I have been in contact with the NHTSA regarding the SBC service threshold issue. They advised me to have as many owners of vehicles with these units to contact them via safercar.gov and file a complaint. This is the only way the NHTSA will take any action.

This is a safety issue since the brakes go into backup mode with no prior warning. At the very least MB should issue a recall to interrogate the units with STAR DAS.

Thanks for your help.

John

Below is what I submitted to the NHTSA website. It will ask for date of incident, but just use the date you file.

This vehicle is equipped with Sensotronic Brake Control that has a service threshold. When this threshold is reached the brake system defaults to non power assisted hydraulic mode to the front wheels only. This occurs without any prior warning and results in increased stopping distance. I have sent a copy of the Mercedes service bulletin S142.46-P-0012A which addresses this issue. Mercedes stopped installing this system in 2006. At the very least, Mercedes should issue a mandatory recall to interrogate these vehicles with STAR DAS to determine how close to the service threshold the SBC unit is and replace them at the dealer's expense. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed.

Could an Administrator make this a sticky?

__________________
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
2002 F250 powerstroke with Plantdrive WVO conversion
1983 300SD 190K miles ,sold
2006 E320 CDI

I'm all about rattling the cages, my E500 has the SBC... though, pretty sure the system continues to function normally after the service threshold. (unless it actually fails, of course) Are you sure?

__________________
- Johnny

1990 300D 2.5L - 135k
1998 Jetta TDI - 257k
2005 E500 - 117k

How difficult is it to delete the system and convert to regular brakes?

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Can't do it. It's fully integrated into all the systems in the car. You'd probably need a donor 2007+ E class to do it.

To be fair though, it really is a cool brakes system. And a lot of the complaints abou it were people didn't like the noise the pump made. Though, some people have had catastrophic or near catastrophic issues with theirs. Mercedes clearly understand it was a SNAFU and they're doing damage control to minimize their losses. Sad that MB would do that to us, but c'est la vie.

__________________
- Johnny

1990 300D 2.5L - 135k
1998 Jetta TDI - 257k
2005 E500 - 117k

Search for SBC failure. You will find plenty of threads.

John

__________________
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
2002 F250 powerstroke with Plantdrive WVO conversion
1983 300SD 190K miles ,sold
2006 E320 CDI

Thanks for the heads-up as my 2006 is moving toward the 10-year mark.

I am thinking that I will have one of my indys do the STAR DAS and see what the readings are on my SBC '06.

SBC 10-year warranty? | Mercedes-Benz Club of America

fault code c2359 service threshold reached - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

E class SBC pump recall?? [Archive] - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

Mercedes-Benz E320 Repair: Problems, Cost and Maintenance

https://www.google.com/search?q=SBC+brake+service+threshold+issue+2006+E320+CDI&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
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Thank you, Mr. Hunter, for posting these!