Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR - SUPPLY - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | |||||
| RSB-2009100002 | 01/01/2010 | 10033607 | Mercedes benz: check for installation of spacer between brake and fuel line, install if necessary. the spacer between the brake line and fuel line may not have been installed. check for presence of a spacer, and if missing, install the s | 08/27/2010 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - SWITCHES - BRAKE LIGHT | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| PE10050 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. | 12/21/2010 | Brake Lamp Switch Failure | |||
| Odi has received 15 vehicle owner questionnaire reports that allege that the brake lamp switch failed resulting in one or more of the following conditions: loss of illumination of the exterior brake lamps, an inability to shift the vehicle out of park gear position, and/or an inability to disengage the cruise control system once enabled and set.mercedes benz has previously issued technical service bulletin (tsb) 10016685, dated may 16, 2005, which discusses an improved and/or revised brake lamp switch service replacement part.odi is opening this pe to further evaluate this issue. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 69000 | 1 | |
| The anti-lock braking system would engage without driver activation. the bas/esp light would come on without any reason either. one day i was on the freeway when it happened and suddenly the breaks were engaged at 73 mph when i was on the fast lane and other vehicles following at about the same speed. my leg was on the accelerator gassing to continue, but the anti-lock braking system forced the car to almost a stop - about 10mph, before the breaks disengaged and the car continued to move (that is accelerate again). i almost got rammed by the vehicle behind me. i took it to mecerdes benz dealership in george town tx. they said it was unequal size tires that was the problem. i changed the tires to all new and the same size tries and the problem persisted. i took it back to the georgetown dealership again. this time their diagnosis was that the lateral acceleration and yaw sensors were faulty and needed to be replaced for $1250.00. what i described above was just an episode. it happen first when my wife was driving the car. it has happened several other times before i finally took it for repairs. i have packed the car for now because i have other cars to use and the problem has not still been fixed. nhtsa should issue a recall. *tr | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 69000 | ||
| The anti-lock braking system would engage without driver activation. the bas/esp light would come on without any reason either. one day i was on the freeway when it happened and suddenly the breaks were engaged at 73 mph when i was on the fast lane and other vehicles following at about the same speed. my leg was on the accelerator gasing to continue, but the anti-lock braking system forced the car to almost a stop - about 10mph, before the breaks disengaged and the car continued to move (that is accelarate again). i almost got ramed by the vehicle behind me. i took it to mecerdes benz dealership in george town tx. they said it was unequal size tires that was the problem. i changed the tires to all new and the same size tries and the problem persisted. i took it back to the georgetown dealersip again. this time their diagnosis was that the lateral accelation and yaw sensors were faulty and needed to be replaced for $1250.00. what i discribed above was just an episode. it happen first when my wife was driving the car. it has happened several other times before i finally took it for repairs. i have packed the car for now because i have other cars to use and the problem has not still been fixed. nhtsa should issue a recall. | |||
| 11/06/2012 | 129000 | 1 | |
| Front passenger side wheel brake on it's own, pulling me off to the left of the road vehicle brake (right side) stayed engaged until vehicle speed was down to about 20 mph. dealer said a bad yaw rate sensor was the problem. *tr | |||
| 11/06/2012 | 129000 | ||
| Front passenger side wheel braked on it's own, pulling me off to the left of the road vehicle brake (right side) stayed engaged until vehicle speed was down to about 20 mph. dealer said a bad yaw rate sensor was the problem | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 22000 | ||
| 2002 ml 320 front brakes locked up by themselves nearly causing an accident. burning smell detected from front wheels. vehicle taken to dealer who claimed sensors had failed and that this was a rare problem; consumer charged to replace sensors. less than one month later the same thing occurred, dealer now states it is a pressure issue but wants to keep vehicle overnight to duplicate stated problem. owner initially noticed this problem over 1 year ago, taking it to the dealer thinking the emergency brake was sticking, causing the burning smell and sluggishness. during that visit the dealer stated it found no problem with the emergency brake. owner paid to have rotors and brake pads replaced due to pitting and groving caused by the front brakes self-engaging; this did not fix the problem and the dealer is currenly investigating a pressure issue. vehicle has less than 24k miles on it and was purchased from the dealer brand new. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 01/11/2012 | |||
| I recently took my 2002 ml320 into my local mercedes repair shop (fairfield, ct) to have some work done. when i collected the vehicle and as i was leaving, the esp/bas, ets and abs lights came on simultaneously. this had happened on many previous occasions over the years and every time i had mentioned it to the mercedes service people they have said that this is a common fault and that i should turn off the engine, wait and then re-start and this should clear the issue. this had mostly worked until this recent occasion. instead it the lights remained on and so i immediately drove the car back into the repair shop. the repair shop kept the vehicle for several days trying to isolate the cause. eventually they found some serious corrosion in the esp/hydraulic control unit. they told me that this was related to an accident the car was involved in and suggested i contact my insurer. the insurance assessor examined the car in detail and concluded that the fault was entirely unrelated and their diagnosis was that the design of the unit was flawed. in other words this is a design fault. they said that given that this unit controls the entire braking system, any failure could be catastrophic. i had no choice but to authorize the repair. however, i am very concerned about this issue. the unit has been replaced at a cost of nearly $2,400 but if as the geico insurance assessor believes, this is a design fault then this is going to happen again. additionally, it seems that the unit had been corroded for some time and could have failed at any time but because it is such a common occurrence for these warning lights to come on, no-one investigated the issue with the unit until recently. my related concern is that the unit could fail at any time and this possibility places me and my family in potential danger. mercedes declined to take any action. | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 22000 | ||
| 2002 ml 320 front brakes locked up by themselves nearly causing an accident. burning smell detected from front wheels. vehicle taken to dealer who claimed sensors had failed and that this was a rare problem; consumer charged to replace sensors. less than one month later the same thing occurred, dealer now states it is a pressure issue but wants to keep vehicle overnight to duplicate stated problem. owner initially noticed this problem over 1 year ago, taking it to the dealer thinking the emergency brake was sticking, causing the burning smell and sluggishness. during that visit the dealer stated it found no problem with the emergency brake. owner paid to have rotors and brake pads replaced due to pitting and groving caused by the front brakes self-engaging; this did not fix the problem and the dealer is currenly investigating a pressure issue. vehicle has less than 24k miles on it and was purchased from the dealer brand new. | |||
| 01/03/2009 | 63000 | 1 | 10/01/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mercedes benz ml320. while driving less than 70 mph, the front passenger side brake locked up and caused the vehicle to swerve into a median. the abs warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel at the same time the brakes locked. the contact never depressed the brake pedal nor the accelerator pedal for the brakes to lock. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the yaw rate sensor failed. the repairs were scheduled under warranty. the failure and current mileages were 63,000. updated 02/05/09 *bf the bas/esp light illuminated. the catalytic converter was cracked and the transmission electrical connector was leaking.. updated 02/06/09.*jb | |||
| 01/01/1976 | 2 | ||
| My concern is about safety. on two occasions i have sent my certified pre-owned 2002 mercedes-benz ml320 to the dealer with spongy brakes. in fact, under certain conditions, the brake pedal goes to the floor. i'm told that this is normal. i believe it to be unsafe. what should i do? *jb | |||
| 11/20/2003 | 19000 | 1 | 07/20/2002 |
| Dash board brake light went on and the brakes failed. *la | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - MASTER CYLINDER | |||
| 04/04/2006 | 49970 | 1 | 11/28/2005 |
| Total brake failure on all four wheels directly in front of apolla high school during school hours. mercedes says master cylinder failed. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - POWER ASSIST | |||
| 06/20/2005 | 2000 | 2 | 04/23/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle had repeated problems with the brake assistance system. the problem presented itself by the illumination of the dashboard warning light. the vehicle was taken in seven times for service on the brake assistance system. the vehicle also had problems with the transmission. when the vehicle was parked, shut off, and restarted later, the gearshift became stuck in the park position. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer, and the dealer temporarily repaired both issues. the dealer determined that the two problems were related.*ak | |||