I recently had the Power steering pump replaced ( app 2 weeks ago). Two days ago the break line apparently was rubbing against somthing and broke. I basically lost all abiltiy to stop in the holland tunnel. MB is asking about $1300 to fix the issue. Can they be related? Is this a fair price?

2001 ML55

For a 2001 MB having a brake line fail, I would be very pissed off. How many miles are on the car? Have you brought this to your dealer for regular scheduled service? If so they should have changed the brake fluid once a year and there would have been no way that this should have happened. You should point this out to the service manager. If you did not use the dealer for service your on your own.

$1300 to fix a brake line sounds ridiculus. This should be about 1 hr labor and I will assume less than $100.00 in parts assuming a pre-formed line from MB. Or else $5.00 in parts for a bend it yourself line from Pep Boys.

I cant see a power steering repair causing this problem. They are not not near each other.

John Roncallo

Ron - The 55 is 73k on it. It was the break line the ruptured due to some type of rubbing against another line. I had the PS pump replaced 2 weeks ago and thought it may be related. I just recieved a call from the service manager and the want to knock off $300 bucks. If it wasnt an emergency i would have taken it to my own Authorized Dealer. And yes the care has always been serviced at MB

A break line failure is inexcusable. They should do the repair for free under goodwill, in my opinion. Especially for a safety defect that could have gotten someone killed.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

So this appeares to be a line chafing issue and not a corrosion issue correct? Is this a metal line or a flexible rubber line. Is this line for the front or rear brakes. It is un-likely a chaffing issue could have been agrivated to failure in just two weeks. However chaffing is something that is usually caused by improper assembly and lack of attention to detail. It is this kind of issue that is the main reason I do my own service.

John Roncallo

just curious, the brakes did work and you were able to use the foot brake to slow down but with diminished braking, is that correct?

I would take a digital camers to the dealership and photo the ruptured line they are talking about. surprise them. And tell them you are going to file with NHTSA, which you really should do.

Brake line failure by rupture is probably the number ONE most extensively tested item done in vehicle development.

Even in off-road conditions anything that could possibly rupture a brake line is tested. Have you ever seen how brake lines are integrated into the chassis to prevent hang-up?

When did you have your brake pads changed? Unless you drove the front brake pads to death and drove on backing plates to cause heat related failure I cannot imagine how your failure happened.

You should also inspect that the ABS unit somewhat proximal to the power steering pump to make sure it wasn't damaged during the last service.

The ABS unit has a series of circuitous brake lines emerging from it to act as a damper against vibration failure. If a tool got hung up on them and damaged them in a previous service, maybe that occured. But that is unlikely and a tech would have reacted to that, still worth checking.

I just spoke to MB-NY and they will give me the broken break line. BTW - The car did slow down very slow when i pressed the breaks all the way. And they are charging me $1100 to change the break line ( $300 off, BS!). I called NHTSA and they informed me break lie failure can occur after 60,000 miles???. So i missed it by 13K! I should also mention i had all 4 breaks (pads) changed 2 months ago, so thats not an issue. I just find it horrible that im paying for a break line failure that nearly caused an accident and my life! They claim the break line was rubbing against another line! Its now 9:00 am in NY, i have to pick up the car at 12:00. Im going to speak to the service manager, what else can i make a case for?
And thank you for all the great feedback gentleman!

Wow...I didn't know you could drive to Europe from here....an' I've bin going by plane all these years........! Coulda saved the car rental !

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

Your kidding right?
Thats not even a bad joke!

It seems to me that there are several unanswered questions here.
1. Has the vehicle in question EVER had any body work or after-market work performed in the area where the damage is?
2. Exactly where is the line damaged? If it's a line that runs from the front all the way to the rear, it may be partially inaccessible but that doesn't mean the damage was in this area.( BTW, don't expect any MB dealer to simply replace the damaged section of line using compression or flared fittings. It's a liability issue. )
3. Was it the rubber hose OR the steel line that caused the problem?

In sixteen years I've NEVER seen an MB brake line fail for no reason. My guess is that there's more to the story. From what I've read in this thread so far, there isn't enough information to draw any conclusions. So far it's all pure speculation. Some pictures would be great. If the line in question does in fact run the length of the vehicle, it could be quite a bit of work to replace it. I don't know how roncallo came up with his labor estimate. Before anybody starts trashing the dealer or MB maybe we should get more information.

It appears that all the facts are not being disclosed, The master cylinder is split between front and back so if the front circuit develops a leak the rear brakes still work, and vica versa. $1300 to replace a brake line is a little far fetched. at $100 an hour plus parts they could replace all the brake lines, I would like to hear MBs side of the story, you can still downshift and use the emergency brake!
If they are willing to give you the parts. They must feel very strongly in their case. If you have always had it serviced there why would you take it to another (your) shop?
I think this was this your post in December? what did they find

Brake Light Sensor

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I have a 01 ML 55 . If the break pad sensor light comes on, is it for the front or rear break pads. ( Order my manual, take 3-6 weeks)
Tks
S
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ML55 AMG 2001
ML 320 1998

^ Bump

Didn't you used to be my Drill Sgt Major ?

BTW....'Breaks' is spelled....BRAKES.




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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

Ok, you got me on the "Brakes" yesterday wasn’t a good day.

First off, i would like to thank everyone for his or her feedback. It gave me the ammo i needed to put up a good case against them

Here's what happened, They informed me the steel "BRAKE" line (lol), had been " rubbing against a steel grommet that was attached to a power steering line" that was buried within the chassis i have no idea what this means but this is exactly, verbatim what they said. I asked for the damaged brake line and I have it the trunk. There is indeed a slight tear in the steel line on one corner. They gave me a 10% discount and ate the towing fee, $100. I paid $1100 plus the rental fee's $265. The service manger understood my argument but said he had he's hands tied and couldn’t to any better. They washed my car and I was off.
If anyone wants a copy of faxed copy of the bill PM me

Answers for some of the questions:
1. Has the vehicle in question EVER had any body work or after-market work performed in the area where the damage is? The front right fender was scratched and painted. Very minor.

2. Exactly where is the line damaged? If it's a line that runs from the front all the way to the rear, it may be partially inaccessible but that doesn't mean the damage was in this area. (BTW, don't expect any MB dealer to simply replace the damaged section of line using compression or flared fittings. It's a liability issue. ).
The line was buried in the chassis (SP); it was a steel pre-formed line with fittings on each end. They claim 13 hours of labor

Was the car always serviced at MB? Yes, they checked the history and verified. No one but a MB tech has serviced this car
-You can still downshift and use the emergency brake!
Yes you can, and that’s what I did to avoid the NYC sanation truck that was in my lane slowing down. I drove around him on a one way lane, thank god it was a straightaway and no one was in the other lane. The EM Brakes saved my A**!

If anyone wants to take a look at the bill PM me, i can Fax it over.

And thank you again, you all helped a great deal!

I've got a few ML's in the shop now, so I took a look underneath and here's what I found. The steel lines coming out of the hydraulic (located beneath the washer bottle) unit are routed down to the left side frame rail. They are quite close (approx.10mm) to the P/S hoses but if everything is installed correctly nothing rubs. If the line in question is for one of the rear wheel brakes, they run along the frame rail between the body mounts and body shell. In this area they're quite well protected. The line for the L/R simply connects to the rubber hose, while the line for the R/R connects to a union fitting located at the frame rail in the L/R wheel well. From the union fitting it simply crosses over to the R/R. Since the line is pre-formed it could be quite a job to replace. Several hours at a minimum. It would be a difficult driveway job even for the most determined DIYer. The big question as far as I'm concerned is how did the line come in contact with anything? Believe me, they don't just pop out of their brackets. I'm only guesing, but someone must have inadvertantly knocked it loose during a previous repair job. This may have taken place some time ago though. I'm sure it would take a while to rub through. It might be worthwhile to study the service history thoroughly. Try to find out if any previous work was done in that area.