2004 Mercedes-Benz E500 Brakes Problems

“While I was driving down the road, the brakes completely failed. There was a sudden 100% pressure loss in the brake pedal. I was less than 20 ft from getting on the highway. Had this happened to me while I was on the highway, I would have met with a tragic accident. This car only has 92,392 miles. It is a 1-owner with all maintenance and services done only by mercedes dealer and authorized repair facilities. The vehicle is 100% upto date on all repairs and maintenance and there is absolutely no reason for such failure. …”

“The cars brakes just quit without any warning which I was driving, as described below. This vehicle is equipped with sensotronic brake control that has a service threshold. When this threshold is reached the brake system defaults to non power assisted hydraulic mode to the front wheels only. This occurs without any prior warning and results in increased stopping distance. I have sent a copy of the mercedes service bulletin s142.46-p-0012a which addresses this issue. Mercedes stopped installing this system in 2006. …”

“Benz E500/55k miles. I have had two major safety issues with the car. One being fuel tank related and the second sbc pump failure while driving. On the first, too little too late, so many years after the incident and purchase of the car, mercedes benz has sent a letter covering the repair and parts for 15 years. I think that in itself is an offense and a crime. On the second issue, sbc pump mercedes benz refused to give me in detail the effect of failing sbc pump on other parts of the car or the effect of failed sbc pump. …”

“Turning into a shopping center when all of a sudden my brakes totally went out. I had just a tiny bit of breaks and couldn't stop to make the turn into the shopping center safely. I had to go into the shopping center parking lot and see what happens. What had happened was my spc brakes went out on my mercedes and I had to get it towed to my mechanic to get it repaired. This was scary as heck sense if I was on the freeway I'm going freeway speeds I probably would have crashed , but since I was slow enough and was able to maneuver I didn't crash. …”

“Benz2004 E500.original owner/55k miles.driving back from a long road trip, the service brake message came on.thinking it was just the pads, thought we could reach home.later, we realized what a dangerous thing we had done, by driving a car with sbc pump failure.we could have taken off a bridge or thrown into a swamp or put someone else in danger.this problem cannot be fixed at any auto shop, it has to be towed to the dealer, from wherever you are stuck and only dealer can fix it.dealer said mfr, will not assist in repair because it is past 10 years.and we have to pay $2350. …”