DWP

On Tuesday 12/20 our '03 went in for SBC Recall II (The Sequel). Today, while my wife was driving, the car celebrated the one-week anniversary of the recall service with a dazzling triple-malfunction message display: "ESP Malfunction", "ABS Malfunction", and "BAS Malfunction". The three messages didn't go away; they played in constant heavy rotation while she drove the car to the local Mercedes "workshop" as instructed and left it there.

The service writer thought that maybe the car just needed to be rebooted, or reset, or burped, or whatever they do to resolve an electronic conniption. I wonder, though - since all three malfunction messages involve the brakes directly or indirectly, could SBC Recall II (The Sequel) be the cause of the MFD light show? I thought that SBC Recall II was a just a mechanical fix, involving a grounding strap, but might they also have applied some halber Esel software/firmware patch as part of the recall?

konigstiger

Ground wiring, wiring harness, bracket, hydraulic unit, and latest software.

csumt76

maybe just coincidence and the stop lamp switch failed....

DWP

I wish. The service tech left a message today, two days after my wife took the car in, that something called a "rear wheel-speed sensor" needed to be replaced. The replacement part isn't in Sacramento. It also isn't in Northern California, the western US, or New Jersey. It's in Germany. ETA, three to five "business days."

I've been pretty smug so far about the many reliability complaints posted in this forum because my car has been more-or-less reliable (conveniently overlooking the fact that it only has 19,000 miles on it). The honeymoon may be ending. It's one thing for a an essential ABS and ESP component to go bad at low mileage - stuff happens - and it's another thing entirely for the nearest replacement part to be in Europe. I've got 20 months left on my warranty. I'm wondering if I'm setting off on a road that makes multiple detours to the Mercedes service department and ends, 20 months later, at a Japanese car dealership. We shall see.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Actually 3-5 business days to receive a part from within the U.S is excellent time, let alone Germany.

Hope this little inconvienence don't steer you to the dark side.

DWP

Not any time soon. Another thing I conveniently tend to forget is that our deceased '97 BMW 528i, which I fondly recall as the best car we ever had, also had lots of warranty service items. Some of them were safety-related, too, and that car wasn't nearly as complex as our E500. So, I'm not going to draw any hasty conclusions about long-term reliability.

Anyway, the dealership gave us an '05 C230K schport sedan loaner to drive around in while the "business days" roll by. Not a bad car at all, if you overlook the tiny four-banger. Kinda cute, really, with mag-type wheels, a body kit and oversize exhaust pipe.

Randy B

Perhaps being in Orlando where everything is magical has put a different spin on things for me with regards to shipping. One of our other theme parks here is Sea World. We have a very large FEDEX, UPS, and DHL hub here as well. Whenever I am told by a supplier let alone a Service Advisor that a part will take more then two days for delivery, I remind them of Sea World. Somehow, they can call FEDEX and ship a Killer Whale around two thirds of the world in one day. So how come they cannot have one little box weighing less then two pounds shipped from another country within two days?

This has worked well for me over the years. Perhaps again, it's because we have pixie dust down here, who knows....

Randy

Jakpro1

New brakes on the way from Benz soon.....someday we'll all look back at SBC and laugh.......the ones that haven't died yet. This is actually pretty cool for me. It's like being wild during your mid-life crisis...."Look at me, I'm driving a 2 ton car and there's a better chance than not that my skydivers chute won't open....waaaa whoooooo" Hey, it's works....

BudC

Just so people don't get carried away, this was NOT an SBC failure. It could happen on my 300E if I didn't keep the ABS sensors free of dust. The only difference is that the W211 has better self testing.

HELL ONA HARLEY

You crack me up bro.... But on a serious note, aren't you one of those dudes who mod their car (e class) to make them go even faster and then take them to the track and race them????? Now thats funny!!!!!!

monstaloc

this just happen to me last night! the 3 banger error code that will not go away. HOw much was the replacement or was it covered under warranty? Does anyone know if the starmarked warranty will cover this? Thanks.

cdiken

My car displayed all three messages.

Steering wheel required much more effort at parking and low speeds.

Diagnosis and fix was wheel speed sensor.

My part took about 2 days to arrive, was around Nov of last year.

Ken

joe320nyc

i got the 3 light combo also after getting new bearings.. then i brought it back and got a lower control arm i wonder if its related? lights went away when i turned it on in the morning but i haven't tested it on the highway.. im sure they will be back once i hit 65 because that's when they popped up last time and my car decided to slow down by itself while i was accelerating.....??