2001 MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 Complaints

MAKE-MERCEDES-BENZ YEAR 2001 SUV ML320 IT BRAKES BY IT SELF WHILE IN MOTION: IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL DEALER HE CLAIMED THAT THE BRAKE CONTROL DEVICE HAD MALFUNCTIONED HE PUT A NEW ONE AND AFTER DRIVING FOR A WEEK IT AGAIN BRAKED IT SELF WHILE I WAS DRIVING VERY DANGEROUS I WAS LIKE I WAS DRIVING VERY SLOWLY COMING OUT OF THE PARKING LOT. CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHETHER THERE HAS BEEN ANY OF THIS KIND OF REPORT ON THIS CAR? *TR

MERCEDES BENZ HAS A SERIOUS DESIGN AND QUALITY CONTROL PROBLEM. WHILE DRIVING THE BRAKE SWITCH FAILS CAUSING THE CRUISE CONTROL TO ACCELERATE. THE MERCEDES BENZ SERVICE MANAGER AND LEAD MECHANIC BOTH ACKNOWLEDGED AND EXPLAINED THIS PROBLEM TO ME NOTING THAT CURRENT MODELS COULD SUFFER FROM THE SAME DESIGN AND THEY'VE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THEIR VENDOR PROVIDING FAULTY BRAKE SWITCHES. I WAS DRIVING MY 2001 ML320 WITH CRUISE CONTROL AT 60 MPH. I TAPPED THE BRAKE TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL AS I WAS EXITING THE FREEWAY. THE CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE. I BRAKED HARDER AND THE CAR INCREASED ACCELERATION TO THE POINT OF ALMOST OVER POWERING MY EFFORTS TO BRAKE. I WAS PANICKED SO I STEPPED ON THE PARKING BRAKE, PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, THE ENGINE RACED HARDER AND HARDER, AS I PULLED OFF THE ROAD AND PUSHED THE GEAR SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL AND TURNED OFF THE CAR. THE SERVICE MANAGER AND MECHANIC EXPLAINED THAT BY DESIGN IF THE BRAKE SWITCH FAILS THEN THE CRUISE CONTROL WON'T TURN OFF AS IT'S SUPPOSED TO WHEN YOU APPLY THE BRAKE PEDAL. FURTHERMORE THE CRUISE CONTROL SENSES THAT THE CAR IS SLOWING DOWN BECAUSE I WAS BRAKING SO IT INCREASES THE ACCELERATION TO GET THE CAR BACK UP TO THE CRUISE CONTROL SET SPEED. THE MORE YOU BRAKE THE MORE THE CRUISE CONTROL WILL FORCE THE CAR TO ACCELERATE. THE MECHANIC SAID THE SOLUTION WAS TO MANUALLY TURN OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL, BUT I WAS SO PANICKED THAT THOUGHT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME. IF IT WAS MY WIFE OR 16 YEAR OLD SON DRIVING THEY WOULD HAVE CRASHED THE CAR. THE SERVICE MANAGER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT MERCEDES BENZ IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THEY FIXED MY BRAKE SWITCH FOR FREE AFTER HEARING MY SCARY STORY. I TOLD THEM I THOUGHT THEY SHOULD HAVE A RECALL TO FIX THIS DESIGN PROBLEM. THE DESIGN SHOULD INCLUDE A SECONDARY BRAKE SWITCH OR SOME TYPE OF AUTOMATIC CRUISE CONTROL TURN OFF FUNCTION. *TR

2001 MERCEDES ML320 BRAKES WOULD ACTIVATE THEMSELVES AT ALL SPEEDS. ESP/BAS LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND TRIANGLE WARNING LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AT 70+ MPH LOCKING BOTH BACK WHEELS ALMOST CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO GO OUT OF CONTROL. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE, AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, FIRST TIME AT 45 MPH, SECOND AT 5 MPH, THIRD AT 25 MPH, THE ESP - ELECTRONIC SLIP PROTECTION SYSTEM WOULD ENGAGE IN MY 2001 MERCEDES ML 320 AND BRING ME TO A GRINDING HALT BY AUTOMATICALLY PUMPING THE BRAKES WHILE MY FOOT WAS ON THE GAS. THIS COULD VERY WELL HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I WENT TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY REPLACED THE COMPUTER CHIP UNDER THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT WERE UNCERTAIN OF THE CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. -250$ INSTEAD I TOOK THE CAR HOME TO SEE WHO ELSE COULD WORK ON THE YAW SENSOR AS THEY CLAIMED TO BE SENDING THIS FAULTY SIGNAL. AS SOON AS I LEFT THE DEALER IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THEY WANT ME TO GO IN FOR AN OVERHAUL ON THE ESP/BAS SYSTEM FOR NEARLY 2000 DOLLARS. *TR

MY 2001 MERCEDES ML320 SUV DEVELOPED A DEFECT IN THE IGNITION SWITCH, WHEREBY THE KEY CAME OUT WHILE THE CAR WAS NOT IN THE PARK POSITION. IN JUNE 2009, THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY AND IGNITION TURNED OFF. I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE KEY CAME OUT WHEN THE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL INSTEAD OF PARK. AFTER A WHILE THE CAR ROLLED BACKWARDS AND HIT A NEIGHBORS CAR AND THE GARAGE DOOR OPPOSITE MY DRIVEWAY. I REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO MERCEDES AND THE DEALER SAID THAT THE DEFECT CANNOT BE COVERED FREE BY THE MANUFACTURER AS THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. I PAID ALMOST $1000 TO GET THE IGNITION SWITCH DEFECT FIXED. *TR

MY NAME IS [XXX] AND I JUST HAD A SMALL ACCIDENT ON JUNE 08TH, 2010 IN PHOENIX AZ. IT INVOLVED MY 2001 MERCEDES BENZ ML320. FACTS: ON JUNE 8TH, 2010 I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH ON THE FREEWAY (HOV LANE) WHEN THE FRONT RIGHT WHEEL LOCKED. THE BRAKES JUST ENGAGED WITHOUT WARNING AND OR ME ACTIVATING THEM. LUCKILY I THE PERSON BEHIND ME WAS ABLE TO SWERVE TO AVOID ME BUT STILL CLIPPED THE LEFT SIDE OF MY REAR BUMPER. I BELIEVE I'M LUCKY I DID NOT CAUSED OR SUSTAINED ANY SERIOUS INJURY. I TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL MERCEDES BENZ DEALER FOR SERVICE AND THEY TOLD ME IT COULD BE MANY THINGS WRONG. MB KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM WITH THE MB ML320'S YEAR 1998-2001. THE GENTLEMEN @ MB TOLD ME THAT BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY. HE INSTRUCTED ME NOT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE IN THE CURRENT CONDITION. I ASKED IF MB KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM WHY NOT ISSUED A RECALL AND FIX THE PROBLEM? THE ANSWER WAS, NOT ENOUGH ACCIDENTS OR INCIDENTS TO ISSUED THE RECALL. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO GET SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM THAT WAS SET IN PLACE TO AVOID THIS PROBLEMS AND MAKE US AND CARS SAFER. MY QUESTION IS TO YOU ODI, WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ASSIST ME? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WE BOUGHT A USED MERCEDES ML WHICH HAD THE BAS/ESP LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND IMMEDIATELY PAID $1,268 TO GET THIS FIXED BEFORE DRIVING IT ANYWHERE. WE TOLD THE DEALER WE WOULD BE GOING ON A 600 MILE TRIP. IT SEEMED TO BE FIXED, BUT AFTER SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES OF DRIVING ON THE WAY BACK FOR HOURS THE BAS/ESP LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. IT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND THERE WAS NO ONE TO CALL TO CHECK ON THIS, AND THE DEALER NEVER TOLD US IT COULD BE DANGEROUS. ALL OF THE SUDDEN A FEW HOURS LATER ONE OF THE WHEELS LOCKED UP AND SENT US OUT OF CONTROL WINDING UP ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. MY WIFE AND OUR TWO KIDS WERE NEARLY KILLED. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED PREVIOUSLY YEARS AGO. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED WHILE GOING THE SPEED LIMIT OF 70MPH DOWN THE HILL NEXT TO THE DEEP RAVINE I AM SURE WE WOULD HAVE ALL BEEN KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. PLEASE PROTECT CONSUMERS BY ISSUING A RECALL ON ANY MERCEDES WITH THE BAS/ESP FEATURE. THIS IS VERY LIKELY TO CAUSE SERIOUS INJURIES OR FATALITIES AT ANY POINT IN THE FUTURE. WE HAD NO IDEA. PLEASE WARN CONSUMERS. WHAT IF MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR? SHE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS SITUATION LIKE I DID. WE BOUGHT THIS AS MY DAUGHTERS FIRST VEHICLE. NOW WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? I DON'T FEEL RIGHT SELLING THIS CAR TO ANYONE ELSE OR LETTING MY FAMILY DRIVE IT. THE SYSTEM DOES NOT PROPERLY WARN CONSUMERS. AFTER PARKING THE CAR OVERNIGHT THE BAS/ESP SYSTEM IS NO LONGER LIT UP. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN AGAIN AS MY DEALER WILL PROBABLY FIND "NOTHING WRONG WITH IT". THEY COULD HAVE AT LEAST WARNED US OR REPLACED ALL OF THE SENSORS AS A PRECAUTION. *TR

I LIGHTLY TAPPED MY ACCELERATOR TO EDGE MY CAR UP THE CURB TO DRIVE ONTO OUR DRIVEWAY AND IN A FRACTION OF A SECOND MY 4 WHEEL DRIVE WAS IN FULL THROTTLE. I QUICKLY STOMPED ON MY BRAKES AND WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR BUT IT WAS LIKE HOLDING BACK A CREW OF HORSES. I HAD TO BRAKE ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND THANK GOODNESS I HAVE STRONG LEGS AND QUICK REFLEXES. IT ACCELERATED SO FAST I COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT THAT FAST EVEN IF I HAD PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR MYSELF. IT LEFT MULTIPLE 4' TO 5' BLACK SCRATCH MARKS ON OUR DRIVEWAY AND THE SKIDDING OF TIRES (TAKE OFF) WAS HEARD INSIDE OUR HOUSE. PROBABLY TRAVELED 10' OR SO BEFORE I COULD STOP IT. NO INJURIES BUT JUST SHAKEN UP. I CALLED OUR DEALER TO INQUIRE IF THERE WERE ANY OTHER INCIDENCES AND THEY SAID NO. I LOOKED ON THE WEB AND COULD NOT FIND ANY OTHER INCIDENCES. TOOK TO DEALER THE NEXT DAY AND THEY ACKNOWLEDGED SOME TYPE OF ERROR NOTICE FROM THEIR COMPUTER RELATED TO MY ACCELERATOR AND DID A FIX OF SOME TYPE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON I95 IN FLORIDA ON DEC 26, 2009, MY CAR'S BRAKES SUDDENLY AND REPEATEDLY (3 TIMES) ENGAGED ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT WARNING. MY TIRES LOCKED UP ONE TIRE AT A TIME CAUSING ME TO COMPLETELY LOOSE CONTROL OVER MY VEHICLE (ML320 ' 2001). REPLACED A FAULTY YAW RATE SENSOR. *TR

I HAVE A 2001 ML320 IN WHICH THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY PROGRAM (ESP) SYSTEM LIGHT CAME ON. WHILE TRAVELING AT 70 MPH, THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED ELECTRONICALLY AND THE CAR CAME TO A STAND STILL. IT WAS FORTUNATE THAT I DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE BRAKES CAUSED THE SUV TO VEER IN ANOTHER LANE. MERCEDES CLAIMS THAT THEIR DEMONSTRATION TO THE NHTSA THAT THE SYSTEMS APPLIES THE BRAKES FOR LESS THAN 0.3 SECONDS BUT THAT IS UNTRUE AND IT HAS HAPPEN THREE TIMES WITH MY VEHICLE (SEE PE07-007). I HAVE REPLACED THE SENSOR BUT YET THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST. THIS DEFECT WILL EVENTUALLY RESULT IN DEATH. THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE THIS IS TO GET MERCEDES TO FIX THIS FLAW AND RECALLED ALL AFFECTED CARS. *TR