Brake warning lights flashed and brakes failed

- Diamond Bar, CA, USA

Please see this discussion... 2005 Mercedes E320 SBC brake system should be recalled. Thanks for considering!

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Driving down the road at highway speed and red warning lights come on and no brakes

- Eagle Mountain, UT, USA

I was stopped at a light (luckily) and my car started rolling forward. I pressed the brakes harder and they went to the floor and the car continued rolling forward. I threw the car into park and turned on my hazards. The police showed up. He tried putting the car in drive to get it off the road but it wouldn't go into gear. My husband showed up, turned the car off and then on and the car was able to be moved to a close parking lot. When we brought it to a Mercedes dealership, they found codes (C233D, C22bc, C23bd, C223C, C26de, C25D5) for pressure system failure and pressure failure to all four tires at the same time. We were told that the brakes needed to be flushed before any sensotronic warranty work would be reimbursed. So we paid $465.99 to have them flushed and were told that the system was retested and no problems were found. I was given instructions by the technician that when this happens again, brake early and press the brakes really hard. If we get a different code next time, they will be covered under the warranty. We have been in contact with Mercedes and they have referred us back to the expertise of the dealership.

- Wilmington, NC, USA

Complete brake failure while driving. Pulled out of the parking lot (brake working at this time) on to a city street. This was a divided multiple lane road, with the car traveling in the center lane. A few minutes later the car could not be slowed or stopped. An intersection with traffic light was ahead, with multiple cars in front. Switched off the ignitiom of the car to slow it down. Took a turn off at the intersection. The car ran over the curb and came to rest next to a gas station.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

Car shut off randomly by going safe mode while driving, constant break warning in bright red " break visit workshop" I went to multiple shops and a consistent electrical issue but, problem to be determined, car has been checked multiple times before I purchased it from the used car dealer with the SRS light on, I did not know what it was. The car has had the alternator replaced 3 times, both batteries twice, one short was found in faulty wiring harness in truck being pinched. The dealer would deny sbc unit recall every time I called fletcher jones, and only gave me the option to pay them for a diagnosis and then they will determine if its faulty instead of my life being risked as well as those around me I finally tracked down the number for corporate and I got conformation from Mercedes corporate say my VIN was included in the list. The car would leave me without breaks, power steering multiple times and always without notice occurring mostly on the freeway. The sbc unit was eventually replaced by a supposed authorized shop and I still have not received any reimbursement and then the same problems occurred shortly after the repair. The electrical issue had drained the batteries yet again so the car was garaged at my parents where it eventually caught fire in that location which makes this whole ordeal even more outrageous due to Mercedes major lack of concern with this and they still want me to pay them to fix it before they will even decide to do anything. I have many different quarterly report print outs as well, out of the 100S of 1000S documented to possible 2 million total faulty cars, my car had almost all of different safety issues reported. Bought car @ 73K mi, caught fire, blew hole in manifold @ 123K, just isn't right, seems they are trying to cover up true amount of faulty cars in us by asking confidentiality by NHTSA granted blacked files illegible

- Temecula, CA, USA

I was driving and my brakes failed causing me to almost crash. I was on a busy interstate and had to immediately get to edge of road and turn my car off and the restart.. took to a aoto shop. Found out that it was the sbc ABS brake system. Was notified of a recall

- Taylors, SC, USA

The sbc braking system totally failed while driving. Dong road at 35 mph only way to avoid running into someone or cars was to drive this into tree. I could have killed someone or me. The problem is the same with all these models. Their needs to be a recall on theses models before to many people die. This model is know to have complete brake failure especially on the Mercedes forums. Someone can inspect the vehicle because I can wait to fix to make sure this can never happen to anyone again or cause a death.

- Houston, TX, USA

I was driving 40mph on a city street, when the car dash flashed in red, "brake malfunction, see workshop soon". a red light was coming up, so I went to press brakes & absolutely no brakes! I swerved in a church/school parking lot to my right so I wouldn't go further ahead & be in a major intersection. Because of the quick turn, I hit a tree in an island, which stopped the car, but totaled my car. I had my car for 12 yrs & always serviced it & had it in excellent condition & no recall, etc was ever on this car for this deal. My husband looked on line after & saw others had the same thing happen, with same make./model & older miles.

- Omaha, NE, USA

Was driving in my 2005 E320 W211, last week 500 am in the morning southbound towards freeway about 45 mph had perfect brakes then red warning on dash no brakes had complete brake failure went through the red light rolled to a stop!good thing it was early in the morning.. 2nd complaint I called Mercedes dealer where I bought the car just got brush off as usual. Well another W211 with sbc pump failure!how many does this make! good thing not doing 80 on freeway with kids in the car!!!!!!! anyway my startech mechanic warned me about this when I called my dealer in 2013 still under exteded goodwill warranty that nobody knew about. I called and asked about recall, I was told: "nothing wrong with that model car no recal"L and now!!!never got a letter explaining the brakes could go out anytime without warning or phone call, about this defective brake pump driving around in potential death machine!!!! just really dissapointed in my dealership. I called them again telling them sbc pump went no goodwill goodheart change of defective pump and now cost me $2000 to fix a defective sbc pump that should had been changed before I bought the car, or corrected me when I called they should have told me there is a extended warranty I would have brought it in then! very frustrated with Mercedes Benz dealer where I bought my car hope this becomes a national recall before something really bad happens, most people 2nd owners are probably have no idea.

- San Clemente, CA, USA

I got a message on my dashboard to visit car shop for brakes. Thinking that I needed to replace brakes, I drove it for a couple of weeks ( I hardly drive) and took it in. Only to find out it was the hydraulic pump that went out and could leave me without any brakes at any second!! I had to leave it there for 4 days and paid 1544.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320. While decelerating from 60 mph, the brakes failed to engage. The brake warning indicator illuminated prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the sensotronic brake control (sbc) was faulty. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The dealer information was unknown. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 65,000.

- Indian Trail, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320. The contact stated that when the dealer (rbm of atlanta, Inc, 7640 roswell rd, atlanta, ga 30350, (770) 390-0700) sold the vehicle, the contact was not informed that it was included in a manufacturer service campaign for the sbc pump. In addition, while approaching a stop, the vehicle stalled and a red warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was unable to be driven. The police had to assist the contact with coasting the vehicle off the road due to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the dealer (Mercedes-Benz of sarasota, 4754 clark rd, sarasota, fl 34233, (941) 275-1293) advised that the vehicle be towed for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who serviced the vehicle. The manufacturer indicated that the vehicle was excluded from the campaign for the sbc pump, stating that the statute had expired to receive the repair; however, the contact was never notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was not available.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

While driving 2 days ago (2005 E320) I suddenly got a brake warning, bright red "stop" 'reduced braking power depress brake fully' and the brake pedal goes to the floor with little or no stopping action, it was very scary. I was only going with 15-20mph but there was a red light in front of me when this happened. I couldn't stop in time and had to hit the barrier to stop the car. Luckily no one is injured, but my car was a serious threat to me and others. I contacted the mb service and it is related with sbc unit and it is out of warranty. They want $2700 to fix this issue. I think mb needs to realize this isn't like the glycol contamination or something not that serious, this is a major problem in the actual braking system of the car!!! very scary and imagine those people driving these 03-06 E's, or 06's cls, or sl's that don't know about the chances of the system failing and what to do.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

This vehicle is equipped with sbc - sensotronic brake system. Rolling at city speed limit, the brake pedal suddenly went to the floor with no advanced warning causing me to use the transmission and emergency brake to bring the car to a stop. Seems to me to be a serious safety issue with a Mercedes Benz who don't want to have anything to do with it in terms of repair cost

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320. The brakes failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed and the battery warning indicator flashed on the instrument panel. The manufacturer indicated that the statute to receive an extended service campaign expired; therefore, they refused to repair the vehicle. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 05V133000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The approximate failure mileage was 145,000.

- Covington, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320. While driving 35 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floor board. The contact was able to downshift the vehicle in order to stop. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the sbc pump failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 04V296000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 217,000.

- Levittown, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320cdi. While driving 60 mph, the brakes would not operate when the brake pedal was depressed. The brake warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed that the hydraulic brakes failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 115,000.

- Chesterfield, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz E320. The contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated to respond and an extra effort was needed to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

- St Paul, MN, USA

While driving, the car's display turned red with warning message "brake defective stop vehicle"- brakes became stiff. Car was in limp mode. I took vehicle to the Mercedes Benz dealer in fresno. They diagnosed the problem as an "sbc brake controller failure". they told me that these had been troublesome for years, they have since been discontinued because of unreliablity of the brakes, and Mercedes would not cover repair cost.

- Clovis, CA, USA