jedcred

My brother got into a minor accident last Friday in his (previously my dad's) '89 300CE, and he claims that the brakes didn't engage properly during an emergency stop (people in front slammed the brakes). He claims that the day before, the ABS light went on and, when he braked again, the light turned off. I say claimed, because he's just a kid, and he's in a phase where nothing is his fault, you know? Also, he tends to follow somewhat closely, and he's one of those go-brake-go-brake drivers, despite my efforts to break him of that habit (so there is the possiblility that he overheated the brakes). Luckily, no one was hurt, and the damage is pretty minor, though the hood probably needs to be replaced, and the radiator hose, though probably not the radiator, needs to be replaced as well.

Anyway, I'm looking for opinions as to the validity of his claims, and methods by which to test this problem out, since we really don't want to give the car back in this condition once the body shop is through with it. Especially important is this reaction in the ABS light, where it goes on then off.

BTW, brakes and rotors were replaced six months ago, tires were replaced two months ago, and it was a dry day. Thanks!

neanderthal

hes talking bull*****. period.

the braking system is designed to operate completely even with ABS failure. so the light coming on is not an excuse.

he was obviously following too closely if that is his pattern.
if you have anything to do with it, make sure he is riding a bus until he modifies his driving habits or buys his own car with his own money.

battlecat714

how old is he?

YNVDIZW124

We'll he could be right and wrong. If the ABS system is acting up he could be right. My ABS light is turned off because i need to replace one of the wheels sensors. Sometimes it does work but when i try to break semi-hard i get a pulse from the brake petal and it takes alittle longer to stop, sometimes i couldn't stop unless i really pressed hard but since i'm older i think i have more pushing force on the brake pedal than he does.

If he claimed a problem with the ABS system light turning on and off i'll belive him.

I got in a car accident with the ABS system off and my kinda locked up but i still had control of the car. So i suggest you disconnect one of the sensors to turn the system off because this way you'll get better stoping power than a faulty ABS system...

Bigdot

master brake cylindar

bamberger_1

Before you swap the master brake cylinder, I would rather exchange or at least thoroughly clean the ABS sensors 2 in the front (on the hub) one for the rear brakes (in the differencial). If they have distorted readings ABS could switch off and the brakes work as in a car w/o ABS. Or before you take a risk just have them swapped, there are 17 years old and may have deserved retirement. If I'm not totally mistaken the price is about $ 150 each sensor plus installation. Even for DIY no big deal.

bjay51d

I had a rear frozen caliper that caused my pedal to go down to the floor....happened suddenly so I think hes telling the truth

GORBETTTEAM

Word....I did the same thing

GORBETTTEAM

Hello BJ welcome to the forums and show some more pictures of your W124

mgw_300e

For some reason, people seem to think that if they get in an accident because the "brakes went out", that they are somehow not at fault. Therefore, many people who are too young or too stupid to know how cars/brakes/the law work, will say "hey man, it's not my fault - the brakes didn't work". I was a fireman for 6 years and I heard people say this over and over again. Now that I'm a chiropractor and I treat people who have been in accidents, they will often tell me that the person that hit them said their brakes failed.

Look at it this way, if you got in an accident due to defective brakes, don't you think you'd have it investigated or complain to the DOT or SOMETHING?!?!? And don't you think that if brake failure was really this common that governments would start requiring brake system inspections the same way we have to pass emissions every year?

I hate to say it, but most people are just full of ***** when it comes time to take responsibility for their own stupidity or carelessness. Probably if you tell him you're going to spend as much money and time as it takes to prove to everyone that the brakes failed no matter what the cost, you'll probably get the real story (either that or you have a brother that will let you waste your money, cause it's pretty obvious he's not being honest with you)

NorCal124

The ABS sensors are extremely susceptible to wear, not so much the sensor itself but the lines. The easy fix solution is to simply disconnect them, sure you won't have ABS but the brakes still stop on a dime. Replacing them can be costly as the lines aren't easily accessible.

bjay51d

thanks!glad to be here...I would attach a pic. Im not approved to make attachments

YNVDIZW124

MGW_300e...

It's the fault of the person in charge of the maintanance of the car. If i let you barrow my POS car and you crash because i forgot to change a sensor who's fault is it?

There are more than two people in this post that know what happeneds with a faulty ABS system so it's possible that his brakes did fail. Also it's not as much as the brakes failing but the ABS system pushing back on the pedal.

I kinda belive him because that happened to me when my abs system was connected and i had a bad sensor. I couldn't stop and went into the middle of an intersection, it was in a commericial zone so there where no cars around thank god.

I wouldn't belive him if he hadn't mentioned the ABS light turned on.

ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THE 300E

Is the cruise control lever, it's really easy to engage it and make your car take off without notice.

mgw_300e

I hear you, but i just find it odd that after only one flicker of the ABS light that someone could experience total brake system failure. The way it was described seems as though he was claiming the brakes failed, not that the ABS bucked his foot off the pedal or something like that:

Don't you think that sounds like "the brakes went out"? I'm no ABS expert, but it just doesn't add up, especially in the light of my experience with the fact that probably 10% of people at fault in car accidents try to claim "the brakes went out" because they think that somehow that means that the police will say "gosh, why didn't you say so, I guess it's NOT your fault then".

I just think it sound suspicious. There's an old saying:

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses - not zebras.

The more likely thing that occurred is that he was playing with the radio or his cell phone, and people just stopped in front of him and he wasn't paying attention and hit them.

I suppose it's possible that his brakes failed, it's also possible that those hoofbeats are from a whole herd of zebras instead of horses.

BTW, I am not trying to start any ***** with you OK?

YNVDIZW124

That dosen't sound like **** talking?

Well that happened to me and the brakes didn't really fail like when i push the pedal there was nothing, What happened was that i pushed the brakes but the pedal pushed back and i couldn't stomp on the pedal to make the car stop. It's weird but when it happeneds to you then you'll see what i'm talking about.

mgw_300e

I'm really not trying to give you a hard time. This specific issue is just one of those things that I have found to be really frustrating in the past. You know, when you're doing CPR on a kid with half a face left that just had his car (and head) crushed by some guy who's walking around saying "it wasn't my fault, my um, my brakes went out" and it's like the 100th person you've heard saying it and you're sitting right between the skidmarks the guy's "failed brakes" left on the pavement, it gets under your skin a little bit.

I guess it's just one of those things that gets me going.

I was not trying to argue with you or anything and I'd much rather shoot the ***** about 124s than worry about this nonsense, so if I pissed you off, I apologize. Any anger or frustration that came through in my posts were not directed towards you.

Friends again?

YNVDIZW124

...I wasn't mad or angry?...Just telling my story...I know what you mean so this topic can be looked at in different ways.


It's all good over here. lol...

mgw_300e

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