dscoduc

Just paid ~$700 for new front rotors on my 06 R350 with ~36k miles. I was shocked to hear this as we had no audible indication the breaks were low. The only hint that I needed brakes was when I broke hard on a downhill road.

I was told this is not uncommon for Mercedes and that there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the brake system. I was also told that Mercedes makes their rotors thin and they never turn the rotors. So instead of simply replacing the breaks I had to replace the brakes and rotors together. The service manager also said if only i had the car in the dealership a month or so earlier he might have been able to save the rotors... Not sure how that works.

I have never had a car that needed new rotors at 30k miles. I suspect Mercedes underestimated the rotor requirements for this new model. Has anyone else had this problem? Or did I just make a big fat donation to the local Mercedes dealership?

lkchris

A majority of new cars these days require rotor change with every pad change. Another weight-saving measure and aren't you pleased unsprung weight is minimized? I'm surprised yours lasted 36K miles.

It's a "donation" only in the sense it's awfully easy to do this job yourself.

JTReeves

Guys,

Thanks for the heads up! We just completed a road trip to Key West from Woodbridge, VA. The current mileage is in the neighborhood or 26,000 after 14 months of ownership. This is my wife's daily driver and her commute is around 14-16 miles when the day includes grocery shopping.

We just completed the B service which cost just over $454 including a 5% discount for MBCA membership. There was no mention of brakes needing service. I will check the pad thickness and rotor wear and keep in mind the savings related to DIY.

JR

R. Reyes

I guess it really depends on how much you use the brakes. I am coming up on 44,000 miles on my R and am just now starting to detect some wear on the rotors. I do know that on almost ALL German cars that use the soft rotor/harsh pad combo, that you have to replace the rotors w/ the pads. It's the price to pay at the altar of braking power gods.

sclancy

i have to believe that you replaced tires already as well?

im not even going to get 20k miles out of the OEM tires doing mostly city driving.

dscoduc

I figured it was normal, just wanted to check with everyone else... I haven't had to replace tires yet, not sure why but they seem to be holding up nicely.