Perhaps you have seen the thread on my first ever MB. A 2013 GLK 250 Blutek. I love the diesel torque and superior ride quality, roominess and elegance of this MB.

https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...ml#post6255329

But, 5 sets of brake pads and two check engine warnings forced me to request a Lemon Law buyback from MB Corporate.

They have agreed.

I need a new car. I want another GLK Bluetek....but I am scared to death.

I am looking for your honest feedback - from experienced MB owners and newbies. Car guys and neophites.

Am I off my rocker to give this brand and model a second chance? If they had fought me at all at any servie or on the Lemon Law buyback it would be a no brainer. But, MB service at my dealer and the Lemon process were ZERO HASSLE each and every visit.

What is your opinion please?

Jeff

 

Love my '13 GLK250! Nary a problem going on 20K miles.

I firmly believe the so called brake rotor problem is 'operator error'. The car is one of the heavier vehicles around though it is small and spritely in handling. That gives the impression the car can be driven like a sport car. When you try to stop a pile of iron that weighs over 2½ tons, all the energy goes into the brakes. Overheating is what warps rotors.

Consumer Reports, which has a much broader sampling of owners, rates the car highly and brakes were not an issue in their review. The only vehicle rated higher is the Audi Q5 diesel and it's rated highly because it's a newer model with much less sampling. I leased mine and am already considering buying it at the end of the term in about year. It will be that, or I'll pick up a 2016.

I'd guess you'd have a similar problem with another GLK. I'd get something else were I you.

 

Jeff,


I'm at 120,000 km in 16 months (GLK 250 Cnd specs) and have original pads and rotors. Pads are still at 10 and 9mm front and back respectively.


Sorry to hear you had such problems with yours. I haven't seen you drive, so I can't say it's driver error or if your particular car had something wrong with it.


I can say that the brakes on my GLK do fairly well. I have the feeling that the weight of the car and the braking power are a bit unmatched. I had a panic stop for a moose the other night and WAS wondering if the car would stop in time. ... It did. It may have been the adrenaline heightening the senses a tad too


Should you get another GLK, ... ? Tough one. As Bob mentioned, brake wear isn't a universal problem (apparently) with this model.


If I had to make the decision, I would as I just like the GLK 250 too much. If I came into rotor/pads problems I'd go for after market superior quality drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads.


Just my 2¢ ... even if that worth less and less these days (CDN).


Take care.

 

All due respect, but I am no kid. I am a 55 year old insurance executive who drives highway predominantly. This is not an "operator error" problem.

The dealership acknowledes so as does MB coprporate.

Again, all due respect.

Jeff

 

Hi Jeff,


That's why I didn't say it was driver error. Especially since you, like me, do mostly highway driving. The dealer even acknowledged that it was a problem with the car (sorry, ... didn't read the entire thread on rotors)


That said, ... I would go for it and go with another GLK.


Cheers.
Chris

 

Somewhere it struck me you live and work in LA. I too was an insurance executive there in another life. Has nothing to do with how aggressively I drive having a history of racing cars and motorcycles!

Bought my wife a new '85 190D, which I still own. We lived on Mulholland near Laurel Canyon and she drove it to the Hollywood Freeway each day and on to downtown to her law office. She was a fast driver but not at all aggressive, as I am, and she was a 'good' driver. With about 5K miles she went in for service and was told brake pads and rotors had to be replaced. Shocking to me! Got her in the car and had her drive Mulholland to the freeway. The problem was apparent and very typical of most drivers, even those considering themselves good and experienced. We spent a couple of hours with me teaching her how to drive curves. Nothing could/can be done about the stop and go traffic on the freeways at commute times, other than to avoid hard stops and quit riding brakes. After the first two sets of brake pads on that car the pads were hardly ever replaced. However, tires on our cars typically got under 20K miles. It now has 150K miles, about 30K by me since she died, and I have yet to replace the pads. I live about 10 miles from the nearest town on a curvy mountain road. Drive it daily usually several times. Neighbors consider me reckless and fast and yet none of my cars have had to have pads replaced in the last several years.

Point is, we all consider ourselves great drivers. Part of our ego and DNA. The cars and the parts are basically the same for all of us yet those consumable items show vastly different life span. The common denominator is the driver.

That Mercedes Benz has agreed to make a customer happy, is a testament to them, not really a reflection of their true feelings about a cause.

With all due respect, buy a different car. You requested opinions and you got one! Sorry!

 

Hey Bob,

I'm really not looking for drama and sorry if I offended you in any way. However, i've been driving cars the same way for over 40 years. There is simply no empirical evidence to suggest that this is anything related to driver error. Know what I mean? Search out GLK brake rotor issues on this and other forums and you will see I am not the only driver offering this experience.

I value your opinion, your willingness to speak up and your perspective.

No offense on this end for sure.

Regards,

Jeff

 

Certainly not offended in ANY way. You asked for opinions and you got mine. I still believe any brake issues are a combination of a very heavy vehicle with the demeanor of a small car, and drivers who tend to ignore that combination. Not surprising others have the issue for the reasons I opined. And good luck with your next vehicle. If it's a GLK I would guess you'll have the same problem without some change in driving habits. Good luck!

 

just bought a 1-owner 2012 4Matic.......like it a lot and would buy one again if/when the time comes.
P.S.Did my research about known/common quirks and probably missed the rotor issue. Was more "worried" about the tranny due to some posts I read

 

On the off chance that you indeed got a lemon on the brake rotors and brake pads issue (& my own anecdotal MB and other diesels experiences) I would.

IF it is truly a mechanic issue, it would seem the components that caused the heartburn are 4 sticking brake calipers. The second set of pads should have been a BILLBOARD advertisement to the MB service department !! Actually a laser temperature gun and a test ride with you @ the wheel or a lone technician on the FIRST oem set should have wrapped it up. 5 sets? Something undiagnosed is going on and very, very, very, repetitively.

I do not think anyone is saying you are NOT a good driver. However the operative issues are do you advertently or inadvertently or something in the system uses the brakes enough to over heat them and causing rotors to warp and 5 SETS of pads to wear prematurely???? .

 

It's interesting that dealer and MB would have taken car back just because of brakes. They should have been able to just replace rotors and pads if it was just a brake problem. Perhaps there were/are other problems that cause brakes to fail?

Whether to buy another GLK250? Many are happy with theirs. But it is an aging design, and the Bluetec diesel was not designed in in the first place - as a result no spare because storage space taken by Adblue container.

I would check around. We own 4 Benzes including a 2014 GLK250 , but I suspect their may be better choices than the current GLK. Maybe the GLA would suffice? ML is quite a bit more expensive. Or maybe look at other German diesel SUVs.

 

Try something else then, Q5-diesel is a good looking suv too or MACAN maybe.

 

BLE2716,

Since I have been in two diesels now, it is difficult to consider a non-diesel. The Q5 is top of list, but is considerably more expensive than a comparably priced GLK diesel.

Porsche - again the cost is more prohibitive.

Good advice though. We are searching high and low!

Thank you for the input. It is helpful to me.

Jeff

 

107123210

Thank you for the input. Interesting observations about the pad and rotor replacement. I think MB saw that because of the information age everyone would be able to see the service records of that car (carfax) at whatever time I decided to sell it or trade it back in to MB. At that stage the cars value is next to nothing because of all the service work. My guess. Plus, they just could not determine a cause and k

Thanks, we are still looking. I've got about 1 week left before they come get the car! LOL


Jeff

new they were going to be replacing rotors and pads on this car for free for years to come.

 

Rdub,

Interesting information on the calipers. They never mentioned it at any of th eservices. If I go down this road again, I will keep this in mind.

The thing that keeps going through my mind is this:

I owned a Audi A3 diesel before the MB, a BMW before that, an Infiniti and a Mini Cooper, etc....all driven the same places and the same way. My driving patterns have been identical for almost 15 years now. So, if I were doing something to drive the heat up on those rotors, why wasn't the same thing happening to the other cars? I get that MB may have used a different material in their rotors - perhaps a softer compound? I don't know. It just seems illogical that driving patterns could be th ecause .

Noneheless, I appreciate your input, it's valuable to me.

Jeff

 

I read rdubs post about calipers. He is right, MB service might have missed sticky calipers once or twice, but surely not 5 times. It could be something else perhaps associated with wheel spindles or bearings or perhaps the caliper mounts. Doubtful it has to do with rotor or pad materials given that there are thousands of other GLKs out there using same. Another question - Did pads and rotors wear out, or were they just vibrating? (see below)

Maybe MB are taking the car back because this is not an isolated case and they want to use your car to determine the cause.

Only other thing I can think of, is that it is due to environment where car is parked along with rotor/pad materials. I once changed my pads and rotors on our E320 here in Canada and drove to Daytona Beach with no brake problems. We left car at airport for 3 weeks. On return, the brakes pulsated as we drove out of parking lot and much worse even after trying to rebed them. By sitting on the asphalt in sun and in marine atmosphere, we later found that the pads had imprinted the rotors - an uneven transfer of pad material to rotors that can even take place while car is parked.
http://www.mossmotors.com/SiteGraphi...ake_discs.html

 

The answer to your observation falls under splitting hairs and TMI ! I can detail it if it does not glaze over the collective boards eyes. The answers will not affect/effect your past cars, your now "lemoned" GLK 350, nor probably a future GLK: should you be inclined to buy another.

 

I'm inclined to listen!

 

The posts here seem to imply this is a BlueTek issue.

Does the BT have different brakes than the standard gas GLK..?

 

Well yes ! Gven the topic, GLK 250 B/T ???? The over all truth, there is probably a like percentage on the 350 (GLK) side.

 

First of all (US market), German cars are required (by German regulations) to change both brake pads AND ROTORS.

So yes, they do use "SOFTER" OEM rotors. Other than German cars and/or aftermarket specifications, US market cars CAN and normally do USE HARDER rotors. (non oem ) The issue is it is really not very transparent (it is opaque) . The same can be true with NON oem brake pads.

Some folks who do change brake pads ONLY (in US markets) IF the (softer) rotors are projected/calculated to have enough material LEFT to last, use them till the next brake pad changing cycle. Keep in mind this is a CALCULATED RISK !!! I/You really do not want to bet your life on sub minimum material brake ROTORS !! ????

OEM brake pads AND rotors are very high quality, despite some of the issues. Textar is one known sub vendor.

So for just ONE anecdotal example, @ app 13,500 miles, inspection & measurement of the MB GLK 250 B/T brake pads and rotors by the selling dealer's maintenance department indicated almost no measurable pads and rotors wear, aka all 4. Some would consider it a flute and outlier, which is fine with me. However this has been my NORMAL experiences with three other diesels and none of those other three are MB diesels. albeit, GERMAN diesels. So for one example, one has 187,000 miles on original oem pads AND rotors.

 

Really?

The BT uses different pads and rotors than the gas version..?

 

Not what he says. Same pads. No common problem.

 

YUP ! IF you doubt that, ask for the part #'s rotors/pads and etc.@ your local MB dealership for the GLK 350 and GLK 250 BT.

 

Front rotors for BOTH GLK250 and GLK350 4Matic is 204 421 2912.