Brake Hold & Spungy Brake Pedal
03-21-2018, 09:32 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Brake Hold & Spungy Brake Pedal
Car is a 2012 E550 Cabrolet. My break hold function stopped working about a month ago. Also brake pedal would sometimes sink down close to fully depressed to stop the car. Sometimes the brake pedal would be normal sometimes it would sink. I bought a pressure bleeder and changed the fluid and flushed any air from the line at the same time. Pedal still would sink down sometimes like it had air in the system.
Took it to the MB dealer today and they “evaluated” the brakes and recommended another brake fluid flush / bleed. I agree since it certainly felt like air in the lines. After the bleed / fluid exchange they gave the car back and said it was better but still not like it should be. They told me it was the Master Cylinder ... And said the brake hold function is “in there” so i needed a new Master Cylinder for $600.00.. They didn’t have one which was actually a good thing.
After getting home I googled the brake hold issue. Many sites, including this one, had people stating the brake hold function fails when the main battery is weak. Mine was about 5 years old so i decided to just replace it even though it was starting the car good.
After replaacing the battery the brake hold started working again and the brake pedal is no longer spungy and stops the car like it should . Battery replacement solved this problem. Also noticed the stereo volume that use to not respond to volume changes now worked good.
Long story short: Brake spungy and Hold function not working -replace battery.
Took it to the MB dealer today and they “evaluated” the brakes and recommended another brake fluid flush / bleed. I agree since it certainly felt like air in the lines. After the bleed / fluid exchange they gave the car back and said it was better but still not like it should be. They told me it was the Master Cylinder ... And said the brake hold function is “in there” so i needed a new Master Cylinder for $600.00.. They didn’t have one which was actually a good thing.
After getting home I googled the brake hold issue. Many sites, including this one, had people stating the brake hold function fails when the main battery is weak. Mine was about 5 years old so i decided to just replace it even though it was starting the car good.
After replaacing the battery the brake hold started working again and the brake pedal is no longer spungy and stops the car like it should . Battery replacement solved this problem. Also noticed the stereo volume that use to not respond to volume changes now worked good.
Long story short: Brake spungy and Hold function not working -replace battery.
The following 3 users liked this post by JKwentzville:
03-21-2018, 10:00 PM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
The spongy pedal is strange, that shouldn't happen due to voltage alone. The brake hold dropping out is normal, if the voltages are too low a lot of those assist systems panic, but regular brakes are hydraulic and don't rely on voltage to generate good pressure.
03-22-2018, 01:22 PM
#3
Super Member
Car is a 2012 E550 Cabrolet. My break hold function stopped working about a month ago. Also brake pedal would sometimes sink down close to fully depressed to stop the car. Sometimes the brake pedal would be normal sometimes it would sink. I bought a pressure bleeder and changed the fluid and flushed any air from the line at the same time. Pedal still would sink down sometimes like it had air in the system.
Took it to the MB dealer today and they “evaluated” the brakes and recommended another brake fluid flush / bleed. I agree since it certainly felt like air in the lines. After the bleed / fluid exchange they gave the car back and said it was better but still not like it should be. They told me it was the Master Cylinder ... And said the brake hold function is “in there” so i needed a new Master Cylinder for $600.00.. They didn’t have one which was actually a good thing.
After getting home I googled the brake hold issue. Many sites, including this one, had people stating the brake hold function fails when the main battery is weak. Mine was about 5 years old so i decided to just replace it even though it was starting the car good.
After replaacing the battery the brake hold started working again and the brake pedal is no longer spungy and stops the car like it should . Battery replacement solved this problem. Also noticed the stereo volume that use to not respond to volume changes now worked good.
Long story short: Brake spungy and Hold function not working -replace battery.
Took it to the MB dealer today and they “evaluated” the brakes and recommended another brake fluid flush / bleed. I agree since it certainly felt like air in the lines. After the bleed / fluid exchange they gave the car back and said it was better but still not like it should be. They told me it was the Master Cylinder ... And said the brake hold function is “in there” so i needed a new Master Cylinder for $600.00.. They didn’t have one which was actually a good thing.
After getting home I googled the brake hold issue. Many sites, including this one, had people stating the brake hold function fails when the main battery is weak. Mine was about 5 years old so i decided to just replace it even though it was starting the car good.
After replaacing the battery the brake hold started working again and the brake pedal is no longer spungy and stops the car like it should . Battery replacement solved this problem. Also noticed the stereo volume that use to not respond to volume changes now worked good.
Long story short: Brake spungy and Hold function not working -replace battery.
03-22-2018, 03:19 PM
#4
MBWorld Fanatic!
It never fails to amaze me that the so called tech have no idea to troubleshoot, instead, they are parts replacers, They keep on replacing until they get the right part! If I were you, I would definitely send an email to the GM/owner about this terrible service and just what kind of tech they are employing!
The following users liked this post:
Mr. Toad (03-23-2018)
03-23-2018, 06:12 AM
#5
Junior Member
Being a tech on Ottawa, it's the same here, flat rate. Everybody suffers, mainly the client and the tech. Imagine, don't pay someone to find the problem, great for the owner of the dealership.
03-23-2018, 08:01 AM
#6
Senior Member
ItalianJoe1 thanks for an honest assessment of this situation. Of course without knowing this we always blame you. Pepmyster thanks for backing him up.
Is there anything we can do to change things in the US?
Is there anything we can do to change things in the US?
03-23-2018, 08:31 AM
#7
Super Member
Biggest problem is, here in the US, we aren't paid for what time it takes to diagnose cars. We are paid on flat rate based on what it took to actually fix the car, and you have to fight for diagnostic time. If I spend all day working on a car trying to trace down a difficult problem, it's unlikely I will be paid more than 1-2 hours for my time. In other parts of the world techs are paid hourly/salary, so they can focus on fixing cars properly. Here we battle fixing the cars fast enough so I can still get paid and afford to pay my rent. Flawed system and everybody suffers, but the companies will not pay techs more so the quality of work will continue to be low.
