2007 Mercedes Benz SL550

THE BRAKES TOTALLY FAILED WITH LITTLE WARNING. IN MID-OCTOBER, 2018 DRIVING ABOUT 15 MPH MY BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON AND THEN WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS ALARMS STARTED SOUNDING AND I TOTALLY LOST ALL BRAKING POWER. MERCEDES OF DENVER REPAIRED. ON DECEMBER 17 SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED AT AN EVEN SLOWER SPEED BUT THIS TIME THE LOSS OF BRAKES WAS INSTANTANEOUS. VERY CONCERNED WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD THIS HAPPENED AT HIGHER SPEED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED CATASTROPHIC BRAKE FAILURE. THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD WHEN DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT HAD TO COAST THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD AND APPLY EXTREME FORCE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP THE VEHICLE. AN EMERGENCY WARNING INDICATOR FLASHED AND VARIOUS OTHER WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE POWER STEERING BECAME DISABLED WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS AND DISABLED THE ALARM SYSTEM FROM THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER (MERCEDES-BENZ OF CATONSVILLE, 6631 BALTIMORE NATIONAL PIKE, CATONSVILLE, MD 21228, (410) 788-7744) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A SENSOTRONIC BRAKE CONTROL (SBC) FAILURE AND THAT THE SBC CONTROL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER WAS WAITING FOR THE MANUFACTURER TO AUTHORIZE THE PART. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE A FOLLOW UP RESPONSE WITHIN 48 HOURS. THE MANUFACTURER ISSUED 12 TSBS ON THE BRAKE SYSTEM AND INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,000.

FREQUENTLY AND INTERMITTENTLY (NOT EVERY TIME) WHEN I START MY CAR'S ENGINE, THE SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT AND "TAKE CAR TO SERVICE FACILITY" MESSAGE DISPLAY APPEAR ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. WHEN THE SRS WARNING LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATED, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS DO NOT WORK, IRRESPECTIVE OF HOW THE WIPER CONTROLS ARE MANIPULATED (ONE SWIPE ... INTERMITTENT SWIPE ... SLOW SWIPE ... FAST SWIPE ... WINDSHIELD WASHER SQUIRTER). WHEN I TRY TURNING ON THE WIPERS WHILE THE SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED, THE ROLL BAR MALFUNCTION ALERT YELLOW SYMBOL ILLUMINATES ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND I HEAR AN AUDIBLE CLICKING SOUND FROM SOMEWHERE BEHIND THE SEATS (THIS IS A TWO-SEATER CAR). I TRIED CYCLING THE ROLL BAR ALL THE WAY THROUGH ITS RANGE OF MOTION ... FROM ALL THE WAY STOWED, TO ALL THE WAY DEPLOYED, BACK TO ALL THE WAY STOWED ... BUT THIS DID NOT CLEAR OR CHANGE THE ROLL BAR MALFUNCTION ALERT YELLOW LIGHT, DID NOT CLEAR THE SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING, AND DID NOT ACTIVATE THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS. MB DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE "PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SWITCH GEAR," BUT THIS DID NOT ELIMINATE THE SRS WARNING PROBLEM. THE SECOND TIME I DROVE THE CAR FOLLOWING MB'S REPAIRS, THE SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT REAPPEARED, THE WIPERS REFUSED TO WORK, AND THE ROLL BAR MALFUNCTION ALERT YELLOW SYMBOL ILLUMINATED. I CANNOT DRIVE THE CAR IN THE RAIN IF THE SRS MALFUNCTION LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED, AS IT FREQUENTLY IS, NOR CAN I DEPEND ON THE SRS SAFETY SYSTEM. I NEED TO HAVE THESE VITAL SAFETY CONDITIONS RESOLVED. *TR

ALMOST EXACTLY ONE YEAR AFTER DEALERSHIP "FIXED" THE SAME PROBLEM, THE BRAKES ON THE VEHICLE TOTALLY FAILED WHILE DRIVING. AFTER THE INITIAL FAILURE IN 2013, I WAS ASSURED THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS FIXED. I WAS VERY RETICENT, BUT DROVE THE CARE AGAIN. HOWEVER, BASED ON THE SECOND TOTAL FAILURE OF THE BRAKING SYSTEM, THE VEHICLE IS WORTHLESS. MERCEDES BENZ SAYS THEY HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM, BUT IT IS THE SAME ASSURANCE THEY GAVE ME THE FIRST TIME. THE CAR IS 2007 SL 550 WITH APPROXIMATELY 60K MILES. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MERCEDES BENZ SL550. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE FAILED TO ENGAGE WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED THAT DETERMINED THAT THE BRAKING SYSTEM EXPERIENCED A TOTAL FAILURE. THE BRAKING SYSTEM WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 57,000.