cookstar

Has anyone else noticed that the GL350 does not come with drilled rotors at the back, just stumbled upon it today, the 450 and 550 have the drilled rotors at the back as well. Maybe Fab can explain why?

UAG1

oh, the 450 is a nicer, better SUV

cookstar

lol that explains everything.

lotuni

Well its simple, v8 necessitates drilled rotors in back as well, no? Cause its faster

I don't even have drilled front ones on the 12.

blittle

My 450 does NOT have drilled rotors on the back.

cookstar

that is quite interesting, I have gone through 3-4 youtube videos of all the engines and the two v8's in the videos have the drilled rotors.........

cookstar

going by whats on youtube, all three engine choices came with the drilled back rotors as well as the front ones.

GL450 with drilled back rotors...
Gl450 with drilled back rotors
Gl350 with drilled back rotors

blittle

Obviously the auto show cars DID have the drilled rotors on the rear...but the reality is: nope! I think some of the show cars also had the heated/cooled cup holders and also had the ECO function button on the dash....neither of which made it onto US production cars.

sraza

my 550 and my brothers 450- both do NOT have rear drilled rotors.. i thought they were standar too but not for the rear i guess..

Joyride

Just checked mine, and nope. Just the front!

cookstar

so we can all say that none 3 out of 4 engine choices definitely do not have the rear drilled rotors, next task is to find out if the 13 ML's do!

cookstar

I can confirm that I saw a GL550 today with the rear drilled rotors.... So whats going on? some shipped without the drilled rotors and some did???

Sraza has a 550 and Blittle has a 450 and both say they dont have drilled rotors, MB head office is clueless as well, I am a bit annoyed as I cant find out why!

I know in real world driving it makes absolutely no difference, all I want to know is why!!!

Joyride

I'm with you cookstar. Would also like to know why.

blittle

Ahhhh..... a real mystery!

sbkim

My Gl550 doesn't have it either - delivered last week

sraza

this is really weird and confusing- i mean what other package is out there which adds this option- that none of us know about!

Joyride

I don't think it's part of a package. I'm sure the GL63 will have it

cookstar

All the Gl350,450 and 550 rolling off the assembly line now have the drilled back rotors, my assumption is that the first batch of vehicles did not have the drilled back rotors, saw another 350 today with the drilled rotors, but even assuming the first batch did not have it how come Sbkim's Gl550 that he received last week does not have it either????

cookstar

the 13's on ebay have the drilled rotors as well.....


GL550
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mercedes-Benz...t_12516wt_1010





GL450
http://4056.ecarlist.com/web/ebay_photos/7075116/

Joyride

Let's do a "group claim" with MB for drilled rotors

cookstar

got through to someone in MB Canada, seems like they are clueless, they say that unless you have the sport package the front disks will not be drilled either and will not have the MB name on the calipers which may not be true, I thought all Canadian Spec 2013 GL's come with front drilled disks regardless of option packs ( see picture above of 2013 GL450 without sport package with rear drilled brakes). He said he will check with the parts department as he has no further info....
I'll post when I find out more.

I suggest if anyone cares enough to call into into MB and see what they tell you, that way it might actually get us an answer rather than just one owner calling in.


MB Canada:
Mercedes-Benz Canada Customer Relations 1-800-387-0100

MB USA:
Mercedes-Benz USA Customer Relations 1-800-367-6372

cookstar

According to MB Canada:

All GL's produced after December 2013 will have the solid disk brakes and NOT the drilled brakes, my production was February 2013 which falls into solid disk production..... no reason was given as to why this change occurred, I mentioned drilled brakes would mean better heat dissipation, the rep could not confirm why but this what they say.... he also mentioned if you go in for service they will change the brakes to the solid ones... I find this highley unlikely unless there is a problem with the rotors, also mentioned that you could order the drilled brakes but they are limited availability so what I am assuming at this point is that the reason for using the solid disk brakes is not a quality issue but rather a cost issue which they will charge extra for now....... only way to tell is to wait a couple of months and see what shows up on ebay and what the 2014's will come with. More members will post pics of there vehicles which would be produced after December so we can see what they get as well.

sraza

i agree we all should claim the drilled rear rotors as a complimentary upgrade.. its not like we all paid less.. and its not like they'r charging extra for this either- I would really like to find out if this can be done...

cookstar

It all boils down to cost of production, that is why they went solid disk vs drilled disk, I dug around a bit and found out drilled disks usually cost quite a bit more, so it all about savings the D's for MB, especially when MB says its an add on option now, really stupid move at this price point, I am not impressed

sraza

i agree- i mean mbusa says nothing about this and all brake pics are drilled- i've sent an email - hopefully will hear something back soon..