SL/R231: SL550 Brake Squeal
11-01-2018, 02:46 PM
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2016 SL550
SL550 Brake Squeal
I have a 2016 SL550 . The front brakes especially the left front makes a terrible squeal when stopping at slow speeds especially at low speed stop and go traffic and is worse when it is hot out . It doesn't happen when stopping at any high speed and gets louder as you stop from slower speeds. The sound is so loud that people in cars next to me will look and stare at it.
It started happening at about 4500 miles and has gotten progressively worse. The dealer says "well it needs new rotors and pads that will be $1,100. I find it hard to believe that a new car with 5,000 miles needs to have rotors and pads replaced. They will guarantee the squeal for one year lol. I said "so I can count on spending a thousand dollars on rotors and pads a year, they said if it needs it". I have never tracked or abuse the car and is not an AMG. They also had the nerve to tell me its because the car is not driven enough! and that I should drive it more. I was also told in the future to bring the car up to 60 miles an hour and slam on the brakes until it stops but not to lock up and that would prevent it from getting this bad.
Any comments?
It started happening at about 4500 miles and has gotten progressively worse. The dealer says "well it needs new rotors and pads that will be $1,100. I find it hard to believe that a new car with 5,000 miles needs to have rotors and pads replaced. They will guarantee the squeal for one year lol. I said "so I can count on spending a thousand dollars on rotors and pads a year, they said if it needs it". I have never tracked or abuse the car and is not an AMG. They also had the nerve to tell me its because the car is not driven enough! and that I should drive it more. I was also told in the future to bring the car up to 60 miles an hour and slam on the brakes until it stops but not to lock up and that would prevent it from getting this bad.
Any comments?
11-01-2018, 06:34 PM
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I agree on some aggressive stops. Try a few 50/60 mph stops allowing some time to cool between. Don’t get the rotors too hot. How do the rotors look?
11-02-2018, 04:26 PM
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Took it to the dealer. Head Service Tech came out and said "lets take it for a ride".. He drove it about one foot and said that's not a squeal and you have to leave it here. I'm guessing something much more serious. My brother is a GM service advisor and said it sounds like the caliper is not retracting at slow speeds. They mentioned something about if is the caliper it will be warrantied but brakes are still not! My brother laughed. I told them at 5,000 miles and your own tech said not to drive it. I am not going to pay for brakes whatever the problem is. They said well you will have to discuss it with Mercedes. It appeared like they were saying even if it was a caliper problem I would still have to cover the brakes??? The rotors are smooth, plenty of pad.
11-02-2018, 07:23 PM
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Took it to the dealer. Head Service Tech came out and said "lets take it for a ride".. He drove it about one foot and said that's not a squeal and you have to leave it here. I'm guessing something much more serious. My brother is a GM service advisor and said it sounds like the caliper is not retracting at slow speeds. They mentioned something about if is the caliper it will be warrantied but brakes are still not! My brother laughed. I told them at 5,000 miles and your own tech said not to drive it. I am not going to pay for brakes whatever the problem is. They said well you will have to discuss it with Mercedes. It appeared like they were saying even if it was a caliper problem I would still have to cover the brakes??? The rotors are smooth, plenty of pad.
11-05-2018, 07:17 PM
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Brake scream update
Here is my update on my brake problem. 4400 miles when purchased as a CPO and 1000 miles into purchase I am told that my screeching left front brake, not squeal, screeching as in cover your ears if you are between two buildings or in a parking garage is a non covered item and that it requires the complete replacement of the front rotors and pads with no guarantee that it will correct the problem or happen again at which time I will have to replace them again. Nice. My wife's subaru's brakes last 40,000 miles and stop better than the mercedes and a $120,000 car's brakes last 5,000 miles. Really makes me want to buy a Mercedes again......
11-06-2018, 12:18 AM
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AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
Here is my update on my brake problem. 4400 miles when purchased as a CPO and 1000 miles into purchase I am told that my screeching left front brake, not squeal, screeching as in cover your ears if you are between two buildings or in a parking garage is a non covered item and that it requires the complete replacement of the front rotors and pads with no guarantee that it will correct the problem or happen again at which time I will have to replace them again. Nice. My wife's subaru's brakes last 40,000 miles and stop better than the mercedes and a $120,000 car's brakes last 5,000 miles. Really makes me want to buy a Mercedes again......
It’s easy and cheap to swap a rotor/pads if there is a problem. Should be covered but this is a consumable like tires. SL’s are heavy cars that will place a higher demand on the brakes than any Subaru could.
Fix it and move on.
The brakes on SL’s obviously last well beyond 20k miles but if the rotors show some more significant wear it is either due to a problem or the dealer did not performing a proper CPO certification...
Good thing they are not CCB’s. A set can set you back $15k
11-06-2018, 07:01 AM
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No drama, Just 5500 miles calipers, pads and rotors that are supposedly good. "Its just a minor squeal" Is the principal of the thing. Replace good rotors and pads and hope it goes away, btw no guarantee. I love pulling up to a restaurant and having everyone stare at my car because of the shreaking squeal. This high performance car has never been abused.
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11-06-2018, 07:08 AM
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Here is my update on my brake problem. 4400 miles when purchased as a CPO and 1000 miles into purchase I am told that my screeching left front brake, not squeal, screeching as in cover your ears if you are between two buildings or in a parking garage is a non covered item and that it requires the complete replacement of the front rotors and pads with no guarantee that it will correct the problem or happen again at which time I will have to replace them again. Nice. My wife's subaru's brakes last 40,000 miles and stop better than the mercedes and a $120,000 car's brakes last 5,000 miles. Really makes me want to buy a Mercedes again......
11-06-2018, 08:40 AM
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No drama, Just 5500 miles calipers, pads and rotors that are supposedly good. "Its just a minor squeal" Is the principal of the thing. Replace good rotors and pads and hope it goes away, btw no guarantee. I love pulling up to a restaurant and having everyone stare at my car because of the shreaking squeal. This high performance car has never been abused.
11-06-2018, 06:04 PM
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I asked them about the ceramic brakes or other. The dealer said if I went aftermarket it might void my warranty. I tried MB CPO customer care. The "executive manager" was very rude and dismissive. He asked me what my problem was. I explained that I didn't think it was fair to pay for a brake job 1,000 miles after a purchase. I received the standard brakes aren't a warranty item, I said I know but a thousand miles is ridiculous, I said how long should they last and he said I'm not going to go there yada yada yada. He had an attitude basically like "how dare you complain about our car". He said he would call me back by the end of the day and never did. This looks like my third Mercedes and last. I will NEVER buy another one again. So they have lost a 54 yo customer that probably would have bought at least another one every 3 or 4 years. I'm just one customer but hey whatever.
11-08-2018, 07:51 AM
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Latest update: Rotors and Pads are fine. We will do the BG treatment and Mercedes brakes paste but you still have to pay for it. I asked why didn't you ask me why you were inspecting the brakes and they were already apart? They said weeellll we really dont take the pads off or the calipers its just a visual inspection so we have to have the whole thing apart to get at everything. Still poor customer service on 1000 miles. PS now the terrible squeal is on both sides!
11-08-2018, 10:39 AM
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I asked them about the ceramic brakes or other. The dealer said if I went aftermarket it might void my warranty. I tried MB CPO customer care. The "executive manager" was very rude and dismissive. He asked me what my problem was. I explained that I didn't think it was fair to pay for a brake job 1,000 miles after a purchase. I received the standard brakes aren't a warranty item, I said I know but a thousand miles is ridiculous, I said how long should they last and he said I'm not going to go there yada yada yada. He had an attitude basically like "how dare you complain about our car". He said he would call me back by the end of the day and never did. This looks like my third Mercedes and last. I will NEVER buy another one again. So they have lost a 54 yo customer that probably would have bought at least another one every 3 or 4 years. I'm just one customer but hey whatever.
Also, brake squeal is not the rarest of things, even with brand new cars. Drive fast, brake hard and the the squeal will go away
11-08-2018, 11:52 AM
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I tried the hard braking a couple of times. Got a resolution from MB Customer Care and the dealer. The Customer care executive appeared rather annoyed because the service manager never returned his calls. The inspection showed no damage to the rotors or pads. Both barely worn. They are going to do the MB brake paste on the calipers and pad backing and the BG stop squeal on the pads at no charge. Sounds like a smart move. The products cost about $50 and 2-3 hours labor. I'm glad they decided to do the right thing.
02-20-2019, 09:04 PM
#14
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Hi,
I am having a brake squeal problem as well. I have a 2013 SL550 and my dealer told me that all SL550's have squeal since they use metallic brake pads but suggested I take it to a non mercedes dealer to use ceramics... I took it to a non mercedes dealer, they said it would not make a difference.
Its getting really annoying. Top down, driving in town from stop light to stop light and it squeals all t he time,
CDSL550, did the MB Brake paste work? what is the BG stop squeal?
Anyone else have any suggestions? Ceramic vs metallic?
Brake paste?
What helps?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I am having a brake squeal problem as well. I have a 2013 SL550 and my dealer told me that all SL550's have squeal since they use metallic brake pads but suggested I take it to a non mercedes dealer to use ceramics... I took it to a non mercedes dealer, they said it would not make a difference.
Its getting really annoying. Top down, driving in town from stop light to stop light and it squeals all t he time,
CDSL550, did the MB Brake paste work? what is the BG stop squeal?
Anyone else have any suggestions? Ceramic vs metallic?
Brake paste?
What helps?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
