My car was at the dealer for it's second scheduled service about two months ago. The car was at 20000km (around 12500miles) when I brought it to the service. The service guy told me that, the rear brake pads were worn out and need replacement. I refused it because it seemed to me that 20000km is a low mileage for brake pads replacement and also they asked too much money for the replacement. I travel regularly to Germany and bought both front and brake pads for the price they asked for rear brake pads. The car is at 26000km now and I haven't received any notification on display about brake pad replacement. Should I go and get them changed or wait for the notification to come up first?

 

unless you are hearing a grinding noise, I would wait for the warning to pop up. On a side note to that though, there are 4 brake pads on each axle and only 1 of them is going to have a sensor in it. So if the brake pads are wearing unevenly, you might not notice anything until it is too late and then you have to do the pads and discs at the same time.

 

The outside pads are pretty easy to see with most (all) of the C-class wheels. Check to see if they have life left. Will take 20 seconds.

The inboard pads will require pulling the wheel to see, and there was a couple of reports of them not wearing evenly, but they should be pretty close.

 

C-class rear break pads are made from rubber!! ... I replacement them at 20,000 km and 40,000km. (I wait it for notification to come up first) The front ones will last like 50,000km or more.

I have 528i with 42,000 km and the haven't replaced any pads. (iDrive still shows need to be replaced in about 10,000 km more)
I'm pretty confident that those MB rear break pads are garbage.

Also they will try to charge ($$)you the disc brake rectification, if you don't feel any vibration or some strange behavior when breaking, just tell them NO. Every rectification will reduce the width, these rotors are quite special, so there are not cheap. Also the service they charge you is almost the same cost of the pads.

drive safe!

 

Not understanding what you mean by rectification.. If you mean the shop you go to tries to resurface (cut) the rotors, that is not something Mercedes recommends.

 

Yes, resurface is the correct word. They tried to charge me that in my MB dealer, I said no. =/

 

You need to find a new dealership then. If they don't understand how to read Mercedes repair procedures in W.I.S., then they shouldn't be working on your (or anyone's) vehicles. I have never seen any of the work instructions that describe how or when to resurface any of the brake discs. Where do you live? what dealership is it?

 

I didn't hear any noise up to now but I checked the front pads today. From visual inspection, I can clearly say that they DO wear unevenly. There is slightly more material on the right-hand side brakes. I don't know which side of the axle has the sensor but It looks like I need to schedule a service before waiting for the notification. It seems to me that the sensor comes on at last minute before disc damage starts. These MB brakes really wear quickly.

 

The sensor is on the inbound pad on the passenger side (1 each front/rear.)

There is a little bit of material when the sensor hits, so it isn't completely urgent when you get the light, but not a ton.

 

Rear pads lasts 20000km and that's the period you will change them no matter how you drive. If you take a look at rear pads, you will be surprised how thin they are, so I believe they are made with intention to be replaced often. Front pads lasts longer, maybe 40000km in my case (they are much thicker), and that's the period when I changed front discs also. I didn't changed rear discs even after 90000km, but I think they will have to be replaced around 100000km. So, expect to replace front discs on next service (it's very possible) and you will notice required replacement by shaking brake pedal and by shaking car itself during braking. I would say that braking system on the W205 is the worst part on the car and needs aftermarket upgrade, if possible. Also, after about 60000km and after you replace first installment parts on the car (discs, pads etc), you will notice that the car is not tight as before. I know it's weird, but I think you will be able to notice the same thing as I did. This also depends on road quality in your area. Many parts on the car are made of aluminum to make the car lighter, but those parts are not that endurable and cannot be fixed, but replaced. Keep that in mind and also think about how much this car will cost to maintain after warranty period has expired. I'm not talking about discs, pads, tires, fuel and filters after 60000km, I'm talking about suspension, steering section, differential, transmission, PTO etc.. I realized that modern Mercedes Benz vehicles are made by connecting good/strong/torquey engine with everything else (mostly aluminum), which fails much earlier than expected and also costs fortune to maintain. It is expected from you to replace the car with a new model every 3 years or around 100000km-150000km. It will not last 10 years as before.

 

I don't know but my 2015 C300's pads are still adequate after 35K miles (~56K km). Maybe there are differences between US and European models.

 

Sounds like this can be a DIY job, but do I need to replace the sensors too? Or just the pads?

 

If you can pry the sensor out or if it has not been damaged from contact with the rotor (causing the brake wear warning to come on in the cluster) then you can reuse it. If you break the sensor removing it or if it has worn away from contact with the rotors, you need to replace them. Should be less than $10 for the new sensor

 

 

Where can I buy rear pads, rotors and sensors?
I'm in Canada and having a hard time finding any online stores.

I'm at 55k, and the dealer said I need new rear pads and rotors. Are the rotors required, visual inspection by my un-trained eye looks like they are in good shape.

 

I have this on my 2022 E53 cab as well. Only notice it when I’m driving by a wall where the sound is reflected back, with the top down. Don’t notice it with the top up. Wonder if it was on my E53 coupe as well but never noticed it.

 

It is expected from you to replace the car with a new model every 3 years or around 100000km-150000km. It will not last 10 years as before.
=> the most funny part :-)

But the rest was not bad also !

 

Does anyone know if ther are there other brake pads which are just as good but last more miles?