mac911

I'm a bit concerned going into my service B soon and 23,000 miles that the dealer will say I need front brake pads, however, it is $260 job there, where I can buy the OEM pads for $80 from another dealer.

Has anyone seen a DIY for this ?

Finally, at what mileage have some of you had to replace your brakes on W204s ?

RLE

It's likely to be the rears first but it's such an easy job that a DIY isn't really necessary.

Why not just pull a rear wheel and take a look at the caliper. You will see that simple tools are all that's required and there is likely to be a wear sensor on one side only and you might be able to reuse it. But even if you can't, they are cheap-ish. I would buy one anyway since you don't want to do the job twice.

My W203 pads lasted 44K miles and I never made any attempt to conserve the brakes. My two W201s needed front pads at 14K miles and rears at 27K. It's clear that MB brake pad life has gotten far better than it used to be.

mac911

Great news. My rears are fine though, I had them done under the service bulletin. Now they put out much less dust than the front.

Well sounds like I might be ok for a while anyway, but when it's time I should be ready. Done this on other cars, so it should go ok.

Thanks!

RLE

I would advise waiting until the brake pad wear light comes on which is likely to be some time. I would also tell the dealer service writer not to change the pads since both he and the tech collect a commission on any extra work they do. Their fallback excuse is that if they think that the pads may need replacement before the next scheduled service visit, they will change them early. This is the sort of unneeded work that makes MB owners complain about high service costs. Doing the easy work yourself such as this plus oil changes, air and cabin air filters etc. keeps your costs down and increases your familiarity with the car.

mac911

Thanks. Do they typically do something without telling you though ? Wouldn't they call you in regards to the brake pads, if they were needed ? I don't want to give them any ideas by mentioning the pads. ha

RLE

There is nothing wrong with asking for a complete explanation of work to be done when writing up the order and asking about anything you want since you are paying the bill. Believe me, a customer that shows some knowledge about their car is not the norm at the dealer and you will be remembered. They see too many people that come in saying something like "Oooo, I heard a noise (maybe) and I'm in a panic about what it might be." The service writer then has to go into a long handholding speech about what it might be, even if he has no clue himself.

The shop foreman at my dealer told me long ago that I was, hands down, their most knowledgeable customer and as a result I can usually leave my BS detector turned off because they don't see me as a walking profit center.