When applying brakes hear a grinding/rubbing/thud noise
I don't drive my car daily, maybe after every couple of week. So rotors get a bit of rust on them.
If I hit the brakes too hard, I am hearing a slow grinding/rubbing/thud kind of sound, coming from driver side(not sure if front or rear). If I apply the brakes in steps/slowly, then noise isn't obvious.
I do have all brand new tires too, not sure if it has anything to do with it?
Any idea or input what this noise could be?

That's what I fear too. I have made sure pads look fine, at least from the outer side. They have enough meat on them.
Both rear rotors are NOT as clean(rust free, have some very small rust) as front ones. Does it mean piston is locking up? If so, could it be the reason for noise coming from driver side?
It's a very fine thin rust, please see pict for all rotors.
I drove the car for almost 10 miles over the weekend and that's how it sits right now.
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You were asking about a piston sticking. If your piston was stuck or something your car would be pulling to one side under braking.
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I don't feel a pull or anything at all. Should I pull ONLY rear ones or front ones as well?
Thank you.
What if there is an uneven wear? Does it mean piston is shot or? Is scoring seems too bad?
If you know what you are doing and have the tools to compress the piston again you can have an assistant VERY CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY press the brake pedal and watch the piston extend from the bore to see if you see any falter as it comes out. If it hangs at any point you can either replace the caliper or disassemble it, inspect it for scoring and clean it up. It is a lot easier just to replace it. I only disassemble in an emergency just to get back on the road if I don't have replacement parts handy. Do not do this if you have not worked on brakes before and are very familiar with the systems and have the proper tools however.
Not sure about Mercedes, since this is my first one. I think, I need to pull left rear pads apart and inspect sliders/pins etc...
Any input or helpful link about doing the job?
Is there a DIY video or images for it? What lube should be used for the pins?
As always, thanks
-Luccia
Mercedes as other cars also do is the brake pad does not touch right out to the outer edge of the rotor and the rust keeps the pad from providing parallel contact. The rust will also cause the scoring you see as it is oxidized steel. Inner rotor face is also seen to be totally different in most cases, probably from the processing of the rotor in the first place. Clean the rust with a 4 inch hand grinder, also check for a lip on the inner rotor face, rust also causes issues here.
As pads have a lot of meat of them. I am going to first clean the caliper/pads area thoroughly with brake parts cleaner and water.
If problem won't be solved, going to pull the rotors off and grind them with sandpaper.


