Kar don

My brakes squeal on the ML very lightly now when i push the pedal down a certain distance. The brake pad wear light has not come on yet tho. The brakes were last changed at the dealership new rotors and pads all around @ around 19k miles. The truck now has 54.5k miles and stops smoothly still. There is a groove in the front drivers side rotor but the car still stops fine. Should i change the brakes? And if so where should i get the new parts?

pointman

unnecessary to change... after the light, you still have plenty of time to change.

but if you really want to..our sponsor, good old tirerack has some really good deals. you can also checkout brakeworld.com

scorchie

You may want to do a visual inspection on the pads to ensure they have sufficient material. I do not know which model and year of ML you have, nor your driving style, but 35K miles sounds like a long time for set of front pads on an M-class.

OK, I just looked at your profile... 1999 ML320. I think you should probably check. There are two possibilities which could occur that would cause the replacement light to not illuminate. You should not RELY on the light, it should just serve as one indicator.

1) when the brakes were replaced, sensors were not installed. My CLK55 has no sensors on the back brakes, so relying on the indicator would be pointless

2) your pads may wear at an uneven rate, and only have one sensor installed. My ML430 had one pad sensor installed on the outboard pad on the right rear, and when I checked it the inside pad was down to almost metal while the outside pad was not to the sensor yet. We just did my friend's C36 brakes and he has ONE SENSOR for ALL FOUR pads in the back.

You could always take it to a dealer for a "free inspection" and then change them yourself.

-s-

Swiss Nick

There is no rule with reguards changing brakes. As everyone has a different driving style, ie speed at which they drive, how much the car is loaded it is dangerous to generalise about when brakes should be changed, as they will ware at different rates. At the end of the day they are what stops you from remodeling the bodywork of your car!!!!
If you are not sure, get someone to check them out, better safe than sorry!!!

GDawgC220

at 19k since last change, u should be good for a while longer...but then again, the ML eats pads for breakfast, lunch and dinner

a slight squeel is normal...I wouldn't worry about it. It's when it's screeching metal on metal noise pops up, then I'd have them check it out. Squeeling could be caused by weather, humidity, crap on the brakes, etc...this is NE :p

No worries

alanmn

I would also suggest checking them out. Normally when the sensor goes off there is a good bit of pad left, however ... Changing pads (and even rotors) is a pretty easy job. There seems to be some differences between some models (a great web site by one person on the ml55 does not apply to the 430). I went with non mercedes pads and rotors and am really pleased. The best part is reduced brake dust.

JAD

I would agree here. I recently changed my front brakes and rotors about 7 days after the light went off. Way too soon, I had at least 3/16s to an 1/8 of pad left. The shop told me I needed to change the pads before the light ever went off. But I guess sooner is better than too late

azinn

I've got almost 57,000 miles on my original front pads and rotors on a 2000 ML430. The rear pads had to be done at around 28,000 miles. This has to be close to some kind of record for front pads on an ML.