I just had my 4 tires changed on my 96 e300 with 139,000 miles. The wheels started shaking when braking fr around 50 mph-when it didn't with the old tires, so i took it back to the shop to have them recheck the balance.The wheels turned out to be balanced- so they went to do further checking. It turned out that i had worn ball joints and bad engine mounts. I changed my lower ball joints and engine mounts, had the wheels aligned which was only slightly off according to the shop, mounted the rear wheels to the front- and it still shakes when braking from about 50mph upwards. I hate to think that it is a bad rotor issue since I just changed them 15000 miles ago. I also changed my steering rack and tire rods around 10000 miles ago. My abs and ets lights and check electronic traction system message are suddenly on also.Any ideas? Could the abs malfunction trigger the shaking?Any ideas on how to check the abs/ets malfunctions?

The shaking is coming from your rotors or possibly the pads. After about 15,000 miles on my new brembo rotors, I started getting a vibration in my steering wheel while braking. I took the car to my local mechanic, had him even-out the surface of the rotors, and that cured the problem.

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Ed
-1984 Mercedes 190D 2.2 5-speed gray market(bought@30,000 miles) (Sold back to original owner@170,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes E300DT (245,000 miles)
-1999 Mercedes S500 Grand Edition (80,000 miles)

Also pull the codes for the error lights you are seeing. If you don't have a reader, it would be worth investing in one, or you can go to an auto parts store that offers free code reading.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I second this diagnosis. Rotors are easily replaced on later MBs, and therefore they don't have the longevity of older MB rotors. The vibration comes from the rotors wearing and the geometry of the ventilation feature on the rotor, combined with heating from applying the brakes. You can accumulate many heating and cooling cycles in city driving, so expect more chances for rotor wear and rotor warping issues with stop and go traffic. Especially if the "go" part reaches higher speeds.

On my W210 I had the front wheel bearings wear out in under 150,000 miles - a new experience for me on a Benz. This also leads to vibration and wobbles. You can check that out by jacking the car up on one side checking for play.

Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

I'm leaning towards that conclusion as no amount of tire rotation seems to solve the issue.

I can't pull up any codes, Jeremy.My reader says no codes. One thing I notice though is if I step on the brakes while starting the ets/abs and electronic traction system lights don't come on. Once I take my foot off the brake pedal, the lights come on. Stoplamp switch problem maybe?

The switch has a couple of purposes not just to turn the brake lights on, and I believe if you do a search you will find that that is the problem - the state of the brake pedal is required for the other functions to be initiated by the computer. You have to be a bit of a gymnast to get to it - the cover under the dash has to be moved out of the way - and you have to take some time twisted around to get the old one out and the new one in place. Once in the switch kind of self calibrates with an application of the brakes and the problem is solved.

Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Thanks, Jim.

Thanks again for your valuable input.