2003 E500: Do my rear brakes look right?
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Joined: May 2008
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2003 E500
2003 E500: Do my rear brakes look right?
In Feb 2008 I bought a 2003 Mercedes-Benz E500 Avantgarde with 43,000 km on it.
A few weeks ago I took it in to my closest M-B dealership here in Switzerland to put the summer shoes on, and I asked if they could check the brakes because there was some squealing during hard turns left and slow speed braking. It cost me 100 to put the summer tires on the rims and another 250 to tell me that the break pads are still good for another 20,000 km, and that the only way to fix the squealing would be to replace all four pads and rotors, suggesting that I just live with the noise. From my lurking on this forum I knew that the SBC system has to be disabled before taking the brakes apart, so I didn't complain too much and just paid the bill and drove off. Yesterday the brake squealing was bad enough that I decided to pull over and check that something wasn't seriously wrong. Here is what I saw (driver-side rear brakes):
Both rear brake calipers look to me like they are missing some kind of dust cover, because both front brake calipers have a nice steel cover over them that say "Mercedes-Benz". I searched everywhere but I couldn't find any pictures of what the stock assembled rear brakes should look like on a 2003 E500.
Could somebody tell me
- if the dealership's mechanic forgot to put something back on,
- is it safe to drive in this state? I haven't noticed any problems with the braking performance.
- should I go back to the dealer to complain, or
- never trust that dealership with my car again, cut my losses and go to another dealership to make it right, or
- should I get Mercedes-Benz Europe involved? Note that the car has Swiss plates.
The embarrassing thing for me is that I don't have any pictures of the rear wheels before taking it to the dealership. They didn't mention anything to me about any brake parts missing. What should I do?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
A few weeks ago I took it in to my closest M-B dealership here in Switzerland to put the summer shoes on, and I asked if they could check the brakes because there was some squealing during hard turns left and slow speed braking. It cost me 100 to put the summer tires on the rims and another 250 to tell me that the break pads are still good for another 20,000 km, and that the only way to fix the squealing would be to replace all four pads and rotors, suggesting that I just live with the noise. From my lurking on this forum I knew that the SBC system has to be disabled before taking the brakes apart, so I didn't complain too much and just paid the bill and drove off. Yesterday the brake squealing was bad enough that I decided to pull over and check that something wasn't seriously wrong. Here is what I saw (driver-side rear brakes):
Both rear brake calipers look to me like they are missing some kind of dust cover, because both front brake calipers have a nice steel cover over them that say "Mercedes-Benz". I searched everywhere but I couldn't find any pictures of what the stock assembled rear brakes should look like on a 2003 E500.
Could somebody tell me
- if the dealership's mechanic forgot to put something back on,
- is it safe to drive in this state? I haven't noticed any problems with the braking performance.
- should I go back to the dealer to complain, or
- never trust that dealership with my car again, cut my losses and go to another dealership to make it right, or
- should I get Mercedes-Benz Europe involved? Note that the car has Swiss plates.
The embarrassing thing for me is that I don't have any pictures of the rear wheels before taking it to the dealership. They didn't mention anything to me about any brake parts missing. What should I do?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 332
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From: Long Island, NY
2004 E500 Wagon 4Matic
Not mechanical enough to comment on the pic. But, related, when I put my newly aquired, pre-owned car in for service last October, I mentioned some squealing with the brakes. My guys removed the pads, cleaned them, and put them back on. No more squeal!
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 613
Likes: 3
From: Newport Coast, CA
makes your daughter horny
Assuming the pads are not worn out squeaking is caused by the pads vibrating against the pistons. The trick is to use lots of grease between the pads and the calipers. If the squealing is really bad I would assume the pads to be worn out..
They charged you $250 to do nothing? Thats crazy. For $250 they should have at least taken them apart and put grease on them. If they just checked the pads all they would have to do is look at them - no disabling of the SBC required.
From the picture everything looks OK albeit a bit rusted. I think your confused because the front brakes on your car are "BBK style"? And the rears look a lot different?
They charged you $250 to do nothing? Thats crazy. For $250 they should have at least taken them apart and put grease on them. If they just checked the pads all they would have to do is look at them - no disabling of the SBC required.
From the picture everything looks OK albeit a bit rusted. I think your confused because the front brakes on your car are "BBK style"? And the rears look a lot different?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,779
Likes: 11
From: Long Island, NY
2004 E320
Re squeal, check out this post by Konigstiger : Click Here
In the U.S., note the last line : "Cost free, unlimited mileage under warranty"
Edit : Also, my calipers looked like yours and there's an easy, inexpensive solution to make them look GOOD.
Check my thread: Here
That project was 1 1/2 years ago and the paint still looks terrific and no peeling whatsoever.
In the U.S., note the last line : "Cost free, unlimited mileage under warranty"
Edit : Also, my calipers looked like yours and there's an easy, inexpensive solution to make them look GOOD.
Check my thread: Here
That project was 1 1/2 years ago and the paint still looks terrific and no peeling whatsoever.
Last edited by starbrite; May 6, 2008 at 03:37 PM.
