Gethen

Had total breaks failure happen to me today. ABS malfunction message appeared within 3 minutes after I drove off to work, a few seconds later dashboard display flashed the red STOP NOW message. I was doing 25mph, going through the neighborhood and could stop safely.

There was no resistance in the break pedal, opened the hood to find break fluid reservoir empty. No idea how that could have happened. I'll post technicalities when I hear more from the service department at the dealership. I am thankful not to have been in an accident today.

rieger

Question is will you have confidence in the car to drive it again when it is fixed or will you trade it in for another MB?
Good to hear that you are ok and didn't get in accident. Would have been scary if you were on a highway. Did you have all the recall and tsb's applied to the SBC prior to this failure?

Gethen

I followed up on all recalls. Actually had the rear breaks worked on last Nov., replaced pads and such.

I've seen a couple of older threads about SBC being the culprit in breaks failures. Seems like you are thinking I've had a similar issue. I'll surely let everyone know.

Being on the highway, in dense traffic, would be bad. But it happened in a residential neighborhood, I always see kids on bikes here. This perspective freaks me out. I think I'll drive the car again, might keep it for a couple more years. Not sure I trust the brand anymore.

BudC

If you're out of brake fluid, can you explain how that could have happened? It might not have anything to do with SBC.

I wonder is the dealer screwed up and the results are just now appearing.

Gethen

Perhaps a crack in the lines or the booster cylinder. It had to be sudden. I don't believe break fluid can evaporate gradually. It is a high-pressure system, so any sloppy work done month ago would have become apparent sooner.

I am not a professional, though. All I know- I didn't hit any objects, nor had done extreme driving. Maybe you are right- then I'm going to rip them a new one.

emilner

A slow drip would not be very apparent and would take some time to bleed out. I had a similar experience with an early 80's Bronco quite some time ago. The reservoir was empty and the brake pedal hit the floor, but with pumping I was able to get some pressure. It turned out to be a leaking bleed screw on the caliper.

mbuskuhl

- brakes not breaks

emilner

Sheesh, talk about hitting a guy when he is down...

rodE350

you are right.....but still funny though

emilner

Maybe he was metaphorically saying the brakes broke, hence 'breaks'

Gethen

You are too kind -I clearly cannot spell

BudC

Neither can I and I often wonder how I survived 35 years with IBM without Spell Check.

Gethen

Word from the service department, is that the Hydraulic Controller failed. Failed how? It is an "internal failure" and the guy couldn't explain more. The Controller is supposed to be covered by 10 year, unlimited miles warranty.

Does this mean the E-class becomes hazardous after 10 years of use Just in case, I asked the service guy to give me all failed parts.

glojo

Makes me smile when I see the poor old SBC instantly getting the blame, but what system would work when it run out of the required fluids?

I note the Maybach and SLR still use this excellent anchor system.

John the SBC fan
from sunny Torquay

Barry45RPM

I would assume MB would want the bad parts back if they were replaced under a warranty, to either "rebuild" or take apart to see what failed & why. The parts are exchanged for the consumer. At the very least the stuff can be recycled for some money by the dealer or manufacturer.

If you were paying (buying) the replacement parts then the removed ones would be yours.

Just a guess.

Barry45RPM

If the system were good, safe and cost effective, it would still be in mainstream, mass market vehicles like the '07 E Class. But MB chose to remove it from the E as of 2007. There MUST have been a real reason. I guess the other 2 cars are sold in such limited numbers, it doesn't pay (cost effectiveness, again) to re-engineer a replacement conventional system for them.

BTW John... my '07 E 550 is a joy to own, and problem free! 3,000 miles on the odometer.

konigstiger

Check your PM.

sklasse

How Did You Stop Your Car?

Gethen

With LUCK. Some residual pressure remained in the system to apply the brakes , but barely...

rieger

hydraulic controller is that part of the SBC system?

rieger

Actually just got a letter from MB and the SBC system is correctly blamed for this failure because the letter reads:
"To further support you, Mercedes-Benz will extend the warranty on the hydraulic pump within the SBC/electro-hydraulic brake system to 10 years with the unlimited kilometres from the vehicle start date"
"This extended warranty does not cover any other SBC/electro-hydraulic brake system component and standard warranty terms......"
So if the mechanic is telling you that it is covered under the 10 year warranty than it is most likely that he means the sbc hydraulic pump failed since if it is not the pump it would not be covered under warranty.
Mechanic probably said controller to deflect attention from the pump. But the 10 year warranty clearly states that other parts are not covered and only the pump is.

Diesel Benz

The car has a mechanical (hydraulic) backup system, but no brake boost with the emergency system, hard to reach strong deceleration then.

I cannot see how it could have had a slow leak, this should have been seen by a warning light for low brake fluid. Must have pumped the fluid out along with the failure?

Is there any possibility that the rear brakes were fixed with incorrect parts, making the brake cylinders come too far out and leak?

Gethen

How could I find out?

Diesel Benz

There should have been brake oil at the rear cylinders, the dealer should have recognised this. I guess it only could have happened from a too worn rotor and/or very thin brake pads (but new pad cannot be too thin). And even worn rotors with new pads should work better than old (even if the old ones were OEM) pads before the rear service.

The leak must have been elsewhere. Since I assume you did not get any low brake oil warning before the big bang, the brake oil must have disappeared from the broken SBC pump, I wonder if that is possible?

PS. did you get some detailled info from konigstiger, could you let me know the document numbers (PM if you don't want to put them here), I'd like to learn what I should watch after on my W211.

konigstiger

MBUSA Department Manager Warranty Services: The SBC “Hydraulic Unit” (control module/ pump/pressure reservoir) extended limited warranty applies to all conditions that warrant the replacement of the SBC Hydraulic Unit under the standard warranty terms and conditions.