I replaced all 4 brake pads & rotors the other day. The brakes are squealing an absolutely ridiculous amount. Every time you touch the pedal it's loud enough that pedestrians turn their heads.

I used Textar pads (BMA assured me they were the OEM replacement), factory rotors in the rear and the rotors from racingbrake.com on the front. The fit is suuuuper tight but it fits.

Tons of anti-squeak and even machining down the rotors and they still squeak!

Any ideas?

Anyone else had this issue?

I only had squeal when the brakes are cold specifically below 45 degrees F. One they heat up over that temp, i.e. as soon as I have stopped once or twice, its over. So basically only as I back out of the driveway in the cold pre-dawn morning. Curious if this will continue after I replace these pads with Akebonos.

Did you break in the pads properly?
Also are they metallic, semi metallic, or ceramic?

Also high humidity climates are prone to squeal,

Moisture collects fast in the brakes when parked, adding to the clearences in calipers and pads while cooling, as the pads are heated up all is well.

Continuous squeal might be broken worn or missing rattle clips.

Gator

I have slight squeal on 13 E550, not at the beginning of applying pressure, but at the end right before the car comes to a complete stop. Any ideas on that one team? Thank you.

Prapism,
I have used textar on my W124 and have been very pleased with them. Standard replacement pads for typical OEM passenger cars.
Every time you touch the pedal tells me hardware clips, pad shim (loose) or a loose adjusted wheel bearing that thwarts the anti-sqeal compound.
1 piston in the 2 or 4 piston calipers might be acting up as well.

Scambo - A 2013 wow how many miles? and do you drive sporting on occasion?
It might be due for routine maintenance.

I did the rears on mine and still have a nice squeal when backing up only cold, I consider it a free backup alarm until I clean and adjust the parking brake shoes. oh well (lol)

The W208 fronts are pricey for rotors, I think they will make a great x-mas gift for the wife!!! (lol)

Cheers, Gator

21k miles.

Tom,

21,000 should not warrant a complete brake job, but heavy traffic commuting will wear things out faster.
Without being able to see the pads in question, I would guess that the pad shims have lost their coating and are collecting surface rust or road grime.
If it gets real annoying or the car pulls while braking, have it inspected pronto.

If the pads have wear indicators, (most OEM do not) we have sensors. A light squeal might be evident, no violent squeal.

Gator

Agree with everything above. My answer is "It Depends." Several factors could be involved. Different pads, and different materials can cause annoying brake squeal - such as carbon fiber and ceramic pads. But that comes with the territory. As previously asked - did you do a complete job bedding the pads in? That's usually the biggest mistake, people just slap on new pads and start driving. Also, did you use brake paste on the pads - another shortcut often taken that results in unnecessary brake squeal. If you can rule out these factors then you've got something else gong on. As in most automotive maintenance procedures, start with the least invasive and systematically rule out causes until you discover the issue. If you just jump in throwing parts and money at the issue you can spend a lot of cash and never fix the real problem. FWIW

Replaced both rotors and pads. Brakes are tricky, but they are also important. All is well, thank you.

Sorry, did not see these replies earlier!

I had a shop do the install. I don't know if they bedded them in properly at the time but I've certainly done so since then.

I pulled the pads off and applied a crap-ton of CRG to the back. The result was *less* squeal, but still what I would call well above acceptable levels. What "paste" is recommended?

The calipers themselves are in great shape. It's ONLY coming from the front, which is making me think something's up with the racingbrake.com rotors vs. the Textar pads. It's a low squeak rather than the high pitched squeal, sounding more like iron than aluminum. The pads are Textar Semi-metallic, according to BMA.

I applied a good amount of the MB-branded brake paste and there was little difference. Clips and backing plates are all good and snug, and the rotor pistons appeared to be in excellent shape. Everything is torqued to German specs (aka "gutentight")

I called Racingbrake.com and was told to buy their brake pads (of course) but they couldn't tell me which pads were correct, as their internet was down and would continue to be down for the next few days. I called a few days later and instead of a person I got a menu prompt from their voicemail setup system. Losing confidence in this company here. Until I hear differently, I'm thinking it's the rotors.

Do you know which type of brake pad your Textars are?
Our rotors are best compatible with Semi-Metallic brake pads due to the characteristics of our rotor formula.

It could be that the pads weren't bedded in properly
Click Here to view our brake in procedure.

Another thing you can do is check your brake pads for any glaze, if that's the case you may need to sand the shiny glaze film off the surface of the brake pads and clean the rotors free of the pads film.
quick tip here

I highly recommend going with our ET500 brake pads though.
Made by us for the best rotor to brake pad combination.
-Little to no squeal, low dust, and good overall bite.

Hopefully we can pin point your issue and solve it so you can enjoy the benefits of going with our two piece rotors.
If you have any questions please feel free to PM us or give us a call
714-871-6392

-Chris

The W208 came stock with a two piece rotor,
advantages were a higher rate of heat dissipation. I am not sure about the 05 W209.

A two piece rotor has a composite disk riveted with great heat to an alloy flange for hub mounting surface.

If the rivet is distorted or loose, disk mounting ears have a crack the rotor might howl like a new york city cab. any crack or looseness in the manufacturers construction will yield sounds of a garbage truck or school bus.

RB is quality from what I have read in the past but all have a bad day sooner or later.

All the Best, Gator

I ended up replacing with factory rotors. The squeak is considerably better. This was an expensive lesson.

I use Disc Itailia Hyper Ceramic Brake pads on my 05. Completely noise free. As an added bonus, they are also completely dust free. Best of both worlds. Cannot recommend them enough. Used in conjunction with OEM rotors.

So what happened to the RB rotors?

Always use OEM brake pads. They make a lot of dust but give a lot of bite due to being metalic and work in synergy with the rotors. If you do decide to use an after market ceramic pad, be prepared for them to not work as well and not wear out the rotor evenly which will cause the rotor to warp

I have had my Ceramic pads for four years. No issues thus far.

I have had ceramic pads on my '10 E550 and lately I am getting very loud squealing just during the first 2-3 time I apply brakes when backing out of my driveway and getting to the corner of my block. After that there is no squealing at all unless I let the car sit for a long period of time...usually over 4 hours. It is increadibly loud...even with windows up and listening to radio....it is overwhelming, but goes away after 3 applications of the brakes. Seems to be coming from front driver side but maybe from both fronts.


Any ideas what this can be? Do I need to replace rotors? I wouldn't mind since mine have some rusting.

I'm no expert, but here is what I understand. High performance street pads are made of materials that are made to bite, and thus abrade quite easily - thus the dust. Ceramic pads do a better job of resisting high temperatures under heavy braking, and don't produce as much dust. The downside is they don't perform optimally when they are cold, and so they have a tendancy to squeal until you've wamed them up by some extended braking. Some amount of squeal is the tradeoff with ceramic brakes. You might also look to brake lube and whether your shims are properly installed. I don't see a need to replace rotors unless they're worn to the point they need replacing. Don't think that in itself will solve your squeal problems. FWIW