While driving on the freeway at around 60 mph my instrument message display suddenly turned red, started beeping continuously, and displayed the message "stop break defective stop vehicle". the car had zero breaks, pumping them did no good, and I had to immediately put on my hazards, downshift to slow the car, and pull off the freeway and park using the emergency break to avoid a potentially life threatening accident. While waiting for help I turned the car back on after 15 minutes and everything appeared to be working fine. My car is serviced regularly and very well maintained and it gave no indication of any break problems prior to this failure. It had a full break job at the Mercedes Benz dealer less then 30K miles ago and was serviced for another issue in the last 1.5 years. At no time were my breaks mentioned as needing maintenance. Mercedes Benz is aware of this issue, see "2004 Mercedes Benz E class brake foundation components tsb (bulletin sb-090930)" where it is mentioned. This is a serious life threatening issue that because of the design of the break system is completely unpredictable. My car is not within the 10 year warranty covered in the tsb referenced above. This sbc breaking system should have never been permitted on the road. Mercedes Benz realized the mistake and discontinued the use of it after 3 years due to all of the issues. Any car with this system is a ticking time bomb that could put any number of lives at risk with absolutely no warning. At least with a standard break system you have some chance of stopping the car.

- Houston, TX, USA

I was pulling out of a drive way and brakes completely failed with no warning. I could not change gears or stop. I only came to a stop when the car finally rolled to a stop. This was unbelievable terrifying. I had car towed to nearest Mercedes mechanic. I paid the $1394 and Mercedes Benz customer services says I have no recourse because I am out of the 10 year warranty. I could have been killed as car pulled out blindly onto the city street. This happened late at night with no warning. I am still shaken up by how suddenly this happened on a vehicle that I once held in such high esteem.

- Orlando, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320. While driving approximately 30 mph, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop and all the warning lights on the instrument panel illuminated. In addition, an error message displayed and informed the contact to immediately stop the vehicle. The brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard, but failed to respond. As a result, the contact crashed into the curb, which caused the vehicle to stop. The vehicle was towed. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the computer system related to the brakes was reprogrammed. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the sbc system failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

- Seaford, NY, USA

Merecedes Benz usa customer service would not honor NHTSA campaign 04V296000 (sbc brake pump failure) claiming failure was beyond the limit of the campaign. Car was always serviced at Mercedes dealership however this part was never replaced. Due knowledge of potential defect in the brake unit, I have requested the part be replaced at Mercedes expense which has been denied. I was told my car is unsafe to drive and the repair is quoted at $2200

- Mineola, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320. While driving approximately 20 mph, the brake pedal was applied and failed without warning. The vehicle was pulled over into a parking lot and the emergency brake was applied to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a brake failure the sbc/electro hydraulic brake system component, which needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

Berberian stockton dealer wants $2,400 to fix the sbc (sensotronic brake control) $740 to fix front brakes. The rep ralph carrasco said the dealership cannot comply with the remedy for recalls as the time period for recalls has expired. Really" repair of faulty brakes expire? I was waiting for the light to turn green when the bright red message "stop! brakes unsafe stop the car immediately" [ can't recall exact verbatim]. to stop the car because the brakes had become unsafe to drive.the car froze up, restarts but will not shift gear to drive. Why does mb sell outageously expensive but defective cars? what about consumer protection law" NHTSA (national highway traffic safety) published on 4/05/2005 this sbc issue as Mercedes-Benz recall no. 2004 050014. The recall began on October 21, 2004. Owners should contact Mercedes-Benz at 1-800-367-6372. NHTSA summarized the recall on certain vehicles, the electronic monitoring system of the sensotronic brake control (sbc) is designed to monitor the pressure gradient within the high pressure line of the brake system. If an unacceptable pressure gradient is detected, the system will switch, as it is designed to do, into the hydraulic function mode. Hazard: If vehicles are not routinely serviced and have extremely high mileage combined with a high number of brake actuations, or frequency, the pump motor of the sbc may run out of permissible tolerances, thereby triggering the hydraulic function mode.customers may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

The sbs sytem has gone out when there was a recall on the item. Sbs sytem is not good. Now I'a out to 2000 for a recall part this is not fair

- Compton, CA, USA

Recall was performed in 2004 on sbc hydraulic system and has gone out again, 12/08/2015, and the dealer said the recall "expired" in 2013. Vehicle was diagnosed at autohaus in royal, oak, mi.

- Southfield, MI, USA

Brakes failed three times today. At one point, we were forced to use emergency brake to stop, and at another point, we were forced to drive off into the grass to stop.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes Benz E320. While driving at approximately 20 mph, the power brakes failed without warning causing, which caused the brakes to go into backup mode. The VIN was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 05V133000 (service brakes, hydraulic) however, the failure continued. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the ABS pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000. Updated 01/27/16

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

While driving on the highway, the (sbc) systems failed with a red stop sign on the dash board. I managed to bring the car to a complete stop by pushing the pedal all the way to the floor with no resistance and applying the emergency brake with my left foot simultaneously. It was a scary experience as it was a stormy late night with 10% visibility due to the rain. I managed to park/towed the car to my house and it has been in my drive way ever since the incident. This vehicle is equipped with sensotronic brake control (sbc) that has a service threshold. When this threshold is reached the brake system defaults to non power assisted hydraulic mode to the front wheels only. This occurs without any prior warning and results in increased stopping distance. I have sent a copy of the Mercedes service bulletin S142.46-P-0012A which addresses this issue. Mercedes stopped installing this system in 2006. At the very least, Mercedes should issue a mandatory recall to interrogate these vehicles with star das to determine how close to the service threshold the sbc unit is and replace them at the dealer's expense. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed.

- Rosedale, MD, USA

This was one of 4 accidents or fender benders I've been in in the last 14 months due to brake malfunction. I have changed my brakes 2 in 14 months and its not the brakes its a malfunction the brakes loose pressure the brake pedal goes completely down but do not actually brake with this I have hit 4 vehicles from behind.. I contacted mcb coral gables and they said they do not have any recalls therefore can only service it if I pay. I feel like I will likely get into a terrible accident, something needs to be done I am in danger..I do not have means of other transportation.

- Miami, FL, USA

At the annual service the Mercedes dealer tested the brakes and informed me the brake system sbc has failed. This is a problem with this model and has been the subject of a recall/extended warranty. It's an approximately $4,000 dollar repair and they claimed to have just discovered it only months after the recall/extended warranty has ended. They do not want to repair the brakes under the recall/extended warranty issue to do so but have said it needs to be repaired. The vehicle just underwent a recall/extended warranty authorized repair for a long standing fuel leak problem the month before. There remains a strong smell of fuel in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

- Palm Desert, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes Benz E320. While driving at 75 mph, the brakes failed to respond and the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 131,000. The VIN was not available.

- Harvey, LA, USA

This vehicle is equipped with sensotronic brake control that has a service threshold. When this threshold is reached the brake system defaults to non power assisted hydraulic mode to the front wheels only. This occurs without any prior warning and results in increased stopping distance. Look for Mercedes service bulletin S142.46-P-0012A which addresses this issue. Mercedes stopped installing this system in 2006. At the very least, Mercedes should issue a mandatory recall to interrogate these vehicles with star das to determine how close to the service threshold the sbc unit is and replace them at the dealer's expense. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed.

- Bailey, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes Benz E320. The contact stated that the brake warning light illuminated and the brake pedal became very loose. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and it was determined that the sensotronic brake control module needed to be replaced along with the entire hydraulic brake system. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 109,000.

- Newington, CT, USA

I just replaced my brakes and I get an message on my dash that says reduced brake effect longer stopping distance. I take it in to the dealer penske Mercedes and they tell me the sbc pump and another part are bad and that it will cost me $2200 to repair because my extended warranty expired 10 years after the date I purchased my vehicle. I thought extended meant after the manufacturer warranty expires not the day I buy the car. This is a very dangerous issue if my brakes fail because of their negligence why should I have to pay for them to fix their mistake.

- Chino Hills, CA, USA

Sbc system failed 4 months after warranty expired. Multiple posts on line regarding issue which should be a recall not an extended warranty. This is a safety hazard regarding a part that appears to have a much higher failure rate.

- Yorba Linda, CA, USA

After refueling, the car has a strong gasoline odor inside and outside the car. The air brakes make a roaring noise when pressed. The air bag is deactivated.

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

Driving South on I95 near savannah the dash lights including the brake light lit up on the dashboard and the vehicle began decelerating. Applied the emergency brake and was able to drive the vehicle to the shoulder. After the engine was shut off the vehicle could be started but could not get from park into a gear or even neutral. All four wheels were frozen and so getting the car on to the tow truck was almost impossible. Were towed to the nearest Mercedes dealership where the sbc system was replaced. This took over night as the part was not available at the dealership. Besides being greatly inconvenienced - we had to spend a night in a hotel, we could have been killed if this would have occurred at night. The car was serviced by Mercedes since purchase new in 2004. The part should have been identified during a service call, this obviously was a recall that was kept quiet. Not informing the owners of this potentially deadly issues is a major negligence on Mercedes part.

- Yulan, NY, USA