akbro93704

A few weeks ago the steering wheel started shaking in our E350, as well as the car shuddering when the brakes were applied. I took the car in yesterday, and they called back today saying that the front brakes rotors were warped, and they WOULD NOT cover it because they claim that the brakes have been used too hard! We only have had the car since November '05 and it has 8k miles on it, and nobody that drives this car(especially my mom, the main driver) ever applies the brakes hard enough to cause this amount of warping. The technician said that the ONLY way this could happen in 8k miles is from excessive use, which is ridiculous. Have they ever thought of there being a defect?!? Has anyone else had this problem with such new of a car, and did the dealer cover it? thanks

LNL

I have never heard of anything so outrageous!

Have you spoken to the service manager? If he sticks with that line, go to the new car manager and tell him what he can do with your future business if they won't stand behind their cars. Also, have you considered taking it to another dealer and seeing what they say?

Lou

konigstiger

Have they ruled out replacing the bushings?

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/149185-e350-steering-shake.html

akbro93704

Don't know since the technician claims the only possible way they could be warped is from overly applying the brakes I'll mention it tomorrow, I already left a message for the service manager whom we've known for at least 15 years, so we'll see what happens.

I agree!I left a message for the service manager, and my service advisor is going to talk to him about it tomorrow morning to see what they can do.We always have bought our cars out of town, so our local dealer has never gotten our business besides service, so speaking to the new car manager won't be much of a help unfortunately. The next dealer is about 2 hours away, so we're gonna try to get it sorted out with our local one if possible....

Talbot

Is there a chance your mom (or other drivers) drive with 2 feet? (One on the brake and one on the gas.)

lig

I am being facetious here although this is a true story - my '01 Grand Cherokee warped it's rotors in 5K - maybe it's a new DCX parts sharing problem.

They did replace them under warranty.

akbro93704

no, all one footers here...

frogstaple

I would question if your lug bolts were properly torqued. Had you ever removed your wheels?

akbro93704

nope, never have removed the wheels before. Is it possible it happened at the factory??Don't know how to prove this though since the dealer has already removed the rims...

LNL

My wife drives that way, and we've never had a problem with warped rotors (or anything else). All that does is improve your braking reaction time slightly.

If the brake system is an SBC system, wouldn't the sytem compensate for any "extra pressure?"

Lou

Talbot

I suppose that depends on the actual pressure applied. I do agree that the SBC could be an opportunity for automatic correction of that.

Actually, that makes me think of another idea... Maybe the SBC is doing just the opposite and is applying some pressure at all times. Some sort of miscalibration, maybe? Admittedly, I'm talking about something I know little about, but it seems at it could at least be a possibility.

Flash Gordon

Your local dealer did not want to service you simply because you did not buy the car from them. Of course, they don't realize by doing that they have alienated you. MB dealers are experts at making assumptions of what you did to the car. I have a wheel corrosion issue after only a year, and the dealer blamed it on the acid cleaner, which I never used, and nobody makes a acid cleaner! I am requesting a MB rep to look at my car.

Nevertheless, your rotors should be covered by MB with less than a year and only 8K. Even if subsequently that you have to pay for the rotors, if I were you, I will definitely not give them my business. Any independent shop that specializes in MB and Bimmer can change the rotors and brake pads at a much cheaper rate. It is an easy job.

vettdvr

If you can't get a different service mgr to agree that this IS a problem they should cover with a car and 8,000 miles then I would and do business elsewhere. Just my $.02 worth Jim

Benz-O-Rama

Um yeah, they should be covered.

I know this is apples to oranges but I just took my Lincoln Aviator in for it's 40K mile scheduled maintenance. Plus it was having severe vibrations when I hit the brakes. They said that I needed 4 new rotors and pads all the way around. All of it, ALL OF IT, was covered under warranty. Did I say ALL OF IT?? And it has 42,000 miles on it.

MB should definately step up to the plate and cover it. If this dealer won't, go to a different dealer.

akbro93704

Well we got a call from the local service manager today and he said that no, MB would not cover it! We called the dealership that we purchased the car from and talked to their service manager and he said it was ridiculous what they were pulling, and we could take it to them and they'd cover it if we wanted to drive 2 hours. He said that if you drove in hilly areas, with two feet, or rode the brakes then he could understand in a car with higher mileage, but never in a car with only 8k miles. There's a factory rep at our local dealer today that's going to look at them, so hopefully he has a brain and realizes it's not the driver's fault and covers it.... If not, we'll most likely drive it up to the dealer we got it from..

WEBSRFR

Keep this in mind when you get the MB survey from the dealership that is proving such poor service.

This is ridiculous. There's no reason why this will be covered by one dealer and not the other since MB is paying the bill!

It's almost like they are purposely being vindictive since you didn't buy the car from them and that is unacceptable. When this is all said and done, I'd follow up by filing a formal complaint with MB for poor service and bad customer care. They'll get the message when they get enough negative complaints.

mleskovar

You cannot drive with your foot on the brake and accelerator at the same time with a drive by wire MB.....it won't accelerate, only stop. "Warped rotors" is a misnomer, they do not 'warp'. Improper break-in gives you the symptom often called "warped rotors" but is actually caused by deposits from the pads embedding in the rotor giving a grab and release condition that sets up the oscillation you feel. Get new pads and rotors and don't break them in properly and you'll get the symptom again. Stop and go freeway driving on new pads/rotors is a common culprit.

vettdvr

This is true and I think it should be covered. Given the current level of competition for car sales I would think MB would want to maintain a positive image.

However you must consider that if you use the cruise in mountianous areas that the cruise WILL apply the breaks going down hill and this can cause a heat issue. I would still expect this to be covered because the car would be operating AS designed and if this caused the warpage I would expect a design change. If a dealer won't help you on this one, I would do the same as I did to the Cadillac dealer. Just Fire him and hire another. Jim

akbro93704

Okay, so we finally got this resolved. The service manager reluctantly agreed to have it covered but said that when they send the rotors in and Mercedes sees the heat marks they will not be happy, which is fine with me! Nonetheless I'm still very unhappy with their service and will definitely give poor scores when the survey comes around....

LNL

Congrats on getting your problem resolved.

Lou

ATS

I was under the impression that the car will not use the brakes with cruise only shift gears to slow the car down. Only on the new S class will it actually apply the brakes and stop the car. With disctronic (on the E class) it will apply the brakes although only up to percentage. I remember reading this in the manual under the cruise section.

vettdvr

You are right,, If you have the cruise on going down a steep grade you will notice the car not building up speed. BTW wife's car is an E 500

Jim

Flash Gordon

Good for you! You've got to be persistant with these *******s as I have learned from my experience!

Nickthegreek

Hey,

I had this same problem when I bought my 03 e320 with 9K miles on it. I didn't notice it when I test drove it but afterwards when I really started driving the car I noticed that the rotors were warped. The dealer in rochester, NY gave me the same line and I gave in and bought new pads and rotors and replaced them myself. they said that the brakes are a wear and tear item that cannot be warranted and I bought it. Not next time though. I'm suspecting that the former owner might have caused it to happen and mercedes figured they would save some money if they ignore it and see if you don't notice. Next time I'll letem know

Nick the greek

KYBENZ

Sounds like that service dept. is run by a real butthole. If the sales manager knew how he was alienating potential sales customers I am sure he would NOT be happy. As far as the manager saying MB would not like seeing the heat marks on the rotors, what a load. My biggest concern at this point would be what did cause the rotors to "warp". If you are driving the way you say, which I believe, then what is going to keep it from happening again.
I can not recall one time where I have given out rotors at that low of a mileage unless there was an underlying problem,i.e. stuck caliper. Were both rotors bad or just one? Safety is something that MB takes VERY seriously and so should that service manager. God forbid that there is a problem with your braking system and the dealer decided to blame you. Warranty will pay the dealer to check out the brake system to determine why the rotors "warped".
If the rotor were that weak I am sure that I would see numerous cases of warpage just due to the amount of seniors I see in the new cars. (No offense intended). I have not seen one case of this so far. Good Luck!!!