My benz didn't come with an owner's manual so I don't know what this icon means that comes on intermittently. It is the light/icon to the left of the emergency/parking brake light. It looks like a circle with 3 dashes on the left and 3 dashes on the right. Thanks a lot for your help.

That's your brake pad wear sensor. It comes on when either of your front brake pads are worn. You need to start thinking about replacing the front pads and wear sensors. You should also look at the condition of the rotors and decide if they need to be replaced too. Note that there are no wear sensors on the rear brakes, so it's a good idea to take a look at them at the same time.

Mine used to come on when I started the car, it'd stay on for a few seconds after then go out. It doesn't come one anymore at all, and I have 60% pad left and good rotors..bad sensors?

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RIP: 80 300SD
RIP: 79 450SEL
2002 E430 4matic (212,000km)
2002 ML500 'sport'

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Paul - you should still be able to get an owner's manual from MBUSA for about ten bucks. 800-FOR-MERC(EDES)

Len

Thank all of you guys for the kind and knowledgeable replies. I will definately check the front pads. The back have about 60% left. The other day my wife came home in the car (same benz) and about 5 minutes after she parked it I began wetting down the car to wash it. I sprayed the front wheels and the rotors steamed and sizzled because they were so hot. Is that normal? When I am braking it is still smooth ( no shaking in the steering wheel)...so I guess the rotors are fine. However, I will have them checked. I don't know what the original thickness of the rotors were so I have no way to tell how much they have been turned. Again Thank all of you.

Or often on eBay, as well, for cheap.

Here's one in Cali for $5, but it doesn't state which model year.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-240D-300D-Turbo-Diesel-Owners-manual_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34227QQihZ005QQitemZ150005799269QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Must not be an '84, because the one in this auction (which is billed as an '84 manual) has a different cover. However, this dude wants $24.50 for his copies even though he has eight available, so they're hardly rare.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1984-MERCEDES-BENZ-200D-240D-300D-OWNERS-MANUAL-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34227QQihZ019QQitemZ8066317120QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

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-- 1983 300D, acquired 10/19/2005 at 215,000+ turbodiesel miles ... engine croaked almost immediately ... back on the road at 217,210 with a 144K turbo motor from a donor '85. ... May 2007, replaced radiator. ... Now (2/28/08) about 240K miles and dead due to battery?

Normally they are not turned, just replaced. They a fairly cheap and I don't believe they have enough material to be turned.

I just noticed that part of the post. That doesn't sound right unless the car was being driven pretty hard. It's possible a front caliper is dragging, but that should only affect one wheel. You may want to try jacking up the wheel and seeing if it turns freely right after the car has been driven. If both wheels are dragging, it could be an issue with the master cylinder.

Thank you Craig. Yeah I noticed that the discs were cheap...I think I'll just buy a new set. About the discs steaming I'll check to see like yu said if the wheels spin freely. Do you think that would account for the poor fuel mileage? I had an '81 300D that got consistently 30-33 mpg. This '84 300D is getting only about 22-24 mpg. I don't know much about the master cylinder so I guess i'm going to have to take it to a brake specialist. Do you have any advice on which specialist to take it to? About all I know to do on brakes is change the pads and make sure the fluid is at proper level. Again, thank you very much for yur help.

I don't know where you are located, but you are probably better off finding a good independent benz shop in your area. They should have no problem fixing your brakes. I would bring them the car "as-is" before changing the pads and rotors so they can diagnose it.

I live in Rockwall, Texas by the way. Sorry, I haven't figured out how to do my profile on this forum yet (I've only been a member for about a month). great idea about leaving the car as is. I think another variable is the fact that the last owner only put about 6,000 miles on it over a period of 3 years. I've only had the car about a month. I sold the '81 300D I was talking about earlier and was kicking myself for doing it...turned around 2 weeks later and bought another one. This one has only 125K, straight body, smooth transmission, interior like new. I gave almost double what I paid for the '81 ($2,500 for the '81 and $4,750 for the '84 ...he was asking $5993). Anyway, I'm rambling, just thought I would give you some more information about myself and the car. Thanks for your help.