This is my first Mercedes after owning 3 BMW's (2 M3's and a 330xi) and I have a few questions I was hoping for some help on (yes I kinda searched first):

1. Does anyone have the brake squeaking that is described as normal on page 312 of the owners manual? Mine seems to happen a lot at slow speeds, especially in stop and go traffic in the 5MPH range. It has been in twice for it, the first time they replaced the pads, baked them in etc. The second time they told me it was normal look on page 312 of the owners manual (that doesnt really make me accepting of it)

2. Does anyone have the IPOD option? Before I buy it I wanted to know if it is only controlled from the steering wheel and displayed on the dash, or can you control it from and is it displyed on the command/Nav screen also?

3. Does anyone have any information on how to disable the seatbelt reminder chime? The dealer wont disable/disconnect it due to legal reason of course.

4. Does anyone have the Blutooth Module that can answer why the SMS button is non-functional on the Command/Nav system and when/if that SMS functionality exists?

I know these are not the normal "how do I add more horsepower to my 507HP car" postings, but I will get to those projects, wheels etc. before too long.

Thanks ahead of time for any help with the above.

I had the brake squeal problem also. Finally took my E63 back to the dealer and had the pads replaced under warranty. But I had to wait several days to get the ok from the SPOM to release the pads to me. My SA explained to me that the AMG pads were not to be sold and were only available for replacement/warranty work.

On my way into work today, I thought I heard the brake squeal again. If so, I will be going back to the dealer. It is truly annoying and embarassing, especially for an AMG.

Yes, I also have had a brake squeak. One expects trucks and cheap cars to make brake noises. NOT an AMG. It is embarassing for a $100K car to make a brake sound especially when approaching the line at a traffic light.
Anyhow, mine has been in 3X for the same brake sound, and the sound was only coming from the front right. First time they said it was normal. Second time they charged me $600 to glaze the rotors. third time they went back to the "its normal" strategy. I'm pissed and I need to go back to them (Flethcher Jones MB Newport Beach, CA) and insist/put the pressure on them to fix it!

I have the iPod option on my e63 - it can ONLY be controlled by the buttons on the steering wheel. Seems like a pain, but at least my wife can't skip all my favorite songs now

...Oh, and if anyone ever gets a satisfactory response to the brake squeal problem, I'd love to hear it... Mine squeal almost every time I come to a slow stop.

It seems that everyone has the brake squeak. Mine does it too sometimes. Have found that if I do some varying speeds then hard braking, it goes away.

iPod works great. Yep, can only be controlled from the steering wheel. Not such a pain once you get used to it.

Bluetooth is pretty good, clear, and very functional with an APPROVED phone. Have the KRAZR now and it works pretty well. Had the Motorola E815 before and that worked great.

Had an M3 earlier as well and loved it for corner carving but not so much for daily driving in traffic. Love he E63, despite intermittent brake squeak.

I am going to refuse to take mine in unless it breaks down and has to be towed. I have the noise as well as the teleaid not functional. Some places on the interior are pulling apart. The car hauls *** but is not what I expected for $100K in terms of quality. Anyway, as the little things mount up I will continue to drive unless the engine won't start. I read so much here about the problems with the cars but somehow talked myseld into the purchase anyway.

I would like to hear about a fix with the brakes....

Just hit 1,900 miles and the brake sqeal is intermittent. Happens once in a while but like someone mentioned, mixed driving seems to lessen the sqeal. As far as other 'quality' issues, no complaints. Car has been great.

Here's The Deal,the Brakes Were Made For Aggressive Braking, Hard And Fast, So Under Normal Braking Some Noise Is Normal, According To Mb. Replacing The Pads And Rotors Will Not Solve The Problem. The Only Approved Repair At This Time Is To Perform The Slr Bedding Procedure As Outlined In Wis. This Will Only Solve The Problem Temp.,i Believe The Issue Is Under Investigation And As Soon As I Hear Of An Approved Fix I'll Let You Guys Know.

I found out the answer myself to this question and it was exactly what I suspected. If you buy the Motorola V60 with Blutooth cradle you get a lot more functionality including the ability to SMS from the command/Nav. I only have the standard blutooth module and use a Blackberry and it works great but no extended functionality.

Thought I would pass that one along for anyone who wanted to know.

Looks like MB still haven't had it fixed on the 63s with the new calipers. Mine used to squeak a lot, especially after washing the car and not driving it for a day or 2. My theory is that during light braking and when you release the brake pedals, the pads are actaully somewhat stuck or touching the rotors , which resulted in the brake squeal. Usually a couple hard braking from 60-0 in the neighborhood industrial park / wide open mall parking lot at 2 in the morning take care of the problem

You need to have a technician whio has been correctly trained on the istallation and repair of brakes. Unfortunatly in 14 years of working at MB dealers in the states, I have only found one other person(other than me) who can do it correctly.
I have yet to find a tech which came out of UTI or MB elite that can do anything, and these goons are filling your local MB dealer.
Sorry boys.

I have the same problem with my E63 brakes and it really is embarrassing. I find it unacceptable for a car in this price range. The dealer has already replaced the pads and rotors once with no improvement. The service manager's explanation that these are high performance brakes and, accordingly, should make noise is BS. Further, the fact that they disclose this in a document (the manual) that you receive subsequent to purchase is BS as well. My 2006 M5 (predecessor car) and my 2006 Carrera S must have comparable brakes and don't make a sound. I am not really inclined to buy aftermarket brakes since the car is two months old... Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Just checking back with you...any luck on finding a fix? Thanks,

My car is in again with a bunch of pesky problems one of which is the brakes squeeking again. For the second time they are replacing my pads and rotors to stop the squeek. They were replaced around 9k miles ago and the squeek went away and came back after about 7k miles. The dealerships stance is that the brakes will squeek due to the fixed caliber ceramic brakes however Mercedes corporate apparently disagreed and is replacing them. They squeek every single time you come to a slow stop, unnacceptable

Another funny thing is that I have a hard time with finding cities and address ranges in my nav and I was told to use nearbye cities when I cant find one and that all of this will be fixed in the 08 DVD that I can buy for $275.00.

Awesome car!!! Bad service!!!

Don't count on it. I have the 2008 disc and the nav functionality is still underwhelming.

I already decided I will refuse to buy it unless they let me "demo" it in the parking lot first - lol

Thanks for the advice :-)

Just picked up the car and was told the brake squeel is acharacteristic of the car and they have replaced the brakes again as a good will measure however will NOT replace them again. They even told me it will start happening again in 7-8k miles.

In-Fing_credible! Is it just me or is this crazy lame?

Less than 1,000 miles on the new brake pads and rotors and it is squeeking even worse than before. Utterly pissed at this point. Probably going to pay to have brembos or something put on them this year. Either Mercedes Benz or Euro Motorcars in Germantown, MD should be ashamed of themselves, this is an utter JOKE!!!!

MB must use high performance (i.e. less fading with aggressive driving) pads. Like others have said, in normal light braking the brakes will squeak. I bet that if you come to every stop and get on the brakes hard everytime (enough to heat them up) that they won't squeal. If you can find some aftermarket pads that fit the caliper that are less aggressive, I bet the squeal will go away. If you keep replacing the pads with the same aggressive pads, nothing will change.

Ding Ding Ding - we have a WINNER!

Hi temp tolerant pads for stopping this HEAVY, yet high performance car, will squeak. It's impossible to get a pad to work well at very low temps (slowly puttering around town) and then slowing this monster down from 130.

As the above poster explains - you can go to a lower temp / lower performance pad, but you'll probably not be happy with continued high speed usage.

You are most likely glazing the pads some by not getting them hot enough around town. This will cause the squeak. (Re)Bed them in with some gradually increasing higher speed runs and stops. This will get some of the necessary heat into them to get them back into adhesion mode instead of the lower temp "abrasion" mode. Again - temporary fix - as the low speed / low temp will glaze them again.

I suspect that MB doesn't have a pad that will perform well enough at the higher temps (demands) and that is why they won't change compounds.

I've changed dozens of pads and compounds on my race car - this is the nature of brake pads - you can get those that work, those that are low dust, those that don't squeal, etc. but not all at once.

I'll live with squeaking to get stopping.

There has been a TSB out to fix this problem. Here is the link:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/204037-e63-brake-squeal.html

Make sure when they change the pads, they actually use the revised pads not just replace the current pads with brand new identical ones.

My 2007 E63 having the same problem. This is my first AMG. And it is quite embarassing with that noise.

I thought the Brake pads doesn't include in their warranty. We have to pay for it right? I got my 2007 GL450, the won't replace a new pad and rotor for me, I have to pay for them.

same problem here as well. My M3 did it also,so did brembo on my GTI.
something we got to live with.

Cedric, take a look at the post just above mine with the TSB link provided by MB_Forever. There is a fix for this squealing and it is covered under warranty. Tell your SA to look for that TSB.

Generally, the brake pads are not covered under warranty, but the fix for the squealing requires new and modified brake pads.