2001 Mercedes Benz SLK320

ON THREE OCCASIONS THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED BY THE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM WITHOUT DRIVER INTERVENTION. IN THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE THIS ACTION PLACED THE DRIVER AND OTHER MOTORIST IN THE VICINITY OF THE CAR IN EXTREME DANGER. TRAVELING EAST BOUND ON HIGHWAY 80 THROUGH FAIRFIELD CALIFORNIA IN THE LEFT LANE AT APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH, THE BRAKES WERE ABRUPTLY ACTIVATED BY THE STABILITY SYSTEM CAUSING THE CAR TO YAW TO THE RIGHT AND THEN SUDDENLY TO THE LEFT. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS ENOUGH DISTANCE BETWEEN OTHER MOTORIST THAT THERE WAS NOT A COLLISION. THE CAR DID HOWEVER ALMOST COLLIDE WITH THE CENTER BARRIER. THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

VEHICLE APPLIED BRAKES ON IT'S OWN AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND NO DRIVER APPLICATION. THE BAS/ESP ALARM LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO BE OK UNTIL IT WAS TURNED OFF. THE ALARM CLEARED WHEN RESTARTED BUT THE VEHICLE APPLIED BRAKES AGAIN ON IT'S OWN AND THE INDICATORS CAME BACK ON. THE REPAIR SHOP COULD NOT GET A CODE BECAUSE IT WAS NOT ON WHEN THEY CHECKED IT. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 10-12 TIMES BUT ONLY DURING HOURS WHEN THE BUSINESS IS CLOSED. I LET MY LOCAL MECHANIC DRIVE IT FOR A WEEK AND IT NEVER HAPPENED WITH HIM. THIS IS VERY SPORADIC BUT DANGEROUS SITUATION. I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS ENTRIES ON SLK FORUMS WITH OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE.

WHILE DRIVING IT, THE CAR WILL ACT LIKE I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES AND THE BAS/ESP LIGHT WILL COME ON. I AM NOT HITTING THE BRAKES WHEN THIS HAPPENS, I AM JUST DRIVING ALONG. *JS INITIALLY, THESE EVENTS HAPPENED AT LOW SPEEDS, MORE RECENTLY IT HAPPENED AT 50MPH IN THE RAIN. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO CONNECTION TO SPEED, ACCELERATION, TURNING, OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN RANDOM FAULTS. DEALER READ AN ESP CODE C1120-004, 016 ESP YAW SENSOR PLAUSIBILITY OCCURRED 1 TIME AND ERASED CODE. THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE CONDITION IN A SHORT TEST DRIVE. NEVERTHELESS, IT HAPPENED AGAIN AT FREEWAY SPEED ON THE WAY HOME, AND AGAIN THE FOLLOWING DAY AT SLOW SPEED.

CAR DRIVEN NORMALLY ON COLD, CLEAR NIGHT. ROAD CONDITION WAS FAIR (DRY FROM CENTERLINE TO TRAVEL LANE MIDPOINT W/ HARD-PACKED SNOW FROM THERE TO SHOULDER). EXPERIENCED A VIBRATION, SQUEALING NOISE & SLIGHT PULL TO RIGHT. STOPPED TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBILITY OF BLOWN TIRE. FOUND NOTHING WRONG AFTER VISUAL INSPECTION, SO RESUMED DRIVING. APPROX. 15S LATER, SQUEALING, VIBRATION & SENSATION OF PULLING TO RIGHT RETURNED, THEN CAR WOULD NOT RESPOND TO THROTTLE INPUTS & SLOWED FROM 40 TO 25MPH. CAR THEN SHUDDERED VIOLENTLY W/ LOUD SCREECHING NOISE, SNAPPED TO RIGHT & LOST CONTROL. ATTEMPTS TO COUNTER STEER WERE INEFFECTIVE AS CAR SLID ON HARD-PACKED SNOW FOR APPROX. 100' & STRUCK SNOWBANK AT 20MPH. FORTUNATELY SNOW WAS VERY LIGHT, DRY AND FLUFFY & DECELERATION WAS REASONABLY GENTLE. NO MAJOR DAMAGE OCCURRED & AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. AFTER EXTRICATING, CAR COULD NOT BE DRIVEN. AN OBSERVER STANDING OUTSIDE THE CAR NOTED FRONT RIGHT WHEEL WOULD ROLL FOR A FEW FEET, THEN LOCK UP. SHUT ENGINE OFF & RESTARTED (ATTEMPTING TO RESET SYSTEMS). AT THIS POINT BOTH 'BAS ESP' AND 'ABS' WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED (THEY WERE NOT LIT PREVIOUSLY). CAR STILL COULD NOT BE DRIVEN - FRONT RIGHT WHEEL WOULD LOCK UP AFTER A FEW FEET OF TRAVEL & HAD TO BE TOWED AWAY. LATER DETERMINED INCIDENT CAUSED BY YAW SENSOR FAILURE. FRONT RIGHT WHEEL HAD BEEN LOCKING & SLIDING ON HARD PACKED SNOW THEN SUDDENLY REGAINED TRACTION WHEN IT CROSSED A DRY PATCH OF PAVEMENT, CAUSING THE RAPID DIRECTIONAL CHANGE & LOSS OF CONTROL. VERY DANGEROUS. IF CAR HAD HIT A TREE, PARKED CAR, ETC. INSTEAD OF SOFT SNOWBANK THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS CRASH LIKELY W/ INJURY. UNACCEPTABLE & UNSAFE! PLEASE REOPEN INVESTIGATION! THIS IS A POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS SYSTEM! SENSORS SHOULD CONTINUOUSLY SELF-CHECK & SHUT SYSTEM OFF COMPLETELY IF FAILED. THIS WILL KILL SOMEONE EVENTUALLY IF NOTHING IS DONE! *TR

WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH ALONG A STRAIGHT PAVED ROAD UNDER CLEAR CONDITIONS, THE RIGHT REAR TIRE SUDDENLY LOCKED. THERE WAS A LOUD SCREECH FROM THE TIRE. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY FISHTAILED AND SWUNG THE REAR END OF THE VEHICLE INTO THE ONCOMING LANE AND DIRECTED THE CAR TOWARDS THE SIDEWALK WHERE PEDESTRIANS WERE WALKING. THANKFULLY, I WAS NOT TRAVELING FAST! AFTER SOME RESEARCH, THIS SEEMS TO BE AN VERY DANGEROUS, YET RELATIVELY COMMON, ISSUE WITH MERCEDES. DESPITE THE COMPLAINTS, A NHTSA INVESTIGATION INTO THE FAULTY YAW SENSOR (TURN RATE SENSOR) WAS ABANDONED. PLEASE REOPEN THE CASE AS THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE! *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON A STRAIGHT, SMOOTH PAVED ROAD, THE RIGHT FRONT BRAKE SUDDENLY LOCKED HARD ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE CAR TO SUDDENLY JERK TO THE RIGHT AND CAUSED THE TIRE TO SKID. I DID NOT HAVE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AT ALL. IMMEDIATELY THE VEHICLE'S ESV DASH LIGHT CAME ON. HAD I NOT HAD A FIRM GRIP ON THE STEERING WHEEL TO HOLD THE CAR IN THE ROAD, THE CAR WOULD HAVE LEFT THE ROADWAY. THIS IS A VERY SCARY AND DANGEROUS DEFECT. WHILE READING POSTS IN ONLINE FORUMS, SEVERAL PEOPLE WITH THESE CARS ARE HAVING SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. BELOW IS A LINK TO ONE SUCH SIGHT FOR YOU TO RESEARCH. HTTP://WWW.SLKWORLD.COM/SLK-R170-GENERAL-DISCUSSION/10071-2001-SLK-320-SUDDENLY-BRAKES-BAS-ESP-LIGHT-COMES.HTML I ASK YOU TO PLEASE RECONSIDER AND RE-EVALUATE THE DEFECTIVE SENSOR(S) FAILURE CAUSING THE SPORADIC UNINTENTIONAL BRAKING. *JS

WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED WITH WEATHER CONDITIONS CLEAR. THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL LOCKED UP FOR A SPLIT SECOND CAUSING CAR TO SEVERELY PULL TO THE RIGHT INTO OTHER LANE, LUCKILY NO OTHER VEHICLES WERE AROUND AND ESP/BAS LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON UNTIL RESTART. PROBLEM THEN REAPPEARED AGAIN AT SPEED AND WEATHER CLEAR TRIGGERING ON AND OFF MAKING VEHICLE UNDRIVABLE AGAIN LUCKILY NO OTHER VEHICLES WERE INVOLVED. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS AS IT IS NOT JUST HAPPENING ON THIS MODEL VEHICLE OF MERCEDES BENZ. I HAVE SEARCH ONLINE(ESP/BAS PROBLEMS) AT BENZWORLD.COM AND ALSO AT SLKWORLD.COM AND FOUND NUMEROUS PEOPLE LOOKING INTO THIS ONGOING PROBLEM. MERCEDES MORE THAN LIKELY HAS THE REPAIR RECORDS TO SUPPORT THIS IF THEY ARE WILLING TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND FIX THIS SEVER SAFETY ISSUE. *TR