NHTSA Complaint #10565365 — 2005 MERCEDES BENZ SL500

I DROVE OUT OF MY DRIVE AND TRIED TO BRAKE THE CAR AND A WARNING LIGHT CAME ON SAYING THAT MY BRAKES WERE MALFUNCTIONING. THE CAR WOULD NOT BRAKE. THE BRAKES ON THE CAR WERE DEAD.FORTUNATELY THERE IS A HILL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ROAD WHERE I LIVE AND BY GOING UP THE HILL THE CAR CAME TO A STOP. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS OR PEDESTRIANS ON THE ROAD OTHERWISE I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP. WHEN I BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE DEALER, THEY SAID THAT IT WAS A SOFTWARE PROBLEM AND THEY WOULD FIX IT FOR FREE. A FEW MONTHS BEFORE, I HAD TAKEN THE CAR IN TO THE SAME MB DEALER FOR GENERAL MAINTENANCE. WHY DIDN'T THE DEALER REPAIR THE SOFTWARE BRAKE ISSUE? DO I HAVE TO GET KILLED OR DAMAGE OTHER CARS BEFORE THEY AUTOMATICALLY REPAIR THE BRAKE SOFTWARE, THAT THEY OBVIOUSLY KNEW TO BE DEFECTED AND A POTENTIAL FOR ACCIDENTS? THE ISSUE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ITEM, DUE TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE MATTER. THE SAME CAR HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION WHICH APPEARS TO BE ANOTHER SOFTWARE ISSUE. WHY DOESN'T THE DEALER AUTOMATICALLY FIX THE SOFTWARE ISSUE BEFORE I HAVE AN ACCIDENT? THE "FIX-IT" COST HAS TO BE MINIMAL AND THE PREVENTION OF DAMAGE HAS TO BE HUGE. THE MB DEALER WANTS TO REPLACE ANYTHING THAT ISN'T RIGHT. THEY REPLACED MY ENGINE MOUNTS AT 42,000 MILES FOR $1,600 WHETHER THEY NEEDED IT OR NOT, BUT THEY WON'T FIX SOME SIMPLE SOFTWARE ISSUES THAT COULD KILL OR DAMAGE PROPERTY? IF THE MB DEALER DOESN'T WANT TO DO IT BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE ENOUGH MONEY, THEN HOPEFULLY THE DOT WILL FORCE THEM TO DO IT. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. THESE ARE SERIOUS ISSUES WHICH I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT. *TR