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Just as I thought, a MB BASHER. Any owner of a 211 must pay attention to ALL the facts and not just the ‘‘alleged’’ SBC braking problems and speculation the MB thrashers are propagating. There have been two recalls carried out to improve the system, and to me that is a plus. Rest assured Mercedes-Benz are clearly monitoring the WHOLE car. The fact of the matter is, the current production E class is one of the safest, if not THE SAFEST vehicle ever produced, PERIOD. That’s why I chose to put my family in one.
I have no idea of the real circumstances behind this reported incident and can only go by what has been said, however if there was a problem with that E’s braking system then surely Daimler Chrysler would buy that car back so quickly we would not even have time to blink. It is in their interest to find out what went wrong, how it went wrong and most important, how to rectify it.
The vehicles are fitted with numerous ‘‘black boxes’’ and I would suspect they know the real cause of this incident, and by their attitude I would respectfully suggest they believe the cause is NOT the brakes?
In the Europe the most common van by a country mile is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, it is the work horse of all the different delivery companies, couriers etc, plus the backbone for emergency services, namely ambulances, and the numerous different types of Police vans. A number of weeks ago it was alleged at a coroners court that this vehicle had an inherent problem with the braking system. The Coroner wished to bring this fact to the attention of Mercedes-Benz UK. After this happened, drivers began refusing to drive their vans because they were not happy with the ‘‘feel’’ of the brakes. Of the vehicles inspected EVERY one had been neglected and the brakes were worn out!!! The vehicle in question was four years old and had covered in excess of 600,000 miles. The company had stated it was regularly serviced, but NOT by a dealer (Hence no proof). At the time of the incident it was raining, the vehicle was speeding and the driver braked violently whilst negotiating a bend!!! Surprise, surprise the vehicle crashed. They are the FACTS, but a brake balancing valve was corroded and the coroner elected to blame that?? My point here is that there are thousands and thousands of these Sprinter vans on the highways, yet they are not pirouetting off the roads.
The same remarks apply to the E-class 211 and the SBC issue. If there was a problem doesn’t anyone think it strange that there are not hundreds perhaps thousands of folks complaining. Yes there are reported problems, but we don’t know the REAL reason. SBC is electronically controlled and it is possible that there might be the odd defective valve\transistors or piece of wire etc. A number of Police Forces in the UK use the 211 as response vehicles and they thrash the living daylights out of them for a minimum of three years or 300,000 miles! If there was a problem with the braking system, does anyone honestly believe they would still be using them.
European nations have for years specialized in conspiracy theories, so there will always be those that will never accept that the SBC system is the best thing since brakes were invented! If this system was as poor as we are being told, then why is it fitted to the SLR?
The US system is a cut down version of SBC and sadly it has none of the bells and whistles that are fitted to the European version, and that’s a shame. It is alleged that this is because of the litigation minded residents of our country, but I would very respectfully suggest it is purely COST $$$. SBC is a very very expensive system, Daimler Chrysler are struggling to keep the costs of this vehicle down and keep cutting back on the ‘‘standard’’ features that come with this excellent vehicle. I consider the early 2004 models to be the best value and since then the standard goodies have slowly been removed from the model specification.
I have no idea of the real circumstances behind this reported incident and can only go by what has been said, however if there was a problem with that E’s braking system then surely Daimler Chrysler would buy that car back so quickly we would not even have time to blink. It is in their interest to find out what went wrong, how it went wrong and most important, how to rectify it.
The vehicles are fitted with numerous ‘‘black boxes’’ and I would suspect they know the real cause of this incident, and by their attitude I would respectfully suggest they believe the cause is NOT the brakes?
In the Europe the most common van by a country mile is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, it is the work horse of all the different delivery companies, couriers etc, plus the backbone for emergency services, namely ambulances, and the numerous different types of Police vans. A number of weeks ago it was alleged at a coroners court that this vehicle had an inherent problem with the braking system. The Coroner wished to bring this fact to the attention of Mercedes-Benz UK. After this happened, drivers began refusing to drive their vans because they were not happy with the ‘‘feel’’ of the brakes. Of the vehicles inspected EVERY one had been neglected and the brakes were worn out!!! The vehicle in question was four years old and had covered in excess of 600,000 miles. The company had stated it was regularly serviced, but NOT by a dealer (Hence no proof). At the time of the incident it was raining, the vehicle was speeding and the driver braked violently whilst negotiating a bend!!! Surprise, surprise the vehicle crashed. They are the FACTS, but a brake balancing valve was corroded and the coroner elected to blame that?? My point here is that there are thousands and thousands of these Sprinter vans on the highways, yet they are not pirouetting off the roads.
The same remarks apply to the E-class 211 and the SBC issue. If there was a problem doesn’t anyone think it strange that there are not hundreds perhaps thousands of folks complaining. Yes there are reported problems, but we don’t know the REAL reason. SBC is electronically controlled and it is possible that there might be the odd defective valve\transistors or piece of wire etc. A number of Police Forces in the UK use the 211 as response vehicles and they thrash the living daylights out of them for a minimum of three years or 300,000 miles! If there was a problem with the braking system, does anyone honestly believe they would still be using them.
European nations have for years specialized in conspiracy theories, so there will always be those that will never accept that the SBC system is the best thing since brakes were invented! If this system was as poor as we are being told, then why is it fitted to the SLR?
The US system is a cut down version of SBC and sadly it has none of the bells and whistles that are fitted to the European version, and that’s a shame. It is alleged that this is because of the litigation minded residents of our country, but I would very respectfully suggest it is purely COST $$$. SBC is a very very expensive system, Daimler Chrysler are struggling to keep the costs of this vehicle down and keep cutting back on the ‘‘standard’’ features that come with this excellent vehicle. I consider the early 2004 models to be the best value and since then the standard goodies have slowly been removed from the model specification.
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