Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | ||||||
| PE10050 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. | 12/21/2010 | 05/04/2011 | Brake lamp switch failure. | 11V208000 | |
| Odi opened the investigation based on reports that the subject vehicle brake lamp switch (switch) failure caused 1) inoperative brake lamps (stay on or fail to illuminate), and/or 2) shift interlock failure (shifter locked in park), and/or 3) the cruise control to fail to cancel with brake application.consumers also reported the illumination of a warning lamp on the instrument panel.the switch contains three sets of electrical contacts and a (normally extended) spring loaded plunger that actuates the contacts as it moves.as installed in the vehicle, the plunger contacts the brake pedal arm and is pushed into the switch; as the driver applies the pedal the plunger extends.one set of contacts (bls) operates the stop lamps, a second set (ewm) controls the shift interlock system, and a third set (bs) is used by an on-board diagnostic (obd) system to monitor switch operation.the cruise control monitors the bls signal to determine when the brake is applied, the primary way the system is disabled when set.the relative timing of contact actuation in response to plunger movement allows the obd system to detect a switch fault.when a fault is detected a malfunction indication lamp (mil) is illuminated (driver alert), a diagnostic trouble code (dtc) is stored (for the service technician), and cruise control operation is inhibited (as a failsafe).in its response to odi's january 2011 information request letter, mb explained its assessment of switch failures which was based primarily on evaluation of field return failures.mb identified both 1) electrical contact and 2) mechanical switch failure mechanisms.according to mb's analysis, electrical contact failure is the predominate failure type and the failure consequence depends on which contact fails.for instance mb claims that bls contact failures are momentary in nature and do not affect brake light operation but are nonetheless detected by the obd system, resulting in a dtc and subsequent replacement.electrical contact failures of the bs and ewm contacts result in a dtc also, and ewm contact failures result in the shifter being stuck in the park (which can be overridden by the consumer).accordingly mb maintains that electrical contact failures of the switch have no safety consequence since the brake lamps remain operational and the cruise control is always disabled.mb determined that mechanical failures of the switch, which are rare in their assessment, can result from internal wear and/or increased switch operating temperatures.high temperatures occur due to overheating of the bls contacts and can cause the internal plastic components to melt.in one scenario overheated bls contacts may melt to the extended plunger and are damaged when the brake pedal is released resulting in the brake lights staying on.in another scenario the increased temperatures and/or internal wear can cause the plunger to stick in the fully depressed position.in this case the cruise may not cancel when the brake is applied and the driver may have to use high brake pedal forces or other means (shifting to neutral or using the cruise master switch) to disengage the cruise.additionally the vacuum assist can be depleted if the driver pumps the brakes resulting in reduced braking effectiveness and even higher pedal forces.in its march 31, 2011 defect notification, mb stated that to remediate the potential need for excessive brake force it would conduct a safety recall (11v-208) to replace the switch with a more robustly designed component.the recall includes 136,751 model year 2000 - 2002 m-class and model year 2000 - 2004 m-class amg vehicles.owner notification letters will be mailed to consumers in september 2011.this action taken by mb is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation. | ||||||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | ||||||
| PE10050 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. | 12/21/2010 | 05/04/2011 | Brake lamp switch failure. | 11V208000 | |
| Odi opened the investigation based on reports that the subject vehicle brake lamp switch (switch) failure caused 1) inoperative brake lamps (stay on or fail to illuminate), and/or 2) shift interlock failure (shifter locked in park), and/or 3) the cruise control to fail to cancel with brake application.consumers also reported the illumination of a warning lamp on the instrument panel.the switch contains three sets of electrical contacts and a (normally extended) spring loaded plunger that actuates the contacts as it moves.as installed in the vehicle, the plunger contacts the brake pedal arm and is pushed into the switch; as the driver applies the pedal the plunger extends.one set of contacts (bls) operates the stop lamps, a second set (ewm) controls the shift interlock system, and a third set (bs) is used by an on-board diagnostic (obd) system to monitor switch operation.the cruise control monitors the bls signal to determine when the brake is applied, the primary way the system is disabled when set.the relative timing of contact actuation in response to plunger movement allows the obd system to detect a switch fault.when a fault is detected a malfunction indication lamp (mil) is illuminated (driver alert), a diagnostic trouble code (dtc) is stored (for the service technician), and cruise control operation is inhibited (as a failsafe).in its response to odi's january 2011 information request letter, mb explained its assessment of switch failures which was based primarily on evaluation of field return failures.mb identified both 1) electrical contact and 2) mechanical switch failure mechanisms.according to mb's analysis, electrical contact failure is the predominate failure type and the failure consequence depends on which contact fails.for instance mb claims that bls contact failures are momentary in nature and do not affect brake light operation but are nonetheless detected by the obd system, resulting in a dtc and subsequent replacement.electrical contact failures of the bs and ewm contacts result in a dtc also, and ewm contact failures result in the shifter being stuck in the park (which can be overridden by the consumer).accordingly mb maintains that electrical contact failures of the switch have no safety consequence since the brake lamps remain operational and the cruise control is always disabled.mb determined that mechanical failures of the switch, which are rare in their assessment, can result from internal wear and/or increased switch operating temperatures.high temperatures occur due to overheating of the bls contacts and can cause the internal plastic components to melt.in one scenario overheated bls contacts may melt to the extended plunger and are damaged when the brake pedal is released resulting in the brake lights staying on.in another scenario the increased temperatures and/or internal wear can cause the plunger to stick in the fully depressed position.in this case the cruise may not cancel when the brake is applied and the driver may have to use high brake pedal forces or other means (shifting to neutral or using the cruise master switch) to disengage the cruise.additionally the vacuum assist can be depleted if the driver pumps the brakes resulting in reduced braking effectiveness and even higher pedal forces.in its march 31, 2011 defect notification, mb stated that to remediate the potential need for excessive brake force it would conduct a safety recall (11v-208) to replace the switch with a more robustly designed component.the recall includes 136,751 model year 2000 - 2002 m-class and model year 2000 - 2004 m-class amg vehicles.owner notification letters will be mailed to consumers in september 2011.this action taken by mb is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 09/28/2012 | 140950 | 1 | |
| On friday (09-28-2012 02:35 pm), i was driving and about 30 miles ne of dallas, tx, i was traveling on south bound highway 75. i was in the center lane of a three lane hwy 75 south bound and i had the cruise control set at 65 mph. all the sudden, my suv started braking and i saw the speedometer drop from 65 down and i could hear my tires catching as it was braking but i did not know what was going on with my vehicle. i tried the gas pedal twice but no response and i switched on my hazard lights. luckily the minivan behind me was able to reduce speed and as i watched the speedometer needle drop below 20 mph, my suv quit breaking. i was able to operate the vehicle (per usual) and exited off the first chance i got. i pulled into a parking lot and called my mercedes mechanic asking if he knew what might have caused the problem i just experienced. i mentioned that the drivers instrument panel showed the bas/esp indicator light. my mechanic asked if my suv was working okay and if so, he recommended i turn around and head back to tulsa. i got back with no sudden breaking problems and took my suv into the shop on monday (10-01-2012 08:00 am). i got it back later that afternoon and they noted the repair reason was they had reinitialized the yaw sensor. i did a google search and found your website describing my experience exactly and i can say my sudden breaking experience was more than .03 seconds. *tr | |||
| 06/27/2012 | 121000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2000 mercedes benz ml430. the contact stated that while reversing at 5 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into three other vehicles. the contact was depressing the brake but the vehicle would not stop. the air bags deployed causing injuries to the contact's chest, arms and head. the contact was taken to the hospital and the police were notified. a police report was filed and the vehicle was destroyed. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 121,000. kmj | |||
| 06/27/2012 | 121000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2000 mercedes benz ml430. the contact stated while reversing about 5mph the vehicle had sudden acceleration and crashed into three other vehicle. the contact stated while depressing the brake the vehicle would not stop. the air bags deployed causing injuries to her chest, arms and head. the contact was taken to the hospital. the police was notified and a report was available if needed. the vehicles was destroyed. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 121,000. mw | |||
| 07/04/2011 | 200000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2000 mercedes benz ml430. the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated when the cruise control was stuck and would not decelerate. as a result, the vehicle crashed into a pole. a police report was file and she sustained a concussion and minor bruising. the vehicle was taken to a local shop who was not able to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 200,000. tlb | |||
| 07/04/2011 | 200000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2000 mercedes benz ml430. the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated. the contact mentioned that the cruise control was stuck and it would not decelerate, as a result the vehicle crash against a pole. a police report was file and she sustained a concussion and minor bruising. the vehicle was taken to a local shop who was not able to diagnosed the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 200,000. pm | |||
| 12/31/2006 | 48000 | 1 | 10/15/2006 |
| Passing on the interstate my throttle stuck wide open. it has been to the dealer twice in 2 weeks for attempting to have this issue fixed. *nm | |||