Brakes after parking overnight
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Newbie
Joined: Mar 2026
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2023 C300 4Matic Sedan AMG Line
Brakes after parking overnight
Ok, one last brake question on this car. I bought the car in November and all seemed normal. When it got colder in the Winter the brakes would seem to seize over night and would be stuck when I backed out of my garage in the morning. The rear brakes would be stuck to the rotors and depending on how many days it was parked, it was a bit more stuck. Here is a video of the noise of the pads unsticking from the rotors. Inside the car it feels more abrupt than what the video shows. You can feel the car jerk back when the pads release from the rotors (attached movie). I took the car back to the dealer and they told me this is normal behavior because of how the parking brakes work on Mercedes. They even told me it's more violent on the AMG models with larger brakes.
Does anyone else here experience this?
Does anyone else here experience this?
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Been discussed many times. Mostly happens when you park the car with wet brakes, or snow on it that melts in your garage. Corrosion will quickly set in and seize the pads to the rotors. Best advise is to park with the brakes dry by doing some hard braking to get them hot on burn off all the moisture, or manually release the parking brake after parking the car, so the pads are not in contact with the rotors. Happens on most cars with an electronic parking brake, because this system uses an electric motor that presses the rear brake pads onto the rotors, so if they are wet, you can get this situation. I don't have to deal with winter conditions here, so this only ever happened to me after a car wash, so since then I always go for a quick squirt on the highway and exit spirited to brake hard and dry it all before parking the car. Salt during the winter just makes it even worse.
Last edited by superswiss; Mar 30, 2026 at 01:30 AM.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2026
Posts: 10
Likes: 2
2023 C300 4Matic Sedan AMG Line
Been discussed many times. Mostly happens when you park the car with wet brakes, or snow on it that melts in your garage. Corrosion will quickly set in and seize the pads to the rotors. Best advise is to park with the brakes dry by doing some hard braking to get them hot on burn off all the moisture, or manually release the parking brake after parking the car, so the pads are not in contact with the rotors. Happens on most cars with an electronic parking brake, because this system uses an electric motor that presses the rear brake pads onto the rotors, so if they are wet, you can get this situation. I don't have to deal with winter conditions here, so this only ever happened to me after a car wash, so since then I always go for a quick squirt on the highway and exit spirited to brake hard and dry it all before parking the car. Salt during the winter just makes it even worse.
It wasn't wet every day over the winter, but maybe because I have a heated garage, the humidity was higher inside than outside, and that contributed to it happening each time I drove the car.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
I wish there was a way to manually release the parking brake and just chock the tires. When we went on vacation, I let the car sit in the garage for a week. I spent so much time trying to figure this out. I'd turn the car off in neutral, but when I would get out and close the door, I would hear the electronic motor spin to set the brakes.
It wasn't wet every day over the winter, but maybe because I have a heated garage, the humidity was higher inside than outside, and that contributed to it happening each time I drove the car.
It wasn't wet every day over the winter, but maybe because I have a heated garage, the humidity was higher inside than outside, and that contributed to it happening each time I drove the car.
And yes, heated garages are not good for cars. It melts the salty snow on the car creating a warm, wet and salty environment that accelerates corrosion.
Last edited by superswiss; Mar 30, 2026 at 11:11 AM.
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2023 C300 4Matic Sedan AMG Line
There is. Put car in P, turn off the engine. Open the driver’s door. Parking brake should be engaged now. Release it with the switch on the left below the steering wheel. Or you may need to release it before opening the driver’s door. I don’t fully recall the sequence as I never have to do it. Get out and leave the car. You don’t even really need to lock it. I never lock my cars in my garage.
And yes, heated garages are not good for cars. It melts the salty snow on the car creating a warm, wet and salty environment that accelerates corrosion.
And yes, heated garages are not good for cars. It melts the salty snow on the car creating a warm, wet and salty environment that accelerates corrosion.
In the winter, I'll get my cars washed when there is a good amount of salt. About every other week, more if necessary. I always do the undercarriage spray too, so the salt can be rinsed away. Hopefully that keeps some of the corrosion away.
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Another way to do it is to hold the parking brake button and turn off ignition at the same time, just keep in mind newer MBs re-engage the parking brake after inactivity for a duration of time after locked.
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Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,432
Likes: 5,343
From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
That is possible. I haven’t tried it in a while. Last time was when I attended an AMG driving event. They had us leave the engines running, so the fluids kept circulating and release the parking brake after opening the door and getting out, so that the hot pads won’t imprint on the rotors.
