Brakes ALERT
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 349
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From: Southern California
Some MBs & Bimmers
Brakes ALERT
Hello there
Happy '04 to ALL.
A little note for anyone who will be having their brakes worked on.
I finally had my car worked on by my dealer this past Tues and today, I went to collect it. The issue was with the high pitch whining and groaning of the SBC on my E.
The service advisor indicated everything was done and was road tested. Groaning and high pitch on my brakes should be dampered and furthermore, software updates were applied and therefore problem is fixed.
Felt happy about it and drove it home. Fortunately, I did not get onto the freeway but decided to detour and take a scenic route. Less than 3 miles from the dealer, my BRAKES FAILED. All kinds of warning popped up on my dash and I almost lost all brake control.
Almost had a major mishap before the arrival of 2004.
Thanks to the big guy upstairs, I was able to pull aside and called the dealer. Limped back to the dealer and they quickly looked into it. Long story short, the technician who worked on my car did not completely bleed my brake hoses when he worked on my brakes to install the damper.
Therefore, if you plan to work on your brakes, please make sure that the technician is complete with his work.
Don't let your brakes ruin everything.
Thanks for listening ....
Happy '04 to ALL.
A little note for anyone who will be having their brakes worked on.
I finally had my car worked on by my dealer this past Tues and today, I went to collect it. The issue was with the high pitch whining and groaning of the SBC on my E.
The service advisor indicated everything was done and was road tested. Groaning and high pitch on my brakes should be dampered and furthermore, software updates were applied and therefore problem is fixed.
Felt happy about it and drove it home. Fortunately, I did not get onto the freeway but decided to detour and take a scenic route. Less than 3 miles from the dealer, my BRAKES FAILED. All kinds of warning popped up on my dash and I almost lost all brake control.
Almost had a major mishap before the arrival of 2004.
Thanks to the big guy upstairs, I was able to pull aside and called the dealer. Limped back to the dealer and they quickly looked into it. Long story short, the technician who worked on my car did not completely bleed my brake hoses when he worked on my brakes to install the damper.
Therefore, if you plan to work on your brakes, please make sure that the technician is complete with his work.
Don't let your brakes ruin everything.
Thanks for listening ....
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 392
Likes: 0
From: Belgium
It must be that the mechanic skipped some parts of the bleeding routine because if one follows all instructions this simply cannot happen. In the Star Diagnosis program there are built-in control procedures for every kind of work at the SBC-system. One should always go trough those steps when working on SBC, if not one must confirm skipping the safety controls. I guess mechanics with brains do not just skip such things...
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 550
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From: San Antonio, Texas
04' E500 w/Appear. PKG, Panorama Roof
These kind of lapses can happen any time as we all know. Having had the lug nuts left loose enough to allow a wheel to wobble off in traffic as happened to me is also an accident. The point here really is that in 12 yrs of Lexus ownership I never had such an experiance, nor ever heard of one similar.
I think that Mercedes should recieve honest customer evaluations and cease this practice of encouraging or even bribing for the "Excellant" mark. How on earth are they ever going to deal with their failures as an organization if they refuse to acknowledge them?
I love my car and I can appreciate some of the trouble with cutting the edge technology, but leaving lug bolts loose or b rake lines unbled- I would expect better from even Midas or NTB. Just my opinion.
I think that Mercedes should recieve honest customer evaluations and cease this practice of encouraging or even bribing for the "Excellant" mark. How on earth are they ever going to deal with their failures as an organization if they refuse to acknowledge them?
I love my car and I can appreciate some of the trouble with cutting the edge technology, but leaving lug bolts loose or b rake lines unbled- I would expect better from even Midas or NTB. Just my opinion.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,295
Likes: 0
From: McLean, VA
S4
that's is very bad service 
and...you are a lucky man
so did they fix the groaning problem?? after what happened, would you recomment getting this done bcs the sounds SBS makes are quite irritating. do you have a service bulletin number??
and...you are a lucky man so did they fix the groaning problem?? after what happened, would you recomment getting this done bcs the sounds SBS makes are quite irritating. do you have a service bulletin number??
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 349
Likes: 0
From: Southern California
Some MBs & Bimmers
The experience was TERRIFYING. Imagine traveling around 45mph on a 4 lane boulevard and having the dash light up with RED lights everywhere and lost control of brakes. If I had gone on the freeway going at 70mph, and the brakes failed, I will not be here posting my Brake Alert to you folks.
As for the TSB that 'fixed' the problem, I don't have the number but it is there. I think some of the folks within this forum has had experience with this TSB. After getting the car back to the master mechanic and had the chance to speak with him, he indicated that MBUSA's fix to this was to install a damper that minimizes the vibration created when the SBC system recharges. So far, the groaning and high pitch whine has been minimized greatly. Also, not sure whether this is accurate on not, according to the Service Advisor, there were software updates for the SBC too but it only applies to earlier built 211s.
In any case, bleeding has to be done completely or else you will run into the same terrifying experience I had. Will report if there is any change of status to this fix.
Happy New Year to ALL
As for the TSB that 'fixed' the problem, I don't have the number but it is there. I think some of the folks within this forum has had experience with this TSB. After getting the car back to the master mechanic and had the chance to speak with him, he indicated that MBUSA's fix to this was to install a damper that minimizes the vibration created when the SBC system recharges. So far, the groaning and high pitch whine has been minimized greatly. Also, not sure whether this is accurate on not, according to the Service Advisor, there were software updates for the SBC too but it only applies to earlier built 211s.
In any case, bleeding has to be done completely or else you will run into the same terrifying experience I had. Will report if there is any change of status to this fix.
Happy New Year to ALL
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,398
Likes: 7
on the mb tech manuals site, if you read some of the procedures involving maintenance on these SBC brakes, they are daunting. you can't even change the pads without disengaging the system via the diagnostic computer.
