Hello all. My wifes 2004 e320 has a malfunction indicator that says BRAKE! Visit Workshop!. We took the car to Mission Viejo MB Dealership today. Car has 26,000 miles on it. Serviceman says we need new brake pads. I said that i inspected them when we purchased car from them 3000 miles ago, and they looked brand new. He tells us that these cars only get 7000 to 10,000 miles from a set of pads. WTH? $230.00, we'll call you in 8 hours. I proceded to go talk to the great sales guy that sold us the car (he let me drive the 2005 CL65 that they have used with only 15000 miles on it - holy sh%^&!!!! 700hp!!! - he's the best sales guy ever!) anyhow, he said "that car had new brakes on it befor we sold as part of the pre-owned program". so i went back to the service tech, told him what i learned, he scratched his head, and pulled up on his computer that i was right. now, it must be something else! He finally calls, says it needed to have brake fluid flushed, he's a gem now because he billed the used car department for the service, and shoos usout the door. we drive the TWO HOURS back towards home, and the familiar little malfunction light returns. a whole day wasted. we call him back and he says how dissapointing. if we could just bring it back when it's convienent (It's a whole day for us) he will look again.

has anyone had this experience, and should we worry about this indicator? btw, our brake servo motor growls really loud in the morning, slow speeds, pulling into garage, etc.

NOT Impressed with the BS MBZ is slinging in Mission Viejo!

 

Hi,

Key to solving this is the description of what is wrong and what was found.
The warning light determines whether an electric circuit that senses pad wear (and possibly fluid level) are OK. These warning circuits are prone to water and corrosion problems causing "false alarms".

Initial diagnosis looks OK. However were the pads actually worn out? All pads or just one worse that the others? or was it a false alarm?

Why do they want to flush the hydraulic lines to solve the problem? and why do they think this will help?

Since your car was manufactured in 04 it is prudent to change fluid since it is hygroscopic (absorbs water) and this can cause the calipers and other parts to deteriorate due to corrosion, but changing the fluid won't solve the problem if corrosion is the cause of the problem!!

I suspect that you may have a seized caliper from your description of the groan early in the morning. Presumably this noise is only when the car is moving slowly. If so a pad is rubbing even when the brakes are off because it is unable to retract correctly and this leads to the associated pad wearing at an accelerated rate. Was the wear primarily only on one pad? easy to determine if this is the cause. Jack car. Apply brakes. let brakes off. Do wheels rotate freely.

Sounds like the garage are giving you the run around. This is BASIC stuff.

Of course the cause of the rubbing pad COULD BE many other more complex issues like the ABS modulator, the servo master cylinder etc. However the determination that the pad(s) are not retracting is BASIC. if the pads don't retract then a valve in the servo or the modulator may be at fault. A servo fault would affect both pistons and both calipers. the ABS modulator most likely both pistons on one caliper since the modulator modulates the pressure to individual calipers. the servo is common to all calipers.

Quiz the garage with this info and see what they say. The garage will not want to change the ABS modulator or servo since these are relatively expensive parts and the garage MAY NOT not get a refund if they are subsequently found not to be faulty.

Brake pads wear at different rates dependent upon driving conditions. High speed stops wear them more quickly than low speed stops around town but the number of stops is also a major input. In fact wear increases once the brakes are used very little since the rotors get surface rust on them and this is more abrasive than the standard polished rotor finish. However brake pad wear lof ess than 10000 miles indicates something wrong.

My SLK pads are reaching the end of their life front and rear at 85k miles 7 years although the majority of this was motorway running.

Hope this helps. Let us know how things develop.

Stuart

 

The fly by wire brake system on the later models is prone to being noisy and they have a solution to the noise,bring it up when you go in next time.Could be a faulty brake switch,you are under warranty so they should get it fixed,after a fashion..........Leave it with them and make them give you a loaner till they get it sorted out.
ohlord
CL65 amg 600h.p. torque is the over 730 ft. lb. figure on the twin turbo motor.The sales guy better bone up on his stat's
Have you seen the video of the 7.3 Brabus v12 in one of our W210 models?Pegging the needle at over 200 mph
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Taqap...ed&search=
ohlord!
ohlord

 

That car has an SBC (Sensotronic Brake Control) Unit, which is a BRAKE-BY WIRE SYSTEM. This means that there in no Brake booster on you car. These particular models did have issues on their SBC Control Unit. Two possibilities...either they can re-program the SBC Unit or Replace the SBC Unit, but regardless, it should be addresses because it's a safety issue. MB factory warranty is 4years/50K miles. Check your Dealership...they know it's been an issue.

take care,
-mar-

 

Help! When I release the brakes after having stopped it makes a sound as though its stuck releasing. Additionally the vehicle sometimes feels as though it is lagging when this occurs. This began several months ago yet it was infrequent. Today, after driving only an hour running errands this occurred about 5 times. My Certified MB technician/mechanic states that "it's always occurred" and that I didn't notice?? I'm not an idiot. He stated that he would have to run a diagnostics test Tuesday (no charge-warranty). I asked him to drive the car he'd feel it and could easily get the work going. Any advice or suggestions.

Foggy windows. How do I prevent this from occurring? The heating system works!

 

Hello, new here. I'm looking at a 2004 E320 sedan rear wheel drive, 67K miles. All the brake pads are almost gone and there is a message on the dash about them that I did not understand. I'm told if it's the SBC system not to buy it.??? Espensive to fix??!! The owner (private party) was pushing a button near the warning trying to explain what it was but I did not understand. Other than that, the car is in great condition, very clean. Any help would be golden. Thanks.