soma

I have a 2003 C230 sedan. About 6 months ago the brakes started squeaking during light and medium braking. I took it to my dealer and they said I still had(at that time) 50% of my brake pads left. I can't really remember what they said was causing the squeaking but they offered to put on "brake paste" for $200. I declined because they told me it might only last a few months.

Well, the squeaking is really starting to annoy me now. Every time I stop at a red light or stop sign it's "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE". Let me also point out that I have 35,000 miles on the car and have never had the brake pads or rotors replaced. I would say more than half of those miles are highway, so I'm assuming that is why I have gotten so many miles out of them.

My questions are:

If the brake pads are ok, what is causing the squeaking? Can brake paste solve the problem?

How much should I be charged for new brake pads and rotors? Am I asking for trouble if I take it to one of the nationwide tire/brake shops? The reason I'm asking is because the dealership I go to likes to seriously overcharge customers. They wanted to charge me $1400 to put 4 new tires on. I purchased the tires from Tire Rack($700) and took it to one of those nationwide tire/brake shops to have them installed($50).

Buellwinkle

The squeal is the noise generated from the metal backing plate of the pads vibrating against the calipers when you step on the brakes, usually lightly (press real hard and they won't squeal). Ideally, if the rotors are cut smooth and the pads were perfect it wouldn't squeal but that's rarely the case so when brakes are done, a bead of soft glue called anti-squeal compound is put on the back of the pad backing plate to dampen the vibration. There's also shims that go between the pad and capliper that also help. Another problem that happens is the pads develop a glaze that makes them vibrate even more so while the pads out, sand the pad and also bevel the leading edge of the pad as the edge can cause chatter. So you can go to the dealer, and I'm sure for about $700 they will replace your pads and rotors and if they don't do stuff to prevent squealing they may squeal at anytime. I know my dealer is paranoid about using too much anti-squeal compound because they are afraid of contamination, I say BS, the stuff dries on there, it's not going anywhere. I did brakes on my kid's mustang and took the time to do them right, my buddy did his mustang and just put them on, his always squeal from day one and my daughter's don't, He had to take everything apart to redo it. So I can see why they want to charge you $200, because it's the same amount of labor to replace the pads as it is to put anti-squeal compound on the back but you must have some hefty rates where you live because my dealer charged me $48 to swap pads or 1/2 hour labor. Also, now is a good time to get the MB low dust pads or Porterfields and kill to problems with one credit card. Pads are very easy to replace, anyone with mediocre mechanical skills can do it. The hardest part is jacking up the car and placing the jack stands and removing the wheel, the caliper comes off easy, the pads literally fall out.

As for tires, replacing the factory tires on the C230 can be expensive if you get the original factory Michelin Pilot Sports, they probably cost $900+ from Tire Rack, so it realy depends on the tire, but I found my dealer to reasonable, a little more than the local tire store but certainly not double. Tire Rack is cheaper but I don't want to deal with the hassle of mail ordering them and then finding a place to do it as I have a small tire shop that gets very close to Tire Racks prices anyway and it's installed.