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2003 MERCEDES BENZ CL CLASS — ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

fire · 808052 · 2010-08-19

Vehicle

Make
MERCEDES BENZ
Model
CL CLASS
Year
2003
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Component
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
Miles at failure
81,200
Speed
65 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

I HAVE A 2003 MERCEDES BENZ CL55 AMG. THE ABC OR ACTIVE BODY CONTROL SYSTEM FAILED AND WITH VERY LITTLE WARNING, THE FLUID STARTED TO LEAK , SMOKE WAS EVERYWHERE AND I NEARLY CAUSED A COLLISION BECAUSE OF THE THICK SMOKE AND POOR VISIBILITY. I HAD TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY AND HAVE THE CL55 TOWED TO MY MECHANIC MY MECHANIC, WHO SPECIALIZES IN HIGH END MERCEDES BENZ TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH THE MERCEDES CL 55,65,600 MODELS FROM 2003-2006. MERCEDES KNEW ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM AND REDESIGNED THE LATER MODELS. THE ORIGINAL STICKER PRICE OF THE CL MODEL IS ABOUT $120,000. MERCEDES KNEW ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITH THE ABC SYSTEM ON THE AMG MODELS BUT DID NOT MAKE A FACTORY RECALL. I HAVE KNOW MET SEVERAL OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME MODEL CAR, 2003-6 CL55 AMG AND ALL OF THEM HAD TO HAVE THE ENTIRE ABC SYSTEM REPLACED WHICH IS WELL OVER $5500. ALSO , A WEBSITE DEDICATED TO MERCEDES BENZ, CALLED BENZWORLD.COM, HAVE NUMEROUS OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM WITH THE ABC SYSTEM. THERE IS A CAMPAIGN OF CURRENT OWNERS WHO ARE PLANNING TO FILE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. THE BREAKDOWN OF THE ABC SYSTEM WHILE DRIVE COMES VERY SUDDENLY AND WITH VERY LITTLE WARNING. I AM VERY LUCKY TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT WHEN IT HAPPENED TO ME. THE REPAIR IS NOT ONLY VERY COSTLY ( $5500 ), BUT WILL CONTINUE TO BREAK DOWN AGAIN EVEN AFTER BEING REPLACED BY ORIGINAL MERCEDES PARTS BECAUSE OF THE FLAWED DESIGN. INSTEAD OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, THE NHTSA SHOULD FORCE MERC

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10350476
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown