The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz E320. The contact stated that the service visit workshop warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the sbc pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 139,000.

- Cary, NC, USA

I'm lucky to be alive! I purchased this car in 2005 and ever since I purchased my 2003 merc. Benz E320, it's been a crazy ride! here's a list of different issues that happened to me over the course of me owning this vehicle, which unfortunately I still do. I was driving with my little girl in tow and my brakes went out on me several times, my battery dies constantly, I had an issue when after I pumped gas you could smell fuel both inside my car & outside of my car, I literally one time had fuel pouring from the back of my car that ended on my garage floor. (thank god I don't smoke!) my suspension is constantly rattling, I have water that leaks on my feet when I drive occasionally and sometimes I have heat in the winter and sometimes I don't. I always have a check engine light on and as soon as I fix one, another one comes on. I currently had issues with code PO134, PO135 and had the O2 sensor changed, then my check engine light came back on and now I have codes PO171 & PO174 that I have no idea how to get fixed because it could be a number of issues. My battery drains when my electric seats are plugged in and so I have to have them unplugged to save my battery. Did I mention my back tire blew out on interstate 95 and I almost lost control of my car. It's devastating to pay the amount of money you do for this particular model, it's pretty on the outside and is a mess under the hood! is it normal when you have the ac on for it to sound like an airplane ready for take off? I'm tired of investing all kinds of money into this car, I just can't take it anymore! I can't even pass my va. State emissions test because of all these error codes (check engine light and malfunctions) and the state doesn't even find my car worthy of being on the roads.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz E320. The contact stated that braking system hesitated to engage when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact also stated that the brake pedal was depressed numerous times in order to stop the vehicle. In addition, the gear shifter became stuck in park. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed that the ABS pump unit failed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 05V133000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 137,714.

- Menlo Park , CA, USA

I purchased my car from a used car dealership of course I expected to have to have minor work done on it. Immediately noticed that the heater didn't work when I had it repaired I was told that some valve often gets stuck on these cars the dealership always run diagnostics on your car whether you want them to or upon running the diagnostic I was advised the my new used card would need about $6K in work done from the hood to the trunk I decided to keep the car and get the major work done in stages 1st thing I had done was front break pads and rotors although I opted to have the work completed by an authorized repair shop and not the dealship for obvious reasons (cost) not once did the dealership complete recall repair work or even mention it to me that there were several recalls and my car needed to have those repairs completed but rather over charged me for ball joints plus several other things that more than likely did not need to be repaired. I felt completely taken advantage of and raised my concern adamantly to little avail. I took my car to the dealership multiple time prior to the expriration of the said 10yr extended warranty with regard to the sbc failing not once did they mention or repair it knowing full well that the main purpose of me bringing my car to them was specifically due to the brake warning light being illuminated on the dash I was told that it was some type of sensor not a big deal to worry about that my car would continue to stop and there was no need to replace the said sensor an unnecessary cost since my breaks were fine I told them my breaks weren't fine it was taking too long for the car to slow down and stop they did nothing that was 2012 the condition worsened and the light went from white to red I decided to research online a few months ago and came across 3 recalls I called mbusa they told me the warranty expired November 2013.

- Richardson, TX, USA

It started with a esp warning on the cluster, with increased brake distance, after restart the warning was gone, after many months the warning came back on in Nov of 2013, went back off and came back on Jan 14 2014, called the Mercedes dealer in nashville tn, was advised that the auto did have a recall on the sbc unit, which is the ABS brake system, but the recall ended on 11-12, which I do not understand how a safety recall can expire with mileage or date. The repair will cost about $2000 with no manufacture support or help. Mercedes has know about the Bosch system have only so many brake cycles, I purchased this vehicle used in 2009 and have never received any information on the recall. This is not the way a recall is supposed to work.. Mercedes said sorry, that's not good enough, this is the safety of my family and others that own these vehicles.

- Shelbyville, TN, USA

Red warning light illuminated on dash flashing warning driver " reduced braking effect visit workshop" and " increase braking distance visit workshop:. after research this warning is displayed because the sensotronic braking system has failed and reverted to hydraulic system has taken effect as backup. This condition was subject to nhstb recall #'s 2004050014 and 2005110001. I contacted Mercedes usa customer service and was refused help. I asked to speak to someone up the chain of command and received a call from a case manager who stated that my vehicle had been repaired by Mercedes and that they had no further obligation to assist me with this problem. I have studied Mercedes service bulletins and by their own admission the vehicles that are subject to these recalls have notes within the service bulletin that "please note that recall and service campaigns do not expire and may be performed on a vehicle with a vehicle status indicator" it is further stated in Mercedes service bulletin that the "sensotronic brake control unit pump motor may run out of permissible tolerances thereby triggering the hydraulic back up function mode. Further, "greater brake pedal pressure is required and the brake pedal travel will be noticeably longer which could lead to a vehicle crash". to this day Mercedes engineers are attempting to repair this problem with software fixes which is the subject of another Mercedes service bulletin. The refusal of Mercedes to repair an obvious hazardous condition of a component that does not function as designed in unacceptable. It is my opinion that the vehicle poses a threat to not only the operator but others if operated under these conditions. Please help me I have not allowed my wife to operate what I believe to be an unsafe vehicle.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

I was driving ewa bound on beretania street at about 7:45pm at speed 25mph. The car had a red warning and beeps said brake malfunction, stop vehicle! at this time my car can not brake at all because the brake was completely not working when my car is driving. I have to put in neutral and use the assistance brake to stop the car. Luckily I was not on highway with fast speed! I found out this is common happen to this model due to the fault of sbc ABS brake pump. Parts is breaking down but not on brake pump happen when the car is driving. It is totally dangerous! Mercedes should have recall to correct the problem. Please investigate and enforcing Mercedes to improve. Thanks

- Honolulu, HI, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz E320. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the brake pedal was depressed with a delayed response from the vehicle. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that the sensotronic brake control would need to be replaced. There was a recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 04V296000 (service brakes, hydraulic), however the contact's VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

- Loveland, CO, USA

I started smelling gas in the car cabin. There was gas on my driveway as well. The gas sign started to flash on my dash and the check engine light came on. Went to the dealership and they said there was a major leak in the purge system. They quoted me $3066.88. They should take responsibility and not pass it on to me.

- Grand Prairie, TX, USA

Sbc brake failure. Brakes not working. Car refused to stop. I put it on park and jumped out.

- Grand Prairie , TX, USA

I was driving to work when my brake system failed. My car displayed a code stating "brake defective; stop vehicle". this occurred on a busy highway in rush hour traffic. I am a pregnant female and was in the car alone, it was terrifying. After having my car towed to the dealership, I learned of an extended 10 year warranty on the sbc unit of my car. Since I bought this car used, I was not the "registered user" even though I have the loan and title in my name. The warranty expired in Sept of 2013. After my car was diagnosed, it was found that it was the defective sbc unit that failed me. I had previous similar codes (none that caused my brakes to fail) related to this sbc unit defect in April 2011 & August 2013 to which I purchased new brakes. It is not know whether this was necessary or not since my code of "service brake" at those times are a part of the faulty sbc unit and not necessarily related to the safety of my brakes. After my case was reviewed and denied at the corporate level, my husband and I had to shell out $1135 to fix the part ourselves. My husband was previously laid off and just started a new job in June. I feel it is unfair that we had to pay this money when we take good care of the car and were not privy to the information to fix the brake system within the warranty time. I worry about other people who have this car, are unaware of the warranty, and are outside the warranty. I was lucky to not have damage or injury. I feel Mercedes should be held accountable. I also feel I should be reimbursed as this was not a wear and tear issue and I feel it was handled unfairly on the corporate level of Mercedes. Thank you for your time.

- Owens Cross Roads, AL, USA

On June 6, 2013, while braking on approaching intersection, brakes failed and transmission locked. Mercedes customer assistance towed vehicle to dealer, M-B greenway, houston, tx, where the service advisor explained that the pressure reservoir of the sensotronic brake unit had failed and must be replaced at a cost of $1,350. I complained that the sbc unit was the subject of NHTSA safety recall 05V0133 and two mbusa recall campaigns (2005070007 and 2005110001) resulting in the extension of the original warranty to 10 years with no mileage limitation. The dealer refused to honor the warranty or replace the entire sbc unit, because the electronic diagnostic code required by mb usa, llc for a dealer to file a warranty claim under the NHTSA 05V033 campaign did not appear on the diagnostic equipment. I paid the disputed $1,350 charge and drove the car about 6 miles on June 6, 2013, and the brakes again failed and the transmission locked. Mercedes customer assistance towed it back to M-B greenweay, where the service stated the entire sbc unit had failed and must be replaced at a cost of $2,030. I complained that the replacement was mandated at no cost by NHTSA 05V0133, but she said mb usa llc would allow the dealer to honor the sbc warranty because the car was "driven out of the shop." She also refused to credit the $1,350 charge I paid for the sbc pressure reservoir replacement, but offered to "discount" the replacement of the entire sbc unit to "$1,799."

- Houston , TX, USA

Vehicle suddenly showed brake reduce "require longer braking distance". I had the same issue before but I did not pay special attention of it because I thought it would just be a brake pad replacement indicator. Until I sent the car in at the dealer for service, they told me that it was an issue related to the sbc unit. Later, I found it online that it was a common known issue for 2003-2005 model. This could be very dangerous for people who was driving the vehicle on freeway if something like this happened. I called the manufacture and all they said was the unit would only be covered within a 10 year period and they did not have any other solution provided.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

First incident, brakes! visit workshop! message was illuminated on the information system. Took the vehicle to the dealer and vehicle was diagnosed with sbc pump failure. Dealer replaced part under extended warranty for this part because it has a known defect. Second incident, on April 25, 2013, one day after I took my car from the dealer, stop!, reduced brake power, esp malfunction message appeared. I stopped the car and had it towed to the dealer. Dealer replaced the part again stating that they only have re-manufactured ones and the one I had got was a bad re-manufactured part. Dealer replaced part again. Third incident, on May 1 2013, 5 days after I picked up my car stop!, reduced brake power and esp malfunction light came on again when I was pulling into a garage at a hotel. I came close to hitting the car in front of me that was taking a ticket to get into the garage. I don't know what could have happened if I was going faster than I was. The brake will not work at all once these messages appear.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

First incident, brakes, visit workshop message appeared on the information system. Took the car to the dealer and vehicle was diagnosed with sbc pump failure. Mercedes had extended this warranty to 10 years because of know defects to the part so all parts and labor were covered.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

The warning light of brakes failure came on at highway exit at 65mph and the brake paddle hit the floor with no brakes. Pulled over and took the car to the dealer in mid March and was told by the dealer that this is the sbc pump that failed which would have been covered by Mercedes Benz under service bulletin no.: 484656 but the warranty expired on 02/28/13 and since I was 15 days over this will not be covered. Contacted Mercedes Benz of na and asked them that I bought the car used and was not told by anyone about this tsb and they should cover the repairs since the pump actually failed when the car still under extended 10 year warranty (service bulletin no.: 484656 ). they flatly refused. I than asked that if this was a known issue that the brakes could fail completely than its Mercedes duty to tell the owners even if they buy used, the person just kept quiet. People can actually get hurt or die when this failure happens. At the end I was charged $2309 for something that was a known issue by Mercedes.

- Richmond, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E320. The contact stated that the brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that the sbc hydraulic unit failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes E320. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph when the brake warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle would not respond. The vehicle eventually came to a stop. The contact shut the engine off and after restarting the vehicle the brake system functioned without failure. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.

- Daphne, AL, USA

While driving at 45mph to go to work my car lost the brakes. The display showed brakes defective. Luckily I had plenty of space to stop the car with emergency brakes. I did diagnostic on the car and the sensotronic brake control sbc unit as Mercedes-Benz calls it (the brake unit) was defective. This is unacceptable defect and could be life threatening to others if they loose the brakes like I did while driving. Dealer diagnosed the car as well and replaced the sbc pump.

- Parkville, MD, USA