recall
 

Sensotronic brake recall will be largest ever for Mercedes
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> Mercedes-Benz is preparing to conduct the biggest product recall in its
history - a development compounding its recent rash of quality problems. The
recall is particularly sensitive for the revered automaker because it
involves the Sensotronic advanced braking system that the German automaker
introduced three years ago on E-Class and SL cars as a failsafe advancement
"nothing short of a revolution." A total of 680,000 Mercedes cars are being
recalled worldwide, of which about 180,000 are in the U.S., according to the
Wall Street Journal last week. The system's hydraulic tank can develop
bubbles that cause braking failure, says the automaker, however no
complaints have come from the U.S.
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> Developed by Robert Bosch GmbH at a cost of $150 million over a six-year
period, the electronic brakes system relies on microchips to determine when
emergency stopping is underway. The high-pressure hydraulic reservoir that
backs up the electronic devices applies maximum braking instantaneously. In
the Sensotronic technology, electronics vary the braking force on each
wheel. Microchips note the car's speed and direction when the driver's foot
leaves the accelerator. As soon as the driver's foot hits the brake pedal,
braking force is applied most forcefully to the front outer wheel and then
to the rear inner wheel.
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> A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz, Johannes Reifenrath, said that while the
automaker plans to keep Sensotronic on E-Class, SL-Class, Maybach, and SLR
McLaren cars, the system is very costly and other systems may be studied as
possible replacements. Mercedes said that most complaints came from drivers
of high-use vehicles, such as taxis. Mercedes has encountered a number of
quality setbacks in recent years. Its reliability score on J.D. Power
surveys rose to 318 problems per 100 vehicles last year for 2000-model-year
vehicles and early in May stood at 108 problems in the first 90 days of
ownership of 2004 vehicles. The brake recall could cost Mercedes about $30
million, Reifenrath said. -Mac Gordon