and have the car towed.

Takata recall.

The contact owns a 2003 mercedes-benz E500. While driving 55-60 mph, the brake pedal was depressed, but failed to respond. The contact was able to slow the vehicle to a stop using the emergency brake. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the brake sensotronic control hydraulic unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 142,000.

The sbc pump failed causing me to lose braking power while driving causing me coming close to having a rear end collision on the interstate.

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.

I was driving my car off the frwy and was turning on the ramp when my brakes stopped working.

See all problems of the 2006 Mercedes Benz E500 🔎.

Have vehicle for 4 months and was unaware of mercedez benz extended 10 year warranty, before this incident. While driving approximately 30 miles per hour the instrument cluster flashed red with "decreased braking power, stop driving and visit workshop". Unfortunately, I was travelling at mid day in traffic and could not stop the car, without pressing the brake with both feet to the floor, and I still managed to blow through 2 red lights, but not kill anybody. (it took over 3 blocks to stop. ) this is obviously a recall issue, as 750 TSB's have been filed against this model. If owners choose not repair this malfunction(5000 cost). . . People will die,,,kids will die. Brake systems such as these have been eliminated by car makers because of the dangers. Ntsb, it is your responsibility to realize that these "dangerous" vehicles are on the road and demand mb extends the warranty until all "dangerous" cars are on the road and need repairs. These vehicles are no different than a loaded gun. . Just waiting to kill someone. I hope to hear some action quickly. . . Yours truly, a guy driving a loaded weapon.

Diving my 2003 E500 the red light came on and it said reduce breaking distance. It felt like the hydraulic brakes were engaged. I had the same problem with my 2002 e350 which was on the recall. List but the 2003 E500 is not on the recall having the same problem as the 2002 e350.

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz E500. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the service brakes warning lights illuminated. The contact then stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to respond. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the braking system pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 114,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz E500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the brake pedal was applied and it did not respond. The contact applied extreme force to the brake pedal, the vehicle spun around and crashed into a tree. The contact sustained whiplash and pains to the wrists due to the force from the impact. The contact did not receive further medical attention. The head restraint airbags deployed on the drivers side and the front passenger side only. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed back to the contacts residence and the vehicle was not diagnosed yet to determine how the failure happened. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was not available. Dyd.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 mercedes E500. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle geared down without notice and the brakes became inoperable. The contact was able to pull over and shut off the vehicle. The vehicle was able to restart and the brake malfunction light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000. Ed.

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 mercedes model e class from 2003-2008 have a defective sbc unit which control the brakes on the car, this unit is prone to fail at anytime time without warning, I have researched this and it has happened to thousands of people, I will be shocked if this hasn't caused a fatality, mercedes is aware of this problem and they issued a 10 year warranty to fix this, but if the unit fails after the 10 years they will charge you over $2500 to repair something that they manufactured defective, which is insane. This is a repair that should be covered for the life of the vehicle, I guess to them, a life is only important for 10 years. Something should be done to correct this before lives are lost (or more lives are lost) because of this ludicrous error on the part of mercedes.

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.

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. 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.

I merged onto the 215 freeway heading north when at approximately 60mph a red stop sign showed up on my instrument cluster saying stop and something else that I don't remember. The car shifted down to second gear bells going off. I was only a couple miles from home. I am fortunate my wife wasn't driving. It was a very traumatic experience that no one should go through without warning. Can't believe mb has a safety item that works like this. This issue needs to be addressed before someone is killed.

I was exiting the freeway, pressing on the brakes. The car pulled very aggressively to the left, I got a warning light on the instrument panel flashing red that said there was a brakes issue. I pulled over to the side of the road, turned the car off and back on and was able to drive it normally with no error displaying on the instrument panel. I took it to the dealer for service, they said without a fault code in the system, there was nothing they could do about it and that I would have to wait for it to fully fail before they could address it. I'm scared of this car now, I don't dare drive it. Something needs to be done about this, any other system fine, but brakes? this should be a no brainer. Nhtsa, please help us.

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.

There was an extended warranty on the sbc unit, which expired December 5, 2014. The message in my car appeared on or about December 17, 2014 of the failure of the sbc unit thereafter which I contacted the pompano florida Mercedes Benz dealership regarding the issue. Although I was advised that the warranty expired December 5, 2014, I was concerned about the safety of the vehicle and therefore took my car in to the dealership Saturday, December 20, 2014. At that time, the service manager advised me that the part was out of warranty and that I would be responsible to replace the unit. I had to bring up the warranty to the dealership, this information was not volunteered to me. I was advised that it was unsafe to drive the car as the unit controlling the break system was broken and there was no control over the breaks, which could fail at any moment. I asked mr. Banks (the service manager) to explain to me how Mercedes Benz would extend the warranty on this particular part that controls the breaks that was clearly a safety issue and no notification was provided regarding this? the response I received from him and Mercedes Benz USA was that this was not a safety issue, just a warranty extension on the part. You can see how ridiculous this sounds to any human being. I have owned this vehicle for 5 years now and the previous owners were my parents who bought it new from the annapolis, maryland Mercedes Benz dealership. Neither one of us ever received any notice regarding this extended warranty. I have also taken my car multiple times to the pompano florida Mercedes Benz dealership and this issue was never brought to my attention. This is clearly a safety issue and they need to take responsibility. I ended up paying $1060 after fighting with them on paying the full price. Mercedes benz needs to take care of this before people die.