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1.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
89,017 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430 brakes problems

brakes problem

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2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430 Owner Comments

problem #6

Oct 142017

ML430

  • 125,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Re: 2001 mb ML430 electronic braking sensor the front passenger brake initially locked up at low speed upon acceleration. After stopping and turning the vehicle off and back on the system was back to normal. Then one day I was traveling at near 70 mph in the passing lane of an interstate highway when the front driver brake locked up and brake tire smoke billowed from my vehicle which caused traffic behind me to swerve and brake behind and on the side of me. I proceeded to pull off onto the shoulder of the highway and turned my vehicle off and back on, after which my vehicle operated normally. I proceeded to do an online search and learned that this was a common sort of problem for this model.. particularly at low speeds. In my case it happened at low speeds and then the one time at 70 mph. I learned that the yaw sensor which is part of the ABS system was commonly reported as the likely cause of the problem.. I proceeded to disconnect the yaw sensor and have had no further problems. I am fortunate that it was not a rainy day, otherwise the results may have been catastrophic with so many vehicles behind me and traveling at such a high speed. Theyaw sensor mb part # is a 002 542 94 18 Q01 systron donner inertia division usa

- Sunset, LA, USA

problem #5

Sep 102017

ML430

  • 170,000 miles
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.

- Granite Bay, CA, USA

problem #4

May 172017

ML430

  • miles
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.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #3

May 102015

ML430

  • 153,100 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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?

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #2

May 242010

ML430

  • 86,000 miles
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.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #1

Oct 102008

ML430

  • miles
I have had 5 incidences, while driving, of uncommanded brake application of my Mercedes 1002 ML430. While driving at high speeds, up to 40 or 60+ mph, my SUV came to a sudden and abrupt halt causing the vehicle to lock up and stop. In order to unlock the Mercedes to continue driving I had to shut of the vehicle and re-start it, sometimes on the highway. These incidences have been scary and could potentially cause a major accident, injury or death. The car was towed today, October 23rd, for a second replacement of bad parts causing this problem. After today, I will have spent over $1000 to deal with this defect.

- Ipswich, MA, USA

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