Dr Bundhi

My '06 E55 has 21,000 miles, warranty until December,2009. The brakes have squealed FOREVER, and I have complained each and every time in for MB service.
Today, my SA at MB Pompano FL (after I again complained about Brake squeal) informs me that my "BRAKES ARE GLAZED", and probably due to overheating. He wants me to change out pads, calipers and rotors . My cost $1600.00
I told SA that I never ever drive my car hard, let alone overheat brakes. I remember that the was a TB for brake squeal. I think they glazed the brakes , always applying grease to the system to curb the squeal.
1) Is it normal to need pads, calipers and rotors at 21,000 miles ?
2) Should this be a warranty repair ?
3) Is $1600 a realistic repair charge for the work required ?

I feel I am being screwed by the Dealer.
Any suggestions would be appreciated

Tritech

Why would you need new calipers?

AMGfan

Run...If they are counting this as regular wear and tear item then they will consider it non-warranty. I too am confused why you need new calipers?

I'd PM some forum members down your way to find out any reliable and honest MB service departments or independent ASE certified MB mechanics in your area.

I believe PTE, Yachtmaster, and several other MBWorld oldtimers are in your neck of the woods. Good luck.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

SA is full of bs.

As per your driving style brakes should last for more than 21k

Brakes pads and rotor are wear and tear items which is not covered under warranty

1600 is too high take it to an indy it will be cheaper.

This is what you can do to see if the rotors are worn. Place you ringer and see if you can feel a lip on the edge. If you can feel the lip then maybe you need to change.

jmf003

As others have mentioned you shouldn't need replacement calipers. $1,600 would be incredibly cheap for pads, rotors, calipers, and labor so I'd guess that calipers aren't included at that price.

It's not uncommon to replace rotors along with the brake pads but since you are replacing pads early you might be able to skip replacing the rotors unless they are warped or near the minimum thickness. If you do replace the rotors it's a good time to check out Evosport's lightweight rotors. They'll cost more but they weigh a lot less.

I'll second the advice to go and talk to a good indie shop.

mekantor

I dont know what all this "glazing" is about, but the typical brake squeal is caused by shims and pads vibrating at low break pressure.

If you brake harder, does the squeal go away? If so, then I would just take out the pads, clean the outside part, clean the entire caliper, regrease/install, and drive off with quiet brakes.

Dr Bundhi

Well, more news now from the SA at Mercedes Pompano FL.

1) Service Advisor denies ever having mentioned calipers.The cost of $1600.00 was brakes and rotors only, including labor. He offered a 20% discount to complete the repairs.
2) After much objection, SA now says they will pay for rotors while I pay for pads to all four wheels.Cost will be about $650.00
3) I told him I felt that MB should pay the entire cost, and will phone Head Office.

Is $650.00 a "fair" price for pads?
Should rotors require replacement at 21,000 miles ?

I have never driven my car "hard", and like many on this Board am tired of squealing brakes that are as loud as a city bus.

Can any Board members recommend an honest and competent independant somewhere reasonably close to Boca Raton FL. ?

jmf003

$650 seems like a reasonable price from a dealer. Indie or DIY would likely be less, of course.

Mileage question depends on how frequently and how hard the driver uses the brakes. If infrequent and only lightly, then the rotors shouldn't be used up at 21,000. If frequently and/or hard, then 21,000 or even less is possible.

LADY_AMG

That's kinda high. I was quoted $350 to replace my rear brake pads, including labor.

CynCarvin32

So if rear pads were 350 front and rear for 650 is a bad deal? Not following you there.

650 is a good darn deal with labor.

Take it and be happy.

CWW

No it's a CRAPPY deal.

A: They've already agreed to comp the rotor replacement, right? Well, since changing the pads would be (literally) 10 minutes' more worth of work as long as they're swapping rotors, why is he being charged additional labor?

B: And if they're not charging him labor, then $650 for pads is like highway robbery, except after you hand over your wallet the robber pistol whips and a$$rapes you on top of it. A set of pads is $200+/-, and if you're going to do them, you may as well upgrade and do EBC Red or Yellow, or Ake's, or really anything is better than the crappy OEM pads that fade and dust like crazy.

Karlson

What if I don't have brake squeal but at low pressure my wheel are vibrating? Do you think that simple clean will do it? I just got a call from the dealer and they want to change pads and rotors for around $1k, car got 42k miles on it, so I think it is kind of early for that.

LADY_AMG

I'm actually going to try to replace the rear pads myself. It's a good way to get familiar with the car. Anyone know the best place to buy OEM pads or recommend an aftermarket pad?

Thanks!

LADY_AMG

Is it your steering wheel that vibrates or the entire car? When was the last time the discs and pads were replaced?

It could be anything from a warped disc (which is unlikely) to judder (caused by uneven pad transfer).

amdeutsch

Someone should STFF the forum. Konigstiger posted one thread about this; Link. There may also be others.

c32AMG-DTM

Um, isn't that a bit redundant? LOL, out loud.

To the OP - frankly, I agree w/ Cyncarvin. Your MB dealership is extending the olive branch offering the rotors; $650 for pads and rotors all around, P&L, is a bargain. "Consumables" like tires/pads/rotors/etc. typically aren't a warranty repair unless there's an obvious manufacturer defect. Dealerships (and, in some cases, indy shops) like to throw new parts at a problem to fix it... who knows, maybe a dozen hard stops in a row from 60-10 might fix your problem. If not, I'd jump on the $650 offer, if it were me... YMMV however.

amg guy

iTrader: (1)

Maybe sure you unplug the braking module under the hood before you try to change your brakes!

$650 from a dealer to change pads on our cars is a good price. Remember the car has 8 pads up front to change and 4 in the rear. Plus if they are giving you new rotors too then very cool as these are definitely not warranty items.

Now if it is something that you have complained about since you bought the car I would make some noise with the dealer manager.

CWW

It's not really an olive branch when the "branch" costs just as much as it would cost to just buy the parts on your own. The rotors are $87.40/ea for the fronts, and the rears are $74.75/ea. Add in the complete OEM pad set, for $239.75, and you get a total parts cost of $564.05.

Come on...it ain't that hard to figure out all they're doing is jacking up the cost of the pads to cover their entire cost on the deal. Typical dealer crap. I don't care if you call it "six" or you call it "a dozen" it's still the same damned thing, and you're still paying for it either way.

If I were the OP, I'd tell them I'll take them up on their offer, except I am bringing my own pads, instead of paying them $650 for a $239 pad set. Then I'd go drop a whopping $200 online for pads that are 10,000X better than the OEM's, and make them install them for free when they do the rotors.

Getting $650 for $140 worth of brake pads...pffffffffffffftttt

CWW

They're supposed to be comping the labor for changing the rotors anyway, so why would the pads by themselves be $650?

Karlson

I bought a car two months ago so need to check with previous owner about when was the last time they replaced it or may be even never, but previous owner told me that car needs nothing and it worked fine. Just my steering wheel vibrates, but not always

Karlson

good source, but the op and other guys are having problems with e55.

LADY_AMG

I think you meant to quote the other guy, but useful information nonetheless.

I just need to change my rear pads. The discs are fine.

c32AMG-DTM

CWW,

Respectfully disagree with you, friend. My only point is this - OP can get a full brake job F&R done by the dealership for basically what it would cost if he sourced all the parts himself online from the cheapest vendors possible and did all of the labor on his own... to me, that's a pretty good deal. Book rate is likely between 1.5-2 hours per axle; 3-4 hours of labor is probably $300+ (even the cheaper Indy shops would likely charge $225+). Add the parts, and you're looking at roughly a grand all-in.

BTW - your parts prices (parts.com I presume?) are the deeply discounted quotes that a savvy shopper can find online; not what you'd see quoted from an MB parts dept.

In their offer to this customer, this specific dealership might not lose money on the job... but they're probably not making much (if any) either. Keep in mind, these parts are definitely viewed as "consumable" and the dealership really has no way verifying the OP's driving habits. In conclusion, I stand by my comment that this is a pretty good offer to appease the OP... it would've satisfied me, personally.

EDIT: One item that you and I appear to have "read differently" - to me, MB appears willing to "eat" the parts cost of the rotors if the OP wants the work done - in no way does this oblige the dealer to cover labor for said rotors. You appear to think that MB is "replacing rotors under warranty" so why would there be labor costs for the pad install (a valid point). Perhaps the OP can clarify. If it were me, I'd still first try several hard stops (re-bedding the pads, basically) to see if that might be the cheapest/easiest fix for the noise.

CWW

Yeah, exactly!

That's why I didn't think it's such a hot deal, b/c it doesn't really take any extra work to swap the pads if you've already got to swap the rotors anyway. They can't say they're comping the labor on changing the rotors when they're charging book time for a pad replacement and 90% of the time alloted for that job is just the same work you'd have to do for the rotors that you're allegedly comping anyway.

And yeah, my understanding is they were comping the labor to swap the rotors. If that's not the case then that would change things. And in any event, that the $650 all-in price for a complete brake job isn't bad at all. That is indy pricing (actually, less than indy pricing), but you get dealer service and a loaner, so yeah, the rate is good.

But I guess what I'm saying is, if it were me, I really wouldn't see the harm in taking them up on their rotor offer and then saying "by the way...I want to bring my own pads". They'll probably say no, but if they do agree, then it goes from being a good deal to being an outright steal hehehe.

And EBC's or Ake's are so much better than OEM MB pads it's not even funny.

willc55

Well, to put it in perspective, I got quoted $750 for parts and $400 for labor from a performance shop to change the pads and rotors on my C55. It is my understanding that these rotors are superior quality to OEM (although name brand "Disc Italia" rotors would have been $300 more), and the pads are ceramic racing quality.

So if I could get a dealership to replace my pads and rotors for $650 I'd be pretty happy.

FWIW, I went to the shop with similar symptoms although it sounds like my squeal is significantly less than yours, and they told me that the pads had "crystalized", which I'm assuming is the same as "glazed". That shop told me that the pads, despite the glazing had about 6 months left, and at that point both the pads and rotors had to be replaced. Although, he stated that the rotors had to be replaced because it looked like these pads were the 3rd set that had been used on the same rotors (I bought the car used in October, so I don't know if that is true or not).