Brakes Creating DUST??!?!?!

[amaycg]

For the first time, I have seen a significant accumulation of brake dust over the past two days. The 2011 only has 5,000 miles. I told the dealer that the pads didn't make much dust before (my wheels looked sparkly clean literally up until now), but dealer said that over time, the pads become softer as they are worn-in, thus creating more dust...ARGHHHH. I loved it when my car's wheels weren't coated in black! Has anyone had similar experiences? Has anyone had their E long enough so they have had to get pads changed? Was there dust on the new pads? Does anyone know who manufactures the pads and the serial numbers? I need answers! How many miles until you started seeing brake dust accumulation?

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[hyperion667]

hmmm....I thought the dust settles after that amount of driving.....
I'm over 20K miles now, and they might be getting close..
but nah, no pads yet.....
I understand what you mean about the black wheels.
I see sooo many people in their nice cars with black, nasty
brake dust covering them, but I realize not everyone has time or cares about that.
It also blows my mind how much of the dust gets everywhere else too!!
wheels wells etc....
when it does come time I have been considering getting some better ones....or the fancy ones or whatever.....not to be as much dust...
even having these black wheels, I can still see the dust and debris, just wiped them down today too, and they were plenty dirty.....
of course, tis the season....then we'll get hit with the pollen

[fingroupb]

I've got 4K on my 2011 and have been amazed at how dust-free the wheels have remained. I wipe them down every other wash or so.

I had a 01 BMW that threw up some dust, requiring wheel cleaning with every wash, but that was nothing compared to the 97 Volvo, which generated clouds. I used factory pads so maybe aftermarket would have been better.

[Raymond Lee]

fingroupb
I have only 550 miles on my E350 BlueTec and mine is about same as yours. By the way, I like the picture of your car. It really looks nice.

[Mbenz260e]

I am also amazed by the lack of dust on my '12 E 1000 miles in. I hope it remains the same. Our '09 M makes more dust but still very little compared to MBs and Volvo's we've had in the past. I thought maybe it was an SUV thing but hopefully the E will continue has it has been...

[ImInPA]

A lot depends on how you brake and how long the car sits without being driven. With only 5k miles, I am assuming this car sits a good bit of time. This allows oxidation to form on the rotors. Not a problem at all, but, it is the oxidation that you are likely seeing as the brake pads "scrape" it off the rotors. I have 30k miles on my 2011. It doesn't sit still often, and, I have very minimal dust buildup on the wheels.

[fingroupb]

Originally Posted by Raymond Lee

fingroupb
I have only 550 miles on my E350 BlueTec and mine is about same as yours. By the way, I like the picture of your car. It really looks nice.

Why thank you Raymond Lee that's very kind of you. I just realized it's the only one in the 'hood. There are BMWs, Caddies, Porsches, Lexuses (Lexi?) around here but no MB. Kinda strange.

Anyway, to keep this on topic sort of, the wheels in that photo had not been cleaned recently

Now let's see some pix of your BlueTec

[CEB]

Originally Posted by ImInPA

A lot depends on how you brake and how long the car sits without being driven. With only 5k miles, I am assuming this car sits a good bit of time. This allows oxidation to form on the rotors. Not a problem at all, but, it is the oxidation that you are likely seeing as the brake pads "scrape" it off the rotors. I have 30k miles on my 2011. It doesn't sit still often, and, I have very minimal dust buildup on the wheels.

BINGO

[axhoaxho]

There was a recent thread about the 2012 E-Class owners reported that their cars had virtually no brake dust:
Where's all the brake dust??

My 2012 E350 (C207) has almost 3K miles on the odometer, and there is virtually no brake dust on the wheels. Mercedes might have done something or updated the brake pads on the 2012 models... I guess it might not be a bad idea to checking with the parts department at your dealer, finding the part numbers of the 2012 model brake changes, and seeing if the changes can be applied to the 2011 or prior models.

With best regards,

[Raymond Lee]

I like to believe that the black dust is related to material used in brake pad, nothing to do with how often you drive.

[Green E-300 DT]

With my old W-211, it has to be those factory pads. I cannot wait to when I need
to change them, but can't bring myself to do so until they are worn down.

Go to hear that possibly MBZ has finally come up with a proper pad that evidently does
not make ones wheels appear as if they have been sprayed with powered graphite.



Derrel

[CorvetteOJ]

Yes, brake dust is directly related to the pads. European cars, especially BMW and Mercedes use a softer pad which deteriorates more, thus causing more brake dust. I have ceramic pads on my Vette (6 years now) and NO brake dust ever. When I mentioned the possbility of ceramic pads on the Mercedes, my technician gave me 100 different reasons why that was a bad idea. I am going to do it anyway after I get a few miles on it. I only have 1750 miles on mine right now.

If you are going to run autocross or do road course racing where you need a lot of brakes, then ceramic pads are not a good thing. However, for normal everyday spirited driving, ceramic pads will stop you on a dime and leave no dust. Lots of Vette guys use ceramic pads with success. Of course, they need to be seated properly, just as any other pad, to prevent brake squeeking, etc.

[RSIKR]

Virtually no dust. Cleanest wheels I've had since my first car with disc brakes 40 years ago. 2010 E350 4Matic.

[alloutmk23]

7k miles on my 2011 and it's funny how I don't even think about brake dust anymore. Even when driving in the winter/rain, my wheels are always shininnnn. Love it!

[michael10128]

5600 miles on my E3504M least amount of dust i have had compared to my W211 at least..
i also think that these wheels (sport) are so open that most of the break dust seems to wind up on the rear of my car around the tail lights...(yes its true) -

[enzo thecat]

I have 600 miles on mine and the wheels are literally the cleanest part of the car. Its surreal.

[Raymond Lee]

I have BMW 528i and 2001 E320. They get black in no time, in just 4 or 5 different drives but not this 2012 Bluetec.

[K-A]

Dammit, this is kind of bittersweet for me.

My 2010 E350 was so clean (wheels), you could drive cross country and then eat off of it. My 2011 350's wheels get definitely dustier. Not nearly as bad as my W211's did, but I'd say they get "moderate" brake dust now, not none, but not a lot, just a "moderate" amount.

[Mbenz260e]

Originally Posted by K-A

Dammit, this is kind of bittersweet for me.

My 2010 E350 was so clean (wheels), you could drive cross country and then eat off of it. My 2011 350's wheels get definitely dustier. Not nearly as bad as my W211's did, but I'd say they get "moderate" brake dust now, not none, but not a lot, just a "moderate" amount.

That's strange the got worse

Do the brakes differ based on tire size or sport vs. luxury packages?

[PHML]

The brake dust on my w212 is very minimal.

I've had a major brake dust issue with my old Touareg...the silver color front wheels were almost blackened from 2 weeks of daily driving.

[Kajnbabe]

Originally Posted by amaycg

For the first time, I have seen a significant accumulation of brake dust over the past two days. The 2011 only has 5,000 miles. I told the dealer that the pads didn't make much dust before (my wheels looked sparkly clean literally up until now), but dealer said that over time, the pads become softer as they are worn-in, thus creating more dust...ARGHHHH. I loved it when my car's wheels weren't coated in black!
Has anyone had similar experiences? Has anyone had their E long enough so they have had to get pads changed? Was there dust on the new pads? Does anyone know who manufactures the pads and the serial numbers? I need answers! How many miles until you started seeing brake dust accumulation?

I have a new GLK350 and only had it 11 days and had to wipe the wheels down twice b/c of the brake dust. Besides changing the brake pads is there anything else we can do to help stop this?