Weird Braking Problem, Dash lit up / error messages and lack of brakes. Advice needed
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,052
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From: PHX/PIE/OMA ---> Yes, all three
E55 then E63, now back to an E55
Weird Braking Problem, Dash lit up / error messages and lack of brakes. Advice needed
Tooling down the road like normal, then a very strange occurrence of events.
Have fairly new (def good enough) brake pads, rotors, etc.
1. E-brake light in clock display lit up (red, "brake")
2. In tach, ABS light (orange) lit up
3. In instrument cluster, displayed message "ESP malfunction"
4. That almost immediately changed to large red background message with stop sign, saying "STOP. Reduced braking power. Depress brake pedal firmly."
5. Engine RPMs jumped up to 4000 and stayed constant there - I was not on gas!
6. Heard a loud whirring sound from engine bay, kind of like a pump or tank or something? I'm really not exactly sure. Not the radiator fan though.
7. Had very little brakes, went almost to floor and very spongy feeling.
Slowly pulled into turning lane off highway, brakes were terrible. Steady red "STOP - Reduced braking power" message in cluster.
Turned off car, cluster then changed to "STOP. Brake Failure! Start Engine"
Ignored it, waited 2-3 minutes, restarted - and almost the strangest thing of all, nothing seems to be wrong now. Runs and drives fine..... Any ideas ? Thanks
Have fairly new (def good enough) brake pads, rotors, etc.
1. E-brake light in clock display lit up (red, "brake")
2. In tach, ABS light (orange) lit up
3. In instrument cluster, displayed message "ESP malfunction"
4. That almost immediately changed to large red background message with stop sign, saying "STOP. Reduced braking power. Depress brake pedal firmly."
5. Engine RPMs jumped up to 4000 and stayed constant there - I was not on gas!
6. Heard a loud whirring sound from engine bay, kind of like a pump or tank or something? I'm really not exactly sure. Not the radiator fan though.
7. Had very little brakes, went almost to floor and very spongy feeling.
Slowly pulled into turning lane off highway, brakes were terrible. Steady red "STOP - Reduced braking power" message in cluster.
Turned off car, cluster then changed to "STOP. Brake Failure! Start Engine"
Ignored it, waited 2-3 minutes, restarted - and almost the strangest thing of all, nothing seems to be wrong now. Runs and drives fine..... Any ideas ? Thanks
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 1
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2005 SL500
Tooling down the road like normal, then a very strange occurrence of events.
Have fairly new (def good enough) brake pads, rotors, etc.
1. E-brake light in clock display lit up (red, "brake")
2. In tach, ABS light (orange) lit up
3. In instrument cluster, displayed message "ESP malfunction"
4. That almost immediately changed to large red background message with stop sign, saying "STOP. Reduced braking power. Depress brake pedal firmly."
5. Engine RPMs jumped up to 4000 and stayed constant there - I was not on gas!
6. Heard a loud whirring sound from engine bay, kind of like a pump or tank or something? I'm really not exactly sure. Not the radiator fan though.
7. Had very little brakes, went almost to floor and very spongy feeling.
Slowly pulled into turning lane off highway, brakes were terrible. Steady red "STOP - Reduced braking power" message in cluster.
Turned off car, cluster then changed to "STOP. Brake Failure! Start Engine"
Ignored it, waited 2-3 minutes, restarted - and almost the strangest thing of all, nothing seems to be wrong now. Runs and drives fine..... Any ideas ? Thanks
Have fairly new (def good enough) brake pads, rotors, etc.
1. E-brake light in clock display lit up (red, "brake")
2. In tach, ABS light (orange) lit up
3. In instrument cluster, displayed message "ESP malfunction"
4. That almost immediately changed to large red background message with stop sign, saying "STOP. Reduced braking power. Depress brake pedal firmly."
5. Engine RPMs jumped up to 4000 and stayed constant there - I was not on gas!
6. Heard a loud whirring sound from engine bay, kind of like a pump or tank or something? I'm really not exactly sure. Not the radiator fan though.
7. Had very little brakes, went almost to floor and very spongy feeling.
Slowly pulled into turning lane off highway, brakes were terrible. Steady red "STOP - Reduced braking power" message in cluster.
Turned off car, cluster then changed to "STOP. Brake Failure! Start Engine"
Ignored it, waited 2-3 minutes, restarted - and almost the strangest thing of all, nothing seems to be wrong now. Runs and drives fine..... Any ideas ? Thanks
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,052
Likes: 2
From: PHX/PIE/OMA ---> Yes, all three
E55 then E63, now back to an E55
Steve,
No I did not...
I haven't been driving the car much, but when I do, it hasn't done the error message. I never got it looked at yet....
No I did not...
I haven't been driving the car much, but when I do, it hasn't done the error message. I never got it looked at yet....
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,242
Likes: 7
From: Canada
2004 E55 AMG
I was at the dealership to get a full check up of my car and asked the foreman that is the hydraulic pump noise means it's near it failure
"he goes , the car is 2004 and it's normal for it to make a little noise, if the pump fails , you will get the errors that you just described above ^^ press hard and all "
but I am not sure about the rpm problem.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,692
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none
SBC brake system failure possibly?
The SBC pump is covered by a 10 year warranty on the 03-04s.
Another reason to upgrade/shop around for 05-06
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...nit-aware.html
The SBC pump is covered by a 10 year warranty on the 03-04s.
Another reason to upgrade/shop around for 05-06
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...nit-aware.html
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Newbie
Joined: Jan 2013
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cls 500
I'm having the same problem. I changed my brakes today and now all of a sudden I'm getting this code of Reducing brake power and depress the brake pedal fully. Like mentioned I thought I did a great job as I have multiple cars that I work on. I think I'll try and change the sensor as I did not have a new one on hand. Hopefully that saves me a trip to the MB dealership.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,066
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From: Folsom, CA
2005 E55 AMG
Last edited by Toadster; May 19, 2013 at 11:24 AM.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 3
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2006 e500 4matic
2006 Mercedes e500 4matic - get the reduced braking power message while driving on the road - car loses power and takes longer distance to stop - I pull over, stop and restart and regular braking power works - also get the depress brake fully message - how do you fix this problem?
