thekurgan

There are a lot of theories on the bedding. I personally don't baby them, but I don't lean on them. I won't use them above 60 mph and brake firm without pulsing them manually.

I don't leave my foot on the brake at a light or in traffic, I'll use Neutral and the parking brake, especially if the temps are high and the brakes may be very hot. I strongly believe these E class front brakes have cooling issues, leading many to have parts of the pad baked in high spots on the rotors.\

When I first got the car, I used the 10 stops from 60 method, but at 10k later, they just found deposits on the rotors and replaced them under warranty, so this time, I'm being extra careful.

Your braking ability will be hampered until they're bedded in, so that's why the car doesn't feel like it's stopping.

hyperion667

man, this seems like such an issue....that I have not come by yet...
Konigisiger just posted another bulletin in regards to the brake pulse plague, that might help

MinnBobber

I'm a believer. Some info from brake gurus:
.......................................
Bedding allows your brakes to reach their full potential. Until they are bedded, your brakes simply do not work as well as they can. If you've installed a big brake kit, changed your pads and rotors, or even purchased a brand new car, you should set aside time to bed the brakes according to the instructions below. Proper bedding improves pedal feel, reduces or eliminates brake squeal, prevents (and often cures) brake judder, reduces brake dust, and extends the life of your pads and rotors.
From 60mph, gently apply the brakes a couple of times to bring them up to operating temperature. This prevents you from thermally shocking the rotors and pads in the next steps.

Make eight to ten near-stops from 60mph to about 10-15 mph. Do it HARD by pressing the brakes firmly, but do not lock the wheels or engage ABS. At the end of each slowdown, immediately accelerate back to 60mph and then apply the brakes again. DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP! If you stop completely and sit with your foot on the brake pedal, you will imprint pad material onto the hot rotors, which could lead to vibration and uneven braking.

The brakes may begin to fade after the 7th or 8th near-stop. This fade will stabilize, but not completely go away until the brakes have fully cooled. A strong smell from the brakes, and even some smoke, is normal.

After the last near-stop, accelerate back up to speed and cruise for a while, using the brakes as little as possible. The brakes need only a few minutes to cool down. Try not to become trapped in traffic or come to a complete stop while the brakes are still very hot.

After the break-in cycle, there should be a slight blue tint and a light gray film on the rotor face. The blue tint tells you the rotor has reached break-in temperature and the gray film is pad material starting to transfer onto the rotor face. This is what you are looking for. The best braking occurs when there is an even layer of of pad material deposited across the rotors. This minimizes squealing, increases braking torque, and maximizes pad and rotor life.
...............................................
You might ask why doesn't MB recommend this?
I'm guessing they don't want to be sued by a yo-yo who brakes from 60-15
in rush hour traffic and gets rear ended...
The really knowledgable brake specialists all recommend something similar to this version.

Live Oak

See the new "Sticky" message here:

LI42.10-P-054524 SEPT12 – 212.072/090/272 front brake vibration. Thickness fault on brake disk replace pads and disks.

BTW, I might add, when the techs replaced all four of my rotors 15,000 miles ago, they bedded the brakes --- put 13 miles on the car doing it. So some know what to do and how to do it.

After that, my braking has been very satisfactory.

SolidGranite

Interesting. I wonder if this is what the dealer actually did to my 550?? The SA stated only the rotors were getting replaced but I wonder.

Either way, after a weekend of driving several miles the brake ability feels much better and of course the vibration is still absent.

Thanks to everyone for input!

blackbullit

Just got my E550 back from dealer for this issue. This is the fix they recommended (not covered by warranty) for vibration while braking from high speed (more than 50 mph).

Arrie

If the the wheel lug nuts are not properly torqued and tightened down unevenly the will cause the rotors to warp and cause vibration


Explain the mechanics of this, please!

thekurgan

Lug nuts that are over-tightened or not tightened in the proper order can cause uneven tightening against the hub surface of the rotor.

hyperion667

I recently tried to have some black bolts installed......they looked soo good, but the front
bolts were too long and were rubbing agaisnt the rotor or something....the car wouldn't even move.......
so we took them back off and put the reg's back on, now I'm waiting for HRE to send the right size/length......
that's why our cars have the torque wrench specs, like most cars....
100 is the correct setting from what I understand.....

thekurgan

I "think" the W212 wheel torque spec is 130nm, or ~ 95 lb-ft. Can't find that spec sheet so someone may know if this is correct.

BenzV12

Yup, you are perfectly right

I can tighten the bolts myself no need power tools lol

blackbullit

Just got my E550 back from my indy.

He replaced the front discs and pads.

The vibration is gone (for $400 - beat the dealer who wanted 480).

BenzV12

Good to hear
Happy safe driving

Nuru

My rotors started pulsating at 23k and they had to be replaced.

sharpxia

My '12 E550 brake starting vibrate at 2K mile and have the sticky brake since the first day. My dealer has checked three times and finally said they know what's wrong with it, I hope after three, when I pick up my car, all the brake problems are gone.

hyperion667

wow, I hope they get a hold on this sometime, also recently read BMW wants all M5 cars parked because of oil pumps....

Brando253

I'm going in tuesday for what will be my 3rd set of rotors and pads and my airmatic is deflating again (already replaced once). This is my third E550 and and with only 19k on the clock I am going to be having a discussion w/the MB Regional. Fortunately its a 2011 and I have a 2 year lease w/only 8 months left. Regardless, as a long time MB customer I am very disappointed as there is an issue with these brakes and have been told by two service managers in my area that the 2010&2011 brakes were undersized on the E550 and will continue to fail. They cant retrofit the 2012+ components into the earlier cars, or so they say.

Yosheego

Any word yet? I'm bringing my car in for service very soon here. I will address the vibrating issue to them again, and hopefully they don't charge me to replace it. ( had it replaced at under the 12k miles warranty).

sharpxia

It is not the rotor size issue, otherwise my 12' E550 won't have the same brake issue just under 2k mile, I will pick up my car tomorrow or Thursday, I will what my dealer say about my brake issue. I may go for the new BMW i650 sedan. Can't have a car that have brake issue under 2k miles, and takes three times and still haven't fixed the problem, I think BMW don't have that kind issue, my buddy's i760 never had issue for 5 years.

blackbullit

My Indy also told me that the original brakes on my 2010 E550 were ceramic pads, which caused damage to the rotors. Hence the vibration when braking.

Interestingly the new pads MB recommends and that he installed were semi metallic, same part number as the S class.

Braking is now very smooth!

sharpxia

I just got my car back from the dealer, they have told me that they have changed the brake pads, and the vibrate seemed gone by now. Since it is the new pads, I only hope the vibrate will never come back after another 2K mile. And yes, I notice they are different pads than the original pads that came with the car, I don't know which pads was better pads, but they said they both are MB recommended pads.

Nuru

I know what type of pads I am going with next time. Semi-metallic.

shaytun

It's good to see that I'm not crazy. Now I'm just disappointed. My brakes have been squeaking at near stops since about 10k miles. Also, the vibration issue has been there. I assumed this was "normal" until I read this thread. So I took the car for my 20k service and the dealership said they couldn't reproduce the squeak. However, as part of the service they said the brakes were tested and fine!! The next week I brought it back and they reproduced the squeak and vibration. They said that the rotors and pads needed to be replaced. However, MB refused to cover it saying it was out of warranty and this is wear and tear!! This is absolute BS!!!
The reason all of us have this problem is that there is a defective part. I had a Honda Civic that never needed pads or rotors changed during the 80k miles I owned it. Even if MB covers the cost, there is something obviously wrong if the problem recurs. As far as I'm concerned there should be a recall.
Of note, the service rep told me this problem was seen more in the cars with the stock AMG wheels.
I will be contacting MB Regional Customer Service tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm certain this will become a recurring cost. Will keep everyone posted.

theraven333

As an ex BMW 6 Series owner go and read the forum Bimmerfest, a brilliant forum and a brilliant car, BUT!!! you need to know what to expect before you buy, and what model range /year !!

theraven333

Hi! I can support his statement, I had a BMW 6 series which had a loose wheel nut, unknown to myself! I drove the car on a long journey and ultimately all the nuts came loose, having no wheel brace (runflat tyres the curse of!!)
Long story short, when it came to fixing it it was obvious that there had been movement in the brake disc caused by the oscillation of the wheel, ultimately requiring replacement. when we went through what had happened it was explained that the 5 wheels bolts hold the disc flat, but when one is loose with the pressures involved slight movement occurs which increases over time and then affects the other bolts.....