Another Brake problem
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
From: Sweden - Europe
E320 CDI -04
Another Brake problem
I discovered a quite dangerous problem on my car a couple of days ago.
I was hitting a roundabout at a little bit higher than normal speed during wet.
I was quite stressed so I pushed the throttle a little bit more half way thru the roundabout. And what happens? ESP starts to blink and at the same time ESP locks my rear brakes.
This results in a wide drift.
( Thank God for all those laps around nürburgring)
I managed to keep the car on the road and dit not crash I was surrounded by good drivers who gave me some room and thinking what kind of idiot I was
Later the same day I found a big empty parking lot and started to test the system. These are my problems:
When I hit the brakes as hard as i can going forward. I have no ABS on the rear wheels.
With ESP on it locks the rear wheels if the car starts to skid
With ESP off it locks the FRONT wheels if the car skids.
What is wrong with my car? I have no error messages in the cars onboard computer.
Thank you for your help.
I was hitting a roundabout at a little bit higher than normal speed during wet.
I was quite stressed so I pushed the throttle a little bit more half way thru the roundabout. And what happens? ESP starts to blink and at the same time ESP locks my rear brakes.
This results in a wide drift.
( Thank God for all those laps around nürburgring)I managed to keep the car on the road and dit not crash I was surrounded by good drivers who gave me some room and thinking what kind of idiot I was
Later the same day I found a big empty parking lot and started to test the system. These are my problems:
When I hit the brakes as hard as i can going forward. I have no ABS on the rear wheels.
With ESP on it locks the rear wheels if the car starts to skid
With ESP off it locks the FRONT wheels if the car skids.
What is wrong with my car? I have no error messages in the cars onboard computer.
Thank you for your help.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,494
Likes: 334
From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
ESP on or off, none of tyres should get locked. Something wrong with the brakes. Could it be brake cylinders stuck, or stiff? The rear brakes might continue braking slightly even if brake pressure is released? When the rear is light (from braking) and the road is slippery, only a small force can cause a wheel lock.
I've seen comments that ESP could cause slip on snow or slippery roads like wet roads but they really work on ice and snow, better than a good driver would be able to drive (a professional rally driver might do it better, depending on the case, even a professional rally driver cannot brake individual wheels separately). ESP should normally actually prevent a case like yours (not exactly like your case but if you had been driving too fast and the grip would not have been sufficient). Well, if you have practiced at Nürburgring, perhaps you also know how it works on snow.
I've seen comments that ESP could cause slip on snow or slippery roads like wet roads but they really work on ice and snow, better than a good driver would be able to drive (a professional rally driver might do it better, depending on the case, even a professional rally driver cannot brake individual wheels separately). ESP should normally actually prevent a case like yours (not exactly like your case but if you had been driving too fast and the grip would not have been sufficient). Well, if you have practiced at Nürburgring, perhaps you also know how it works on snow.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 352
Likes: 1
From: fl
1992 500E, 2006 E500, 2007 GL 450
Interesting. While driving on a deserted rural road, I failed to anticipate a left turn, I jammed on the brakes and cut hard to the left. The front wheels pulsed and the rear wheels locked and skidded. The car came around about 180 degrees before I regained control. Coming from an M3 for which such a turn would have been a piece of cake, I chaulked up to the fact I hadn't recalibrated my driving to a luxury sedan. I never thought that the rear wheels should not have locked under any circumstances.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 15,901
Likes: 4,630
From: North Scottsdale, AZ
'71 Pinto
With ESP off it locks the FRONT wheels if the car skids.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
From: Sweden - Europe
E320 CDI -04
I was at my local dealer today and they hooked the car up to the MB computer to see if there was any fault codes. But there was nothing, everything is fine according to the computer.
I found out that my battery in the trunk is for only 70Ah, shouldn't it be 100Ah? Or maybe it doesn't matter?
The ABS system doesn't lock up the locked wheel at the rear. And if one wheel is starting to spinn or loose it grip the brakes should reduce it speed and then lock it up. It only lockes the wheel.
I found out that my battery in the trunk is for only 70Ah, shouldn't it be 100Ah? Or maybe it doesn't matter?
The ABS system doesn't lock up the locked wheel at the rear. And if one wheel is starting to spinn or loose it grip the brakes should reduce it speed and then lock it up. It only lockes the wheel.
