| Issue ID | 1691685 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 11360136 |
| Manufacurer | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| Brand | MERCEDES-BENZ |
| Model | E350 |
| Model Year | 2017 |
| File date | 18/09/20 |
| Component | SERVICE BRAKES |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | At around 2. 15 pm cst, i was driving my mercedes westbound on i-694 towards minneapolis at roughly 70 mph when suddenly my e300 stalled and by the time i could figure what was wrong, i lost all power in the steering wheel. The mercedes brake assist triggered a hard brake and my car stopped in the middle lane on the freeway. The car behind me nearly missed me and at this point every light in the dashboard lit up (i have attached the picture below). I tried hitting on the ignition multiple times but got no response. At this point, i decided not to sit in the car since it was too dangerous with fast oncoming traffic and it was only going to be a matter of time that someone would rear end me. I stepped out of my car and while multiple cars were approaching me at high speed from both left and right lanes i found a very small window of time (2-3 seconds) to sprint from the middle lane of i-694 to the shoulder. My worry was still far from over as my car was still sitting in middle of the interstate and now i was concerned about the safety of other folks who were traveling in my direction. I saw 12 to 15 cars almost rear end my car. While this was happening, i realized my phone was dead and i was unable to call 911. I continually waved at the oncoming traffic to alert them of my car and requested them to call 911. About 7 to 9 minutes later, the state highway patrol showed up and blocked traffic to assist me with moving my car to the shoulder. These 7 to 9 minutes were the most traumatic i have ever seen in my life. I felt helpless, anxious, and extremely stressed out. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 18700 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | MINNEAPOLIS, MN |
| VIN pattern | WDDZF4KB8HAXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 70 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |