Brake Sensor problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz ML320

Tl the contact owns a 2001 mercedes-benz Ml320. On two occasions, while driving approximately 45 mph and 60 mph, the vehicle slowed down independently and came to an abrupt stop. There was no crash. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the yaw rate sensor was defective. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified via email. The dealer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 220,000.

I was driving approximately 25 mph getting onto the highway when all of a sudden my brakes seemed to lock up. My vehicle jerked violently and I heard this awful grinding noise. I was narrowly missed by the vehicle behind me as the jerk slammed my vehicle to a halt and turned my wheels causing my steering wheel to jerk as well. I was able to pull off to the side of the road and sat there for a while and once again tried to proceed ahead and almost immediately the same incident happened. I called a tow truck and had the vehicle towed to a mercedes dealer who kept the vehicle for three days and could not recreate the issue however they stated that the yaw sensor came up as faulty during the diagnostic. I went to pick up the vehicle and as the tech drove it up it again started jerking. $1000 later the yaw sensor has been replaced but I feel like this issue is definitely a safety hazard. I am just thankful that my 18 month old son wasn't in the car with me at the time as had he been and someone hit us from behind because of the abrupt stop, he surely would have been injured. This needs to be looked into immediately and recalled as it is a safety issue. I believe that mercedes should deem this a recall, fixing the issue for those out there who have not yet experienced it and reimbursing those of us who have had to spend $1000 replacing what is supposed to be a system put in place for safety.

I was driving straight on an interstate highway at 70mph with my foot on the gas pedal . All of a sudden the vehicle started to totally apply the brakes all by itself and lunged to a stop . The car behind me barely missed hitting the rear of my vehicle . I turned off the engine and restarted and and was able to drive to the side of the highway . Fearful to continue driving , I then called a tow service to take my vehicle to the nearest dealership . A few days later , they called me and said one of the sensors for the abs/esp system had failed (yaw rate sensor - dtc c1120) and caused the problem . The repair cost would be about $900. 00 . I could not believe that a component of a so called safety system could fail rendering the system so that it can in itself cause an extremely dangerous situation . Fortunately in my case there were no injuries but different circumstances could have been just the opposite . The ase master certified technition who takes care of my car stated that this was a known type of failure (defect) of my model mercedes . Mercedes benz refused to cover this repair for me and does not have a solution to prevent this from happenning again on my vehicle or any of the other thousands that they have sold . We all put faith in these safety system that mercedes manufactures but once the warranty expires we all are forced to live with the concequences of defective designs . I was told that when a component in a safety system fails the system is supposed to turn on a warning light and turn it self off . Not like in my case the failed sensor caused the abs/esp system to randomly turn on the brakes . With all of the crazy computerized systems in the modern cars I am now nervous about blindly trusting them with my life .

While driving in heavy traffic at 45mph, the brakes automatically engaged and the electronic stability program and yaw rate sensor failed. I was narrowly able to avoid a serious accident. After searching many online mercedes forums, this seems to be a recurring problem for 2000-2001 ml models and is related to NHTSA campaign pe07007 that was closed in 2007. However, the problem seems to be occuring more and more frequently now and grounds for a recall. The car is not safe to drive until fixed.

While driving on freeway in moderate traffic the car suddenly without any warning violently applied uneven power to different wheels, brake and sped up. Originally I thought we were having an earthquake as I was trying to regain control over car. After about 15 seconds as I slowed car resumed normal operation. About 10 miles later the action repeated making me fear a crash or roll over as I was fighting to regain control and exit freeway. Luckily I was able to exit and gain control. Ended up having car towed 175 miles home. Mechanic at dealership now says it was a defective yaw sensor designed to work in conjunction with the esp to prevent a roll over. However the defective sensor easily could have caused a roll over or a crash with a less experienced and physically strong driver. Indeed, had my wife been driving I do not know whether she could have controlled the vehicle. Had there been one of the many 18 wheelers immediately next to me I do not know whether I could have avoided a collision. After the fact in review on google I noted many very similar complaints for the same 2001 mbz Ml320. I believe there should be a recall before there is death or serious injury.

We bought a used mercedes ml which had the bas/esp lights illuminated and immediately paid $1,268 to get this fixed before driving it anywhere. We told the dealer we would be going on a 600 mile trip. It seemed to be fixed, but after several hundred miles of driving on the way back for hours the bas/esp light came on again. It was in the middle of the night and there was no one to call to check on this, and the dealer never told us it could be dangerous. All of the sudden a few hours later one of the wheels locked up and sent us out of control winding up on the side of the highway. My wife and our two kids were nearly killed. This is an extremely dangerous safety issue that has been reported previously years ago. If this had happened while going the speed limit of 70mph down the hill next to the deep ravine I am sure we would have all been killed or seriously injured. This is a serious safety issue. Please protect consumers by issuing a recall on any mercedes with the bas/esp feature. This is very likely to cause serious injuries or fatalities at any point in the future. We had no idea. Please warn consumers. What if my wife was driving the car? she does not know how to handle this situation like I did. We bought this as my daughters first vehicle. Now what am I going to do? I don't feel right selling this car to anyone else or letting my family drive it. The system does not properly warn consumers. After parking the car overnight the bas/esp system is no longer lit up. This is an accident waiting to happen again as my dealer will probably find "nothing wrong with it". They could have at least warned us or replaced all of the sensors as a precaution.