I had my 2000 ML320 in for service at the local dealer today for a check engine light (oxygen sensor gone bad). While there they were also performing a B plan service. During the B service they informed me that they felt all four wheel's brake pads and all four brake disks needed to be replaced and wanted slightly over $1,200 to do so. This seems rather high to me. The vehicle now has about 83,000 miles on it. The front pads were replaced at 40,000 miles. The rear pads have not been changed. There have been no warning indicators or anything, no squeaks, squealing, etc. The disks are smooth and have no grooves in them either. They would not just replace only the pads. Any thoughts? Clayton

you should go to FASTLANE at the mercedesshop site and price pads and rotors for yourself.

then find a good independent and get his labor fees.

did you get thickness measurements for your pads and rotors from the dealer?

It has been my experience that typically Mercedes rotors last no more than 2 sets of pads before the rotors wear beyond minimum serviceable thickness. If you are somewhat mechanically handy, it is not difficult to change the pads and rotors yourself. Otherwise, it becomes an expensive job when the dealer does it.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

I think I paid $240 for all pads and front rotors from this site. The job is quite easy. You'll need a 5mm hex socket to remove the rotor from the hub. I had to use a little penetrating spray in the bolt holes to get the rotor to break free of the rust bond with the hub.

Be sure to clean the hub surface and maybe apply some sort of rust inhibitor. It will make removing the rotors the next time that much easier.

There is a very detailed thread on the ML forum regarding the "how-to" of doing pads on these vehicles.

I followed the step-by-step procedures and was able to do the job quite easily!

ML 320 Brake Job

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car