Three problems related to brakes failed have been reported for the 2003 Mercedes Benz SL500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While driving the car in town on city streets the sbs brake system failed as I came to a turn leaving me with no brake response even though the dealer says it was supposed to have hydraulic back-up to stop the car. I was able to coast and stop the car only with the emergency hand brake. The sbs system has been recalled twice by the factory but there is still something very wrong when a modern car had no back-up system. These cars are dangerous! luckily for me there was no accident and I had the car towed to the dealer and it is being repaired.
2003 Mercedes Benz sl 500. Consumer writes in regards to possible fatal flaw in vehicle. The consumer stated, as he was backing out of his driveway, he applied the brake and they failed. A red light and a sign instructed him to obtain immediate service. The mechanic, kept the vehicle for a week, but was unable to anything wrong with the brakes. At the mechanic's suggested, the vehicle was towed to the dealer. After the vehicle was there for a few days, the dealership called and said the problem was the battery had died. It was a secondary battery which supplied power to everything that consumed electricity, including the brakes in his model and year vehicle. So, if it failed, so would the brakes.
The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz Sl500. While driving 60 mph, the brakes failed when the brake pedal was depressed. When the brakes finally began to operate, the abs, coolant, and esp lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but no repairs were made. The current and failure mileages were 17,889.