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This is unbelievable, but it happened. When I mentioned it to the Mercedes dealer and sent the video, I got no response. Wondering if anyone else has seen this happen.
We returned from a weekend away on a snowy evening, and the battery was down to about 3% when we arrived home. So I realize that's somewhat of an edge case to start with. I usually don't let it get that low, and all the warnings had happened and were active.
I backed the car up to unload it on our slightly declining driveway. I turned the car OFF, everyone got out, and I popped the trunk and we unloaded the car, leaving the car OFF and in Park on the driveway.
After about 5 minutes of unloading, I came out of the house to find the car gone. I looked around and saw it sideways at the end of our driveway. Skid marks in the light layer of snow showed the car had hit the brakes at the bottom of the driveway (luckily!). Again, no one was in or near the car. My family was inside.
I checked the video on my driveway camera and found that the car had decided to start driving independently. And then near the bottom of the driveway, it had decided to hit the brakes. In the video (attached to this post) you can see that the wheels are turning as it goes down the driveway, so it's not like it slid (which wouldn't be possible - the driveway is barely inclined).
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by pbrosen
This is unbelievable, but it happened. When I mentioned it to the Mercedes dealer and sent the video, I got no response. Wondering if anyone else has seen this happen.
We returned from a weekend away on a snowy evening, and the battery was down to about 3% when we arrived home. So I realize that's somewhat of an edge case to start with. I usually don't let it get that low, and all the warnings had happened and were active.
I backed the car up to unload it on our slightly declining driveway. I turned the car OFF, everyone got out, and I popped the trunk and we unloaded the car, leaving the car OFF and in Park on the driveway.
After about 5 minutes of unloading, I came out of the house to find the car gone. I looked around and saw it sideways at the end of our driveway. Skid marks in the light layer of snow showed the car had hit the brakes at the bottom of the driveway (luckily!). Again, no one was in or near the car. My family was inside.
I checked the video on my driveway camera and found that the car had decided to start driving independently. And then near the bottom of the driveway, it had decided to hit the brakes. In the video (attached to this post) you can see that the wheels are turning as it goes down the driveway, so it's not like it slid (which wouldn't be possible - the driveway is barely inclined).
Any thoughts?
Hmmm... I wonder if it wasn't in Park for some reason when off but it should auto engage park when doors are opened or the hand brake wasn't on again it should auto engage.
Another possibility, clear ice might had been under the wheels and the tires lost traction and slid until it regained traction hence why it stopped. I don't see any brake lights engaging so it isn't the vehicles' autonomous braking system and you said the car isn't on so those sensors shouldn't be on anyways.
The car was definitely in Park. That car auto-engages Park when the car is shut off and/or when the park button is pressed. I had turned it off entirely because the battery was so low. It was there parked for between 5 and 10 minutes while we unloaded, unmoving on the slight hill. It would not have remained stationary without the brake on.
To your second point - I don't think it was black ice because if you look closely, the wheels are turning as it rolls down the driveway. If it were sliding on black ice, the wheels would be locked and the car would start going sideways much sooner. And there would have been skid marks, which there were not until the bottom of the driveway where it clearly skids. And honestly, the incline is not enough for a car to spontaneously start sliding down the driveway.
You are right that the brake lights don't come on when it skids at the bottom of the driveway. I hadn't thought about that, but it adds to the conundrum. I really think what happened is an electrical/software malfunction, possibly due to the low battery, whereby the emergency brake released for the period where the car rolls down the driveway, and then the emergency brake re-engaged at the bottom. That's the only way I can explain this.
We no longer own our 2023 EQS 450+
I won my lemon law case here in Florida and they took it back. We had so many software issues, it felt like the car was trying to kill us. It would decide randomly that the speed limit was 80 mph in a 60, or 40 mph on a 70 mph highway.
the car did not automatically go into park sometimes when it was shut off still in Drive. When I complained to the dealership, they said that you MUST put the car in park, that it will not shift into Park on its own. So even if you assumed that it was in park, it may be an incorrect assumption.
Thank you. I’m glad you won your case in FL. We too had terrible software problems initially. After several weeks in the shop for upgrades, it now sees to work reliably. Brutal process though.
Regarding your comment about the car going into Park when shut off - that sounds to me like the Mercedes techs trying to cover their asses. I’ve had the car for 9 months and it always puts the car in Park when I shut it off. I’ve never had to explicitly put the car in Park. It may be that there’s a bug that sometimes prevents this behavior. I’ve never seen that but it’s possible.
But - the fact remains that if the car were not in park during this incident, it would not have sat there on the hill with people jostling bags out of it for 5-10 mins before starting to roll. And even if this did happen, what then would it decide to engage the emergency brake after rolling for about 4 seconds? It just doesn’t add up, to me at least.
It slid down the hill. A good friend of mine was looking at a house up on a hill and was so proud how his Audi quattro climbed up the snowy / icy driveway only to come out of the house and find his car across the street.
I've watched the video a few times. It's frankly too dark to really tell, but during the first 3 seconds or so you can see the right rear wheel is not actually turning. Look at the circled reflection. It doesn't move as the car starts moving. The video is a bit stuttery at first giving the impression that the wheel is turning, but I agree with @MBNUT1 , it looks like friction gave way eventually and the car started sliding. It also does go sideways slowly even before the end of the hill if you look closely. Let me guess, you are on all-season tires. In the 5-10 minutes the car was sitting, the tires cooled down, the compound hardened and lost grip allowing the car to eventually start sliding.
Last edited by superswiss; 07-11-2024 at 03:31 PM.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by pbrosen
Wow that was fast, thank you for the response!
The car was definitely in Park. That car auto-engages Park when the car is shut off and/or when the park button is pressed. I had turned it off entirely because the battery was so low. It was there parked for between 5 and 10 minutes while we unloaded, unmoving on the slight hill. It would not have remained stationary without the brake on.
To your second point - I don't think it was black ice because if you look closely, the wheels are turning as it rolls down the driveway. If it were sliding on black ice, the wheels would be locked and the car would start going sideways much sooner. And there would have been skid marks, which there were not until the bottom of the driveway where it clearly skids. And honestly, the incline is not enough for a car to spontaneously start sliding down the driveway.
You are right that the brake lights don't come on when it skids at the bottom of the driveway. I hadn't thought about that, but it adds to the conundrum. I really think what happened is an electrical/software malfunction, possibly due to the low battery, whereby the emergency brake released for the period where the car rolls down the driveway, and then the emergency brake re-engaged at the bottom. That's the only way I can explain this.
You're welcome, sorry I wasn't able to help though was almost certain clear ice was the cause but if wheels were spinning then it definitely disengaged itself from Park.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by superswiss
I've watched the video a few times. It's frankly too dark to really tell, but during the first 3 seconds or so you can see the right rear wheel is not actually turning. Look at the circled reflection. It doesn't move as the car starts moving. The video is a bit stuttery at first giving the impression that the wheel is turning, but I agree with @MBNUT1 , it looks like friction gave way eventually and the car started sliding. It also does go sideways slowly even before the end of the hill if you look closely. Let me guess, you are on all-season tires. In the 5-10 minutes the car was sitting, the tires cooled down, the compound hardened and lost grip allowing the car to eventually start sliding.
Hmmm so my initial thought of tires losing traction surprisingly turned out to be right, then that is not the car's or Mercedes' fault, glad it wasn't a safety concern. Guess the vehicle did not have winter tires either?
I've watched the video a few times. It's frankly too dark to really tell, but during the first 3 seconds or so you can see the right rear wheel is not actually turning. Look at the circled reflection. It doesn't move as the car starts moving. The video is a bit stuttery at first giving the impression that the wheel is turning, but I agree with @MBNUT1 , it looks like friction gave way eventually and the car started sliding. It also does go sideways slowly even before the end of the hill if you look closely. Let me guess, you are on all-season tires. In the 5-10 minutes the car was sitting, the tires cooled down, the compound hardened and lost grip allowing the car to eventually start sliding.
Wow, good sleuthing. I had a Porsche Cayman slide one time on an almost flat driveway, but I had been caught w/ summer tires on during a surprise layer of ice in the fall.
Another factor could be warm tires from driving melting the surface of the snow/ice covered driveway, leaving zero grip. A thin layer of water on top of packed snow or ice changes everthing.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by streborx
Another factor could be warm tires from driving melting the surface of the snow/ice covered driveway, leaving zero grip. A thin layer of water on top of packed snow or ice changes everthing.
I've watched the video a few times. It's frankly too dark to really tell, but during the first 3 seconds or so you can see the right rear wheel is not actually turning. Look at the circled reflection. It doesn't move as the car starts moving. The video is a bit stuttery at first giving the impression that the wheel is turning, but I agree with @MBNUT1 , it looks like friction gave way eventually and the car started sliding. It also does go sideways slowly even before the end of the hill if you look closely. Let me guess, you are on all-season tires. In the 5-10 minutes the car was sitting, the tires cooled down, the compound hardened and lost grip allowing the car to eventually start sliding.
You know what @superswiss and @mbnut1 - I think you are both right. I spent a long time looking at that video when this first happened and convinced myself the wheels were moving. But I think all of your points about heated tires cooling, all weather tires (yes), point to the car sliding down the driveway. Thank you very much and I'm sorry for wasting anyone/everyone's time. I am relieved to know it wasn't the car deciding to take a spin without me!
Haha no - this happened during early Spring in the Boston area. It just took me a while to decide to post it. And I think you and others are right - I think it did slide down the driveway. Thank you for your response!
Yeah. TBH I would never leave my car like that in those conditions. Why not just drive it right into the garage.
@stealth.pilot Because space in the garage is too tight to easily remove bags from the trunk. Btw - the conditions were that it was warmish and it was the tail end of a late spring snowstorm. So while there was a new film of wet snow on the ground, the driveway underneath had been clear/dry prior to the storm and was not slippery. Which is one reason I did not think the car slid. That said, in the end analysis, I do agree with others on this forum that the car slid down the driveway.
Haha no - this happened during early Spring in the Boston area. It just took me a while to decide to post it. And I think you and others are right - I think it did slide down the driveway. Thank you for your response!
Just making sure lol. I know the weather is weird, but I didn’t think it was that weird!
@stealth.pilot Because space in the garage is too tight to easily remove bags from the trunk. Btw - the conditions were that it was warmish and it was the tail end of a late spring snowstorm. So while there was a new film of wet snow on the ground, the driveway underneath had been clear/dry prior to the storm and was not slippery. Which is one reason I did not think the car slid. That said, in the end analysis, I do agree with others on this forum that the car slid down the driveway.
Got it. I understand. I used to have difficult unloading in my old house which had a tight garage.
Just about everyone stores things in their garages. I think if builders build larger and taller garages, they can profit more from home sales, but public storage facilities will have less businesses. We hoard things by first instincts.
Just about everyone stores things in their garages. I think if builders build larger and taller garages, they can profit more from home sales, but public storage facilities will have less businesses. We hoard things by first instincts.
The issue with garage size is houses are getting narrower. When a house is only 40 feet wide, really the garage can only be 20 feet wide or it looks strange.
07-11-2024, 12:15 PM
