Same issue. Same set of frustrations with both my local dealership & Mercedes USA customer service.

I decided to call the national automobile safety council. They opened an investigation of defects case. The more that call, the better.

 

I am not "under-sizing" the issue - but I have not seen a "safety" complaint.

"National Automobile Safety Council" don't forget the "Inc." - for-profit "safety consultant advocacy group - so not's let this mistaken for social action.

Everybody is welcome to take the credit when Mercedes Engineering releases the updated solution in January.

 

Sure - hope they do release a fix in early Jan and that it also gets to all owners immediately. Not counting on a fix then, since they have had about 12 months to come up with one already, but hope I am wrong.

There is no way we can through the whole winter with this ridiculus brake noise.

 

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Bought the car in June from Knauz in IL. Screaming started in October. Front breaks fixed then. Screaming restarted last week. Dealer said they won't do anything until they hear from Germany. Called MBUSA and opened a case with Kyla. Sent email requesting, in writing, assurances that there is NO safety issue with continuing to drive a car that sounds like it's being murdered. Additionally, I am filing a complaint on the safercar.gov site in the hopes that safety concerns will be allayed.

 

The executive referral manager (Jorel) at MB USA Customer Service just sent me a letter stating that the advisor details are in STAR Tekinfo under topic number 42.10-P-063978. But you must have a subscription to read it and he could not provide it to me.

The letter also stated that the issue does not affect the performance or safety of the braking system in the vehicle.

He was still unable to provide any updates as to when a fix would be available as MB Engineering is still investigating.

Mercedes Finance told me, that if you are leasing the vehicle through them, the agreement states the MB must provide you with a loaner or rental auto until issues like this gets resolved. That may be an option to pursue.

 

Hi All:
GLC 300 since March 16, live in northern NJ. Screaching since a few weeks in, twice service same canned answer. Called corporate now waiting for a callback from a higher level exec. To the poster who said that they feel a vibration, I feel it too. Noise has now occasionally been heard in fwd as well as reverse. Going to try to demand that they hold off my payment until its resolved.

 

I'd be really careful holding off payments as most lease/finance documents say that the lessor/financer has no responsibility for repairs. Maybe M-B is different but I doubt it.

 

We are first time MB owners. Unfortunately it's my wife who has to put up with the brake issues on our GLC300. We purchased our vehicle in July of this year. I won't go into the specifics of the brake/noise issue because it is exactly as everyone else has described. I first came across this forum a month ago and checked back to see if anything was new. My wife's unprompted comments about her car are "embarrassing" and "its a lemon", not exactly what I expected when I convinced her it was a better choice than the Audi Q5.

The issues with the vehicle aside the way the MB dealers are handling this seems to be consistent and amazingly awful. They might be in a bad spot and not have information to communicate, but wow some of this is just customer service 101. To simply say we are working on it and will let you know when we have something to say, incredible. Who the heck thinks that is ok?!? How about something as simple as we are going to give you a call every 2 weeks and give you an update. Realize the update might be, no new news, but at least customers feel someone cares about what is going on.

So here is the most amazing thing. I hadn't seen anyone posting about MB selling new GLC300. So I just anonymously called my dealer and asked sales about the GLC300's they had on their lot. They had a few and were happy to sell one to me. Then I told them I had a friend who had a GLC300 and had told me their was some issues with the brakes and noise. The sales guy said he wasn't aware of the issue! Amazing, let's just keep shoveling the crap out the door.

Besides the lemon law aspect, the people who really have a lawsuit are the ones buying this vehicle when MB knows there is an issue and they aren't making them aware of the problem.

 

I feel for everyone who is having this issue and sure hope it doesn't show up in our new vehicle. MB needs to provide a solution posthaste.
I have to point out, however, that we have no idea how many (or what percentage) of vehicles have this problem. We're seeing many posts here, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of GLCs out there. Granted, many who may have the problem haven't found this forum, but to think MB would stop selling the vehicle is not realistic IMHO.
MB is aware of it and has said it is not a safety issue (which, if it were, WOULD preclude them from selling the car).
I'd heard of the problem and it did not cause me to refuse delivery of my GLC.

 

Just a couple points. Obviously no one, outside MB, has any insight into the percentage of vehicles with this issue. I've worked in the automotive industry for 30+ years, including in development/engineering roles. We will never know unless NHTSA decides to investigate (and they won't unless it's a safety issue). So since we are just guessing, my guess is it's bigger than "a drop in the bucket". If it was very limited MB would be doing more for the "few" people that had the problem.

My other point was on MB selling new GLC300s. There is a delicate balance these issues create. In officially stating this is not a safety issue (has MB done that in writing?) they are potentially indirectly say we are aware of the issue. So while they may not have a product liability issue because those cases are driven by defective products that cause injuries, to have your sales group telling customers they are unaware of the issue can create a legal liability related to fraudulent misrepresentation.

One last thought. The brake noise, when it occurs, is very unsettling. At it's worst it could be considered distracting. So while MB might be saying it's not a safety issue, their position is limited to a view based on product failure. Lots of things come into play when operating a motor vehicle, but it's a good bet that sometime in the next few years MB will get sued because someone is seriously injured while backing up their GLC300 and they argue the loud brake noise was a distraction. I wouldn't want to be on the MB legal team and having to convince a judge/jury that the problem went on for a year, you offered no fix or alternative, you kept existing owners in the dark and you continued to sell the car without providing notice...hmm, no thanks.

 

Update & Advice: I called in MB to make a complaint, but obviously the agent who answered my call had heard too many such complaints and he'd just say "You complaint has been recorded. Our engineering team is investigating this and there is no further information I can share with you currently". Since this brake issue has been on for more than a year and there's been no solution, my thoughts are 1) this is really a BIG design/engineering bug in GLC 300 and MB engineers have no solutions for it, so for those who still wish to buy GLC 300, I'd recommend a halt; 2) there must be an management/administrative scandal/loophole in MB for they should have detected/known this obvious issue before they released this product for customer delivery - how come they let it happen? Are they trying to hide something from the public? Or they are simply having a sale experiment?

 

Just out of curiosity - is this issue with the base brakes, sport package brakes, or both?

 

My point was that the number of complaints here are a drop in the bucket compared to the number of GLCs sold. We agree that it is an unknown. But, this thread could bring people to conclude that this is a widespread problem, when we do not know that it is.

MB has acknowledged this issue, based on numerous posts from members above.
I don't read that they are "having their sales group telling customers that". Because one salesman said he was unaware doesn't mean it's a conspiracy by MB. On the contrary, we have innumerable acknowledgments here that MB is well aware of it and have said they are working on a fix.

 

Very good post and agree with your points.

I would recommend anyone looking to purchse the GLC in a cold weather climate to hold off until Mercedes fixes this, which is really too bad, as otherwise it is a great SUV. Trust me though, the whole squeeking brakes issues ruins the whole experience. I would never have purchased this SUV if I would have known this was an issue.

 

As far as I know, Mercedes does not manufacture its own brake pads. Over the last few years Pagid and Textar, among others, have made pads for M-B new cars. I don’t know who made the pads for the GLC, but you can be assured that M-B has applied as much insistency and pressure on the pad manufacturer(s) as they can to resolve this noisy pad issue as soon as possible. Yes, it would've been nice if this issue had revealed itself in pre-production testing. I'm sure that M-B would've preferred that as well.

We must realize that GLCs in the U.S. have been selling at a clip of about 4,000 per month plus the 4,500 sold in 2015. That’s 50,000 vehicles, all of which – judging from the traffic on this thread – must be retrofitted with new pads of the proper noise-free composition. This is not a small task especially considering that M-B and the pad manufacturer are more than likely now running lab and road tests (or have already done so) to assure that the replacement pads will correct the problem.

With the absence of a safety concern confirmed, I’m willing to wait until I’m notified that I can return to my dealer for new brake pads. Yes, it’s an annoyance, but in my view, it’s only a car.

 

I am a prospective buyer in NCAL, and sorry to hear of the trouble you folks are having - wanted to ask if folks are experiencing this problem only in cold winter, and it goes away mostly, when the weather warms up - for most people?

 

Agree with Guido, Mercedes will come to a solution. I have been fortunate and have not had this problem so far. My Car is 9 months old. One of my associates has one bought it from same dealer. No issues with brakes. There are many people who posted on this site in the past who have not posted recently about their cars. I wonder if they are having issues. I really am curious what percentage of cars have this problem. I hope my car does not develop it in the future.

 

I purchased mine in June. 90-100 degrees. Same issue. But it is definitely worse when its cold.

 

I bought mine in April in Northern Nevada. The brake noise started sometime this summer when temps are in the 80s and 90s. It is worse now that temps are below freezing in the morning. I rolled the windows down when backing out of the garage this morning to see if I could tell which wheel was the problem. What I learned was that the noise cancelling glass really works. That screech is awful from outside the car.

 

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"Good News": Folks, the MB salesperson from whom I got my GLC300 this summer just called me to confirm that they just had an internal meeting (seems pretty serious meeting) about this GLC brake issue, and he said the engineering team is now expected to come up with a solution in 6-8 weeks. They may recall the current brakes and replace them with new ones (remodeled?) early next year. They will probably contact all GLC users after they find a solution. So let's just wait for 1-2 months and give them some time.

 

Same issue here. Bought in Jan/Feb 16. Absolutely embarrassing to drive it. My entire neighborhood knows when we pull out of the driveway. I was told by service manager likely a few months away from getting good replacement parts. I am concerned about a potential safety issue with brakes as a result. Will see if I can send a notice to NHTSA

 

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We shall see. They have had a year now to fix this issue, so maybe they should have taken it more seriously last Jan, when it first started getting reported. As, I keep saying this car is absoultely emabarassing to drive and Mercedes so far has done nothing.

Trying to figure out how to send this issue to Consumer Reports, as Mercedes needs to start getting pressured by the press and other places, besides its owners, which so far they have not listened too.