general problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz ML320

On more than one occasion, my 2001 merc benz Ml320 came to a complete stop and dramatically pulled to the right while I was driving at various speeds. The first time happened as I was making a right turn from a stand still. The second time happened as I was traveling at approximately 35-40 mph. Finally, the last two times occurred while I was on the highway traveling at approximately 65-70 mph. In all instances, the front brakes absolutely locked and my vehicle came to an approximately complete stop while pulling the steering to the right. Each event was a very frightening episode. Although I kept trying to accelerate, the brakes would not allow it. I had just enough momentum so that I could veer to the safety of the safety lane. The events all happened within a two (2) week period. . . Far, far too frequent for comfort. In all occasions, I was fortunate to not get rammed by the vehicles traveling behind me. Now that I have done a little research I am really disappointed that mercedes seems to be aware of the issue but has not taken this issue more seriously as it seems to not have been an isolated issue but rather one that has been consistent among fellow ml 320 vehicle owners. Lastly, I've only owned this truck for a two week period, and it has terrified me in this short time.

During braking the bas/esp will come on causing no acceleration with the vehicle. This has happened 7 times in the last 3 days. Almost resulting in 2 accidents. Only tuning off and the the vehicle will temporally fix the issue.

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.

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.

I lightly tapped my accelerator to edge my car up the curb to drive onto our driveway and in a fraction of a second my 4 wheel drive was in full throttle. I quickly stomped on my brakes and was able to stop the car but it was like holding back a crew of horses. I had to brake all the way to the floor and thank goodness I have strong legs and quick reflexes. It accelerated so fast I could not have done it that fast even if I had pushed the accelerator myself. It left multiple 4' to 5' black scratch marks on our driveway and the skidding of tires (take off) was heard inside our house. Probably traveled 10' or so before I could stop it. No injuries but just shaken up. I called our dealer to inquire if there were any other incidences and they said no. I looked on the web and could not find any other incidences. Took to dealer the next day and they acknowledged some type of error notice from their computer related to my accelerator and did a fix of some type.

I own a Mercedes Benz 2001 Ml320 and the lateral acceleration sensor failed around 15,000 miles and was replaced at my own expense. The bas/esp (break assist/electronic stability program) warning light comes on during each short or long trips and goes away after the vehicle sits for a while and restart of the engine and this started to occur after the warranty expired. The first replacement did not work because the wrong parts was used (so the dealer says) and the problem came right back but was corrected with the correct parts the second time (sometimes I feel the esp kicks in and breaking but that might just be my feeling). This could be a safety related issue and should be a recall item since customers that are used to these safety features may have wrong sense of feeling when the sensor fails unexpectedly at a time when this feature can avoid an accident.