Hydraulic brake failure, totally unexpected. car is a marcedes benz sl500, 2003. only 8,500 k. on 6-24-04, mb issued a safety bulletin (nhtsa campaign id no. 04v296000)mb has not notified owners like me. i run a 4-way stop sign and a large pick-up truck was within 1 or 2 feet from hitting me on the drivers' side. iwas able to stop the car about 50 yards after the stop sign. messagge --in red letters in the dashboard-- wich said "reduced brake effect. visit workshop".. i was not injured physically, but this was a near death experience. this happened on 7-26-04. the dealer has practically conficated the car and refuses to say much. mb sent a technician from headquarters to check the car but refused to talk to me. needles to say they are evasive and deny there is a problem. only going to the internet ia foun that i am not the only one affected, having, by chance found the information about the defect. luckily there was no injuries, but i want to report this fro tw reasons. no.1: why mb did not notify me of this defect. it is now clear that the sensotronic brake control this car uses is defective, because it requires electrical energy. according to the cars' manual (page 260),the sbc will go into the emergency operation mode and brakes are only applied to the front tires, stopping distance is increased and the driver has to be depressed almos to the floor. in my case i almost stood up to apply pressure and went down to second gaer on the tramnsmission, before the car stopped. no. 2: mercedes benz says in the cars' manual to "continue driving with added caution" "do not exceed sped of 55 mph". are they crazy? the car will not stop in time when driving in a line of cars nor will stop on time when someone is crossing the road. someone is going to get killed or maimed.*ak