Rear Brakes Binding
 

Hi there. The rear brakes on my '03 E320 have been dragging lightly (to moderately) for a couple of weeks. I replaced the rear calipers, pads and hoses to no avail....still dragging. I was wondering if the traction control was some how responsible, so I switched off the ESP. Lo and behold, the rear brakes stopped dragging. There are no warning lights. I do not have STAR to check for codes and unfortunately, the the nearest dealer is nearly two hours away. Any ideas for me to try? Thanks in advance, James.

A foxwell nt520 or icarsoft mbii scan tool would allow you to read the codes in the SBC and ESP.

Thanks for the info, I looked them both up last night and they both seem quite capable. At the risk of igniting an Android vs iPhone-esque debate, are there any clear differences between the two?

In addition to read and erase trouble codes the nt520 can do coding and run active tests which the MBii can't. So for example I used the Foxwell to reduce the ON temperature for the engine cooling fan from 97c to 92c, switched off the torque converter lockup for a diagnostic test, adjust the ignition timing to run on 87 octane, switch off and bleed the SBC brakes, adjust the air suspension ride height etc. If you're planning to keep the car for a while and want to work on it yourself the nt520 is worth the additional cost over the MBii.

That's very good info and exactly what I was looking for. I have owned and maintained this car for nearly all of its 319,000 plus miles and plan to keep it until I'm very old and very gray. It would be a great help to have this equipment to add to my toolbox. Thank you.

Make sure to get one pre loaded with the Mercedes software at additional cost. You can add up to 5 brands like BMW, VW/Audi Porsche etc. I got it on eBay.