xolinlevh

So last night I was driving to the airport to pick up my mom, crusing into the airport loading area (no cruise control so dist+ was off) no cars infront of or behind me, in the middle of my lane, when out of nowhere i get the collision alert beep, red flash on the dash, and the car slams on the breaks. Was only for a split second, but more then enough to drop my speed significantly and make me jerk forward in my seat and have the seat-belt tighten. Has this happeend to anyone before? What could cause this? As i said above i didnt have Dist+ on, and was in my lane so the driver assist shoulnt have kicked in for any reason....random fluke or sign of a problem?

WEBSRFR

Do you think it might have anything to do with the radar at the airport? Some airports also have ground radar specifically aimed towards the ground to track planes on the tarmac. Maybe the car received a radar emission from the airport and thought it was a vehicle. I think even when Distronic is off, the collision radar is still on so that just before you are about to hit something it can slam on the brakes.

Does anyone know what if any has been implemented to avoid radar reflections or spoofing from a secondary source interfering with the operation of this system. Unfortunately if this system is not built with some authentication/verification built in, someone with not so good intentions can likely cause your car to be rear-ended by triggering the radar controlled panic braking from a distance.

xolinlevh

hmm, sounds possible? Though the road i was on is low down, between a 7 story parking ramp and the main terminal, not sure if the radar would bounce over that far?

CEB

PM me the particulars and I'll see if there was anything unusual going on at the airport then.

xolinlevh

you haz PM

CEB

Got it. It might be a few days before I get a response though.

ghstudio

If you think the airport radar set off an automatic panic stop of your car....you first call should be to NHTSA because that is incredibly unsafe. After that call and an official complaint, it's time to approach mercedes.

Imagine if you were in heavy traffic approaching the airport.....wow!!!!

I would rather think that you have a serious problem in your electronics...but the fact that this could happen at all is of more than a little concern.

WEBSRFR

If it's one thing radar can do, it is reflect Since you said nothing else was around, and you were close to the airport, I thought it could be radar emissions from the airport. Radar and radio waves does strange things. There is a high definition TV tower in a certain part of Washington DC and it renders my keylessgo completely inoperative if I am parked anywhere near that radio tower...

I would still report this to the dealer though so they are aware. If the car initiated panic braking, it might have stored a code as to what caused it. I would have them check out your Distronic system.

You definitely don't want this happening on the highway and get rear-ended or have a very angry person behind you who might think you slammed on the brakes on purpose for no reason!

YYZ-E55

Are you sure the brakes applied automatically? I've had the same thing happen when driving an S-Class (beeping, seat belt pre-tensioners engage) but the brakes did not automatically engage.

Perhaps you were startled by the beeping/pre-tensioning and you hit the brakes instinctively?

WEBSRFR

PS: This reminds me of one incident I think in the New Jersey area. For months the airport had strange issues with their radar going out for brief period of time and they had no idea what was causing it. They eventually tracked down the airport radar issues to a guy driving around with a GPS jammer so his company could not track his truck... The GPS jammer actually brought down the airport radar for brief period of time...

I would definitely file a report with NHTSA as suggested and also have Mercedes/dealer check your car.

If anyone is interested in the airport incident, check out:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/do-3...onal-security/

xolinlevh

quite sure, it all happened at the same time, my foot wasnt even on the brake, and it only lasted a half a second or so....i know my foot went for the break right after it let up as i had no clue what was going on, but i KNOW i didnt cause it.....


Calling the dealer after i get off work today to see what they say too

WEBSRFR

Regardless of what the dealer says, have them check the car and file a report with Mercedes so they know this happened and there is a paper trail... God forbid this happens again in heavy traffic you can at least make a case that you notified Mercedes of this issue.

CEB

Agreed. You should report this to MB and to NHTSA

BenzV12

This is really funny indeed
Electronics may cause weird things to happen but I could not expect airport radar devices can interfere with your car's electronics

What's even stranger is the gps jammer's story

Let's see what it turns out to be

xolinlevh

have an appointment after work tomorrow at my dealer. hope its not anything too bad =/ hate driving loaners!

pinipig523

Hope you figure this out.... good luck. GOod thing nothing happened.

xolinlevh

Thanks Have an appointment today at 5, hope they can figure it out quick, supposed to take my mom out for birthday dinner at 6:30, if they make me take a loaner im demanding the SLR

WEBSRFR

This is not something you should rush. Insist they plug the car in and try to determine what caused panic braking to initiate and have this formally reported to Mercedes as a fault. Have you filed a report with the NHTSA?

As for your loaner, ask for an Aveo so you can appreciate your life and car when you get back in your car

xolinlevh

Im at the dealer now and they are looking at it. Not sure what they are doing yet but will ask when they come back to talk to me more. Got to sit in the SLR, god tha engine sounds amazing, $270k.....I want to pull the trigger

BenzV12

SLR is a hyper car better looking than SLS but SLS has more connections to the past and bondage to the legendary gullwing

Well, if I had to buy two doors my choice would be A207 E 550 not those exotic girl pickers even though I like to impress girls lol

xolinlevh

A) SLR sold
B) they looked at the records in the car. No errors but it had "events" and they said it was likely something generated radar interference (nice call guys). They cleared the memory so if it happens again there will be a clear note of it

ghstudio

Radar interference = serious safety hazard = NHTSA report.

PHML

have your pre-safe collision system checked out.

BenzV12

Good to see that glitch was found

ImInPA

When I think of the hundreds of E class taxis lined up at airports worldwide, it is hard for me to imagine that any automotive system is affected by ground radar at an airport. That the dealer agreed with this is simply astonishing. I would definitely report to NHTSA, better business, state department of transportation, local news papers, etc. The frequencies used by FAA are completely different from any radar used in the E class or any other car. It sounds like the dealer found nothing at all. Pardon my grumpiness this morning, but, this sounds like BS.