The contact owns a 2002 Mercedes ML320. While driving at speeds of less than 50 mph, the steering locked without warning causing the wheel to become tremendously hard to turn. She almost lost control of the vehicle, however she was able to eventually maneuver the vehicle off of he highway safely. The dealer was contacted and she was advised that there was an open recall campaign on the vehicle (NHTSA campaign id number: 03V121000; steering, hydraulic power assist hose, piping, and connections) and advised coming in for repairs. No repairs were made to date. The failure and current mileages were approximately 85,000.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

2002 Mercedes Benz ML320. Safety recall for power steering pump. Consumer states that she had the repair done prior to the recall notice. The consumer encountered problems with the power steering pump back in 2007, but didn't receive the recall until 2009.

- Castle Rock, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2002 Mercedes Benz ML320. The contact received a recall notice and took the vehicle to the dealer for repair. The dealer stated that the O-ring between the power steering pump and reservoir failed. As a result, the recall repairs would be ineffective without also replacing the O-ring. The dealer further stated that the O-ring would not be covered by the recall; therefore, the contact would have to pay an estimated cost of $162 for this repair. The NHTSA campaign id number was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 70,000. Updated 03/23/09. Updated 03/23/09.

- Anchorage, AK, USA

Lower power steering hose clamp had released and allowed the power steering fluid to discharge to the ground. This loss of fluid disabled the power steering rendering the car almost impossible to control without strong steering input. My wife had to call for me to drive the car home. The hose failed upon startup, thus preventing an accident. The unit was repaired at no cost under bulletin #T-B.46.30/13A. This bulletin extended the warranty to 100,000 miles for this part. However, this type of failure mode could result in loss of control and a crash.

- Bridgton, ME, USA

While driving our 2001 Mercedes benx ML320, my wife expierenced sudden loss of steering and was thrown off the road.

- Greendale, WI, USA