sxs191

My wife took her '10' C300 in for it's B service and asked about getting new pads on the front. She was quoted $800 for just the front. The dealer told her they cannot just replace the pads, they must also replace the rotors and reprogram the sensors. $800 is insane, I replaced the rotors and pads on my sons (American) car myself for under $100. Here is my question.. Can I replace the pads by myself or is there some sensor that really needs reprograming? Thanks, Scott

equetefue

Haven't got that far yet, but based on what I have been reading here lately, most folks go aftermarket for both rotors and pads for around $500 and do it themselves.

These cars have a wear sensor but that must be replaced once they advised of the breaks needing replacement. My understanding is that if the vehicle has not indicated the need for a break job, you can reuse the sensor.

I just don't understand why is so expensive. I always bought my pads, used a caliper compression tool and was done in 30 mins in all my other vehicles.

acarter53

What a rip off! The sensors are about $7.00 each and pads around $80 (Get ceramic to cut down on dust) I dont think you need rotors after 4 years. just measure them. The Sensors just plug in.

xjmoe83

Is this $800 for B service AND Pads AND rotors? That would make sense. Usually pads are around $250 P/L and pads/rotors $650 P/L (both cases, include the $7 sensor). You don't have to reprogram anything.

Quadcammer

dealer bull**** as usual

sxs191

The B service plan was $450. The pads, rotors and sensors were an additional $800. The dealer just called me and said my battery is testing low, a new one is $314. ($198 for battery and $114 to install) I laughed and said; she starts every morning and I think I can do the battery myself for a lot less when she doesn't. I just watched a video on doing the brakes and it seems as easy as any other job I have done. Thanks for the info everyone.

acarter53

Go get your car. We can help with any DIY maint

LandSeaAir

I recently bought pads, rotors and sensors for all four wheels for $300 from auto geek, shipped to my house. I got Akebono pads and China rotors. Supposedly the pads are where the feel is and Akebono is supposed to be OEM quality. the China rotors are exact replicas of the OEM ones, cross drilled and all.

I did the front, my rears are still okay so Im waiting.

They're blatantly lying to you about "reprogramming the sensors," You just have to buy a new sensor for $5-10, stick it in the pad and connect it to an electrical connector sitting near the caliper. Hardest part doing it in you own driveway is cracking the two bolts behind the caliper. With only a floor jack it's hard to find a good position to use some leverage. It depends on the side though. Also, theres only one sensor in the rear and one sensor in the front, some pad kits come with sensors.

acarter53

It really makes me mad when they make up repairs at the Dealer. You know that people fall for it who do not know better.

MJ50

take ur car to stealer ONLY for warranty or recall work...
even for maintenance services, take it reputable independent shop...

SA once told me my fronts pads are worn and needed to be replaced... and i have over 50% left... they'll scare u so u open ur pockets...

Carlos.33193

I did my front brakes myself for about 200$. I replaced both front rotors with cryotechs and the pads were akebono and come with the sensor.. There's no fancy hocus pocus... It's the same as every other car i've ever done + connecting 1 wire for the sensor.

alvinchang

Very easy to replace the pads and even the rotors. Sensor just plug it in.

xjmoe83

Brakes are pretty easy to do yourself, I have also used the Akebono "Euro Premium" pads and they were great, very low dust.

Usually the dealership will check your battery with a Midtronics Battery Tester. That will issue a report that the battery is good, fails or needs charging. (Advance/Auto Zone/O'reilly's use the same thing) Quite often, when it says "Fail" the battery is working properly at that time, but it may go down hill fast.

sxs191

Thanks for all the information and hospitality. I will grab a set of the Akebono Eur1340's. I do not have a store around here that sells Cryo Tech rotors so I was looking at these... http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/c...425/10494171-P


Also, what is a good battery to purchase?
Thanks again.. great community. Scott

Quadcammer

I like interstate batteries.

for rotors, try parts.com or oediscountparts.com.

the OEM rotors are really inexpensive actually.

nelson g

You could check with ECS Tuning they sell kits for brakes, oil changes, transmission oil changes. One of my customer who is a Ford mechanic purchased a transmission kit from them for his C300 and said the cost was less than he could but it for.

Check this: http://www.ecstuning.com/Mercedes_Be.../Service_Kits/


Nelson

ECSTuning

Nelson,

Thank you for the shout out!

If anyone anyone has any questions about our kits, or if there is anything I can assist you with please let me know.

David

equetefue

The Zimmerman rotors better than OEM, and are they also crossdrilled?

Thanks

sxs191

This sight is great, thanks for pointing it out. I will be purchasing my kit from here.

sxs191

I was going to ask this question too before I placed my order.

ECSTuning

equetefue,

The Zimmermann rotors are a good alternative, I know there is a debate on this forum about them holding up well. They are cross drilled just like the OE ones are. From my research one of the top recommended aftermarket rotors are ATE, unfortunately they are not available for the W204 through any of my suppliers.

My personal recommendation would be to go with the OE rotors and Akebono-Euro ceramic pads.

I hope this information helps. If there is anything else I can help you with please let me know.

David

ECSTuning

sxs191,

Thank you for the kind words!

If there are any questions I can answer for you please let me know.

David

ECSTuning

I just wanted to let everyone know, I put together a kit with OE rotors and Akebono-Euro ceramic pads. You can get to this kit by clicking HERE.

David

sxs191

It says it's for; 2011 Mercedes Benz C300 4Matic Sport V6 3.0L Braking Service Kits ES#2804160. Is this the same kit I would use for a 2010?

ECSTuning

sxs191,

Yes, it is the same kit for a 2010.

David