BallzOne

Not if the problem is in the rear. Ceramics are only on the front wheels.

StrikeTeam

So.. my front brakes are squeaking with only 6k on the car. I don't track the car. While I do drive spirited at times, I haven't driven it harder than any of my other vehicles.

I am taking it in for service tomorrow. Should I bring my boxing gloves? Because if it does need brakes, and MB wants to charge me, I will probably flip my lid.

Your thoughts?

tripitz

Squeaking has nothing to do with brake pad/rotor wear. It is usually the pad vibrating and/or pad material causing the noise. Mine does it too.

Wear/cracking on the rotor and pad thickness are what determines whether replacement is necessary, not noise.

StrikeTeam

Thats good to hear! As you can see I am no mechanic! I thought manufacturers made pads to squeak to let you know its time to change the pads before there is rotor damage. Am I misinformed?

tripitz

There are a LOT of misconceptions about brakes, usually to the improvement of cash flow to dealerships. Brake jobs, especially for cars utilizing high performance racing derived calipers, usually take very little time to do a swap. For example, on my 911, it took me 9 minutes per side to swap pads, including the time to chock the wheels, jack up the car, remove the wheel, do all the work and then put the wheel on properly torqued and on the ground. 9 minutes! It doesn't take that much longer to do the rotor swap either; usually 1 set screw on the rotor and 2 bolts to the uprights holding the caliper/bracket to the car.

Another misconception is around cross drilled rotors. They are not very good at all for performance driving. The holes create an inherent weakness in the rotor. In addition, the holes usually clog up with pad material, which completely negates the benefits of having the holes for outgassing purposes. What ends up happening on the track is that eventually little cracks will appear around the holes. Once they connect across the rotor, you have to chuck the rotor even if there is plenty of thickness left. Another thing to remember is that brake components wear faster as they wear down.

Dealerships usually recommend changing rotors when changing pads, as discussed earlier, because it is the safe thing to do. It is unclear to the service department how a worn rotor will continue to wear. It may be possible that a used rotor will wear to minimum thickness before the second pad will reach a replacement thickness. It is a bit more of a hassle to measure and stay on top of rotor thickness so they recommend changing everything (eliminates liability issues).

You should look up "warped rotors", which is also commonly misunderstood. On a high performance car it is almost always pad material deposited on the rotor from incorrect cooldown. It can be fixed with some proper high-heat braking tests to clean it off.

In any event, have it checked out. Sometimes a squeal can come from a rock lodged in the pad. Just try and avoid being taken to the cleaners...

dforman15

I needed all four pads and rotors replaced at 8K miles. Luckily, when I bought prepaid maintenance I demanded the first sets be included so it was no charge. Just took my car in yesterday with 17K miles and I need rear pads and rotors again (so they say). I drive less than 1000 miles a month, never tracked the car but I do drive the car hard at times like everyone does and what the car was built for. They quoted me just under $1000.00 for rear pads and rotors. Does that sound about right??
Thanks.

Palpatine

I only replaced my pads once on my 09 w204 c63 and that was at almost 35k miles... no rotors.

You need pads and rotors again at 17k miles?!? Wtf

dforman15

Yes. Apparently I need rear brakes and pads ( at least that's what Im being told). Going to get a second opinion at wheel and tire shop I've been going to for the last 15-20 years. See what they say. I'm as confused about this car as everyone else is!!

Alex.currie44

Pre FL only.

vaelin

It cost me about 250 for pads and labor for the rear, at 20k miles. Didn't need new rotor (they turned them though.)

I'm still looking for aftermarket pads that generate less dust than the factory ones.

Alex.currie44

Would someone clarify for me.
When I look on line I get for rotors I get lots of hits and then find the ones that say P30 option and then stumble over the U70 Red Caliper issue.
Is this because the U70 are Brembo and we are locked in? What others will fit the P30/U70 set up?

nobbyv

There's no P30 package for the W205. I just checked my build sheet. I think you're in the wrong forum; you're talking about your '13, right?

rbohgan

my front right brake is squeeking like hell. brake pedal feels a bit mushy too. taking it in on thursday

Alex.currie44

The minute I read W205 I realized my search slid me off to the wrong forum.

nobbyv

No worries! To answer your question (going off memory): if you have P30, any of the OEM rotors for the W204 C63 will fit your brakes. The original rotors are likely the "1.5" piece, meaning there's a disc and an attached "hat", but they're not truly 2-piece like the earlier P30 rotors. So you can source OEM rotors to replace what you have at ~$1100/ea, or you can find the generic Brembo equivalents (same part, just no MB part #) for ~$750/ea. Or, you can use the non-P30 rotors, which are a 1-piece and sell for ~$130/ea. Or, finally, you COULD even use the true 2-piece rotors, which also sell for ~$1100/ea initially, but once you have those you can replace JUST the disk, and keep the hat, to the tune of ~$600/ea, as I recall.

vaelin

Check your wheel; I had an issue where the cable within the caliper popped out and was rubbing against the rim, scoring a divot into the surface of the rim. MB replaced the rim and fixed the caliper.

rbohgan

wow thats crazy. thanks for tip will def check that!