w203 c230 brake pad warning
 

2002 C230 coupe
The brake pad thickness warning came on. The outer pads look good, all approx 50%. I didn't pull any wheels to check the inner pads. The car drives great with no brake issues. Stuck caliper, bogus warning, faulty sensor? Would pulling the codes help ID which wheel?
Thanks, Dan

how are the rears? do they have sensors?

The rear pads are about the same. I don't know if the rear has sensors.

My 99 E300 has sensors at 3 of 4 wheels. Both fronts and right rear.

The pads are close to 1/2" thick when new. If 3/16" or 1/4" now, the wear sensor is probably sticking thru and contacting the rotor meaning its time to replace. Next thing to poke thru is a rivet.

Pull the sensor on the thinnest pad and see if it is chewed up on the end.

I would pull the front wheels and check the brake pads. You have to check the basics first. As far as the rear pads, some 203 chassis cars have sensors in the rear and some do not. As far as diagnostics, you won't get any codes telling you which wheel turned on the light. It could be that your sensor has pulled out of the connector on the caliper also.

Thanks for the good replies. It may have to wait till this weekend, but I will pull the front wheels to inspect.
I'll let you know what I find.
Dan

While this may not be apples to apples..

...when the brake sensor light recently came on in my wife's CE...i'll bet we had 3-4k at least left on the pads...

i changed the pads and rotors about 2 weeks later.... i would call the warning an advanced warning.

that doesn't mean you should put it off..

well said lee management by design and not crisis.

Just thought I'd close this thread.
The car has one front brake pad thickness sensor on the right, inside pad. The inner pads on both sides were considerably more worn then the outside pads so the visual inspection of the outisde pads with the wheels on is misleading. MB knows their brakes because the pad which was worn the most was (Ta-Daaaa!)the one with the sensor. Replaced front pads, rotors, and sensor, now all is well.
Thanks for the help.
Dan

Just thought I'd close this thread.
The front brakes have one sensor on the right, inside pad. The inside pads wear more than the outside so a visual of the outside pads is not adequate.
Mercedes knows their cars, the pad with the sensor was worn the most. I would guess I had about 1 or 2,000 miles before metal to metal when the warning first appeared.
Dan

c230 brakes
 

I am getting this waning as well. I do plan to change the pads but was wondering why you changed the rotors and the sensor also. Were the rotors worn? Also where do you recommend I get replacement pads?

Thanks

Make sure you give the parts vendor your production date and vin# so they don't give you the wrong parts.
This happens alot.

The disks were getting close to the minimum thickness stamped on the disk hub so I replaced them along with the pads and sensor.
If your warning light is on, time for new pads, sensor, and maybe new disks.

http://catalog.peachparts.com/
Buy your parts here and you won't have any problems. Call Phil if you have any questions.