Electronic Stability Control Problems of Mercedes Benz ML320 - part 2

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.

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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.

On or about may 14, 2012, while I was driving on the freeway at full freeway speed, the vehicle suddenly self-initiated a continuous brake activation without me pressing on the brakes or taking any other action. The vehicle's sudden, unexpected and sustained braking action resulted in a near-collision with a semi-truck traveling behind me which the truck-driver was fortunately just able to prevent. I steered the vehicle to the freeway shoulder as the un-commanded braking action brought the vehicle to a stop. The incident was extremely frightening for me, and it was only sheer luck that I was not seriously injured or killed. After I had the vehicle towed to Mercedes Benz of laguna niguel, their service department determined that the electronic stability program (?esp?) control module and yaw rate sensor had failed and need to be replaced. The vehicle is presently in an inoperable condition. Reviewing the NHTSA website, this appears to be related to NHTSA (campaign # pe07007).

See all problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz ML320 🔎.

At about 10 to 25 miles per hours my car suddenly and unexpectedly brakes and changes direction by itself without pressing any pedal.

2001 Mercedes Benz Ml320 without warning the vehicle applies full braking power (without the driver touching the brake pedal) at highway speeds and does not release until the vehicle stops completely. When the event happens, it is violent and sudden and it is very difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. It is very difficult to keep the vehicle in one lane of traffic, making the driver feel like he has to keep the vehicle from going into a spin. Oddly enough, it's the safety system (bas/esp) that causes the problem. Mb dealer replaced the aam computer and returned the vehicle but we still had the same issues of the brakes lockup on the highway. Now the dealer does not really have any repair options besides replacing all the system components at a very high price. The problem manifests itself at different times and intervals. Sometimes it may go weeks without a lockup and then other times it may happen every time you drive the vehicle. Once an event happens the bas/esp light comes on and the vehicle will drive normally with the safety system disengaged. However, once the car is turned off and restarted, the system resets, the bas/esp light does not light up and then it's anyone's guess when it will happen again.

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.

My son and daughter were driving my 2001 mercedes Ml320 (109,470 miles) down the interstate in charleston, SC on a clear, calm sat. Afternoon at 70 mph, when the vehicle braked without warning, practically throwing them into the dashboard. Esp/bas code was lit. My son was able to maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder, and it was towed to an independent shop. A brake inspection was done, and there seemed to be a problem with the emergency brake cable, which was corrected. I had had new brakes put on front and back a week before. No codes were lit on the dashboard. Three days later the same thing happened when my daughter was driving it, luckily at a slow speed, and it did it again. This time I had it towed to baker motor CO. , the mercedes dealer in charleston. The diagnosis was that the back left brake pad was not bolted on tightly, and that the yaw sensor needed to be replaced, at a cost of $1254. 00. I asked if the vehicle was still showing the code for that and the service advisor said it was not, so I was hopeful that the loose brake pad had been the problem, and I declined the yaw replacement. I asked him if the vehicle seemed ok, and he said that he would not allow his technician to take it out for a test drive, because it was too dangerous but he could drive it in the parking lot. I had no problems again until Feb. 12, 2011, when, again, on a sunny, calm sat. Afternoon, I was making a left turn and the vehicle came to a screeching halt with the esp/bas code showing. It was towed to the dick dyer mercedes, where the yaw defect was diagnosed again. I did some internet research, googling "yaw sensor" and was quite surprised to learn that many others have reported the exact problem, going back several years. I understand that the part would not be under warranty, but shouldn't mercedes have warned their owners about this very dangerous situation?.

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!.

My name is [xxx] and I just had a small accident on June 08th, 2010 in phoenix az. It involved my 2001 Mercedes Benz Ml320. Facts: on June 8th, 2010 I was traveling at approximately 50 mph on the freeway (hov lane) when the front right wheel locked. The brakes just engaged without warning and or me activating them. Luckily I the person behind me was able to swerve to avoid me but still clipped the left side of my rear bumper. I believe I'm lucky I did not caused or sustained any serious injury. I took the car to a local Mercedes Benz dealer for service and they told me it could be many things wrong. Mb knows about the problem with the mb Ml320's year 1998-2001. The gentlemen @ mb told me that but they will not take any responsibility. He instructed me not to drive the vehicle in the current condition. I asked if mb knows about the problem why not issued a recall and fix the problem? the answer was, not enough accidents or incidents to issued the recall. In other words, they are waiting for someone to get seriously injured or killed to change the system that was set in place to avoid this problems and make us and cars safer. My question is to you odi, what can you do to assist me? information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

2000 Ml320 vehicle engages bas / esp system during left turn after which these warning lights remain on. Abs system activates brakes causing loss of speed. Occurs in wet or dry conditions.

While driving on i95 in florida on Dec 26, 2009, my car's brakes suddenly and repeatedly (3 times) engaged on their own without warning. My tires locked up one tire at a time causing me to completely loose control over my vehicle (ml320 2001). Replaced a faulty yaw rate sensor.

To whom it may concern, I had a near death experience while driving one of your vehicles. I am the owner of a mercedes 2002 Ml320, which was purchased at a phillips mercedes dealership in virginia beach va. I need to address a very serious incident that occurred over the weekend (December 18, 2010). I was driving back from richmond going toward virginia beach, I was driving 70 mph on I-64 and had it on cruise control, ahead I saw that traffic slowing down so I stepped on the break; I then realized that my breaks weren’t working and I was unable to stop or slow the car down. I attempted to push the break peddle down and it wouldn’t nudge even though I applied all of my weight to it, the speed did not diminish at all, I then tried the emergency break and that also failed to slow me down, my friend suggested that I put the car in neutral and then try the break, fortunately that worked and was finally able to come to a complete stop. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Your product put my friend’s and my life in jeopardy. I had the bas/esp light come on in the pass and have brought it in for repairs 3 times already: 07/27/2005, 12/01/2009 and in 10/19/2010. I am stunned that a company who has such a great reputation and seems to thrive on customer satisfaction dropped the ball. At no point in time did any of the technicians who performed the repairs on my car advise me of the potential danger.

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Approximately 10 times in the last 4 days, my 2001 Ml320 upon driving @ approximately 40 mph +, brakes lock up suddenly by themselves. It about throws you through the windshield. Triangle light on dashboard flashes. Afterward bas/esp light comes on. This is an intermittent problem. I was driving normally in perfect weather conditions, nothing on the roadway. Four cars about rearended me the first time. It is very scary when this happens. If you look on the mbworld forums and mbenz forums this has happened to quite a few people. I am in the process of trying to replace the yaw rate sensor, being that is what other people on these forums have done. I will keep you posted.

My complaint is the same as an existing case #pe07007. After changing the brake switch and yaw sensors stated in the complaint as being the cause of the fault - the problems persist.

Same problem as discussed in NHTSA pe 07007-left front brake engages for no reason-esp/bas light comes on-this last for a couple of seconds and as stated after stopping and restarting engine seem to go away for several days.

While driving about 30mph in traffic, esp warning lamp in speedometer illuminated and brakes were automatically applied intermittently causing the vehicle to shake violently. The vehicle continued to stop and go until I was able to cross 2 lanes of traffic to exit to the shoulder. Vehicle was turned off and restarted at which time the bas esp malfunction indicator lamp illuminated. Several attempts to drive the vehicle resulted in the same stop and go action. After turning the vehicle off and on several times the stop and go action ceased but the vehicle felt as though it was pulling a heavy load. I was able to drive the vehicle home in this condition. The next day I started the vehicle and no malfunction codes were displayed. I drove the vehicle around the block without incident. I then drove the vehicle on some errands and, as luck would have it, the stop and go action started again as I was accelerating from a traffic signal about 600 yards from the mercedes repair shop. I left the vehicle with the repair shop and he called a few hours later to say it needed a yaw sensor.

Was driving vehicle on highway at 75 mph set speed in cruise control and stepped on brake as I approached traffic congestion. Vehicle would not stop and continued to maintain set speed regardless how hard I pressed on the brake. Eventually, I decided to try shifting into neutral and the vehicle was placed back under control of the footbrake. Thankfully, the vehicle was slowed down without incident but it was a very scary moment. Noticed, at this time, the bas/esp malfunction indicator lamp was displayed on the dashboard. Drove vehicle directly to a mercedes dealership for repairs. Dealer advised stop lamp switch shorted. Replaced lamp switch. Although, this was the first incident while in cruise control the vehicle did have similar past problems with the braking system (ie-brake switch and shifter control module were replaced) that prevented shifting out of park into any other position. Vehicle should have safety device to override "cruise control" or prevent "cruise control" operation with any malfunction in the braking system or activation of the braking indicator lamp. What assurances are there to prevent this from happening again?.

2001 Mercedes Benz Ml320 incidents of uncommanded brake application. This happened four times in two weeks. I was driving at a steady speed of 60 mph on a highway when all of a sudden the car shook violently for a second, it felt like the abs system engaged. And the esp light come on. The last time it happened I was accelerating from a traffic light (5mph).

This car has been into service ov 27 time in the last 2 1/2 years regarding the electrical system/ all of the light on the dash board turn on. My lastest issue was on the highway my car just completely turn off on me will on the expressway when I turned the key again the warning light came on this car has been fix numerous times but the problem comes back.

Two recent incidents of my 2000 ml-320 suddenly braking and losing power. All brake and esp lights lit up. I was able to steer car to an exit - it had very limited power and the accelerator did not seem to react when pressed. One incident was Wednesday 7/23/2008 at appx 12:50 pm cst. I was driving south on us 431 s at appx 60 mph on a clear day. The second incident occured on Sunday July 27, 2008 at appx 6:30 am driving north on us 431 also a clear day. 7-30-08 eps module failure placed vehicle in limp home mode*smch.

I have an 2001 Mercedes Benz Ml320. I was driving steady at 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. Good thing I was not on the freeway or any cars slam me from behind.

There was no prior indication that there would be a failure. The esp yaw sensor malfunctioned and locked up a rear brake while the 2001 Ml320 doing about 70 miles per hour. I was able to regain control of the vehicle after swerving several times and pulled to the left shoulder of the road. I drove the vehicle to the jackson mercedes-Volvo dealership in macon, GA. Even though the bas/esp light was on. The dealership recommended replacement of the yaw sensor. I was also told by the service rep. That the malfunction of this sensor can cause the brakes to lockup.

I own a 2000 mercedes Ml320 - while driving a few years ago on cruise control doing 65 miles per hour the truck jammed on the brakes. It took me to just about a complete stop from 65 miles per hour on a major highway route 287 in NJ. When I called and was put on with a customer service specialist to troubleshoot the problem he asked "how far did you skid" and laughed. I brought it to the dealer and they drove it around for two weeks and told me it does not do this when they try it. It was raining at the time so I waited until it rained again and tried it again. I did it at a lower speed in a safer situation and it did it again. They replaced the yaw sensor but we are not trusting the cruise control and never used it again. Well, now for the last few months the truck locks up one or more wheels randomly at high and low speeds. Sometimes for only a few seconds and other times longer. Sometimes the system fails and turns the light on and other times it just recovers and starts driving again. It happens on dry days just driving in a straight line. When only one wheel locks up it pulls the truck in that direction and has almost caused me and my wife to crash. It is random it might happen three times in a day or not at all for a week. We have experienced this at least 10 times in the last two months. It did not show a code until last week. The truck was never in a accident so it can not be from damage! it is still in this state at this time and no work has been done to correct it as of yet. Code: c1120 esp yaw rate sensor n/64 or signal mercedes tries to pretend this problem does not exist but when someone gets hurt badly they will not be able to ignore it! any system that faults by forcing the car to a stop is a scary design flaw! I found this from web search your NHTSA action number : pe07007 thanks, edwin wendell.

2001 mercedes Ml320 brakes would activate themselves at all speeds. Esp/bas light would come on and triangle warning light would illuminate. This happened several times at 70+ mph locking both back wheels almost causing the vehicle to go out of control.