NHTSA ID Number: 10667458
Incident Date: 2014-12-17
Manufacturer's Name: Mercedes-Benz
USA, LLC
Vehicle/Equipment Make: MERCEDES BENZ
Vehicle/Equipment Model: ML320
Model Year: 2001
9999 If Unknown Or N/A
Vehicle Identification Number: 4JGAB54E11A
Vehicle Mileage At Failure: 118832
Vehicle Speed: 65
Number Of Occurrences: 2
Was Vehicle Towed: No
Consumer Location: SAN FRANSISCO, CA
Summary of Complaint
THIS IS A SEQUEL REPORT TO MY ODI 10664733 OF 12/16/2014. TWO INCIDENTS ARE IDENTICAL. THE EARLIER INCIDENT HAPPENED AT ODOMETER READING 118,714; THIS SECOND INCIDENT HAPPENED AT 118,832, 118 MILES LATER. I WAS ON I-280 SOUTHBOUND APPROX. 53 MILES SOUTH OF SF. AROUND 1PM, A SUDDEN EXTRAORDINARILY FORCEFUL BRAKING ? THE MERCEDES OWNER?S MANUAL CALLS THIS MAXIMUM BRAKING CAPABILITY POWER BOOST WHICH EXCEEDS DRIVER?S MANUAL BRAKING STYLE ? THE ?BRAKE ASSIST SYSTEM BAS? HAPPENED AGAIN WITHOUT DRIVER?S COMMAND. I WAS GOING STEADY AT 65 MPH, ABSOLUTELY NO BRAKING. THE TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT AND THE ROAD WAS DRY. THE CAR SWERVED SLIGHTLY WITH A LARGE BRAKING NOISE AND CAME DOWN TO NEAR HOLT. I COULD STEER THE CAR TO THE RIGHT SIDE EMERGENCY AREA BY TRAVELING PERHAPS 15 FEET WHILE THE BAS WAS FIRMLY IN FORCE. THIS IS COUNTER TO THE NHTSA ACTION PE07007 REFERENCE ATTRIBUTED TO MERCEDES AS THE ESP ELECTRICAL FAULTS DURATION BEING 0.3 SECONDS OR LESS. MY EXPERIENCE INDICATES THIS IS INCORRECT. IT LASTED AS LONG AS I WAS TRYING TO MOVE THE CAR. WHEN THE BAS ACTIVATED, THE ESP ALARM SIGNAL AND THE BAS/ESP LIGHT CAME ON. TURNED OFF THE ENGINE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND RESTARTED. THE BAS/EPS LIGHT CAME BACK ON BUT THE CAR BEHAVED NORMALLY OTHERWISE. DROVE BACK TO SF WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENCE. WERE THE TRAFFIC HEAVY AND THE ROAD WERE WET AND SLIPPERY, MY MERCEDES ML320 WOULD HAVE BEEN REAR-ENDED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WOULD HAVE LOST CONTROL ON THE WET ROAD. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE MERCEDES MUST ADDRESS WITH THE DEFINITIVE SOLUTION. I AM WILLING TO AVAIL MY VEHICLE FOR FIELD TESTING. PE07007 CITES ?THE LOW COMPLAINT RATE? THROUGH 2007 LED TO CLOSING ODI INVESTIGATION. A QUICK WEBSITE RESEARCH INDICATES THERE ARE A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF BAS INCIDENTS POSTED SINCE 2007 ON VARIOUS PRIVATE FORUMS AND BLOGS BUT THESE DRIVERS MAY NOT HAVE REPORTED TO NHTSA. *DT
Complaint 10667458 Documents
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- Mixes well with conventional fluids
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- Provides an extra margin of safety in extreme braking...
- Mix of polyglycol ethers ensures hot brake-system operation...
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CRASH: No
WAS VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A CRASH
FIRE: No
WAS VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A FIRE
INJURIES: 0
NUMBER OF PERSONS INJURED
DEATHS: 0
NUMBER OF FATALITIES
Was Medical Attention Required: No
Was Incident Reported To Police: No
Date Of Incident: 2014-12-17
(YYYY-MM-DD)
Date Added To File: 2014-12-20
(YYYY-MM-DD)
Date Complaint Received By NHTSA: 2014-12-20
(YYYY-MM-DD)
Date Purchased:
(YYYY-MM-DD)
Was Original Owner: No
Product Type: Vehicle
V = Vehicle T = Tires E = Equipment C = Child Restraint
Specific Component's Description: SERVICE BRAKES
Anti-Lock Brakes: No
Cruise Control: No
Number Of Cylinders: 6
Drive Train Type: 4WD
[AWD, 4WD, FWD, RWD]
Fuel System:
FI = Fuel Injection TB = Turbo
Fuel Type: Gas
BF = BiFuel CN = CNG/LPG DS = Diesel GS = Gas HR = HybridElectric
Vehicle Transmission Type [Auto, Man]:
(DOT) Department Of Transportation Tire Identifier:
Tire Size:
Location Of Tire:
FSW = Driver Side Front DSR = Driver Side Rear FTR = Passenger Side Front PSR = Passenger Side Rear SPR = Spare
Type Of Tire Failure:
BST = Blister BLW = Blowout TTL = Crack OFR = Out Of Round TSW = Puncture TTR = Road Hazard TSP = Tread Separation
Was Defective Tire Repaired:
Was Part Original Equipment:
Date Of Manufacture:
(YYYYMMDD)
Type Of Child Seat:
B = Booster C = Convertible I = Infant IN = Integrated TD = Toddler
Installation System:
A = Vehicle Safety Belt B = Latch System
Dealer's Name:
Dealer's Telephone Number:
Dealer's City:
Dealer's State:
Dealer's Zipcode:
SOURCE OF COMPLAINT CODE:
CAG = Consumer Action Group CON = Forwarded From A Congressional Office DP = Defect Petition,result Of A Defect Petition EVOQ = Hotline VOQ EWR = EARLY WARNING REPORTING INS = Insurance Company IVOQ = NHTSA Web Site LETR = Consumer Letter MAVQ = NHTSA Mobile APP MIVQ = NHTSA Mobile APP MVOQ = Optical Marked VOQ RC = Recall Complaint, Result Of A Recall Investigation RP = Recall Petition, Result Of A Recall Petition SVOQ = Portable Safety Complaint Form (PDF) VOQ = NHTSA Vehicle Owners Questionnaire
Incident State Code:
Vehicle Operator's Name:
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