FrankTreb

I am having a lot of problems with the brakes on my car, has any one else had the same problems? of can any one tell me what they think is happening with my car?

I have a 08 ML 320 CDI with about 32K Miles on it. Today we have snow in Washington and I had to drive to the nearest shopping center. This is the first time I have driven this car in the snow. On the way there and back I almost had 6 accidents.

We only have about 5 inches of powdery snow and even though I was just driving 20 MPH I was not able to stop the car. Every time I hit the brakes the wheals jammed and the car went in every direction and there was no steering control.

My tires are the standard tires that come with the car and on the last checkup at the dealership a few weeks back they were doing just fine.

Since I have had the car there have been a few problems like the Climate Control Computer had to be changed the internal Fan Motors went out and had to be changed, the Low and High pressure fuel pumps have been changed, the sensors in the seats for the airbags have had to be changed, some kind of a rare computer module had to be changed and so on. I think MB has spent more money on my car then I have since I bought it.

Now I am unable to brake, even from very low speeds in the snow because the wheels lock up and the car starts going in every direction.

Has any one had a similar experience with their 08 ML 320 CDI. When it is working well it is the must fun car to drive but the list of problems seem to be going on and on and on.

Any advise / input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

sosh

If the wheels lock up its not the brakes. Most likely your tires combined with the road conditions were the issue. I bet you also heard/felt the ABS pulsing also. I have Continental tires on my 2010 ML550 and had them also on my 06 ML 500 and the previous 02 ML500. They in my estimation are excellent. We have similar snow conditions here as you have in DC and today was no exception. How many miles do you have on the tires?? What brand/type are they??

1st amg

Sounds like your tires may be the underlying problem, they may be very worn.

FrankTreb

Thank you very much for your response, I have the original Tires that came with the car. I had them checked and the Tred is not worn and they are good for another 20K miles, at leat that is what the dealer MB dealer told me. I talked to them and am taking the car in tomorrow. They told me something about the diesel having its own braking system that is not like the Gas version. They thought that it was possible that on one of the wheels the ABS as not working causing it to jam and that might be the reason why the car was going right in the front and left in the back. Please send me some more information on the Continental tires, would like to replace the original one any way after this experience. And yes I did feel the ABS go on and there was a lot of feedback from the ABS system the car was just sliding and when I used the brakes I was going less 20MPH. Non of the other cars on the road were having the same issue and my Audi A6 was working very well and that has 4 year old tires and brakes have not been changed for 2 years.
Thanks

sosh

First off I am willing to bet that the diesel braking system is the same as the gas cars. Second, if you felt the ABS pulsing the ABS system is working. Had you had an ABS problem you would have had an ABS light and the system would not work or pulse at all. Tell us how many miles you have on the car and what brand and type of tires you have. Many of the tires that are used by the factory last only 25 to 30000 miles before needing replacement. This is true for most all high quality all seasons tires on most any vehicle. I still say your issue is tires in fact I am almost 100% certain. The ML is excellent in the snow. I am on my 4th one and all have been.

Courage

It's simple: get dedicated WINTER TIRES !
The standard tires are market M+S, but they are useless in the snow. No control. The brakes are good, but with those tires... not even ceramic brakes can do something.

sosh

Dedicated snows are not necessary in his area of the country. I have had 4 ML's and all have had the OEM all seasons tires. I have never had an issue where I needed dedicated snows and the all seasons performed very well. My conditions are very similar to the OP's. The OEM tires are in fact not useless as you state. But his issue is not brakes as he thinks, it is tires!

roadrutz

FrankTreb: When you say the dealer told you the tires had another 20,000 miles on them, do you mean the salesman told you that before you signed on the bottom line? If so, I'm with sosh on this one and suspect your tires.

On the other hand, if the tires really do have another 20,000 miles of tread left, then you definitely need to get the braking system checked, as the symptoms you describe are not normal.

Please let us know the outcome.

lkchris

OE tires in most instances are good for 25K miles max.

dgiturbo

If you have the factory Continentals, and have at least 20000 miles on them, your tires are no good for snow. Get yourself a new set and your problems will go away.

The tire thread blocks will look like you have some miles left, but that is for dry roads. If you got 32000 miles from these tires, you are doing very well. I had to change mine at 25000 miles to be safe for winter, otherwise the ML would slide like a summer tire. With new Conti tires, I pulled a loaded utillity trailer through 18 inches of unplowed snow!

Now I run the Nokian WRG2 SUV tires and all is well so far.