Are warped rotors covered under CPO warranty?
 

I just bought a 2014 E350 4matic a little over a week ago, with 29k miles. I just notice a slight vibration under braking. I didn't notice this during the test drive, probably due to the condition of the roads here in Wisconsin. The CPO warranty states that worn rotors and pads aren't covered, but doesn't saw anything about warped rotors. Anyone know the answer to this?

They should have been replaced during the Certification Process. Considering the short amount of time that has passed since you purchased it- I'd be a little persistent to have them replaced. If not- don't have them replaced at the dealership. They charge ridiculous amounts of money for rotors and they can be found online much cheaper. ANY shop can replace them.

I'd venture to say any "wear & tear" items are not covered under CPO. However, since you got it so soon, you can nicely ask the salesman if he can intercede on your behalf. In my experience and from what I've read, the dealer is willing to work with you, just have to be smart and respectful. I would make sure the dealership performed the CPO checklist/inspection. You should've got it with your purchase. If they did repairs to the car to make it CPO, you should also check if they worked on the brakes. If they did work on the brakes, there may be the reason why you are having issues. Last option and rarely talked about...MB will be sending you a survey about your purchase experience. The dealer & salesman want perfect scores, and people have used it (survey) as a bargaining chip for after the fact repairs.

Good Luck!
Greg

If the rotors have been assessed to be warped I would hope they would be covered (especially within the first week of ownership), as this would not be due to normal wear and tear, nor would it be considered normal maintenance. Has the dealer assessed the rotors to be warped, or is this just your assessment? I would give the certifying dealer a chance to address your concern and see what they come up with. Good luck.

Agree with the other posters that the dealer should repair the issue since it should have been discovered under the CPO inspection. Should that fail, do not replace the rotors. Just have them turned at an indy shop. Fact is, actual warping of rotors is extremely rare. What most drivers, and unfortunately mechanics, say is warpage is actually build up of dirt and/or brake material on a spot on the rotor. This causes a small bump on the rotor that causes the vibration. Once this material gets bonded to the rotor, it gets worse with time as the high spot hits the pads and accumulates even more material. Turning the rotors cuts away the excess garbage without the need to replace them.

Thanks for the feedback
 

I will take all of your advice. I have to call the dealer anyway because they still owe me a spare key fob. I have already found a reliable and inexpensive mechanic to take care of those things that aren't under warranty. He did excellent work on my last E class, and a BMW before that.

Let us know if they step up and cover this for you.

They've agreed to take a look at it next week. In the meantime, the vibration has stopped. My thought is that some oil or something got on to one of the rotors and eventually wore off. This would appear to make sense, because the vibration could not be felt through the pedal (as a warped rotor would), rather it was felt through the seat as if the brakes were being lightly pumped.

I plan on keeping the appointment, just in case it reoccurs.

I had this experience on my 2013 CPO E550. When I test drove it, they said the pulsing was rust and would burn off after some hard braking. I said it was more than rust, and that I thought it was warped rotors because after a 15 minute test drive it was still doing it. They said drive it and if it doesn't correct then bring it back. It didn't correct and I brought it back and they replaced all 4 corners in their entirety.

I had to postpone my appointment in Milwaukee to have to rotors looked at - because my wife had taken the car to Nashville for the weekend. While there, she suffered simultaneous blowouts on the right side due to sidewall failures on the OE Continental tires. I had all of the OE tires replaced at Mercedes of Nashville (the only place MB roadside assistance would tow it) with Michelins after reading online about how these tires are susceptible to sidewall bulges/blowouts. While it was there, MB of Nashville also noticed the rotor problem and documented it for me. I will be taking it back to the selling dealership in the near future.

Wow that sux and I hope the wife is ok. I was not aware of any issue with Continental tires blowing out. People tend to swear by that brand on this forum. Maybe there is a certain variation of that brand that has an issue?

Good luck with getting everything taken care of rotor wise.

Wow. Did she hit a curb or something? I have never heard of blowouts in the Conti tires. I have had my share of bubbles from pothole damage, but never a blowout. That's crazy.

I think the regular Conti's are rated as a 93 whereas the Michelin's are a 97. That's the extra load factor. So some do say the Michelins are stronger because they're rated for more weight. You can still get a bubble in them though, lost one tire because of a bubble due to a pothole and two others from nails.

People's experience with this seems to have varied, but to share mine which happened a couple of months ago -

My '14 is still under original MB warranty and had about 15K miles when front rotors were replaced for warping. MB stepped up on the parts for free but I had to pay dealer labor.

The selling dealer did replace the front rotors and pads under warranty. Now, hopefully with new brakes and tires I won't have to see another mechanic until the next regular scheduled maintenance.

Glad to hear your dealer took responsibility and stepped up. I'm about to take delivery of my car next week, and just wanted to get an idea of some things to expect and situations to address.

W166 GL550
 

Hi,

Hoping someone has some insight to this related issue. Bought this CPO last Sept. Had some vibration issues, and Mercedes of Marin advised to replace the warped rear rotors. Contacted selling dealership first (LA Downtown Motors), and said they wouldn't do it (they're 6 hrs away, and should've done it as a part of the purchase, but test drive didn't reveal the vibration at the time). During the CPO inspection, they had replaced both front and rear pads, but not the rotors.

Went to San Francisco Mercedes to get a quote, and declined because they required me to replace both the rotors with the pads.

Went to an indy shop, quoted much lower, but also confirmed that rotors must be replaced with pads (As well as new sensors). Interesting. Why didn't CPO replace rotors with the pads?

Sent in inquiry to Mercedes Corporate. After having a nice conversation with them, they called up SF Mercedes to discuss my issue. She just called me back saying they're offering me 50% off to replace the Front Brakes. I asked her to clarify, are we talking about the same car? The same issue? I had never mentioned or discussed anything about the Front Brakes. Anyway, she's going to do some more research and clarify, but my question is -

--> Were the rotors supposed to be replaced WITH the new pads and sensors during CPO inspection? Do I have an argument here?

Thanks in advance!

Tough sell on a wear item more than 6 months later. CPO 17 point undercarriage & drivetrain inspection is applicable however, you claim test drive was fine: https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/cpo#!...s&state=opened

Thanks for the reply.

I actually started reporting it on Nov 2016 because that was when I finally had time to bring the car in. Mercedes of Marin kept the car for almost a week. To resolve the vibration, they ended up changing the Engine Mounts, and Road Force Balanced all 4 tires. They suspected a slight bend of the RF Wheel, but the Vibrations at 65mph went away. The only vibration left was from the brakes coming down from freeway speeds, ie. Rear Rotors.

I'm actually still in the 4 yr new car warranty until this August, then the CPO warranty kicks in, and then Aug 2018, the extended warranty I bought kicks in until Aug 2020. However, I'm beyond the 12 mo/12k mi new car Brake Warranty. I suppose the pads should be under that warranty per CPO refurbish process that changed the front and rear pads, but not the rotors.

To add - if anyone cares to read, CPO did not catch that BOTH rear doors had failed actuators, and basically the rear doors never locked all this time. We discovered it when I wife thought she had her key on her a few times, opened the back door, and the alarm went off. They replaced those. After fixing my vibration noise by road force balancing the tires, I got a bolt in the RF tire and had it replaced by SF Mercedes. I specifically said that it needs to be road force balanced. Got the car back, Vibration is back. Brought it back again, they did a rebalance and found that the weights were off by 0.5oz or something. Fixed it. I actually don't mind, Engine Mounts, Door Actuators, etc etc, as long as they're covered by warranty!