davemercedes
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2012
- Messages
- 4,345
- Reaction score
- 2,099
- Location
- Glos
- Your Mercedes
- 2007 Merc 220 CDi Est Auto Av (s203)
I read a recent thread where members were complaining about the MB parking footbrake and I admit saying that it was the one thing I hated... *
But beware - the comments about other brands having more user friendly electronic handbrakes are true, until in Renault's case it comes to the cost of replacing the handbrake "computer". My daughter just paid £613 to have hers replaced on a 2005 Grand Scenic. The usual closed shop applies here - alternatives are not available and the unit has to be coded to the car so the dealer till goes "kerching"! with a parts and labour charge.
I looked at Renault forums and it seems there are loads of failures and there was a recall to recode it and stop it applying itself without warning (hers was done) but there are no exchange units or alternatives around etc and it was a bitter pill (bill more like it!) for her to swallow.
So having waxed lyrical about the ease of using a Renault automatic brake where the manual lever looks almost exactly the same as a MB parking brake release lever, I just hope SWMBO's same age but higher spec/lower mileage car doesn't suffer the same fate.
I have no doubt there are people like Malcolm who would sort this out for a fraction of the price paid but at least when I release the parking brake on my C Class this morning I will feel a lot better!
*
Oh... and later on, err in private, I shall flog myself with birch twigs for saying nasty things about my wonderful Mercedes-engineered parking brake that I hope will never go wrong... go wrong... go wrong...!
Footnote:
Not long after buying SWMBO's car the entire LED dashboard failed and replacement was over £600 at a Renault dealer. At least you could see the big lump you were paying for as opposed to my daughter's hidden handbrake brain. Anyway, as it was a used car I had bought an insurance warranty for 1 x year and they coughed up okay - very sympathetic and helpful in fact. I was very unhappy that Renault could not reset the mileage on the new unit (it only had about 30K miles on it before the dash died). There was a maximum insurance payout (of course!) and I was worried that the total bill might exceed it but the dealer swore there were no service exchange units. Subsequently I found I could get one for £120 with s4 hour turnaround - and it's a screwdriver job to replace it. Good job I wasn't paying for it but I actually had sympathy for my insurer (yes, really!) because in my opinion they paid more than necessary.
But beware - the comments about other brands having more user friendly electronic handbrakes are true, until in Renault's case it comes to the cost of replacing the handbrake "computer". My daughter just paid £613 to have hers replaced on a 2005 Grand Scenic. The usual closed shop applies here - alternatives are not available and the unit has to be coded to the car so the dealer till goes "kerching"! with a parts and labour charge.
I looked at Renault forums and it seems there are loads of failures and there was a recall to recode it and stop it applying itself without warning (hers was done) but there are no exchange units or alternatives around etc and it was a bitter pill (bill more like it!) for her to swallow.
So having waxed lyrical about the ease of using a Renault automatic brake where the manual lever looks almost exactly the same as a MB parking brake release lever, I just hope SWMBO's same age but higher spec/lower mileage car doesn't suffer the same fate.
I have no doubt there are people like Malcolm who would sort this out for a fraction of the price paid but at least when I release the parking brake on my C Class this morning I will feel a lot better!
*
Oh... and later on, err in private, I shall flog myself with birch twigs for saying nasty things about my wonderful Mercedes-engineered parking brake that I hope will never go wrong... go wrong... go wrong...!
Footnote:
Not long after buying SWMBO's car the entire LED dashboard failed and replacement was over £600 at a Renault dealer. At least you could see the big lump you were paying for as opposed to my daughter's hidden handbrake brain. Anyway, as it was a used car I had bought an insurance warranty for 1 x year and they coughed up okay - very sympathetic and helpful in fact. I was very unhappy that Renault could not reset the mileage on the new unit (it only had about 30K miles on it before the dash died). There was a maximum insurance payout (of course!) and I was worried that the total bill might exceed it but the dealer swore there were no service exchange units. Subsequently I found I could get one for £120 with s4 hour turnaround - and it's a screwdriver job to replace it. Good job I wasn't paying for it but I actually had sympathy for my insurer (yes, really!) because in my opinion they paid more than necessary.