Rear Brake Pad Problems on 2000 ML430

My 2000 ML430 has 35,000 miles on it and it has now worn through its 3rd set of rear brake pads. It had the fronts replaced at 30,000 miles. The car stops fine and doesn't feel strange, however I think it is unusual that the rears are wearing out 3x faster than the fronts. I took it into the dealer for warranty (where it is right now) and they said it was normal and that if I don't pay them the $250 to replace them, they will charge me a $50 inspection fee...Help.

[myarmar]

It is not normal in my experience: the rear pads were replaced at 80000 miles for the first time on my 99 ML430. The front pads were replaced at 48000 first and then 80000 second time. It is an easy DIY job.
Mike

[Lebenz]

That seems both unusual and excessive to me. Usually it is the front brakes that wear aggressively. In general the MLs really suck on brake wear. Do you do a lot of stop and go? Do you do a lot of (hard) cornering? Do you accelerate hard? I ask as the ETS system will apply brakes when it feels the need and it is possible that your driving habits might be the reason for this. It is also possible that the rear ETS sensors are a little askew. Note that I’m not saying it is the reason, but just some possibilities....

Our local dealership says that their shuttle – a ML320 gets no more than 11K miles per brake set and they drive about 95% in town.

You might ask your SA to lick your as$hole before you will pay them an inspection fee because of their pressure-implied behavior, and take your business elsewhere. BTW it is pretty easy to swap the brake pads....

pkramer,

Unfortunately, your brake pad wear is probably due to the ESP system. If you have tires that do not match well at all four corners, it fools the ESP system and it starts applying brakes at different corners under different conditions.

With the ESP system, you can't replace one bad tire, or even one axle, they must be exactly the same at all four corners. This means you must replace tires in sets of four. Have you replaced tires in anything less than sets of four along the way? If so, I expect that is your problem. I know its a bad deal, but there it is.

Good luck,

Thank you all for the info. The car gets about 50/50 Highway/city miles driving. I am planning on replacing the pads myself, but here is the interesting thing: Only the dealers carry the pads. Most other part suppliers said that the car is too new to carry the rear pads already. Also, the rear pads are around $140 plus $10 for the sensors. This does not include labor!

[Lebenz]

Not true.

You can get pads (3 different types) here, as well as from a number of other sites