How long doe Mercedes Brakes Last?
 

I recently bought a new E500 and I'm thrilled with it. I've put 8,500 miles on it. My co-worker has a ML430 that's more than a year old. She said that her brake pads needed to be replaced before she had 10,000 miles on the vehicle. She thought that was just a fluke. But in another 10,000 miles she needed to have them replaced again. When she confronted the dealer, he
said that the ML uses special pads that wear out at about 10,000 miles, but give superior stopping power. He also said that her discs would need to be replaced at the 3rd pad replacement. The discs cost $1,000. While I understand that pad life is tied to driver use of the brakes, still 10,000 miles sounds like very, very short life. Is her dealer telling her the truth, that an average, Mercedes ML brakes only last 10,000 miles? Is this what I should expect on my E500?
:confused:

I have a '95 E420, and my front brake discs last around 50,000km, and my front brake pads last around 25,000km...I don't own a ML430, so I am not familiar with the brake pad/disc setup...but at least you have some numbers to compare with...the numbers you quoted for your friend are a little aggressive though...

ummm...in terms of "$1000" for the brake discs, is this price in US dollars? That is A LOT...If you go to FastLane, I am seein' each ML430 brake disc at around $60US...even if dealer prices are more expensive, I cannot see how it could amount to $1000, even with labour + parts...so there is something fishy with that...

If she rides the brake or does alot of stop and go driving, the pads will wear faster. Driving habits are a factor in pad life.

With that said, I have noticed that MB, Textar, Pagid; Jurid pads do not last anywhere near as long as OEM Toyota or Honda pads.
I've observed this in both heavy and lighter MB cars.

The ML has seemed to have some different brake wear. The unusual part is the rear brakes seem to last only a little longer than front. The rears usually last twice as long.

On most MBs that means about 20-30k on the front and a double that on the rear.

My wife's 98 ML with 32k has had one set of front pads. I think it was about 25k.

The europeans have built a great reputation for handling and brakes using very light equpment. MB pads are half the price of Honda pads and their rotors are about the same if bought by the pound (An E320 front rotor is probably twice as heavy as an Accords)

Soft brake pads are standard on most new cars and are basically a scam. They give a great soft pedal feel and will stop the car on a dime and give you 9 cents change. But, they don't last. I live in S Texas where we drive many more miles per brake application that people do on say the East Coast. I can easily get 40K miles out of a set of pads and double that from rotors.

Go to a harder brake pad, don't ride your brake pedal, and don't stop hard. And above all don't get your brakes done at the MB dealer. Does fuzzy end of the lollypop ring a bell?

You also have to realize that the ML is an suv, suv's are heavier and there fore use a lot more brake on even the slightest stop. Be happy that you do not drive a ford expedition,that suv goes through brakes and rotors quicker than a semi. The e500 will also run through its first set of pads quickly, those stock pads give ultimate stopping power,but lack longevity, try not to hot dog that sweet v8 because the dealer might try and make you pay for new rotors at the first brake service. They claim that the w211 brakes generate so much heat that one can "easily" warp the rotors.

Personally I'll take the soft, good, smooth, quiet, pad eating, brakes anyday over the rough, heavy pedaled, screaming, pulsing, grinding rotor eating hard pads.

If you like that, drop down to M*d*s and get some of those pads guaranteed to scream for the rest of your life. But remember the calipers and discs eaten up are never warranteed anywhere that sells that crap.

at 256K on the clock, my 1989 260E has so far eaten 3 sets of front brake pad, and 2 sets of rear pad so far in its life. One set of front rotors, rear rotors are still original, never been turned.
I never used anything but OEM brake pads.
Brake life is directly proportional to the action of your right feet.
JackD

Proportional to right feet??
 

Jack, I've heard of two left feet, but two right feet? Not much of a dancer huh?;)

Seriously, having gone the "high performance" brake pad route, I will also attest to the "better off with factory parts" mantra.

I got nearly 50k on my first set of factory pads on my 98E, and they were not all highway miles. The car is driven in town almost exclusively.

As for the $1000 brake job on the ML.....must take them 10 hours at $75/hour plus parts:p

sure would like two rotor replacement jobs a day at a K each then I could pay to have my exaust work done..........
William Rogers.......

brake pad life
 

As a reference, I have a 1993 300E, and have about 40000 miles on the current set of brakes. I just checked the pad thickness this weekend, and have over 4 mm left in the front pads, so will still be able to go quit a distance before changing.

Doug, FYI, the sensors make contact at 2.5 mm and specification requires pads to be replaced at 2 mm. According to my calculations, you have roughly 10,000 miles left.

Rather unbelievably, in my fairly light four-cylinder 190E I had new original MB pads at about 66-67,000m in the front. And just recently, I ran them grinding heavily because I couldn't believe they were gone. I finally checked and was amazed that they were completely worn down, at about 77,000 miles.

10,000 miles per set, on a 190E?!! They don't get used hard regularly, and I'm always changing to lower gears to help slow down.

mad

I go through fronts on the 300E every 15-18K miles or so with the OEM compounds. I have yet to replace the rotors, but plan to on the next swap.

Note that this is my daily driver, and endures a lot of typical heavy traffic braking scenarios.

Did the rears on the ML for the first time a couple of months ago, and it appeared to have about 50% of meat left. The dealership did the fronts at around 27K, but if I had had a chance to inspect them, I'll bet I could have gotten more mileage than that! I will contend that this is a heavier vehicle, but since it's duty is relegated to weekends and vacation driving, I don't really stress the brakes on it as much...

It varies with use. I replaced my brakes on my C280 at 100,000 miles. But I never brake hard.