Brake by wire discontinued
Mercedes is said to be dropping the Bosch-developed Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC) by the middle of next year, with a conventional hydraulic braking system to appear on the CLS and facelifted E-class.
The brake-by-wire system is probably best known for causing two of the largest recalls in Mercedes history, with software to blame in the first and ominous “unspecified problems” triggering the second campaign. SBC was thought to be a significant competitive advantage when introduced four years ago, but quickly fell behind relative to technology advances in conventional brakes. Customers were said to be wary of the by-wire system’s reliability, and I don’t recall ever reading a review where the system received praise.
Will this mean that the future of brake-by-wire in general is in doubt? Certainly, this doesn’t bode well for any other manufacturer that’s looking to put the technology into production. In the auto industry, there’s typically little tolerance for failed attempts at early adoption.
Anyone care to comment?
We might as well drive the cars into the ground because their resale values will be worth something less then a pile of dung.
Why the hell am I dissing dung? At least you can dry the dung and use if for fuel......
The timing would have to be precise, if it would even be possible.
Anyone know if the W211 will lose SBC anytime soon?
BTW my brakes have been just fine, so maybe I'm paranoid, but if the car ends up being a "keeper"...over 5yrs+, I would hate to be stuck with SBC for fear of repair costs and inconvenience, and inoperative brakes.
Last edited by cdiken; Dec 13, 2005 at 02:52 PM.
1. DCX is deleting baaaad, bleeding-edge, unreliable technology, and so cars with said technology are less desirable and worth less.
1. DCX is saving money by cutting features, yet again, and so cars with the advanced technology being eliminated are more desirable and worth more.
Only time, as they say, will tell.
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I am close to pulling the trigger on my first Benz - an E350...this has me rethinking this.
Thoughts? Would it stop you from buying the product?
Concerning the "feel" of the brakes - the SBC did feel unusually "touchy" or sensitive at first, and difficult to modulate, but I got used to the feel in a few days and don't think of the feel as unusual now. Most of the automotive writers who complained in writing about the feel of SBC probably drove the car for only an afternoon.
The possibility of total failure? People here have reported total SBC failure, and I don't question their veracity, but if it were a frequent problem (like the Audi unintended acceleration of 20 years ago) then there would be something in the press about it. No corporate conspiracy could keep something like that quiet. Of course, once is too often if it happens to you, but the car will stop in the event of a total SBC failure; it just requires standing on the brakes really hard, or so I'm told.
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As for getting a non-SBC I-6... I would imagine it's all but impossible to time it, assuming one will even be available.
I am close to pulling the trigger on my first Benz - an E350...this has me rethinking this.
Thoughts? Would it stop you from buying the product?
It would certainly stop me. You have a completely new car coming out in 6 months ( the 2007 E-Class) and they're walking away from a major tech underpinning of the car. Also, your in the LAST YEAR of that car, it's going to drop in value like a stone.
I would definately wait!
Aceman
I took the car into the dealership and the techs quickly said, its the brake-by-wire system, this is a noise they make. Now this struck me as odd, why would MB install a system that makes a noise you can hear from both inside and outside of the car. Does anyone have experience with this? Or were they simply trying to pull something over me, and succeeded thus far?
Your help will be very much appreciated.
I took the car into the dealership and the techs quickly said, its the brake-by-wire system, this is a noise they make. Now this struck me as odd, why would MB install a system that makes a noise you can hear from both inside and outside of the car. Does anyone have experience with this? Or were they simply trying to pull something over me, and succeeded thus far?
Your help will be very much appreciated.



