cte430

I posted a few weeks ago that I was getting a very high pitched squeal while braking, but they would also squeal when I removed my foot from the brake and turned the wheel right. Brought it in yesterday for them to look at and change the oil. Figured something was just stuck. So, i'm sitting in the waiting room reading magazines and I see my SA come over with a look on his face that I knew meant bad news. He said the tech looked at the car and "due to excessive heat (most likely from extreme high speed driving and braking) both front rotors were cracked". I told them I never track the car, can't understand how that could happen with a little less than 15K miles. What I didn't tell them though, was that at least a few times a week I will take the car out and do some serious high speed runs (150 or so) and it does take some effort to stop the car from those speeds. I went in the shop and they showed me the rotors and there were little cracks next to the cross-drilled holes. He pointed out at least 15-20 of them. I've read about guys who blow out their brakes with one day at the track. I guess mine was a cumulative effect. With oil change, parts, and labor, i'm a $1,000 lighter.

goldberg

Shouldn't the brakes be covered under the factory warrantee?

Teej55

mine squeeks too and it only has 3k miles on it

jtc55

i thought the 04' models still had free maintenance? i don't know if that covers brake parts for mercedes. i know audi and bmw's free maintenance covers it. you should check with the dealership. good luck!

04E55 AMG

My understanding is that they did not cover it because of aggressive driving! (Bunch of BS )

If that is considered being aggressive, then AMG has some serious issues!

gmdebruyn

they can log onto your car and figure out how fast you've been driving it.

lbE55

I know the "aggressive driving" argument, but it always pisses me off a bit.

Why is MB building a 469hp/516tq car? Do you think that people who would buy such a car might get "aggressive" from time to time with all that power?

Ya think?

Putting aside for the moment building a car with that much performance that screams to be driven aggressively, it's not like MB advertises the car in an agressive manner. Oh wait, I forgot the "beast" commercial where the guy is spinning his wheels and pushing the car fairly hard.

Performance is the essence of the car, going fast, stopping fast, whatever. If there is a malfunction relating to the car's purpose (that being performance), MB should stand behind the product.

Sorry about the rant, but the "aggressive driving" bullsh*t makes me

cte430

They said if I was driving a regular C class they could get thru warranty. AMG, no way. "MB would no it had been driven too agressively" WTf!! NO kidding. Yeah, I was kinda pissed also for the same reasons stated here. It is a performance car after all. After leaving the dealer I stopped by the shop that did my Renntech install and told them about it. Asked if I was being unreasonable. They said they crack. Sucks, but not unusual. They had several Porsche's there, both street and track and they told me they would guarantee that if you checked you'd see cracks. They all do it. I guess I'll just have to coast from 150!!

gmdebruyn

at the AMG event when i took the CLS55 and the E55 out on the track, i got both cars with the bright red warnings on the driver console saying "BRAKE HOT" or something like that. we were pushing those cars pretty hard too, taking them past 100, braking hard around turns, and then letting the cars rest for one class rotation before another class took them out.

i asked the AMG guys if there were any problems with brake pads or warped rotors and they said they did not. these cars were made to be abused. also interesting that all the vehicles showed no brake dust on their wheels over the course of the day.

1) what brake pads were they using if anyone knows?
2) from what i saw, i don't think you have to treat our beasts delicately, but how hard/easy is it to warp these rotors?

sounds like you got an a$$ of a service rep.

lbE55

I don't think that anyone is suggesting that we should (or do) "abuse" our cars. However, I don't think that an owner should be penalized for doing with the car precisely that which the car was built to do: haul ***.

Oh, unless braking is an unecessary function.

cte430

I did an AMG event last year and also saw the red "reduced braking effect" or whatever. NEVER had that in my car. Didn't quite beat on mine like we did at the event, but cumulatively maybe it was similiar.

As far as my SA, he's actually been very good to me as has the entire dealership. I've bought 5 or so cars from them and on several occasions they've gone way above and beyond. I had a "stalling" issue with my car (do a search if you're interested in all the gory details) yet they could not find a problem. After the 2nd time I brought it in, they were offering me a new car no questions asked. They were also very cool about my Renntech mods while trying to figure out this problem. So, all in all i'm happy with them. Not thrilled with the frequency that I lost the brakes, but I think that's more the design of the car than the dealer. I'm positive that if they thought there was a way they could get it thru warranty they would have done so. Like I said I guess i'll need more room to slow down now

zdkdeeier493

YOU KIDDING! I can't believe they offered you assistance (let alone a new car) when you had Renntech mods and were reporting problems of stalling. Your dealership has been a lot more than just "good" to you, thats frickin awesome!

04E55 AMG

Not uncommon with many dealerships. My service manager knew I was getting Kleemann mods and he could not wait to drive it. He has no problem checking the mods everytime I bring the car in for service. We even sent the ECU back to Kleemann to have a fault code removed (02 sensor related w/headers) since he did not have the ability.

He paid for the ECU to be FEDEX'ed and gave me a loaner for 2 days all do to my mods. Relationships Baby

Kar don

it is very good to have a close relationship with your service manager. It pays off.