BEWARE , your MERC may be BUGGED

[F50]

Bugs arent peculiar to computers alone, sometimes they can also cause big wheels to skid. DaimlerChrysler India best-selling sedan, the Mercedes Benz E-class, has run into a bumpy stretch thanks to a bug in its brake control software.

According to sources in the industry, the company is running an inspection on all E-class vehicles both new and in circulation and is promising an immediate solution wherever the bug is detected.

Currently all E-class vehicles are being inspected and if the bug appears we will rectify it said a DaimlerChrysler India spokesman.

The bug appeared in the Sensotronic Brake Control software during an inspection in the company German HQ two days ago and will affect around 1000 vehicles already sold in the Indian market .

Like elsewhere in the world, the company is offering free inspections to customers of the E-class sedan through its dealer network. The free inspection is a service measure and our dealers will check and return the car in one hour the company official said.

The software bug which causes the *cars electronic braking to move back to hydraulic braking can end up reducing braking effectiveness significantly.

So drivers need to brake earlier and with greater force to bring the car to a stop in bug-afflicted cases. All E-class vehicles produced till May 2004 are affected. Company officials say the inspection is mostly precautionary because the bug is likely in one or two out of every thousand cars.

Worldwide, the company is recalling around 680,000 passenger cars because of the problems with the braking systems. Like in India, it is offering free inspections to customers of its E-class sedan built after March 2002, SL-class sports cars built after October 2001 and T-models built after March 2003.

Overseas reports say, prior inspections showed that roughly about 1,360 units are likely to be affected out of the total 680,000 vehicles.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/676383.cms

[shravan316]

Welcome to 21st century!!
Cars get bugged..
Now virus programmers will have a new hobby!!

[Deeps]

Recalling of certain models by a manufacturer is not an uncommon thing anymore...."Worldwide, the company is recalling around 680,000 passenger cars" i think this information is inaccurate as i've never heard of a recall on such a big scale. Its very 'considerate' of MB to make the issue public 'cos a normal driver would never notice a fault such as this in the braking system.....this is the first case of a 'bug' in the on-board computer that i've come across. Is it possible that instead of the problem being a bug the software may not have been written properly?

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Deeps @ May 15 2004,23:43)]Is it possible that instead of the problem being a bug the software may not have been written properly?

Hey,

Well Deeps, essentially a bug is an error or defect in the code of a computer program, so what you are saying could also be termed as a bug.

The part im wondering about is - "because the bug is likely in one or two out of every thousand cars. "
I wonder what the reason for that is.....
I wonder if they got the chips from several different vendors? but even then 1 in 1000 doesnt make sense.....any ideas?

cya
R

[manticore]

cool.......bugs in cars. now they'll have all sorts of viruses and stuff.......do we have to install some good anti-virus software in the car's comp?? crazy.

[S350L-E240]

damn my dealer hasnt called me on this issue as yet! DAMN DAMN