Jun 9, 2015, 04:19 PM
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'03 E500 SBC Pump Replacement Out of Warranty
Junior Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
E320 v6 w21e320 2004 w2111 2004
guys i have the white normal notification that say service brake visit workshop.
ive taken it to a specialist that said it needs to be reprogrammed and he checked it and said the hydraulic unit is ware'd and if he resets it and reprograms it it will maximum take you 2 years but not a guarantee thou, what do you guys think shall i buy a new one from ebay for $900.00 and take it to mb to change it or theyll say they wont cover the guarantee for it?, need help afraid on a road trip it might defect and it will ruin my long trip, thank you guys in advance.
ive taken it to a specialist that said it needs to be reprogrammed and he checked it and said the hydraulic unit is ware'd and if he resets it and reprograms it it will maximum take you 2 years but not a guarantee thou, what do you guys think shall i buy a new one from ebay for $900.00 and take it to mb to change it or theyll say they wont cover the guarantee for it?, need help afraid on a road trip it might defect and it will ruin my long trip, thank you guys in advance.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
E320 v6 w21e320 2004 w2111 2004
the car is a e320 elegance 2003, with a 190,000 kilometeres, and ive taken it to an indie said the sbc show in the system, the brake fluid is good with the right level, brake pads changed and new.....if i buy a new sbc pump my self instead would the dealership change it for me or what?
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 204
Likes: 2
E320
the car is a e320 elegance 2003, with a 190,000 kilometeres, and ive taken it to an indie said the sbc show in the system, the brake fluid is good with the right level, brake pads changed and new.....if i buy a new sbc pump my self instead would the dealership change it for me or what?
Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 81
Likes: 5
From: USA
2018 C300 Coupe
What code did the mechanic get when he scanned the car? That will tell you exactly what needs to be done. No-one on this forum will tell you it"s a good idea to have the sbc pedal-actuations counter reset via some sort of software tweak. You're gonna have to decide that one on your own. As far as the dealership installing an ebay purchased sbc unit in your car, ask the dealership. No one here can answer those questions for you.
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
E500
Mercedes are a pure class act !
I purchased an E500 over a year ago not knowing that there were a recall on the SBC unit ! I called Mercedes corporate office and was told that it wasn't nothing that they could do about this safety problem ! Why create a vehicle and not knowingly that it will have this major problem ! It should have been a lifetime warranty because the new units may have the same problems ! Mercedes are not loyal to their customers regardless of warranty, expired warranty, or just a simple defect problem within their company such BS !
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 271
Likes: 17
From: NYC and LI
2004 Mercedes E500, 2008 Mercedes ML350
And they don't HAVE to be expensive to repair.
The fact is that if you take it to someone who is used to working on them, most things are fairly-straightforward to work on. You don't use Prestone antifreeze, you SHOULD use the special Mercedes antifreeze. But you only have to change it once, maybe twice, the entire life of the car. So the small extra expense for the Mercedes stuff is no big deal.
If you have Airmatic, yeah the dealer parts are expensive. So you buy the Arnotts, which basically are not. And if you have someone who knows their way around the car, putting in the Arnott front struts or rear bags is a $200 labor charge. If you need an alternator, you don't buy the $1000 dealer one, you buy a remanufactured one at Pep Boys or PartsGeek for under $150 with a lifetime warranty. If you need a MAP Sensor, you buy the Bosch one on Amazon for $25. If you need a battery, you don't buy the $350 one at the dealer and pay them $200 to install it, you buy the (better than OEM) Autocraft Platinum AGM H8 at Advance Auto Parts for under $150 with an online coupon and they put it in for free. If you need a brake job, you don't spend $1500 at the dealer, you take it to Pep Boys and get the Akebono Ceramic brake parts for under $500, or to my independent shop and get the Textar (OEM on Porsche and Audi) brake parts installed for even less. If you need an oil change, you get the super-special "fleece" filter from Mann or Hengst from Amazon for under $11, and you find a decent garage who will sell and install the Mobil 1 0W-40 Euro at an affordable price, usually around $100. When you need tires, you buy the good ones, but you get them from someplace like Costco or Pep Boys or a good local shop that sells tires at a fair price and doesn't charge a premium for mounting them. (Most dealers sell the tires for just a little more than others do, but then charge $50 or more per tire to put them on.)
These are all things I have done with absolutely no reduction in the quality of parts used or performance of the car. I need the brakes and battery and suspension and engine all to perform the way MB intended them to, and I never will skimp on quality. But I also will ferret out the best source of parts and competent folks who don't overcharge to install them.
Like my fabulous Indy, Michael Singh at Cove Tire in Sea Cliff, NY, who spends a lot of time doing little things like finding the sway bar bushings from Febest for $40 when that's all he needs to replace, rather than spending $350 at the dealer for the whole sway bar assembly (which is all they sell). If you can find a mechanic who is honest and will do these things for you, then you don't need to come on this forum and learn all the little tricks that you can learn from places like MBWorld.
For most things, this car is not hard to work on. It doesn't need to be super-expensive. You just have to be a little creative about how you go about repairing it.
And although it sucks that the brake unit is going to need to be replaced at some point, on a 10-year-old car, even a Chevy, so are other things. If you get the part from HuskerParts.com for $800, rather than getting it at the dealer for over $1500, it's a more manageable expense. If you bought a Chevy used and Aamco told you that you needed a $1000 transmission job, you would chalk it up to bad luck (rather than stupid sourcing of work) and bite the bullet and pay it rather than whining like everyone is doing about how awful Mercedes is.
The fact is that if you take it to someone who is used to working on them, most things are fairly-straightforward to work on. You don't use Prestone antifreeze, you SHOULD use the special Mercedes antifreeze. But you only have to change it once, maybe twice, the entire life of the car. So the small extra expense for the Mercedes stuff is no big deal.
If you have Airmatic, yeah the dealer parts are expensive. So you buy the Arnotts, which basically are not. And if you have someone who knows their way around the car, putting in the Arnott front struts or rear bags is a $200 labor charge. If you need an alternator, you don't buy the $1000 dealer one, you buy a remanufactured one at Pep Boys or PartsGeek for under $150 with a lifetime warranty. If you need a MAP Sensor, you buy the Bosch one on Amazon for $25. If you need a battery, you don't buy the $350 one at the dealer and pay them $200 to install it, you buy the (better than OEM) Autocraft Platinum AGM H8 at Advance Auto Parts for under $150 with an online coupon and they put it in for free. If you need a brake job, you don't spend $1500 at the dealer, you take it to Pep Boys and get the Akebono Ceramic brake parts for under $500, or to my independent shop and get the Textar (OEM on Porsche and Audi) brake parts installed for even less. If you need an oil change, you get the super-special "fleece" filter from Mann or Hengst from Amazon for under $11, and you find a decent garage who will sell and install the Mobil 1 0W-40 Euro at an affordable price, usually around $100. When you need tires, you buy the good ones, but you get them from someplace like Costco or Pep Boys or a good local shop that sells tires at a fair price and doesn't charge a premium for mounting them. (Most dealers sell the tires for just a little more than others do, but then charge $50 or more per tire to put them on.)
These are all things I have done with absolutely no reduction in the quality of parts used or performance of the car. I need the brakes and battery and suspension and engine all to perform the way MB intended them to, and I never will skimp on quality. But I also will ferret out the best source of parts and competent folks who don't overcharge to install them.
Like my fabulous Indy, Michael Singh at Cove Tire in Sea Cliff, NY, who spends a lot of time doing little things like finding the sway bar bushings from Febest for $40 when that's all he needs to replace, rather than spending $350 at the dealer for the whole sway bar assembly (which is all they sell). If you can find a mechanic who is honest and will do these things for you, then you don't need to come on this forum and learn all the little tricks that you can learn from places like MBWorld.
For most things, this car is not hard to work on. It doesn't need to be super-expensive. You just have to be a little creative about how you go about repairing it.
And although it sucks that the brake unit is going to need to be replaced at some point, on a 10-year-old car, even a Chevy, so are other things. If you get the part from HuskerParts.com for $800, rather than getting it at the dealer for over $1500, it's a more manageable expense. If you bought a Chevy used and Aamco told you that you needed a $1000 transmission job, you would chalk it up to bad luck (rather than stupid sourcing of work) and bite the bullet and pay it rather than whining like everyone is doing about how awful Mercedes is.
Last edited by wjcandee; Mar 31, 2015 at 01:53 PM.
Super Moderator
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,295
Likes: 22
From: VA
THE C350
I purchased an E500 over a year ago not knowing that there were a recall on the SBC unit ! I called Mercedes corporate office and was told that it wasn't nothing that they could do about this safety problem ! Why create a vehicle and not knowingly that it will have this major problem ! It should have been a lifetime warranty because the new units may have the same problems ! Mercedes are not loyal to their customers regardless of warranty, expired warranty, or just a simple defect problem within their company such BS !
And they don't HAVE to be expensive to repair.
The fact is that if you take it to someone who is used to working on them, most things are fairly-straightforward to work on. You don't use Prestone antifreeze, you SHOULD use the special Mercedes antifreeze. But you only have to change it once, maybe twice, the entire life of the car. So the small extra expense for the Mercedes stuff is no big deal.
If you have Airmatic, yeah the dealer parts are expensive. So you buy the Arnotts, which basically are not. And if you have someone who knows their way around the car, putting in the Arnott front struts or rear bags is a $200 labor charge. If you need an alternator, you don't buy the $1000 dealer one, you buy a remanufactured one at Pep Boys or PartsGeek for under $150 with a lifetime warranty. If you need a MAP Sensor, you buy the Bosch one on Amazon for $25. If you need a battery, you don't buy the $350 one at the dealer and pay them $200 to install it, you buy the (better than OEM) Autocraft Platinum AGM H8 at Advance Auto Parts for under $150 with an online coupon and they put it in for free. If you need a brake job, you don't spend $1500 at the dealer, you take it to Pep Boys and get the Akebono Ceramic brake parts for under $500, or to my independent shop and get the Textar (OEM on Porsche and Audi) brake parts installed for even less. If you need an oil change, you get the super-special "fleece" filter from Mann or Hengst from Amazon for under $11, and you find a decent garage who will sell and install the Mobil 1 0W-40 Euro at an affordable price, usually around $100. When you need tires, you buy the good ones, but you get them from someplace like Costco or Pep Boys or a good local shop that sells tires at a fair price and doesn't charge a premium for mounting them. (Most dealers sell the tires for just a little more than others do, but then charge $50 or more per tire to put them on.)
These are all things I have done with absolutely no reduction in the quality of parts used or performance of the car. I need the brakes and battery and suspension and engine all to perform the way MB intended them to, and I never will skimp on quality. But I also will ferret out the best source of parts and competent folks who don't overcharge to install them.
Like my fabulous Indy, Michael Singh at Cove Tire in Sea Cliff, NY, who spends a lot of time doing little things like finding the sway bar bushings from Febest for $40 when that's all he needs to replace, rather than spending $350 at the dealer for the whole sway bar assembly (which is all they sell). If you can find a mechanic who is honest and will do these things for you, then you don't need to come on this forum and learn all the little tricks that you can learn from places like MBWorld.
For most things, this car is not hard to work on. It doesn't need to be super-expensive. You just have to be a little creative about how you go about repairing it.
And although it sucks that the brake unit is going to need to be replaced at some point, on a 10-year-old car, even a Chevy, so are other things. If you get the part from HuskerParts.com for $800, rather than getting it at the dealer for over $1500, it's a more manageable expense. If you bought a Chevy used and Aamco told you that you needed a $1000 transmission job, you would chalk it up to bad luck (rather than stupid sourcing of work) and bite the bullet and pay it rather than whining like everyone is doing about how awful Mercedes is.
The fact is that if you take it to someone who is used to working on them, most things are fairly-straightforward to work on. You don't use Prestone antifreeze, you SHOULD use the special Mercedes antifreeze. But you only have to change it once, maybe twice, the entire life of the car. So the small extra expense for the Mercedes stuff is no big deal.
If you have Airmatic, yeah the dealer parts are expensive. So you buy the Arnotts, which basically are not. And if you have someone who knows their way around the car, putting in the Arnott front struts or rear bags is a $200 labor charge. If you need an alternator, you don't buy the $1000 dealer one, you buy a remanufactured one at Pep Boys or PartsGeek for under $150 with a lifetime warranty. If you need a MAP Sensor, you buy the Bosch one on Amazon for $25. If you need a battery, you don't buy the $350 one at the dealer and pay them $200 to install it, you buy the (better than OEM) Autocraft Platinum AGM H8 at Advance Auto Parts for under $150 with an online coupon and they put it in for free. If you need a brake job, you don't spend $1500 at the dealer, you take it to Pep Boys and get the Akebono Ceramic brake parts for under $500, or to my independent shop and get the Textar (OEM on Porsche and Audi) brake parts installed for even less. If you need an oil change, you get the super-special "fleece" filter from Mann or Hengst from Amazon for under $11, and you find a decent garage who will sell and install the Mobil 1 0W-40 Euro at an affordable price, usually around $100. When you need tires, you buy the good ones, but you get them from someplace like Costco or Pep Boys or a good local shop that sells tires at a fair price and doesn't charge a premium for mounting them. (Most dealers sell the tires for just a little more than others do, but then charge $50 or more per tire to put them on.)
These are all things I have done with absolutely no reduction in the quality of parts used or performance of the car. I need the brakes and battery and suspension and engine all to perform the way MB intended them to, and I never will skimp on quality. But I also will ferret out the best source of parts and competent folks who don't overcharge to install them.
Like my fabulous Indy, Michael Singh at Cove Tire in Sea Cliff, NY, who spends a lot of time doing little things like finding the sway bar bushings from Febest for $40 when that's all he needs to replace, rather than spending $350 at the dealer for the whole sway bar assembly (which is all they sell). If you can find a mechanic who is honest and will do these things for you, then you don't need to come on this forum and learn all the little tricks that you can learn from places like MBWorld.
For most things, this car is not hard to work on. It doesn't need to be super-expensive. You just have to be a little creative about how you go about repairing it.
And although it sucks that the brake unit is going to need to be replaced at some point, on a 10-year-old car, even a Chevy, so are other things. If you get the part from HuskerParts.com for $800, rather than getting it at the dealer for over $1500, it's a more manageable expense. If you bought a Chevy used and Aamco told you that you needed a $1000 transmission job, you would chalk it up to bad luck (rather than stupid sourcing of work) and bite the bullet and pay it rather than whining like everyone is doing about how awful Mercedes is.
Last edited by samaritrey; Mar 31, 2015 at 02:34 PM.
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Newbie
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
w211
w211 need recall
I have an 03 E500 and the white/blue "BRAKE - visit workshop" screen popped up two days ago. Then yesterday the red screen with "BRAKE - reduced braking power etc..." came up. My pads are not worn out (and I know the indicator for worn pads is slightly different than what I've seen on the screen). I have had the brake switch replaced in the past. I also just re-checked the switch for continuity and it appears to be working fine so unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the issue. I dropped it off at the dealership today. The dealership is still diagnosing the issue, but I'm guessing that my problem may be with the SBC pump that MB is warranting for 10 years/unlimited miles. Problem is, my car is 2 weeks older than 10 years. 
My dealer informed me that MB has recently been more stingy with goodwill warranty repairs (dealer BS?) and that I was unlikely to get the problem approved to be fixed under warranty if it is indeed the SBC pump. They are quoting me ~$2000 if it is the pump.
My question is, what can I do and/or who can I call to possibly push for a goodwill warranty repair? I am planning on calling the MB customer care line tomorrow (they were closed for the holiday today). Does anyone else have any suggestions?
Thanks.
My dealer informed me that MB has recently been more stingy with goodwill warranty repairs (dealer BS?) and that I was unlikely to get the problem approved to be fixed under warranty if it is indeed the SBC pump. They are quoting me ~$2000 if it is the pump.
My question is, what can I do and/or who can I call to possibly push for a goodwill warranty repair? I am planning on calling the MB customer care line tomorrow (they were closed for the holiday today). Does anyone else have any suggestions?
Thanks.
