general problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz ML430

Was driving 50 miles per hour when the car slammed on the brakes, nearly getting me rear ended. The throttle would not respond until the car was doing maybe5 miles per hour - on an interstate! the bas/esp light was on solid. I got onto an off ramp, called the dealer, was told it could be several causes, drove home carefully, and took it to the dealer. The dealer found nothing. Several times since, the car was being driven at speeds in the 20-30 miles per hour range, and the system would slam on the brakes and pull hard to the left. I could smell the brake dust in the car. Other times, it will almost engage (esp light flashes as well) then backs off.

Twice now while driving and going over minor bumps (dots on the road to warn of crosswalks and a driveway entrance curb) the bas/esp and hazard lights have come on and the car has automatically applied violent breaking that took control of the direction the car was heading. This breaking continued until the vehicle came to a complete stop. Both times the car was going less than 20 mph, but control of the car was limited during the event. At freeway speeds, it would be very likely to cause an accident. Bas/esp light turns off after the car is turned off.

I was driving on the highway, going about 60 mph, and the car suddenly started applying the brakes on its own. Nearly got me into an accident. I was able to get over to the shoulder luckily. I had my toddler in the car and it was a very scary thing. When the brakes started engaging by itself, a yellow triangle warning light displayed on the dash followed by the bas/esp light after the vehicle came to a complete stop. I have seen others that have had this very same issue and seems to be the yaw rate sensor. I am shocked this hasn't been recalled with all the issues I've read on this. I barely just bought the car and it's already not drivable. Very huge safety issue.

Vehicle's front wheel brakes by itself while driving and the eps warning light comes on afterwards. Extremely dangerous in highway driving. Had the brakes checked, but nothing wrong. Online complaints suggests a failure in yaw rate sensor.

I was driving on interstate 285 east at a speed of 70mph suddenly the the bas/esp warning light came on and my car automatically applied brakes and the car couldn't run. So I turned of the engine and started the car again and everything went back to normal except the cruise control stopped working and bas/esp waring lights are still on but the car is running. How do I fix the cruise control and the bas/esp warning lights?.

I was driving at about 35 mph and all of a sudden I heard screeching sound from my tires and the orange triangle warning light in my dash light up. I pulled over and shut off the engine. I notices tire skid marks from on the passenger side. After a few minutes I started and drove and the car drove normal. This same thing happened to my wife also. Basically it is like applying the brakes hard while driving but with out even touching the brake.

Tl-the contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz Ml430. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds from low speeds to 80 mph, the vehicle braked suddenly and without contact depressing the brake pedal. The failure occurred without warning. After the failure occurred the contact saw several warning lights illuminated in the instrument panel. The vehicle as taken to a dealer, the diagnostic was performed and they found error codes, however the cause of failure was undetermined. The dealer cleared the codes and some time passed before failure recurred. The contact stated while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle braked independently. The vehicle was rear-ended and caused a dent in the rear bumper and door. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,000. The current mileage was 102,000. Yn.

While driving vehicle a 45 mph at 5pm in traffic, vehicle automatically started engaging brakes in a jerking motion, repeatedly, subsequently coming to a complete stop. Smoke was coming from tire area. This has happened repeatedly and vehicle was being driven by my 16 year old. Fortunately, this has not caused an accident. After much research, I have found this has happened to several other people over a period of time in Mercedes Benz's. This is a serious safety concern.

Safety concern - yesterday while traveling at 65mph locked on cruise control, the cruise control failed to disengage when the brake pedal was pressed. Instead, upon releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle began accelerating back to 65mph and almost caused me to ran into the truck in front of me. I slammed on the brakes to bring the car to a stop to avoid rear ending the car in front of me, at which time the bas/esp light came on. Again, the cruise failed to disengage since I could feel the car dragging while the brake pedal was pushed down. I manually turned off the cruise, and the bas/esp light remained on. Later, with the esp/bas light on, I reengage the cruise to see if it would reset, but again it failed to disengage when the brake pedal was pressed, and I had to manually turn off the cruise. When I parked the vehicle and turned the engine off, let it sit for about 20 min, and then restarted, bas/esp stayed on and gear shift locked up in park.

Whenever it rains or it is the least bit wet, the brakes slip when depressed and all three yellow lights on the left side of the dash light up - I. E. , abs, esp and I can't recall the other one. Usually the lights go off by themselves after a few miles of driving or if the car is turned off. The last time this happened, I drove straight to the mechanic. The mechanic said that the fault codes indicated that the pressure was high in the abs. I was advised that the codes could be reset but the brakes were functioning properly. In fact, they were not functioning properly because they slipped instead of stopped when I applied brake pressure when the street was wet. The brakes have slipped on multiple occasions when stopping on wet surfaces though they do stop the car.

After driving 2001 Ml430 for approx. 30 min. There is uncommanded brake application and it will bring you to a complete stop. It will not take gas and it is hard to control vehicle because you can feel brake being applied to left and right wheels pulling you left and right at this time. Very dangerous. This happens every day the vehicle is driven about 30 min. In to drive time. As this is happening the bas/esp light comes on during braking and remains on. After you have come to complete stop and start to drive again over 10 miles per hour brakes are applied again and it stops you. Mercedes service dept has never heard of this problem. There are several complaints of this on different web sites and customers say they have spent alot af time and money on different parts with mercedes service dept. And vehicle still has same problem. I am not feeling confident in this problem being properly diagnosed and the vehicle has become hazardous.

The brakes engaged and had shimmy even though the pedal was not depressed on several occasions. The bas/esp light came on. The dealer determined that the "yaw sensor" was bad.

The contact owns a 2001 Mercedes Benz Ml430. While driving approximately 45 mph and applying pressure to the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to slow down. The contact crashed into a bridge to stop the vehicle. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. The vehicle sustained damages and the occupants received minor injuries. The police was called to the scene and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic. The insurance company has not determined if the vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 90,000. Vehicle VIN wdc1631721a202397.

I purchased a mercedes ml 430 2001 in may 2001. Since then a part called a stop light switch has gone out 6 times. The following are dates and mileage on vehicle: 5/10/05 40,561 miles, 9/28/06 47,767 miles, 8/14/07 51,801 miles, 4/10/08 55,151 miles, 3/17/09 61,105 miles, and 1/28/10 65,465 miles. On August 14, 2007 with this stop light switch going out I could not disengage the vehicle out of cruise control. By the grace of god I was able to pump the brakes until it disengaged before almost running into a vehicle in front of me at 60 mph. This part is defective and will one day kill or seriously injure people.