Hi

I spoke to a technician at MB head office in UK Friday and asked him about the recall. He confirmed 600,000 but said that mine is prob ok being almost new.
He said that the reason this is being done is that there have been instances with some taxis with high mileage where after around 300,000 brake applications the electronics on the brakes can get an error and this shuts them down. You still have the hydraulic brakes though. These taxi's run 24 hours and they just change drivers.

He also said that MB use taxi's to test new concepts etc. because they are in use so much.

I asked about MB taking away SBC and he said unlikely but they may redesign the system.

I asked him a lot of other questions about turbo lag etc and he was very knowledgeable about the E Class. He has given me his mobile number now so that I can easily contact him if I have issues.

 

The latest U.S. "Autoweek" (6/21) has an article on the upcoming 2006 S Class W221 revisions and mentions Sensotronic brakes:
"Mercedes' Sensotronic Brake Control is being reworked to incorporate fully hydraulic operation and a series of other features including a traffic-jam program that allows the S-Class to creep forward of its own volition using the parking sensors to judge the distance to the car in front."

I'm not sure what fully hydraulic operation means in this context, since the current E brakes are still fully hydraulic in operation but electronic in control. Maybe they are working in the safety and functional features (anti-skid, independent wheel skid sensors, etc.) while still maintaining an old-fashioned brake system for pedal activation.

 

600,000???? That seems an awful lot of vehicles. As I have previously stated the only Mercedes-Benz information I have managed to find is from Australia

Please note this extract is taken direct from the official Australian Mercedes-Benz website:



Mercedes asks owners of E-Class and SL-Class vehicles to bring their vehicles in to workshops


Since July 2002, the response of both customers and the media to the performance, comfort and convenience of the SBC system (Sensotronic Brake Control) has been very positive. The company has become aware of a small number of faults. These have been investigated with all due care and rectified as appropriate. In all of these few cases, the SBC system's additional hydraulic function mode ensured that it provided a level of braking efficiency which was still higher than the applicable legal requirements. In this mode, visual and acoustic signals warn the driver, who can then bring the vehicle to a stop with a longer pedal travel and greater force on the pedal.

Analysis showed that it was primarily vehicles with a high mileage in conjunction with very frequent braking (e.g. taxis in inner-city operation) which were affected. All owners of taxis in Europe have already been offered a free check of the SBC system, at which any faults are then rectified. As a further measure, a check has been included in the regular scope of maintenance servicing for all vehicles fitted with SBC.

As a precautionary measure and irrespective of mileage and servicing status, the company is asking all customers with E-Class Saloons (built as of March 2002), E-Class Estates (built as of March 2003) and SL-Class Roadsters (built as of October 2001) to visit an authorised Mercedes-Benz workshop for a free check."""

I believe Oslo has had his vehicle inspected, but I have not heard of anyone else who has received any notification????

This brilliant system is even fitted to the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR.

Regards,
John

 

I wonder if the 2006 E will get that same SBC revision - you would think it would be cheaper to have a uniform braking system across the model lineup.

 

Hi

Update

While I was at the dealer the technician checked to see if my car required the fix for SBC, being only about 13 weeks old. It did and was done there and then. Only took about 10 mins.

 

I received a letter two weeks ago and make my update last week, it takes 15 min.