sooners

Had my car for about 8 months and have observed the following problems, # 1= brake squeal, took it in to have problem fixed, there is a recall, and when i got it back, they seemed fixed, however 1 week later, started squealing again.#2= just developed a shudder at about 57mph, and sort of a rough ride, not the typical effortless glide we are used to in a benz.Nothing too bad just a tad annoying, any of you experiance any mild troubles.oh, and by the way, it is not a daily driver and has only 3700 miles on it. thanks.

trumpet1

Nope. Mine has been flawless after 12500 miles. Everyone I come into contact with it is amazed with the car.

wman

Had brake squeal also, they put a paste on them it lasted one day, going back wednesday for new pads and rotors at 7700 miles, alll work will be treated as warranty due to the fact it is still under 12000 miles. Besides that all is well

Diesel Benz

The paste should solve it as posted above. I believe squeal is more of a problem for your car's type of usage, more frequent usage would help avoiding it.

I had some squeal mainly when first reversing after starting the car but that has completely gone now.

One thing you should try if possible: make sure brake discs are dry when you park the car. Using brakes with reasonable effort before leaving the car parked for a longer time should help, not necessarily convenient for the passengers.

This is specifically important after washing the car with a sprayer or similar. It is amazing how strongly pads get "glued" on discs if you leave them dry alone. This may even create light shudder temporarily. But if your shudder appears always, and if it only appears while braking, that would be a different thing. Odd if discs are bent at that mileage.

dr.skp.ortho

I had squeal issue too. Changed pads and applied brake paste and that fixed it. Sorry, but I havent experienced a shudder.....why not take it in for the techs to have a look - even if its not major, u paid some major coin for this car right???

newyorker

I have 06 S500 German version. It is same as 07 US version s550.

I have same brake problem since I bought the car. Replaced pad once, resurface 2 times, use paste 2 times. It seems to disappear about a week or 2 weeks and come back. I give up now and I see many new s class have this problem.

I also had engine truble. At idle, put the gear on P, A/C off, I felt some vibration on the engine, and I could feel it in driver seat.
The dealer changed cam shaft, oxygen sensor, and now it is better.
But I still feel more vibration than my last Lexus LS430.

Last spring, I had bad smell in A/C and the dealer replaced the carbon filter.
Fixed

The two front seat made some noise when a heavy person seat on.
My best friend weight about 145 KG . Whenever he is in the car, seat made noise.
The dealer replaced headrest, and put a lot of felt in the seat joint. Fixed.

So far I bought the car in 06 May, except these problems, car is great.

Oh~ by the way, my car has message option in the rear and cooling too.
And I have cool box in the rear center, right behind center armrest. These options are for S600 in US but Asians just love these options and we can not buy without them.

NZ_Benz

Sure you haven't bent a rim with a shudder like that?

02S430

shudder might be from a tire needing to be balanced if its only at a certain speed

Diesel Benz

Oh yes, he didn't mention this shudder occurred while braking which was what I thought. Tires may have also some issues that cannot be fixed by balancing, if the tyre is not perfectly round, it does not drive smoothly even if you can get it 100% balanced on a machine. Belts may have some harder spots too but that should be less common with modern tyres and specifically those S550 is using.

wman

Had pads changed today, there is a service bulletin about the squeal of the brakes.My tech told me that most of these brake complaints are coming from the east coast and an engineer from germany is coming to investigate this problem.......

ferullj

I had the same two issues with my 2004 s430. I currently have a 2007 s550 with 19,500 miles on it which also has the same problems. I have had the car at the dealer more than seven times. The shudder is the control arm bushings, which are two soft. They replaced them after the fourth visit and the problem has been solved. You would think if this issue was present in 2004 that the 2007 seven model would have the correct application on control arm bushings. I have had the brake squeals issues since I have picked up the car. The dealer has completed the brake service bulliten on this issue and also replaced the brakes twice. The problem still exists. The factory rep told me that they can not assure me the noise will stop. This is my eight Mercedes Benz and will surley be my last. If I wanted a car with brake noises I could have pick a much lower cost vehicle. The dealer truley tried to fix the issue but the factory reps leave little to be desired. The manufactor treats customers like it is a priviledge to drive their cars. You can select many high end autos for the price of the s550 and be treated like a paying customer. I purchased a 2007 Cadillac Esclade for my wife at the same time, I have not had the car back to the dealer yet.

trumpet1

The brake noise is just rust that develops overnight. Mine squeaks when pulling out of the driveway and then I never hear it again. I just stepped out and looked at my discs and rust is all over them.

konigstiger

FYI

MBUSA will allow unlimited warranty coverage for both brake pad and rotor replacement cost free for the first 12 months / 12,000 miles of ownership on any model.

MBZFAN55

Yes, very true as I have exercised this "warranty" on last few S-Class vehicles, but subsequent brakes were either quiet or much more quiet. Why is the "second" set so much better than the original set?

ArtVandalay

Im still on my original set of pads and never had one squeak...luck of the draw perhaps

steveb9771

I have never had brake noise on my CL550. There is one caution that I remember from the owner's manual that said to drive the car and use the brakes several times immediately after washing the car to dry out the brake rotors. I believe this was prevent formation of rust that might cause brake noise.

Last month when I was in for annual service at the dealer, I was asked if I had experienced a shudder. I haven't. They had a fix for those vehicles that had the problem.

04S430

Brake squeal? Typical for MB's as far as I experienced. My E320, S430, and now my S550 squeal equally loudly! It does not bother me any longer, as long as I can stop on a dime, and that, each car has done or does for me.
My overall experience with MB's:

- Papa's old MB's: Fond memories, but can't remember any electronics in them; only asbestos clutch plate and brake shoe linings.
- My 300D's; excellent, but noisy enough to cover any brake squeal if existing at the time.
- My E320; out of respect for the Brand, no comments.
- My S430-4Matic; an excellent vehicle, no problems what so ever, regardless of other opinions. ( Squeals omitted.)
- My S550; present choice and pride, a very refined vehicle with a distinguished squeal, upon braking while backing out of my garage.
Minor transmission problems being addressed by the dealer, whom I asked to involve MB directly, since a few first attemps at correcting an issue failed to be diagnosed with their available resources.

NJS430

I have a August 07 build 08 S550 and have not had any brake squeal yet. Does anybody know if a change was made to address the issue? Maybe it's just the luck of the draw with regard to squealing brakes.

MrTracy

I have an 2007 S550. I purchased the car with 14K miles. I have had a vibration since I purchased it. The vibration starts at about 60 mph and gradually gets worse as you drive.
I first changed the front wheels. (I have the AMG pkg) I then changed the front tires. I then changed the rear wheeels and then the rear tires. I still had it. I then bought four new chromed AMG wheels which came with tires. I still had the vibration. at 60 MPH. The deal put four wheels from a brand new S550. THE VIBRATION WAS still there. WTF,,,,, They now think it is the drive shaft.

NJS430

I think the source of your frustration is that you keep changing the wheels and tires when obviously that isn't your problem. Did they check the wheel alignment? If you don't feel it in the steering wheel then I would agree that it is most likely an unbalanced drive shaft. If you do there are a lot of other components in the front-end that could be the cause.

konigstiger

Request the Service Manager get the MB area rep involved.

MrTracy

Actually, that was going to be my next move to get MB involved. I have had this car for over a year now and I am reluctant to drive it because it is not smooth. I also have a 2006 750LI which is my daily driver and I tell people I like it more than the 550 because it rides so nice & smooth

Macdad22

Sooner or Mr. Tracy-

Did either of you either get your shudder / vibration resolved? I purchased a used 2007 S550 about a month ago. It had some increased vibration that you can definitely feel in the steering wheel between 42MPH to about 65/70MPH... any speed below and above and the car rides smooth as glass.

I've had the tires balanced, then I upgraded the tires and wheels ( which I did for aesthetic reasons ), and now the service manager is claiming it might be my wheels.

The vehicle is still under the original MB warranty.

Thanks,
Mac

Rowrbazzle

I had a similar vibrating-type experience with my previous car (not a Mercedes, mind you) and it wound up that the strut mount was going bad. It was replaced (along with some related things that I can't remember) and the vibrating stopped. Sadly, my car was no longer under warranty.

Maybe that's the problem? Surely the service people would've investigated this, though, so maybe not.

MrTracy

It took them about six months to finally figure it out that the drive shaft had a vibration problem; it had to be replaced. I had to get Mercedes Benz involved. The dealership had me buy three sets of wheels and tires. They also said the vibration was an acceptable amount (WTF)

But yes, Just as you said, it starts at around 45 mph or so and then its a ride in a washing machine.