Pristine

I have 42k miles on my car.

An independent MB shop quoted me $600 to replace rear brake pads and rotors. Does it sound reasonable? This seems like a very high price to pay just for rears. I've heard on this forum that brakes are very easy to replace. Is it easy to replace rotors too?

I'd like to purchase MB brakes and rotors. Please let me know what's a good place to buy.

I was surprised when he said that I have 80% brakes remaining in the front. I wonder why there is such uneven wear compared to rears.

RLE

So, your brake pad warning lamp is on, then?

42K miles is about when all four corners would need new pads. And $600 seems very high considering the cost of the parts.

Generally, MB brake discs are replaced every other pad change.

snarlingchicken

So I had my Service A done this weekend and I asked about it. Apparently the W204 is equipped with brake sensors that applies braking pressure to the front or rear brakes according to the urgency of the braking. In normal driving conditions, the C class brakes with the rear brakes more in order to prevent the nosedive that occurs when front brakes are used. The fronts are used more only during emergency/hard braking. Hence, more rear brake dust! :[ I'm soooo going to upgrade to ceramic brake pads when I can....the brake dust for the rears on my 09 is ridiculous.

angeloxnet

i changed my pads and rotors at around 40,000 KM
I am about 80K now, and my rears are still very meaty, but my fronts are ready to be replaced, a lot thinner than the rears.

For me the brake dust is mainly in the front

Pristine

No, the warning hasn't come one yet. The tech said that the brakes have about 1 mm more to go before the light comes on. This should happen within a month.

What would you consider a fair price for rear brakes and rotors replacement?

The tech said that if I only replace the brakes, they will wear out very fast since the rotors are worn off.

Pristine

Thanks for the information. That makes sense.

RLE

Keep in mind that the tech will make a commission on the job if he call sell you that $600 repair. And the service writers have the same deal.

If the pad warning light is not on or occasionally flashing yet, DO NOTHING. To determine if the brake discs are worn to out of spec, they must be measured. Since MB dealers do not resurface brake discs, they will want to sell you new ones. Do some online shopping and see who charges what. Rear discs (not the Chinese version) cost around $60 each and a set of rear pads (four) is somewhere in that range so the parts including one new wear sensor should not exceed $200. I don't see $400 labor in this. As to his claim that the new pads will wear out in no time, that is a false statement since they will wear in to any small unevenness in the disc rapidly.

You can use an independent shop for this which has no effect on your warranty and at 44k miles you are near the end of it anyway.

Ron Jr

Defi nitly a DIY. Rear rotors on a C300/350 can be cut but fronts can not. I let the dealer do the rears during my B service and I did my fronts myself. I was definitly ripped off.

mac911

Even the Mercedes-Benz Genuine parts are not expensive for brakes (unless you have C63).

Go to Getmercedesparts.com and look them up. They are quite reasonable for pads and/or rotors.

930Pilot

OMG - this is completely wrong....

The sensors are to alert you that your pads are nearly used up, not to tell the car how to brake, urgently or not.

On all cars (period), the fronts provide most of the braking. Otherwise, the car will swap ends in a lock up and take about 3 x longer to brake. Common sense tells you that the larger size rotors in the front mean thats where the muscle is. The rears should last 2 x longer than the front.

There is little nose dive because the car is designed not to. It has nearly 50/50 weight distribution between front and back, but has a bias for more weight towards the front. This provides more weight on the front end which adds grip to the tires, which helps you stop faster.

If you want proof, try to stop your car with the emergency brake (it is connected to the rear brake rotor only). You will not be able to stop as fast and if you are aggressive with the brake, you will lock up the rears and the car will take forever to stop.

The additional brake dust on the rear wheels is a poor design flaw with the OEM material. MB fixed this on later models. If you don't like it, change the pads to an aftermarket pad and watch the wheels clean up.

kowyzg0moo

Thanks 930Pilot for clearing that up. About time someone actually put the facts up on here when it comes to brake dust.

And if you have too much dust, you can request your SA to replace your pads free of charge. There was some service bulletin about it a while back for 08 and early '09 model C300's and C350's that may or may not be in effect.

AdrianBrown

Pads are available but without sensor : ( Repair cost in Germany are very exspensive : ( for Mercedes and BMW... Cost to be the boss. Rotors are cheaper in US then in germany.. : ) Mercedes in germany will not place after market part on your car here only orginal. labor is 90Euro's an hour.
that is over a hundred dollars an hour for labor so $600 dollars is Cheap!!!!
That is my thought.
Another thing the speed limits over here are much much faster normal speeds are 120 to 140 MPH.

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> > FRONT TWO (2) ROTORS #CS-35109
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> > - MODEL: C300 (W204)
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> > - DETAILS: SEDAN (NOT 4-MATIC ALL WHEEL DRIVE)
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> > 1 x CROSSDRILLED & SLOTTED (SILVER)
> > REAR TWO (2) ROTORS #CS-35112
> > - MAKE: MERCEDES BENZ
> > - MODEL: C300
> > - YEAR: 2008
> > - DETAILS: SEDAN (NOT 4-MATIC ALL WHEEL DRIVE)
> > Price = $156.16