DJE55

Took my E55 out to work today. Had a nice drive, I was out seeing a couple of different customers. I'm driving along at about 80mph thinking, God I love this car. Then, all of the sudden my computer starts screaming at me "Brake Failure Stop the Car". I don't really panic to much (still thought I had some brake left), I'm on I95 and it's fairly open. I start to pull off on the shoulder and I really have NO BRAKES. NONE! The pedal goes to the floor and the car does nothing. I coasted to a stop and call roadside for help. After waiting a couple of hours for a tow, the truck shows up and now I can't get the car in neutral to let him pull it onto the flat bed. He had to call in another truck and it took over an hour for him to get there. My car just clicked 1100 miles. I wouldn't have ever thought the brakes would fail me so soon. Oh well what's 3.5 hours on the side of the road. At least I didn't wreck this thing. For what it's worth, I still love my car. Have any of you guys had anything like this happen to you? Sorry for the long post.

DJ

Kar don

wow, I don't think I could ever have faith in the car again if that happened to me. I love the idea of the SBC braking system but seeing that this isn't the first time I have heard this happen worries me.

vrus

That is a damn scary thing to have happen.. I dont know what I would do after an incident like that.

Count your blessings.. Glad you walked away without incident.

I would be all over MB about this. This is the 3rd story I have read so far about brake failure and I came close to selling my car each time. I do alot of high speed driving and this is the type of thing that scares me the most.

I know that MB put a backup brake system in the car in case the hydraulic one failed.. I cant believe that you lost both systems.

Let us know what happens once MB looks at your car.

Best of luck!

DFW01E55

It might be helpful to contact the NTSB, but first tell the dealer you're doing it. That may motivate them to be more compliant if you demand a replacement.

adx

There is a recall on updating the software for the brakes. I wonder if this has anything to with your brake failuer. By the way, I brought my car for this recall fix and have problems with the battery draining. See my post on "Continuous battery drain" https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/100773-continuous-battery-drain.html

vdubpower

Brake Failure Stop the Car


thats a genius line

vinamg

Let's not forget that this is what emergency brakes are designed for. There is no hydraulic system that is 100% full proof.

Kar don

vinamg that is an excellent point. I am not sure how else you would come to a COMPLETE stop without the e-brake. The car will just keep rolling for a long time... even in neutral.

VelocitE55

Holy *****! Man you are lucky you were not in a congested area. It could have been so much worse! I am curious to see what the outcome of this situation is. If something like that happened to me, I dont think I would ever stop worrying about the problem returning.

DJE55

I do feel lucky that it happened when and where it did. I didn't really have too much problem getting the car pulled off the road safely. I just down shifted and I was heading up hill slightly so it stop fairly easy. I'll keep you guys posted with what MB tells me the problem is.

nasdaqsam

WOW, what else can be said?

Either you are one extremely cool person or this story is B.S.

Let me get this straight. You spent $ 85,000+ on a car. You have only 1100 miles on it. You are driving at 80 MPH and find out you have "NO BRAKES". and all you have to say is, I'll wait to see what MB says? Has this ever happened to you guys? Man I would shove that car up somebody's *** real quick like. I know people that get madder than you seem to be over a cold dinner.

I would be out of mind crazy if that ever hapened to me. I'm sorry if I am wrong here but there is NO EXCUSE, NONE....PERIOD for losing brakes on any car much less one of this level.

DJE55

Don't get me wrong, I'm not excited about this happening. I just love this car that much. I was a little pissed off that it happend and that I was stranded on the side of the road but what are you going to do. I'm not selling my car over it. I was on my cell phone talking to a customer when it happend and he didn't even know that anything was going on. No need to panic, I'm on I95, 4 lane highway. I had plenty of room to stop.

Jakpro1

Wow, that really is my worst fear come to life!

Lemme ask you guys....you are cruising in traffic and this happens. You see cars stopping in front of you and this same thing happens.

Question....is the emergency brake manually connected or is that too connected by wire.

I guess that would be your only hope huh? Jam it into low and apply the emergency brake best you could....otherwise get ready for a read ender.

I am stunned and have always wondered about that.

cte430

Wow. As someone else said, I also do a lot of high speed driving. I'ts not my daily drive, so when I do drive it It's usually for fun. Have hit 160 a few times, and I would not want to see that message!!

Let's see how good your dealer is. They should offer to replace the car no questions asked.

DJE55

Why would they offer to replace the car? I wouldn't think they would give up a car that easy. Also, I bought the car used with 600 miles on it. Would that make a difference with how the dealer would handle the problem? What do you guys think?

nasdaqsam

Where and when it happened is irrelavant.

-It could have happened at 30 MPH in a school zone with 30 kids in front of you. Then what? What if one of those kids was your kid?
-It could have happened at a time when the I95 was packed which it usually is. Then what?
-It could have happened to someone else had you not bought that particular car, possibly a mother driving with the kids. Then what?
-It could have happended in any number of very dangerous situations.

That is what I would be mad about and fixing the car would be out of the question if it was mine. If you like the car that much at the very least I would demand a another car. I would never drive that car again.

Several years ago I had a new 36' motor home that quit for no reason on a trip back from Myrtle Beach S.C. on I 95 at 5:00 A.M traveling at 70MPH. I was practically the only vehicle on the road. I stopped and had it towed to a repair facility to be looked at. They could not duplicate the problem or find it's cause. I had it towed back to my home (1000 miles away) and proceeded to get it returned under lemon law as I had no intentions of putting my family or anybody else at risk for a problem that I could not control. I lost because I could not get the vehcile to replicate the issue. Not satisfied with that decision I started a letter writing compaign that lasted 6 months. I found out who the vice presidnet and president of the company were and made a thousand phone calls to find out how to contact them. I did and got them to replace the motor home at no cost to me. To be honest I never fully trusted the new one either and sold it last year.

cte430

Are you kidding? My dealer offered me a new car because it stalled a few times in stop and go traffic and I mentioned "gee, I hope it doesn't happen when i'm doing 80".

Let me backup a second. If they can find a definite cause and fix it then no, they probably would not (although if it were me, I'd still demand a new one) If however they say they can't find anything than a good dealer should take the car back. You've documented a catastrophic brake failure once. What happens if God Forbid, it happens again and you're not so lucky next time? You think they want to deal with that? IF they give you a hard time, that's the tact I would take.

I've said it a million times. The only thing that matters in times like this is how good your dealer is. You can write all the letters to MBUSA you want. Without the dealers support you get no where.

nasdaqsam

Used with 600 miles on it. Maybe it's not the first time it has happened to this particular car.

And yes the dealer should replace it. No questions asked. It's not the dealer that is going to take the hit. It is MB itself. I would think MB would send a field rep to that car ASAP and find out exactly what happened and why.

nasdaqsam

I do not agree with this. Dealer or not, it would crazy for MB to ignor this issue. Keep in mind two brake systems failed. Not one but two. Unexceptable.

If and when this issue is found, if I had one of these cars I would want mine checked out right away.

DJE55

I have cars with a lot more power than my E55 and have been in a lot worse of situations. I have an old Mustang with 700hp and the throtle stuck wide open on me. You shut the car off, fix the problem and move on. I agree that this could have been a lot worse but, it wasn't. I could go through my day and say what if a million times but it doesn't do me any good. If you think you could have a problem with the motor, trans, computer etc... Why does it shock you to see the brakes have a problem. Anything can go wrong with these cars. Don't be shocked when it's something major. Read any autoweek and you'll see cars being recalled every month for a major problem that could kill someone. It's life and sh*t can happen at any moment. If they fix the car that's really all I can ask for. I think? Like I said I do agree with you that it could have been a lot worse and I'm thankful that it wasn't.

DJE55

I will talk with the dealer today and see what they find. I agree that if the problem can't be pin pointed that they should take the car off my hands. The car was a dealer car and has no service record with any problems.

nasdaqsam

I think you are missing the point. Yes things can and do happen all the time. However brakes have redundent systems to stop things like this from happening. Not many things can fail on a car and have the effect of losing brakes at 80 would. Even if you lose a wheel at that speed you still come to a stop. No brakes and you are a missle. Even if you are as calm about this as you claim then have a little compasion for the ones you may injure should this happen again.

As for the Mustang. I to have older fast cars (Vettes) which I maintain as best I am able but when I drive one I treat it as if it is a 35 year old car with a lot of horsepower and I am very cautious of where and when I decide to play with it a little, with the knowledge things casn and will happen. Which is usually on a track somewhere. An $85,000 dollar brand new car should not have this kind of issue. It is unexceptable.

I would be very surprised if they do not call in a filed rep and replace the car. Very surprised. This should with out a doubt go over the dealerships head.

Jakpro1

I thank you for your input DJ and am thankful to have you on board, but on this one I gotta disagree.

One point I am gonna make and that's it. My brother in law is a big shot in Progressive's Western US region and he always tells me one thing. You ever rear end someone in THAT car, you better have insurance AND a blanket policy on top of that. We as near 100K$ car owners are "the poster children" for injury lawyers. DJ, if the brakes failed and you plowed a creep who wanted to get 7 figures, you would hand over that Mustang to him, the Benz etc......

Don't forget, if they sue for a Mil and you only have 500,000....you pick up the rest my friend. My brother in law has told me stories of how the Insurance company loses in court, hands over a check to the injured...excuse me...their attourney and when you ask...what about the 250,000 that is still owed and you will be promptly told...sorry for ya. That's my only point DJ. I actually have your mentality, you just roll on and keep your head up, but on this issue, I would raise H&ll!!!

DFW01E55

The 600 miles fits the profile of one of the AMG Challenge cars from last year. The cars are pounded on each stop of the Challenge tour.

That shouldn't matter, if the price was right I'd buy one but I think this problem may have been experienced by other owners of AMG Challenge cars.

For the record, it's a half educated guess on my part.

And Jakpro makes a point on laibility that should not be overlooked. Their attorney will say, "you had this problem before and yet you went out recklessly speeding (black box retrieval) again and plowed into my client, killing a wife and child."

Look at the worst case, their lawyer will.

deaguero

DJe55: I resently experienced the battery drain problem after the brake recall. I tried to called MBZ roadside service with my in car MBZ emergency call system but the battery was dead. I had to use my cell phone to get roadside service.
There are major issues with these "electronic brake Software systems" and you could be the real victim here both personally and financially! Drill down deep with MBZ and even consider hiring an attorney on this one! Good luck !!!