Brake Sensor problems of the 2000 Mercedes Benz ML320

Hard braking suddenly activated without driver input, smoke coming from front wheels. Yaw sensor malfunction indicated by obd scanner (checked after incident).

First incident in August 2012 driving 20-30 mph just got on hwy and car suddenly slammed on brakes. Could not go over 1000rpm without brakes engaging but fortunately a policeman who witnessed this escorted us to safety on single lane hwy very dangerous. Replaced yaw rate sensor for $1000. Now it is doing the same thing again 2/27/13 and is undrivable. Most likely facing another replacement of yaw rate sensor for another $1000 that only lasted 6 months last time. There are hundreds of these same stories online and ridiculous that Mercedes Benz with its classy reputation would not recall such a potentially dangerous issue. How many people have to be injured to justify a recall?! I do not feel safe driving my 2 year old daughter anymore and still owe on this hunk of junk so I am stuck.

While driving around 50mph on the bqe road (NY), suddenly the bas/esp light came on, all the brakes engaged and car was coming to a stop. Warning light on a dashboard was flashing and at first I thought the engine died. Not realizing what is happening, I tried to add power/gas to the car, but the engine didn't want to go past 1000 rpm. Being in a fast lane and having hard time controlling the movement of the car, iâ??ve noticed overpowering smell of the brakes. I was absolutely shocked by the event as the traffic was heavy and I was just hoping no one will rear me. Stepping on the gas pedal had almost no result even though the motor was running. It then started to accelerate very slowly when my foot was pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor of the car. Some 5-10 minutes later, the car started to accelerate and behaving as nothing has happened. However, 15 minutes into the ride, the same thing happened and this time, I was driving in a slow lane - some 30-35 mph. I pulled over and let the car rest for about 5 minutes and it stared fine and drove fine for the rest of the evening. Once I parked the car, the bas esp light was still on and stayed on. I took the car very next day to a car mechanic, but the computer reading didnâ??t give any errors, faults nor notifications. By that time, the esp light was off once again. The incident recurred 3 days later while coming to a stop due to a traffic lights - some 15-20 mph. My mechanic (and my internet search) advised me to change the yaw sensor. I fully understand the sensor can become faulty, but fully engaging the brakes while traveling is extremely dangerous. I'm now waiting for the yaw sensor to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz Ml320. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the caution and esp lights illuminated on the instrument panel and the brakes locked up without warning. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and shut off for a few moments. Upon restart, the vehicle operated as normal and was taken to an authorized dealer where the yaw rate sensor was relaced. The contact was also informed that another sensor needed to be replaced, but the repair was not performed. The vehicle was still in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was 215,000.

While driving on a highway at about 55-58 mph for no reason brakes engaged and locked wheels. Smoke was coming out of the tires and esp light came on. My wife (she was driving) and two small kids as well as I were scared to death. We were lucky, nobody was right behind us and we avoided accident. After the esp light come on everything went to normal. We finished our trip with no more brake incidents. Next day after restarting the car light was off but brakes locked in the moment rpm went over 1000. Speed at that time was only 5-10 mph. After complete stop esp light came on again and I was able to continue my trip. None of the Mercedes Benz mechanics wanted to tell me what this was caused by. I continued to drive like that for the next year. Every time I would drive without the esp light on the brakes will lock in and bring the car to complete stop. I also learn that if I start the car and wait five minutes light will come on and I can ride without brakes locking in. This worked for a while but then esp light stopped coming on before driving and I had to wait for the brakes to engage and cause the light to come on. At that time on April 2011 I had the car tested at the mercedes dealership and was told that has faulty yaw rate sensor and the part cost is about $550. 00 not counting labor. I didn't have this replaced because the cost of it and because I believe this is a safety issue and Mercedes Benz should have a recall on this as soon as possible to avoid tragedy one day. Someday somebody will die in the car accident caused by this faulty yaw rate sensor and nobody will even know what led to this crush. Please have this checked quickly before somebody will get hurt and who knows maybe somebody already did die already and we don't know about it. There were a lot of identical incidents reported. It is dangerous behavior on Mercedes Benz part. Regards, Ml320 user.

I own a 2000 Ml320 Mercedes Benz. In 4 different events the car applies brakes on tires randomly and the car comes to a stop and pulls and jerks to that side the esp light blink on instrument cluster and bas/esp light comes on. My wife taking the kids to school from stockton to lathrop on I-5 had this problem too and it really scared them luckily the right lane was empty and they managed to somehow pull over. This is a major safety issue that can cause death or serious injury. The brakes and electronic stability applies on by itself randomly causing the car to jerk or stop and pushing on the accelerator does not make the car move due to the lack of power and car won't pass 1000rpm restarting the engine resets the problem until it occurs again. Took to the dealership and they say this is most likely due to a bad "yaw rate sensor" I have had this problem on 3 other occasions driving around 30-40 miles per hour and the car came to a stop in traffic and the driving conditions was clean on a straightaway road. Mercedes benz refuses to fix this dangerous problem as a major safety recall they want $300 to look at the car $500 for yaw sensor and $600 for labor and they will not guarantee if it will solve the problem. Please help I do not want my wife and kids get in to a car accident but this is our only car.

I purchase a my 2000 Mercedes Benz Ml320 used with approx. 78k miles. The vehicle now has 105k miles, while driving the vehicle normal, and no off road activity the front brakes would activate causing the vehicle to pull suddenly to the left or right depending on which side had been activated with no input from the driver. The incident would last anywhere from three to five seconds in duration and loss of brake control to the rest of the vehicle. This has happened several different times 5 to be exact all at different speeds. The last episode I was traveling at 50 mph when the front left wheel slammed on brakes and jerked the vehicle to the left, thank god, no on was coming at me at that time. The vehicle has been taken to a repair shop and a yaw sensor ordered. I have read previously that a similar complaint had been filed and closed back in 2007. All I can say is that this could have been a very serious issue, because it happens unexpectedly and at any speed!.

The contact owns a 2000 Mercedes Benz Ml320. While driving approximately 30 mph with the accelerator pedal depressed, the abs engaged and the vehicle skidded approximately 5 feet. The abs then released on its own. The vehicle was driven to a mechanic and the failure was diagnosed as the esp yaw rate sensor. The sensor was replaced. The current mileage was 124,000 and failure mileage was 123,080. Updated 09/10/08 the power steering hose lwaked. Updated 09/10/08.

2000 Mercedes Benz Ml320 while driving 45mph the brakes came on suddenly without depressing the brake pedal. The brakes locked and then released itself. The bas esp light came on. Then the vehicle was able to drive fine. The dealer could not find the failure. This stated only a few sensor has gone bad once again. This failure occurred four to six times.