Lindagail

My GLB35 will be due it’s oil change in a couple of months, and will ask the dealer. I, too, have that noise and immobility issue after washing the car. I now drive the car around for a few minutes afterwards, and when I return to the garage, disengage the parking brake before settling in for the night. I have to turn it off, turn it back on in “accessory mode,” and then turn off the parking brake.

Alan Chicago

[QUOTE=Lindagail;8567305]My GLB35 will be due it’s oil change in a couple of months, and will ask the dealer. I, too, have that noise and immobility issue after washing the car. I now drive the car around for a few minutes afterwards, and when I return to the garage, disengage the parking brake before settling in for the night. I have to turn it off, turn it back on in “accessory mode,” and then turn off the parking brake.[/QUOTE.

I forgot, I do the exact thing. Turn it off. Back on in accessory mode, turn off the parking break.
First vehicle ever that I've had to do this.
It happens if the car sits for a week, or in the winter time.

Vladimir Livson

The break pad fusing issue happened to me for the first time this week, I picked up the car from the Dealer, they always wash it prior to giving it back, and when at the end of the day I pulled away the parking lot to go home, the rear brakes released with a loud popping noise. It happed to me again the next day and after that it went away. For last couple of days, no issues with parking break.

It never happened before, even after car wash, however we are having temperature over 90F this week, and I am wondering if combination of car washing and hot temperatures contribute to rear break pads fusing to the rotors. It never happed to me on any other brands of cars, so it must be the type of break pads that MB is using.

meister4weho

I have friends with other models of MB and they've never had this issue. It's still happens to me but much less frequently since they replaced everything. When I bring it in for its annual checkup, I will let them know.

V33P

I bought a 2022 GLB 250 4Matic 3 months ago and have been facing the exact same problem - the parking brakes releasing with a loud metallic POP, especially after the car is left parked overnight in rainy / cold weather (yet to see how it does in summers). I took it to 2 separate MB dealerships for Service folks to take a look - they out-rightly called it an "expected behavior", adding that these new brake pads were designed to stop the car faster than other brands, so there was brake-pad dust that released every time brakes were applied, with some of it getting stuck to the rotor if it's wet or cold outside. So in order for the car to release from a state of braking, the rotors have to "break-free" from that pull, causing the POP noise. It is dangerously loud and a shame too, cuz I love the MB GLB otherwise! Please let us know if someone here was able to solve the problem (not applying parking brakes overnight sounds risky since I live in an apartment building with a shared garage).

(PS: Apparently the CLA, GLA and GLC also share this problem).

meister4weho

As I mentioned previously, I finally got MB service to replace the rotors and pads. It doesn't happen as frequently but it still happens on occasion -- typically the morning after a car wash! It's very scary, very loud, and I worry that the parking break won't release and I'll be stuck. If MB would allow the parking break to be manual rather than automatic, that would be helpful. I'm rarely on a slope or hill. P.S. A friend of mine has a new MB GLC and it is NOT happening to him.

Vladimir Livson

I replaced my rear break pads and rotors couple of weeks ago with aftermarket parts (Dynamic Friction rotors and Bosch break pads). So far sticking break pads issue is gone, even after several rains and sitting idle for a week in the driveway. I was going to change rear break pads only, but then I noticed that rear OEM rotors were getting lots of rust after the rain, comparing to our other car.
Good decision so far.

Odd Piggy

How is the stopping with the aftermarket parts? Does the brake pedal pressure needed to stop feel the same as before the change?
I had some unpleasant experiences on my 2003 & 2005 and have used only Mercedes brake parts since then.

Vladimir Livson

No difference in feel and performance. To be honest I did not expect any surprises since these are rear breaks and front should be doing most of the work. OEM parts were priced very similar, however I did not want to install it due to past performance/issue. Front breaks do not have the same issue, so I will most likely use OEM when time comes.

Vladimir Livson

I forgot to mention one thing, that I think explains why my rear break pads wore out so fast, and partially why this model has issue with break pads fusing to rotors.
When I took existing rear pads out I noticed that there are no springs or clips on these pads that act as a spring to push pads away from the rotors when caliper is not engaged (similar setup is on the new pads).
I am used to seeing spring on the back side between set of pads on older car models and clips that push against the pad brocket on the new car models, that help separate pads from rotors. This models does not have it, so when caliper is disengaged, break pads are still against the rotors, thus premature wear and possibly why it keeps fusing to the rusted rotor.

Odd Piggy

You may already know this. but the GLB sets the parking brake when the car is in par and the engine is turned off, or when the driver's door is opened. I suppose that's to keep people from running over themselves if they get out to open the garage door and leave the car in gear. So if you don't turn it off after parking, it's alway engaged. I have never had much of a sticking problem. I have a 6 degree slope on my driveway. Maybe that coupled with the force of the engine when I go to reverse is just enough to free the pads. I like the automatic parking brake because I would set it anyway to keep the car from resting against the parki lock in the transmission.

Vladimir Livson

I agree that automatic parking break is a great feature. I think the issue is with quality of the rear rotors on this model. Every so often after it rains I would hear a bang when rear break pads separate from the rotor. I never had an issue when they would not let go, but on some days it was pretty loud. When I took the rotors off, you could still see the mark where break pads were fused to rotors. One day after a rain MB's rear rotors were rusted up like it was sitting in downpour for a month. That is why I decided to try an aftermarket rotor.