Electronic Stability Control Problems of Mercedes Benz ML320 - part 1

The yaw rate sensor is causing the car to unintended breaking. It started the breaking since I purchased the car in June, however over a week ago the actual car will break while im drive and bring the car to a complete stop and will not go until I cut the car completely off and let it sit for about 10-15 min and turn it back on and then it will drive again.

See all problems of the 1999 Mercedes Benz ML320 🔎.

Srs. Ets. Aba lights on. Buzzing.

See all problems of the 2000 Mercedes Benz ML320 🔎.

Air bag off, pedal control sistem is in recall from March 31 2011, smoke pass belong to Nissan mendoza auto group sold this car in CA car in recall don't pass smoke, they said yes. . . Pass, please investigation.

See all problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz ML320 🔎.

As I noticed in other complaints they all focus in the power steering issues, fuel / oil leaks and loss, esp option , electrical mail functions that relate with the ecu, problem with the shifter. All these are safety concerns since all the above problems can cause an accident . I have the same problems in my car and it is really difficult to operate the vehicle. The power steering is not working as the car is not in speed motion unless you use strength to turn the wheel , the esp is not working at all , the shifter is not changing to drive unless you override it and that's the only way to start it and the fuel along with the oil is leaking and all the fluids are disappearing in no time . All these are safety hazards and not just a simple problem . There should have been a repair for all of these issues ASAP free of charge from mercedes for the owners of the particular defective vehicles . Thank you in advance.

While driving on highway the car brakes come on automatically without touching the brakes, it happened few times, the car has to come to stop, very dangerous situation.

This is the 4th or 5th time this has happened to me in the last two years. The first time (Jan 2017) happened on a highway outside of washington DC. Luckily I was in the right lane and was able to pull off the road. But before doing so I almost got rear ended by another vehicle that was directly behind me. I sat on side of the road for 15 minutes with car off. When I started up the car, I was able to finish my drive home to south carolina but stayed in the right lane all the way home. 2nd time was in April of 2017 while driving on highway from south carolina to georgia. Pulled over and let it set for awhile. Finished ride to atlanta airport. Week later I drive home from atlanta and it happens again. I bring it to the mechanic and he cant find anything diagnostically. 3rd time while driving home from myrtle beach. I brought it to mechanic and he keeps it for a week. Here is the description of my last occurence; I am driving to work on route 327 and this time it is the worse occurence yet; doing 45 mph and brakes lock up like as if I had slammed them on. Car behind me swerves around me and gives me the 'one finger' hello. . . . . Thank god he was paying attention and not texting. Car is now at the mechanic and he is looking at replacing a $800 sensor. Even then I will not let my family in this vehicle with me ever again. Somebody is going to get rearended (killed) eventually if you dont get mercedes to fix this problem I was driving approximately 40 mph when the right front brake locked up for approximately 3 seconds, it released for about 3 seconds then locked up again for about 3 seconds. The esp light (exclamation light on the console lights up as well) I never touched the brakes!! the SUV left skid marks on the street. I proceeded on and the same thing happened again. I never touched the brakes! the brake lights do not come on when it happens.

Driving at highway speed 65mph, the Ml320 slammed on the front right side break causing truck to swerve right nearly out of control. When stopping and checking the front right tire, hub and brake pad were smoking and very hot.

I was driving on a busy intersection in my 2002 Mercedes Benz Ml320 when driving the yellow triangle in the speedometer starts to flash and all the breaks lock up, this is followed by a stall, thankfully I was able to pull off to the side of the road without being hit. After doing some research I discovered that many mercedes Ml320 owners were having this same problem. Specifically the yaw rate sensor. This is a serious life threatening issue that can injure or worse yet kill someone. You guys need to do a recall before someone dies!.

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While driving wheel will lock up release and lock up again. The bas/esp light came on.

My wife drove the vehicle to work one day and when she was pulling out of the parking lot onto a busy street, the yellow triangle with exclamation point started to flash and engaged the brakes. My wife quickly pull over to the side of the street and made her way back into the parking lot while the brakes where engaging. My wife was unable to drive the vehicle home from work. We let the vehicle sit for several minutes and I was able to get the vehicle moving but the brakes were engaging again. I was able to get the vehicle back home. I have taking the vehicle to several shops and all the shops are saying that there is an issue with the traction control system. When driving the vehicle from one of the shops, as soon as I pulled out of the shop's parking lot the brakes engaged and the yellow triangle with exclamation was flashing. It did this for about 15 seconds caused the approaching vehicle from the rear to slam on their brakes to avoid rear ending me. The vehicle has become unsafe to drive because we just don't know if when it does this. It happens randomly usually after the vehicle as been sitting off for a several hours.

See all problems of the 2003 Mercedes Benz ML320 🔎.

On multiple occasions and numerous different speeds, weather, both driving on a straightaway or turning, and other road conditions, the front brakes have locked up on the car causing it to veer right while engaging the brakes. Most often I have had to pull over, thankfully safely, or on one occasion, stop in the middle of the road to turn the car off to be able to continue driving which is incredibly dangerous and scary. I've taken it to the dealership and they had me replace the brake sensors which were obviously not the problem and then recommended other replacements, since the problem continued, that I declined until I found that this was a common problem with the stability sensors in this vehicle (specifically the yaw sensor). I'm amazed this is not a recall situation and that no one has been seriously injured or killed due to this problem.

On numerous occasions occurring in different conditions regarding speed, weather, road conditions, etc. , I have had the vehicle pull hard to the right while engaging the front brakes, both while turning the vehicle and on straightaways. When this occurs, the triangle hazard light and esp lights start flashing. Most often I have been able to pull off to the side of the road, thankfully safely, or on one occasion stop in the middle of the road as the car wouldn¿t allow me to continue driving which was incredibly dangerous and scary. I have taken it to the dealership who replaced the front brake sensors, which didn¿t fix the problem, and returned to have them again diagnose the issue and declined their recommendations such as replacing the back brake sensors, until I came upon the repeated issues of the stability sensors failing (specifically the yaw sensor). I can¿t believe that, to date, this has not been a recall issue and no one has been seriously injured or killed due to this problem (I filed a previous claim, but the website went under maintenance and closed my complaint as I was filing and was given id #10923983, but there is no information filed in association that I could find hence the re-filing).

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.

While driving at 40 mph unintended brake application causing loss of control. This has happened numerous times under different speeds and condition. It has happened on curves and straight road conditions. This has been happening since may 2016 at least 15 to 20 times.

Vehicle came to a dead stop when brakes suddenly applied automatically while driving in a straight line at 40mph in heavy freeway traffic. Very difficult to get vehicle off road onto shoulder. Esp/bas light came and remained on until ignition turned off. Now no warning light nor diagnostic code detected. Brake pedal sensor replaced by mb dealer on month ago. An extremely dangerous situation.

While driving at 50 mhp vehicle lights started flashing (warning for esp and abs) and the vehicle slowed dramatically and pulled to the right. . . I got to the side of the road and assumed I had a blow out. . . But all tires were fine and no issues. . . Turned off vehicle and drove about 13 miles then turned vehicle off for 10 -15 minutes came out and got in vehicle. . . When I started to go. . . Orange triangle was still on and if I even touched brakes they all locked up and would even squeel when even touching brake petal. It was 79 degrees, dry on a highway that was a smooth road, in traffic and was almost hit.

I have a 2002 Ml320, the radio is out and the hole clamp used to secure the power steering fluid does not provide sufficient clamping causing a leak, esp/bas stays on causing low traction and the door lock. These items were recalled on the m-class 320, what happened to thes recalls.

Bas light turns on while driving on the freeway and the car shuts off on freeway while driving. The gas pedal didn't work so I pulled over. I feel like its a dangerous to drive and putting other driver in danger so I stopped driving it. There was a recall for 2000-2002 Ml320 but my car is 2003 and its doing the same issues that the 2000-2002 Ml320.

Was driving truck at highway, when brakes activated by itself, abs, traction light, brake lamp and hazards flashed. Had to immediately move to side of road, while brakes where activating. Felt as if abs was activating as if I was sliding on and icy road. Had to have vehicle towed as I was not able to move more that 5 feet.

The contact owns a 2002 Mercedes Benz Ml320. While driving approximately 45 mph, the front brakes activated independently. The contact noticed that the front rotors were red and hot. The esp warning light illuminated. The contact disconnected the esp cable and continued to drive the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 139,000.

Vehicle automatically switches off its anti-lock-brake and electronic-stability-control systems for unknown reason, thereby endangering its driver and passengers, as well as other vehicle's drivers and passengers, every time it's driven.

This is a sequel report to my odi 10664733 of 12/16/2014. Two incidents are identical. The earlier incident happened at odometer reading 118,714; this second incident happened at 118,832, 118 miles later. I was on I-280 southbound approx. 53 miles south of sf. Around 1pm, a sudden extraordinarily forceful braking – the mercedes owner’s manual calls this maximum braking capability power boost which exceeds driver’s manual braking style – the “brake assist system bas” happened again without driver’s command. I was going steady at 65 mph, absolutely no braking. The traffic was light and the road was dry. The car swerved slightly with a large braking noise and came down to near holt. I could steer the car to the right side emergency area by traveling perhaps 15 feet while the bas was firmly in force. This is counter to the NHTSA action pe07007 reference attributed to mercedes as the esp electrical faults duration being 0. 3 seconds or less. My experience indicates this is incorrect. It lasted as long as I was trying to move the car. When the bas activated, the esp alarm signal and the bas/esp light came on. Turned off the engine for a few minutes and restarted. The bas/eps light came back on but the car behaved normally otherwise. Drove back to sf without further incidence. Were the traffic heavy and the road were wet and slippery, my mercedes Ml320 would have been rear-ended at highway speeds and would have lost control on the wet road. I firmly believe that this is a serious safety issue mercedes must address with the definitive solution. I am willing to avail my vehicle for field testing. Pe07007 cites “the low complaint rate” through 2007 led to closing odi investigation. A quick website research indicates there are a considerable number of bas incidents posted since 2007 on various private forums and blogs but these drivers may not have reported to NHTSA.

I was on calif hwy1 northbound approx 20 miles south of sf, doing 45mph, around 1:00pm. All of a sudden, brakes were activated in a fierce force, which brought the vehicle to a complete stop within a second or two traveling two to three feet. I felt all the four wheels were locked firm. I did not even touch the brakes. My car swerved slightly but did not lose control. The road was dry. There was no traffic and no vehicle behind me or to my sides. As I steered the car to the shoulder area of the highway, I noticed the esp/bas lamp was on. I turned off the engine and restarted a minute later. The esp/bas lamp came back on. I was lucky that the traffic was light and the road was dry. Drove back home without another incidence.

Same story as I've seen thousands of times on the internet and you claim not enough occurrences! I'm on the interstate, going 70 mph. Weather is good, traffic is light (thank god!) and my breaks slam on. The abs system kicks in, so I'm able to get over to the shoulder before being rear ended. The triangle warning lamp is lit and the bas / esp lamp is lit. I try turning the car off and back on, lights go out, I move forward, get up to about 20 mph and the breaks slam on again. I shut the car off for about 15 minutes while I got out and was investigating the tires and breaks. Get back in, start the vehicle and drive another 45 minutes. Get into town, driving about 25 mph and they slam on again. I'm able to limp home with the abs going on and off. I park it for the night. Next day I do some research and see there are thousands of similar complaints. Follow one of the suggestions and disconnect my battery. Fixed the issue for about 4 months before it happened again. This time I was in the passing lane going around an 18 wheeler with traffic behind me. Me and my 8 year old was almost killed along with other drivers. This is a life threatening issue that you can't ignore. It has happened 4 or 5 times in the two years I've owned the vehicle.

While driving on the highway at 60mph the vehicle started shaking violently. The brakes started engaging on their own pulling the car to the left and right and nearly bringing the car to a sudden stop. It took a lot of effort to keep the vehicle from pulling into the other lanes and causing an accident. The bas/esp light came on the dash and has stayed on now. This all lasted for about 10 seconds. I was in the 3rd lane of a 4 lane highway during moderate traffic. I was almost rear ended by two different vehicles. I have been researching this issue and found many other drivers with the same thing. This is a dangerous defect and needs to be addressed. It doesn't take much for a sudden change in direction and speed to cause a severe accident when driving on the highway, and knowing that this vehicle is capable and know for doing this makes it very dangerous. It makes me wonder how many fatal accidents have occurred due to this problem, but no one knew because it was just assumed the to be driver error.

I am having safety issues with my 2001 Mercedes Benz ml 320 with a esp bas light coming on and locking front brake causing the abs to come on and stop SUV. To avoid an accident and almost getting rear ended with my kids in car. Contacted mercedes dealer and cant guarantee what problem is already changed brake light switch 2 times said it could be abs pump {800} or wheel speed sensors {1200} or yaw sensor, ignition switch, maybe even computer but said they could not guarantee to fix this problem. Mercedes benz should have a recall on this issue it has been going on for years some one is going to get killed. Spoke to benz at corporate and they only say bring it to the dealer who does not know how to fix this problem. Hope I can get a answer to this situation.

I almost got killed today!!! I was driving my merz Ml320 when I felt the car vibrate, heard a noise as if something was stuck, the car slowed down all by itself and then felt the car pull to the right violently and into the right lane of a big truck barely missing him. The driver of that truck blew his horn at me and there was nothing I could do. My abs/esp light came on along with the triangle brake light. At first, it sounded as if I blew a right front tire because that is how it sounded. I had no control of the wheel or brakes. The car just slowed down and pulled right. Very dangerous situation and had both my sons with me. The pulling of the car into the next lane is very dangerous. I sat there for 10 mins in shock before trying to start the car. The abs/esp light is still on. I drove very slowly home avoiding the freeway. I am calling mercedes tomorrow. What just happened? someone could be killed when a car locks up and driver has no control.

Went to park the vehicle and it seem to shift into a lower gear an excellerating, causing it to lunge forward into a light pole.

I was driving and abruptly the vehicle started to skid and it almost came to a complete stop although I was not pressing the break pedal.

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 .

The vehicle brakes, within a five second period, violently engage at seeming random patterns and bring the vehicle to a complete stop. This is happened twice on two different days roughly a month apart, and only twice, in the same location at exactly the same driving conditions (vehicle speed, weather - sunny day no rain, straight road, light traffic, same 25-30 mph speed). I went to the mercedes dealer in tysons corner and they said they did not know of a recall for this issue. The interesting thing about the location is that it is in within 50m of high capacity power lines which go over the road, and within 300m of an extremely powerful radio antenna tructure tower. I believe the electronics of one or both of these are causing the car's electronic stablility control /brake assist computer to go haywire and cause a complete loss of vehicle control. The location is on route 29 lee highway, va right before the bridge that crosses over the beltway going westbound, just past where you cross under the power lines that go overhead. The radio tower is on the other side of this bridge. 95% of the time I drove this exact route over the past several years this problem does not happen, so it is an intermittent issue. Turning the engine off twice seems to reset the system and it seems to work fine. Also note that these powerlines, without fail, also cause the same car's alarm to go off 100% of the time when I park within 100m of them. The dealer did acknowledge that this make/model/year can have a spontaneous car alarm issue. Hopefully this will help solve the problem of electrical interference with the cars braking safety computer and prevent a serious accident in the future for someone else. It would useful for your staff to use a geographic information system to map the similar incidents. I suspect they are all near electrical or radio interference as well.

While I am driving I noted it is hard to accelerate and yellow hazard light came on an di heard noise and car will not move. I waited few minutes I noticed the bas/esp came on and I resume driving. This happen several times, I noticed when the temperature reach between 85-90, if the bas;esp will not come on, you can hear something stuck on the brake and it does not move. First the dealer in chicago change it and it does not help so I ask another mechanic shop and they replace the brake light. I still had the brake replaced by the mercedes dealer. . The situation is much better than before but very scary. I could not drive too long or maybe dangerous in the expressway. Someone on the internet told it is the yaw sensor rate should be replaced. I change mine such new battery, gas pump,. New radiator, new oil change. If someone in your office will come and I will show how my car is acting strangely with the bas/esp. How come the bas/esp must light on and you can drive without a problem. If the bas/esp will not on, it does not move or accelerate. Why?????? please mandatory that diagnostic test by the dealer should be free and charge to mercedes.

Bas/esp came on again had a 2001 mercedes ml 320 ( bought this new in 2001) 63k miles, bas/esp on acting strangely . First it was replaced by mercedes dealere in illinois the brake ligjht switch on but then latter it comes again. Before the panel dash board bas/esp came on, it seems the wheel locked and car is not moving and latter on it bas/exp light on so it is okay to drive the car. What I did I went to the local shop and they replaced again the new brake light switch on (replaced by mercedes dealer in 10/10/12) into new one original parts. I noticed sometimes that the bas/esp is on after 90 temperature and stay on until you shut down the car engine. Someone told that in the mb forum that yaw rate sensor is the one that cause the problem of the bas/esp on. I wonder how national transportation safety board is doing this. You should recall that aside replacement of bas/esp, yaw rate sensor,esp module and abs relay should be recal alsol and raplace no charge to the driver plus free diagnostic. I bring to mercedea dealer in chicago in 0ct. 2012 to recall bas/esp, yet after a day it came on and repeated again even today. This is very dangerous especially when you are driving in the expressway. Nhtsa should do the recall sooner before it is too late.

Front passenger side wheel brake on it's own, pulling me off to the left of the road vehicle brake (right side) stayed engaged until vehicle speed was down to about 20 mph. Dealer said a bad yaw rate sensor was the problem.

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.