<FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" size=2>The dash board indicator just came on saysing my brake pads are warn down. I replaced by front and rear brake pads (and front discs) ~15K miles ago and am not a "hard" driver.

Is it normal for brake pads to wear-out after ~15K miles? Could it just be the brake light indicator is malfunctioning?

I spoke to a repair shop specializing in Mercedes and was told that Mercedes always changes the shoes AND discs together in order to insure optimal braking performance. Is this correct or just a sales pitch to increase the costs?

Thanks in advance for the help! <IMG alt=" src= "http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif>

rcd</FONT></P>

 

I would see no reason to replace the disks unless they are worn with grooves (a pad that is worn to the rivets can score the disc) or warped from extreme heat due to excessive emergency stopping or riding of brakes. Knowing Mercedes service practices it does not surprise me to hear they replace both. This is probably a little of price padding as well as exceptional and thorough mechanics. Remember, when one owns a Mercedes, the popular belief is that they can afford to maintain them at outrageous service rates.</P>


It is not normal for brake pads to wear out after only 15k miles. It is possible that the light is malfunctioning or the shop did not properly install the pads. Either way you should be able to have the shop that fixed the brakes take a look at the problem free of charge so recently after working on the system.</P>


</P>


Hope this helps</P>


e320, 300ce owner</P>

 

Thank-you. That's very helpful.</P>


Robert<img border="0" src= smileys/smiley1.gif></P>

 

Under normal circumstances, using OEM parts, you should replace the brake discs every other set of brake pads. </P>