EQC rolled off the drive while in park
Discussion
I'm not sure if this should be a Mercedes thread or EV one but i'll start here and see how it goes.
So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
The damage isn't insignificant and it will need a new bumper, bootlid and crash bar. There is some displacement of the boot floor cover but hopefully that's not a sign of the structure below being affected.
Anyway, as it happens the car was due for a service today so I was dropping it to the Mercedes dealership and explained the issue. To my surprise they weren't completely shocked and told me they had another EQC in having suffered the same issue except that one was charging at the time and had pulled the charger off the building in the process! They told me that the issue is not a Mercedes one and instead that the low friction surface (snow) somehow causes the car to roll. I was told I was welcome to have a series of checks carried out but that the diagnostic costs were to be for my account. As the car is an Octopus EV lease and service costs are included I didn't see the point in paying a couple of hours of diagnostics when they clearly have their own pre-determination of the issue.
Whilst it is infuriating the excess payable is £250 and the hassle of taking this further personally with Mercedes doesn't see worth it so i'm just going to get the car repaired under insurance and be super careful on how it is parked. In the 26k miles i've done in the car so far over the last 3yrs i have never had any issue at all so i'm really surprised at this suddenly happening. The car is only with me till December so 11 months remaining.
Note from the pics that the car rolled and didn't slide. Very fortunately it seems to have been guided down the drive by the kerb rather than clipping the wall and taking the side off the car too!
I would be interested in opinions on what people think has happened and if I am being reasonable in my assessment of the discussion with Mercedes?
So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
The damage isn't insignificant and it will need a new bumper, bootlid and crash bar. There is some displacement of the boot floor cover but hopefully that's not a sign of the structure below being affected.
Anyway, as it happens the car was due for a service today so I was dropping it to the Mercedes dealership and explained the issue. To my surprise they weren't completely shocked and told me they had another EQC in having suffered the same issue except that one was charging at the time and had pulled the charger off the building in the process! They told me that the issue is not a Mercedes one and instead that the low friction surface (snow) somehow causes the car to roll. I was told I was welcome to have a series of checks carried out but that the diagnostic costs were to be for my account. As the car is an Octopus EV lease and service costs are included I didn't see the point in paying a couple of hours of diagnostics when they clearly have their own pre-determination of the issue.
Whilst it is infuriating the excess payable is £250 and the hassle of taking this further personally with Mercedes doesn't see worth it so i'm just going to get the car repaired under insurance and be super careful on how it is parked. In the 26k miles i've done in the car so far over the last 3yrs i have never had any issue at all so i'm really surprised at this suddenly happening. The car is only with me till December so 11 months remaining.
Note from the pics that the car rolled and didn't slide. Very fortunately it seems to have been guided down the drive by the kerb rather than clipping the wall and taking the side off the car too!
I would be interested in opinions on what people think has happened and if I am being reasonable in my assessment of the discussion with Mercedes?
Thanks for the initial thoughts guys. That is very much my thinking. Are they saying that the EQC is not able to be parked safely on a slippy surface otherwise it will roll away? I suggested, somewhat facetiously, to the service person that Mercedes may wish to issue some notification to the owners of EQC's of such an issue!!
Another thing I wondered was if the cold weather somehow affected the parking brake? Would the cold perhaps reduce the effectiveness? If it was a cable system you would expect that the cold would shorten the length of the cable and thus pull it tighter but I imagine these are all fly by wire items these days so that won't be it.
James B said:
I'm not sure if this should be a Mercedes thread or EV one but i'll start here and see how it goes.
So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
Thank you for sharing - and I'm very glad nobody was hurt!So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
Does EQC engage the parking brake automatically when you switch the "gearbox" into P position? Ioniq 5 seems to do it, although your story made me aware of the need to double-check the symbol on the dash before switching the car off.
The "low friction surface" sounds like total BS unless the ground is magnetic, the nighttime temperature dropped below -196, and the car is made of superconducting material...
geeks said:
Personally I would want Mercedes to explain to me in very specific detail how snow means that a car will release it's handbrake and take itself out of park to roll away and how that is my responsibility and not theirs
Absolutely this!!Do EV's have a traditional 'park' function on the transmission, with a physical 'pawl' that locks the drivetrain or are they just relying on electrically actuated pads on a brake disc?
PetrolHeadInRecovery said:
James B said:
I'm not sure if this should be a Mercedes thread or EV one but i'll start here and see how it goes.
So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
Thank you for sharing - and I'm very glad nobody was hurt!So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
Does EQC engage the parking brake automatically when you switch the "gearbox" into P position? Ioniq 5 seems to do it, although your story made me aware of the need to double-check the symbol on the dash before switching the car off.
The "low friction surface" sounds like total BS unless the ground is magnetic, the nighttime temperature dropped below -196, and the car is made of superconducting material...
IE, brakes have gone on a cold wet disc, which has then slipped.
Hilariously crap considering it's meant to be a prestige car; I'd get Mercedes UK involved tbh - someone could have been hurt.
I suspect it'll be a random failure of the electronic parking brake, rather than being specific to the model or being an EV. The information the dealer provided sounds like a load of made up nonsense to placate you.
A few years back I had a Q5 roll into my parked car at a station car park, which happened randomly in the middle of the day (police attended as it rolled quite some way and made a mess), the parking brake just decided to fail.
A few years back I had a Q5 roll into my parked car at a station car park, which happened randomly in the middle of the day (police attended as it rolled quite some way and made a mess), the parking brake just decided to fail.
Reminds me of that car ( a vw bora I think) that a few years ago was parked up on a drive way and after a couple of hours rolled away and killed a child, I think in the end it was down to the handbrake coming loose when the brakes cooled down or something similar.
You would expect if it was due to the surface the car would have rolled pretty quickly after you parked it, not hours after.
You would expect if it was due to the surface the car would have rolled pretty quickly after you parked it, not hours after.
Matthen said:
PetrolHeadInRecovery said:
James B said:
I'm not sure if this should be a Mercedes thread or EV one but i'll start here and see how it goes.
So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
The "low friction surface" sounds like total BS unless the ground is magnetic, the nighttime temperature dropped below -196, and the car is made of superconducting material...So last night my car rolled off a drive that it gets parked on twice a week for the last year. It was in Park and locked. Around 90 mins after i parked it a neighbour came to the door to say the car had just rolled relatively slowly (i.e. not unabated speed) down the drive, across the street and into a wall over the road.
IE, brakes have gone on a cold wet disc, which has then slipped.
Usually the cold and wet brings the opposite problem (pads sticking to the discs in a matter of hours).
This is absolutely absurd and sounds like the manufacturer is dodging responsibility. Mercedes claiming that "a low-friction surface caused the car to roll" is an insult to common sense. The dealership admitting that another EQC rolled while charging proves this isn’t an isolated incident. If there’s a pattern, Mercedes surely has a duty to investigate rather than fob off the blame onto "low-friction surfaces."
This isn’t just a minor inconvenience; a car rolling off on its own is a massive safety risk. Imagine if there’d been a pedestrian, a cyclist, or another car in the way - or worse, one of those kids in the picture pinned against the wall where it stopped. Blaming snow for a failure to keep a stationary car stationary is ridiculous. I’d be absolutely livid and demand that Mercedes do far better than what you’ve been told so far.
This isn’t just a minor inconvenience; a car rolling off on its own is a massive safety risk. Imagine if there’d been a pedestrian, a cyclist, or another car in the way - or worse, one of those kids in the picture pinned against the wall where it stopped. Blaming snow for a failure to keep a stationary car stationary is ridiculous. I’d be absolutely livid and demand that Mercedes do far better than what you’ve been told so far.
That pic quoted above show two sets of tyres diverging... one set you can tell was rolling as has tread marks showing perp to the direction of travel, so had to be rolling.
However the other set don't show those perp marks... so was almost certainly sliding. Left side especially (right as you look at the pic).
I can't work out which were which, but if the sliding the set the handbrake applies to (eg. rear only or front only), then that'd explain why it half slid and half rolled down when snowing. Same if only one of those two wheels has grip.
Good luck getting it sorted.
However the other set don't show those perp marks... so was almost certainly sliding. Left side especially (right as you look at the pic).
I can't work out which were which, but if the sliding the set the handbrake applies to (eg. rear only or front only), then that'd explain why it half slid and half rolled down when snowing. Same if only one of those two wheels has grip.
Good luck getting it sorted.
Edited by phil4 on Tuesday 7th January 13:33
Well I have taken the advice above and am currently on the phone to MBUK who seem to be taking it seriously.
I have given full details of the incident and they have me on hold while they determine a way forward.
I have told them that now I know the car can just roll off on its own then I cannot park it on any form of incline no matter how slight if there is any snow around as should it roll away and kill someone then I would be considered in some way liable as knew of the possibility. And now I have told MBUK the same I would expect them also to have to act similarly. It certainly focused the conversation.
I have given full details of the incident and they have me on hold while they determine a way forward.
I have told them that now I know the car can just roll off on its own then I cannot park it on any form of incline no matter how slight if there is any snow around as should it roll away and kill someone then I would be considered in some way liable as knew of the possibility. And now I have told MBUK the same I would expect them also to have to act similarly. It certainly focused the conversation.
phil4 said:
That pic quoted above show two sets of tyres diverging... one set you can tell was rolling as has tread marks showing perp to the direction of travel, so had to be rolling.
However the other set don't show those perp marks... so was almost certainly sliding. Left side especially (right as you look at the pic).
I can't work out which were which, but if the sliding the set the handbrake applies to (eg. rear only or front only), then that'd explain why it half slid and half rolled down when snowing. Same if only one of those two wheels has grip.
Good luck getting it sorted.
Yes the first set were the ones that came up slightly further but the car was at an angle and I wanted it straighter. Thank god I did otherwise it would have been buried in my other half’s wall! However the other set don't show those perp marks... so was almost certainly sliding. Left side especially (right as you look at the pic).
I can't work out which were which, but if the sliding the set the handbrake applies to (eg. rear only or front only), then that'd explain why it half slid and half rolled down when snowing. Same if only one of those two wheels has grip.
Good luck getting it sorted.
Edited by phil4 on Tuesday 7th January 13:33
you can and should report the safety defect t o the DVSA, here:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-recalls-and-faults/repo...
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-recalls-and-faults/repo...
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