# 2013 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550 — SERVICE BRAKES
> NHTSA complaint `1657774` · 2020-04-08 · Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** Yes
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** MERCEDES-BENZ
- **Model:** SL550
- **Year:** 2013
- **Manufacturer:** Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
- **Component:** SERVICE BRAKES
- **Miles at failure:** 36,800
- **Speed:** 40 mph
## Narrative
JUN 2017:  ANNUAL SERVICE.  ASK TO HAVE BRAKES CHECKED BECAUSE BRAKE PEDAL WAS TRAVELLING DOWN TO THE FLOOR.  JUN 2018:  ANNUAL SERVICE.  COMPLAINT:  BRAKE PEDAL WOULD HIT THE FLOOR AND AS IT TRAVELED DOWN FURTHER, THE ENGINE ACCELERATION TICKED-UP, AT WHICH TIME I RELEASED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND RE-APPLIED THE BRAKES SUCCESSFULLY.  JUN 2019:  ANNUAL SERVICE:  STRONG COMPLAINT:  DITTO JUN 2018 EXCEPT AS THE BRAKE PEDAL APPROACHED THE FLOOR, THE ENGINE ACCELERATION WAS INCREASING.    12 MAR 2020:  ACCIDENT:  TIME 0645 AM PST, TRAVELING WEST-BOUND ON A NEAR-STRAIGHTAWAY  (SLIGHT 5-DEGREE CURVE TO THE LEFT) AT 40 MPH IN A 50 MPH ZONE ON A 6-LANE ROADWAY, IN FAR-RIGHT LANE WITH 8-CAR-LENGTHS TO THE CAR AHEAD, I APPLIED THE BRAKES AS THE CARS AHEAD OF ME SLOWED TO A STOP IN THE RIGHT LANE.  I CONTINUED INCREASING PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES UNTIL THE PEDAL WAS ON THE FLOOR, THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES SYSTEM NEVER ENGAGED AND AT ABOUT 20-FT TO THE CAR AHEAD, THE ENGINE RPM TOOK OVER DEFEATING THE WHOLE BRAKE SYSTEM RESULTING IN MY CAR ACCELERATING AND SMASHING INTO THE CAR STOPPED AHEAD OF MY CAR.    IN HIND-SIGHT, I FOUND OUT THAT M-B OF SAN DIEGO SERVICE DEPT. NEVER PERFORMED A DRIVE-TEST TO CHECK-OUT MY REQUESTS BUT INSTEAD PERFORMED A STANDARD BRAKE-PADS & FLUID-LEVEL CHECK AND RETURNED THE CAR TO ME IN AS-IS CONDITION.  UNTIL 12 MAR, THIS PROBLEM OF THE BRAKES TRAVELING TO THE FLOOR BEFORE THE RPM-INCREASE ENGAGED HAD BEEN UNDER CONTROL, BEING MOST NOTICEABLE AT LOW SPEEDS OF 10-12 MPH IN T
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*