This morning I experienced my first true emergency stop in my 05. I was on the freeway in rush hour traffic.. had just merged into the slow lane because I was approaching my exit, and was in close proximity to the car in front of me just as everyone else was. I glanced up at my rear view mirror to check traffic behind me and when I looked forward again, the cars in front had stopped. In my judgment at that moment, there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to stop and I totally expected that in about 5 seconds the front end of my car (and the rear of the car in front) would be wiped out. Naturally I slammed my foot to the floor, and all I can say is....WOW!! Not only did the car stop, but it did so with a foot or two to spare, completely straight and in control (although the tire screech probably woke a few people up). Of course, everything that wasn't tied down went flying forward, but I was stunned and very happy, to say the least.

 

Glad you are OK. You are right, this car has some serious brakes. I drive a lot of miles and had a few instances where I had to hit the brakes hard or evasively avoid an obstacle and the car always was there for me. In my opinion, it is in these circumstances where you really develop a bond with your car...

 

When I first bought my E, the brake pedal feel was very touchy towards the end of a stop. It was hard to modulate the last few inches of roll when stopping. After having the pulsation damper installed and also convincing them to flush my brake fluid (suggested by BudC) my pedal feel turned to normal and I was quite happy with it.

I had a couple of instances where I had to panic stop. I was amazed at how it literally saved me. Once was when someone in a truck ran a red light as I was approaching the intersection at about 40 MPH. I had my winter tires on and I was still able to stop much shorter than the Honda to my left that came within a foot of hitting the truck. We were both traveling at the same speed, but my car stopped about 10 feet before the Accord did. Seeing that the truck was coming from the right side, if I would have reacted like the Accord but in my lane, I would have had an impact. The thing that surprised me was the squealing noise my tires made along with the smoke that came up on either side of my car.

The other time was while driving on icy/ snowy roads. The SBC has all other systems BEAT HANDS DOWN when it comes to distributing braking power to each wheel while on slippery turns. I made a turn at about 25 MPH and saw that the warning triangle blinked, but thought nothing of it since I could barely feel any drift or ABS pulsation. Then I looked in my rear view mirror and I saw a Jeep Grand C. slide right off the road into the ditch. I made a U-turn to see if the driver was OK and their first words were "how come you made the turn and I slid right off?" Well she had nice snow tires on, so I credit this to a combination of the ABS, ESP and SBC combined.

All of these stories go unheard and don’t go to help the positive side of the SBC. Even after all I have heard about the failures of the system, I would rather take my chances with the SBC failing than crashing into another car or sliding off the road. I have had all the bulletins done on my SBC and my voltage regulator done. I am now waiting to get the ground cable done in a few months, but I am still a believer in the SBC and I have learned to love it.

Steve

 

I agree that there is way too much negative on this program. I really love it and not enough people give it the respect it deserves as it really can save your life, vehicle damage or injury. I would much rather take a trip to the repair shop than a trip to the hospital.

 

I still say that Mercedes are discontinuing it because of cost and liability concerns. If it wasn't sold in the U.S., they wouldn't be worried about liability.

I have yet to hear of anyone being seriously injured by an SBC failure but I have no doubt it's prevented a lot of injuries not to mention deaths. Since I drive my other car so much, it takes me a while to get acclimated to the brakes but my wife drives it all the time and thinks they are just fine.

I have had to get on those brakes a few times and the amazing thing is that the stops were completely uneventful. No excitement whatsoever. The car just comes to a stop.

You do need to keep an eye on the rear view mirror because whoever is behind you isn't likely to stop as quickly as you do.

 

Did anyone else see the current (February) 25th anniversary show of MotorWeek, the PBS car show? They ran videos of some of their new-car tests from the early '80s. The shots of panic-stop brake tests were astonishing. I had forgotten just how bad it was. Car after car would slue sideways by 10 or 15 feet, or spin 90 degrees. One even swapped ends, as I recall - and this was on dry pavement. Back then, there was no stability control, no ABS, nothing but the skill (if any) of the driver in pumping the brakes.

Mercedes isn't the only car with stability control or ABS, of course, but I have to agree that the extra stopping edge of SBC should outweigh the anecdotal reports of total SBC failure in any risk/benefit analysis of SBC. Total SBC failure - if it ever happens - isn't total brake failure, and anything that can make a car stop shorter and in a straight line can only be good.

 

I usually record Motorweek on my PVR and I did see that show last week. I also was amazed at just how unstable cars were in panic stops, not to mention that the average braking distance was about 170 feet! Back then, the MB models were that much further ahead of the competition since the cars stopped perfectly. I also think that the SBC of today is what the ABS of yesterday was to braking technology.

Steve

 

This is why they should raise the spped limits here (IMO). That speed limit is made for cars built when the Pinto was on the road...

 

If that statement isn't the height of denial and showing lack of concept in safe motoring I don't know what is.

 

L.O.L....I knew sooner or later one of our resident trolls would show up.....Just can't have a positive thread here without someone being a killjoy can we.

 

Forde still makes pintos...it's just disguised as suv and trucks. Till this day Fords are still blowing up, crumbling up when rolling over, catching fire and all that nonsense.

 

And men buy themselves a nice, safe European car and put their families into Ford Explorers

 

A couple of weeks ago there was a show on Speedvision that was a test drive of a number of AMG cars. Mika Hakkinen described and drove a CLS500. He commented on how well the SBC brakes were, especially the ability to brake in a turn. A couple of other drivers, including Klaus Ludwig also commented on the superiority of the SBC brakes. I know that they have saved me from being involved in an accident when another driver did not stop at a stop sign. My wife and I received bruises on our shoulders from the seat belts but that is a lot better than being in an accident.

 

You sound like the kind of person who reads everything on the internet and BELIEVES IT! The statement I made is from personal experience and NO! I am not in denial! You, however, are speaking totally out of place.

I am speaking about personal experience with MY SBC (something you can not say since you have NOT DRIVEN A CAR WITH SBC LONG ENOUGH TO EVER BE IN A PANIC SITUATION). I am attesting to the FACT that the SBC worked wonderfully in two instances. I should also point out that I have had many cars with great brakes like other Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Porsche. At the same time, all of the failures I have read about have been when certain bulletins were not done to the cars. Since I have had the BIG bulletins taken care of I am making the choice of keeping the car with SBC since I prefer the way is stops in panic situations.

mleskovar, once again I am not in denial here. You are the one speaking out of turn since (let me say this for the 5th time) YOU DON'T EVEN DRIVE A CAR WITH SBC AND YOU ARE JUST SCARED *****LESS BEACUSE YOU HAVE READ OF A FEW FAILURES. Before you post again, drive a car with SBC for at least one year and 15k miles and then write about it. You have no leg to stand on this matter until you speak from experience.

I should also mention that your assumption that I don’t know what safe motoring is groundless. Aside from me driving a W211, you know nothing about my driving skills and if that is what you are basing it on then you are personally insulting everyone on this board who drives a W211 (except you of course who drives a C). Then again, we all now know how you like to jump to conclusions about the SBC, so it is not surprising that you are jumping to conclusions about me personally.

So here is my conclusion about you: you drive a C class, right? Then that tells me that you are in the entry level of Mercedes and since you can’t afford the car you really wanted, a W211, you decided to harp on the SBC. Knock it so much so that the SBC rumors become fact (in your own little head) and you have convinced yourself that you don’t have a W211 because of the SBC and not because you can’t afford it.

Hopefully, my assumption is just as accurate as yours, but I have the feeling I might be accurate after all.


That is all there is to it!

Steve

 

You do tend to rant and get off subject. Calm down and start using facts. Opinions are not facts. I find it amusing that you have to defend your brakes at all. "If I didn't have SBC I'm sure I would have hit...." is your opinion, and you are entitled to it, but it is not a fact.
Why is it that there are no statistics available for SBC? Do you think MB would pass up the chance to advertise statistics that support it as a better braking system? And your reading is either selective or you just conveniently missed the posts about failures after all recalls were done. I don't need to drive the Pinto to know the gas tank explodes when hit from behind....do you?Drive an SBC equipped car for a year??? With my paranoia about the system it would be like playing Russian roulette every time I started the car. Try this fact......divide the number of people that have experienced going into backup brake mode with SBC and posted on just this 211 forum by the total number of people that have posted on it. Now try to find a failure rate anywhere near that percentage on any forum, any car, anywhere for a brake system. If it was a simple fix don't you think they would have figured it out by now instead of dropping it? If you want to believe it was a cost issue to make you feel better go ahead. Your statement "Even after all I have heard about the failures of the system, I would rather take my chances with the SBC failing than crashing into another car or sliding off the road." is what prompted my post/response and I still say it is irresponsible to play the odds when other people's lives are at stake. If you spent one tenth of the time trying to force MB to improve the backup system as you do defending it maybe something would get done. No matter how many recalls are done eventually the system will fail and go into a unsatisfactory backup mode...that is what you are denying. Now that SBC is a dead feature we can only look forward to parts wearing out, failing, and no improvements. On another forum there was talk of a class action suit over SBC, that's what needs to happen. And please, don't grovel in the "you really want this car but can't afford it" rant....that, and name calling, are what desperate people resort to on the web when they can't come up with a plausible response.

 

This says it all about your problem with SBC don't it...

Again, I ask you...... Show me one artcle or news report where SBC caused an accident or death.... Please don't post links to surveys or opinions, but documented "facts". Your personal "paranoia" and "facts" are based on reports here??? Again, without documentation (and I have seen none) that the system actually failed well, is rumors at best here on this forum or the net as a whole.... Why be a killjoy???? Face the fact that most all of us here like SBC. Your "paranoia" sounds a bit personal to me.

 

Well, I see you're back. How did you make out with your letter to Mercedes?

 

Name calling? What exact name did I call you? Read your first post and then my post and then read it again! Tell me what prompted you to insult me and all other W211 owners? This was a thread stating personal experiences that people have had with their SBC systems (that of course you have now decided to start debunking without ever being there or knowing much about the SBC).

I seriously don't know what got into you to turn this thread about positive brake experiences into the usual SBC bashing that you love to do. Since you suggest figuring out the math to get a percentage of SBC failures to prove it is bad, why don't you do it yourself? You are the one that wants to prove us all wrong and go as far as calling us things comparable to "reckless" because we drive W211s. The burden of proof is on your side. Go do the research and then do the math. I am sure we will all like to see it.

The main reason I am really questioning your motives here is because you have constantly spoken without personal experience of the system. I still find it very had to take advice or the opinion of a person who drives a different car than what this forum is about. Just in case you forgot, this is the W211 forum. Do you have or drive one? No, of course not, you say that you will not because it is like playing Russian roulette. What facts are you basing this on? Tell me that this comparison is not jumping to conclusion while at the same time giving a ridiculous reason for not wanting to drive the car. Then again, the E class does cost a little bit of money and driving it might not be possible for you.

I have decided to let you rant and rave on your own, but I truly suggest that you grow up and stop jumping to huge conclusions. These include saying that I have no regards for "safe motoring" a made up fact from you along with saying that my accident avoidance or close calls that I have had must be wrong. Again, I know what I know, but I guess you must know better, you were there right?

As per me calming down, I guess you are once again thinking that I must be excited about something. Don't confuse stern words with excitement and don't try to be a "one man school." Most of Us W211 owners know what safe motoring is and are a quite civil and responsible group who has much more respect for others than you show on your posts. I have not seen ANY W211 driver get on your C class forum to post on the short comings of your car (especially ones that are blown out of proportion like you have the SBC).

I suggest that you keep a very close eye on your rear-view mirror and thank God every time a W211 has safely come to a stop behind you. Also, look out on both sides of each intersection you drive cross, there might be a W211 that is approaching the red light waiting to have a SBC failure looking for you!

Steve

 

Once again! You have a way to use fewer words and get the point across.

Bud C, this is also for you!

Isn't your W211 mostly driven by your wifes? Did you check that extra box on her life insurance policy? You know the one that raises the premium if she drives a car with SBC? If you did then it is only a matter of time before you will hit pay dirt!

Steve

 

L.O.L....... Yea, the e500 is my ol'lady's.... and I ride the real death trap.... L.O.L....

 

Hey wait a minute, there’s an extra box?

 

mleskovar,
Heres some math for ya.... Perhaps a million plus cars sold in the U.S with SBC??? Probably safe to say 10% of them are in your back yard in So.Cal probably more???? With this info and the fact that SAguirre pointed out in his previous post about all the defective E's and your saftey, well its safe to assume that your Phuuuuuuuucked. L.O.L.....

Sell your car and buy a bus pass before its to late!!!!!

 

Never left. Sorry about the 'poor man's scanner'.....

 

So until it's reported that someone died or is hurt there's no problem? Smart thinking. Numerous posts by owners sharing their brake failures..and yes, accidents...are all phony? Killjoy? Only when it comes to safety. Don't you wish someone would improve your brake backup system so the car can stop safely or would you rather pretend nothing is wrong? Rhetorical question.

 

Never said you called me a name, there goes your selective interpretation again. If you were insulted by me pointing out that a statement quoted from you showed lack of concept of safe motoring that's too bad and live with it. Anyone who would rather have a feature that aids in directional stability over taking a chance on not stopping a car in time deserves to be called on it. You obviously are gambling that it either won't fail for you or if it does you won't be in a position to hurt anyone.