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B Class Common Problems and Their Solutions

488K views 347 replies 85 participants last post by  DEVOURS 
#1 ·
Howdy,

I've created this stickied thread so that you can post links to threads about common B class problems, and their solutions. This will help us keep the top of the forum from getting cluttered with stickies, and will also be a great resource for new members here at Benzworld.

Cheers,
Chris

Here are a few:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w245-b-class/1323817-check-your-oil-level-now.html
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w245-b-class/1322934-rust-problem-all-b200-bonnets-revised.html
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w245-b-class/1343957-rust-disc-plate-rear-brake.html
 
#4 ·
I'm sorry to hear that the B is giving you guys so much of a headache. My B has 50000km and so far so good. No problem at all. From what I've read the worst problem is that they under estimated the Canuck winter. I don't think that one will be easy to solve. I'm suprised considering that germany can have some pretty harsh winters (not as cold as the Great White North).
 
#6 ·
I had a phone call from them about these rear rotors... They told me that there is no any signs or evidents for faulty materials from the centrals.. Also when i told them about this forum and that many people have the same problems, he told me this clever answer: "sir, in these forums its like you go to a hospital...anyone who had never no problems wouldn't write there.. so if you read all this stuff you can think that this car is faulty but its not like this..." finally he tried to persuade me that there is no matter of security with this rust and if i like to go to the dealer and make some measurements on the brakes... Of course i will do this , but i am not still convinced about the quality on some parts on this car....:mad:

Cheers
 
#8 ·
After being hiddden behind steelies and hubcaps for the last 10,000 km, the rear rotors (the new ones installed at 5000 km, actually, now that I think of it) were rusty/nasty. I went to a steep hill and reversed down (why oh why does our car get limited to 30 km/h in reverse, it seriously must be a legacy of the Elch-test). I got it up to over 50 because it was a steep hill (free-falling) and after two 300 m long braking sessions, the rotor on the RR is looking pretty good, although the one on the LR still has a couple of rusty rings on it.
 
#9 ·
Mike,
What a shame that we have to play these dangerous games just to keep our rear brakes clean and shiny.

Lucky you and your summer tires.(already)...I guess I'll put my summers on at the end of July (if and when all the snow melts).:crybaby2::crybaby2:
 
#10 · (Edited)
I can't honestly see any need for the car to go more than 30 kph in reverse (and I'm a bit of a speed merchant) the rear vision is probably more of a reason than a stability issue. If you need to go more than 30 kph why not turn the car round & do it ? In fact in the UK it is ILLEGAL to drive unnecessary distances backwards - there is a specific offence of reversing further than is necessary.
 
#15 ·
I don't know if this is a common problem or not, but last week a couple of pieces of black plastic debris appeared inside my instrument cluster and nested themselves to the lower right of the fuel gauge. A photo of the instrument panel when the car was new does not show them!

So I have some work for the boys at TPM to attend to when I eventually go in for Service 1: RE & RE instrument cluster, clean out plastic detritus and determine where the heck it came from!

Bizarre.
 
#16 · (Edited)
The debris is still there in the lower right corner of the instrument binnacle....

I washed and waxed both the B 200 and the smart today. Then I took the B 200 to the hill I use to clean off the rear brake discs. I went down that hill in reverse 8 times and they're reasonably clean, but the LR still has a couple of slightly rusty bands over it. The smell of rust and brake linings was pretty impressive!
 
#18 ·
The problem is the car's cheapo sliding calipers. I remember when disc calipers had piston(s) on BOTH side of the caliper.

The outer side is just along for the ride, which explains why that part of the disc is more prone to rusting than the inside.
 
#21 ·
I cannot believe that a motor manufacturer that has been in the business as long as Mercedes is making and selling a car with brakes that are defective, by not putting sufficient pad pressure on the Disks / rotors. If this were the case you would have many issues, apart from, the car not stopping in a straight line,generally unstable braking, long stopping distances etc etc, the car certainly would not pass UK construction & use regulations or our yearly (on 3rd anniversary) ministry of transport test (& the German or other countries equivalents of it) where the individual wheel/braking forces are tested.

The problem is more than likely as previously mentioned an inferior quality metal (for the job) in the disks / rotors and I would suggest that if you are really serious in improving your braking that you look towards getting a set of drilled & grooved disks / rotors and use them in combination with a set of harder or 'fast road pads' as they are sometimes called. You will be astonished at the difference and will not get the problems you are having. This disk problem is not unique to the B class.
 
#22 ·
The rear brakes on the B hardly do anything....it's down to weight distribution and all.....drums would have been better IMO. But yeah once the car is out of warranty, aftermarket, here I come!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Keith, Mike, you're both right in all the above.
I'm so frustrated with these rear discs. But the B still stops very well and as you both have said we can change them for better materials, and not a huge cost in due course.
It makes you think "what else?" when they cheap it down like that.

The cover that holds the pollen filter is another soon to be failure on our B's.
It's so cheap!!:mad:
They could have used a small hinge on the black plastic cover.
In time, when bending that cover, it has to crack and we'll be taping the back to keep the fit.
This penny-pinching scares me away from a great car.... if these observations continue.:mad:
 
#24 ·
Mike it might be worth bookmarking this for future reference

5-02we.jpg

They are suppliers of the Rossini Disks / rotors

They give a number to ring for overseas customers. Although you may have a company locally that deals direct with Rossini.

They have got good press reports over here & I can recommend them personally having fitted them previously to my Scenic. Price was not much more than the standard Renaults disks / rotors so I imagine that they should compare favourably with Mercs prices.
 
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