After pulling into my assigned space in front of my apartment building, the car lurched forward after I had routinely turned it off. It jumped the barrier and slowed to approximately 5 mph as it headed towards the building. The brakes failed to work and in my panic after continually pumping them, I froze, never thinking of pulling the emergency brake. The car gently hit the corner of the building and stopped. I believe the car was still running as I recall in my panic, put it into reverse and backed it up to the original space, the brakes working this time. Fortunately, it appears the building was not structurally damaged, just superficial cracking to the facade and a large window on the first floor.
My concerns are why didn't the safety collision braking system work before hitting the structure or the airbags inflate after an abrupt stop? The Police Officer on the scene reported the fault was mine, hitting the gas instead of the brakes..... if that was so, the car would have launched forward at a tremendous speed, not a 5 mph roll once rolling over the barrier.
When Mercedes tested the various related electrical systems, no reports showed up out of line.
I've lost faith in this car and fear a similar situation could arise. I'm also confused that the collision company I used said that the safety collision braking software was not installed in this vehicle where as I have since read it was standard. I did buy it used last September and the Car Fax did list a minor accident and now I'm wondering, when repaired, if the collision software was reinstalled upon repair.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
After pulling into my assigned space in front of my apartment building, the car lurched forward after I had routinely turned it off. It jumped the barrier and slowed to approximately 5 mph as it headed towards the building. The brakes failed to work and in my panic after continually pumping them, I froze, never thinking of pulling the emergency brake. The car gently hit the corner of the building and stopped. I believe the car was still running as I recall in my panic, put it into reverse and backed it up to the original space, the brakes working this time. Fortunately, it appears the building was not structurally damaged, just superficial cracking to the facade and a large window on the first floor.
My concerns are why didn't the safety collision braking system work before hitting the structure or the airbags inflate after an abrupt stop? The Police Officer on the scene reported the fault was mine, hitting the gas instead of the brakes..... if that was so, the car would have launched forward at a tremendous speed, not a 5 mph roll once rolling over the barrier.
When Mercedes tested the various related electrical systems, no reports showed up out of line.
I've lost faith in this car and fear a similar situation could arise. I'm also confused that the collision company I used said that the safety collision braking software was not installed in this vehicle where as I have since read it was standard. I did buy it used last September and the Car Fax did list a minor accident and now I'm wondering, when repaired, if the collision software was reinstalled upon repair.
- Sheila K., Boca Raton, US