Mercgirl

Just got a 2006 S500 AWD (beautiful car) but the pedals seem awfully stiff compared to my last Mercedes. Had the car completely checked out before we bought it, brakes had been replaced, but when we went to collect the car and give it its final test there seemed to be a lot of play on the brake pedal before the brakes picked up. I told the dealer about this and he said they were new brakes and needed to be worked a while to break them in. Also both the brake and accelerator pedals seem stiff, my leg even started to ache from the pressure I had to keep on the gas pedal! At the lightest touch both the brake and accelerator pedals worked on my old Merc. Is this normal with this newer car?

Oxygen

Never drove anything older than a W220... never thought that the pedals were stiff on either my S500 or my S600.

Benz5656

Sounds like that is something fishy going on. I do most of the work on my cars myself and never had that problem. If anything it would be the other way around. Did you check the brake fluid level, and make sure the fluid isn't burnt or have a burnt smell this would indicated a far worse problem.

cheez80

perhaps it's the mercedes "house feel"? the w220s i've driven have stiffer pedals than my infiniti, that's for sure.

cameraman123

I like the stiff pedals. 5 million times better than the floppy ones with lexus

Benz5656

My lexus is just plain squash. My benz has a more aggressive feel, but it should not cause discomfort.

Mercgirl

Thank you for your replies... Anyone else with any more ideas please post.

Perhaps it's just my feminine foot. Perhaps this really is a man's car after all!

My significant other tells me I just need to move the seat forward, he's fine with it, but I really feel the difference between this and my other, is there anything I could have done, could they be loosened up a bit? I certainly don't like the play on the brake pedal.

In reply to Benz5656. I have not checked the brake fluid but there was a Mercedes 126 point check done on the car before it was bought and it turned up trumps, so I am assuming the brake fluid is good. There is no smell of burning.

ajkennedy

Assuming the old carpet stuck under the pedals trick isn't haunting you????? Also, I replaced my accelerator assembly for about $130 USD and it took all of 5 mins to bolt/plug in. It is much smoother than the original one it came with.

Good luck!

Quadcammer

my accelerator pedal is a bit stiffer than my 210 e-class but it certainly doesn't cause any discomfort

mpsmith

The accelerator pedal in my S600 is by far stiffer than any pedal in any car I've ever driven. Not even a contest. I always figured it was a Benz-thing, or an S600-thing. Maybe I should replace my accelerator assembly like ajkennedy did?