Yup, I've read the threads here and my '11 E550 also suffers from bad front rotors. I just bought the car and it has but 24K miles on it. I'll be replacing them myself.

I've read in other threads that MB has changed the part number (and presumably the design) for the rotors several times in an attempt to get this apparent common issue under control, with the latest P/N being 000-421-15-12-07. I don't know if they've also changed the brake pads.

What have folks found that works? Any other recommended options?

Dan

 

I am a big fan of Akebono Ultra Euro Ceramic pads. Comes with sensors and the brake dust doesn't stick onto your wheels

http://www.showmetheparts.com/akebono/

 

Centric Rotors and Centric brake pads. Been using them for a decade.

Top quality and reasonably priced. Check out RockAuto.com

 

I had those on my '05 E500. Definitely less dust but didn't seem to have the initial bite that the factory pads did. Still, was a reasonable trade off.

Unfortunately Akebono's site shows only their EUR1342 - which they note fits only the E550 coupe, not the sedan (though I still think the brakes are probably the same). None of the other reseller sites suggest otherwise.

 

I thought about Centric but with all the issues the '10's and '11's had with rotors I'm a little worried that the after market hasn't kept up on the re-designs.

 

https://importecautoparts.com/

I normally get my parts from the website above.

They also carry the aftermarket rotors Zimmermann Coat Z. $85 bucks
The Akebono pads are $66 bucks.

 

Interesting philosophy....I'm just the opposite belief.

More often than not, I believe the aftermarket produces products that exceed the capabilities of the OE. They are are not constrained by geographical limits, corporate bean counters, and worldwide corporate legal concerns like the OE manufacturers have to contend with.

I'm not talking about Chinese made junk, but US-European-Japanese products.

 

I think there is validity in that thinking, though I can't bring myself to agree with "more often than not".

The aftermarket can, and frequently does, turn out a better product. But to say they are not constrained by bean counters and legal concerns is a stretch I think (though I did note your use of the disqualifier "like"). Regardless, they are unlikely to have the same depth of pocket that the OEM's do - unless they are REALLY big or are charging a premium over the OEM.

My logic specifically regarding the front brakes is this: MB obviously had a problem with them. Either the pads, the rotors, or a combination of both. MB has issues new P/N's for both - in the case of the rotors it appears they are on their 4th P/N, which suggests to me the pads and rotors have been re-formulated and/or re-designed, several times, in order to solve the problem.

Can the aftermarket keep up, or are they waiting for MB to sort it out before they commit to a redesign? Were the AM rotors better from the start? That I don't know. If the AM was smart though they'd market their E550 rotors with "won't warp like factory rotors do!"

Dan

 

+1 for the Akebono. Feel almost same as stock with virtually non-existent dust.

The ultra dusty oem pads on my wives 328i msport will get switched to Akebono soon. Those pads are seriously grabby and have awesome pedal feel but the dust is unbearable. Wheels are black within hours of washing car.

Never had a dirty wheel on my E550 after switching to Akebono.

 

Agreed. I replaced all the pads on my DW's 330CiC with Akebono's just to reduce the amount of pad dust. Pedal feel was not the same but was sufficient.

The factory pads on the E550 don't seem to produce much dust, and certainly less than the factory pads on my '05 E500 did.

My new rotors and pads should arrive tomorrow, I'll install them over the weekend. Can't wait for smooth brakes.

 

so what did you end up buying?

 

Job done.

I ended up going with MB rotors and pads. As mentioned in a different brake thread the latest iteration of the MB rotors are P/N 000-421-15-12-07, and the pads are 005-420-85-20. Interestingly, the pads I removed had the same P/N and dated about a year ago.

As I mentioned in a different thread the rotors had a grey coating on them - probably just a primer to prevent them from rusting while on the shelf. Some folks said remove it, others said leave it - the pads will burn it off. I opted to remove it since I didn't want to take the chance that the new pads would load up with that stuff. I used 100 grit sand paper to remove it from the first rotor. I went through a lot of sand paper because it would load up with the primer very quickly. I also removed the primer from the face of that hat - where the wheel mates to it. I then blew all the dust off the face, holes, and vanes with compressed air. Followed that up with brake cleaner. It was tedious. Got smarter on the second one and used brake cleaner from the start, which removed the primer easily and quickly. Paper towels were not the best choice since the holes tended to rip it up, a towel or old shirt would have been better. I then scuffed up the 2nd rotor with 150 grit - which actually remove a bit more. Blew that off and clean up with brake cleaner again.

Quick note: I just bought this 550 a few weeks ago and the selling dealer (local BMW) installed new tires as part of their prep. When I started this brake job the first thing I noticed was that the wheel lug torque was all over the place. Some came off easily, others required hernia inducing double handed pulls on the breaker bar. Those were way, way over torqued. I was actually shocked. Note to self: if anyone other than me removes the wheels for any reason be sure to bring my own torque wrench to verify lug torque. A side note: when I test drove the car I commented to the salesman that the brakes needed help, but I failed to mention it again when I signed the papers. I followed up with them after the fact and they agreed to cover the cost of the parts. Yea!

After removing the pads (I opened the bleeder valve before compressing the pistons because I didn't want to force brake fluid back into the ALM valves, nor did I want to remove brake fluid from the M/C) calipers, and old rotors I spent some more quality time with sand paper getting the face of the hub cleaned up. I wanted to ensure a flat mating surface for the rotors. Picked up the rotor, cleaned the back of it again with brake clean, hung it, secured it, and cleaned the front of it. Reinstalled the calipers and new pads, and bled the brakes.

While I had the wheels off I took the time to clean the inside of them as well, removing old wheel weight adhesive, small bits of stuck on asphalt, and accumulated brake pad dust. Finally, I also cleaned the wheels' mating surface to the rotor hat with sand paper to ensure a flat surface. Evidently the last set of rotors also had primer on them and some of that primer transferred to different places the wheel mating surface.

Ok, it could be argued that some of my expended effort was a little over kill but I wanted the best chance of success; the brakes were really bad before and I just wanted them to be right.

Took the car out for a 20 mile drive. The first stop from less than 25 MPH coming out of my neighborhood was not impressive; no feel, no bite. But, zero shake or vibration. As I bedded the pads in from various speeds, using a mix of aggressive and not so aggressive pressure, they got noticeably better. I took great pains to allow the brakes to cool after hauling it down from speed, never letting the pads to rest on the disks while at a complete stop.

So far, so good. Really nice brake feel, reassuring initial bite, and no shake or vibration. As the pads continue to bed in I expect feel and bite to improve a bit more. Time, of course, will tell.

Dan