Yes, my 1995 SL320 has the same problem. Checked by my MB mechanic and found no obvious problem with brakes. However, I do not believe this to be normal for the brakes. My 1985 500SEL brakes respond at a much higher, normal pedal.

 

I own a couple of W210s and have owned four W124s and a W201. None of them exhibit the long travel before engagement.

I resorted to using google to search this forum, and found a previous thread. Sounds as though it is a common R129 "quirk."

Brake Pedal Travel

 

Check the brake master cylinder.

 

I have this very same problem. I purchased SS brake lines, a brand new master cylinder and brake booster that works on the SL500/SL600 until MY98. After that the brakes were perfect to the touch.

However, I traveled for a week and when I came back, I found the brakes suffering from dead travel again. Every time I bleed the brakes, they feel good but not great for a day or so and then they get spongy again. Maybe I have an internal problem in one or more of my calipers.

My next target to solve this and get better braking would be to update to the 99+ brembo brakes and silver arrow rotors with 99+ SS brake lines again from Goodrich.

 

Just to let you know, I upgraded to the Silver Arrow cross drilled zimmerman rotors and techstar pads. No change in travel.

 

Do you have steel brake lines or the oem rubber ones? The reason I'm expecting a change in travel is because I think there might be something wrong with one or more of my calipers. After bleeding them, they would feel good for a day or two, then they start feeling spongy again and need re-bleeding. That is my assessment since everything else is brand new.

And if I was to change the calipers, might as well get the upgraded Brembos.

Isn't your car a 1999 model? You should already have the big brembo calipers with 234mm brake disc upfront and 300mm in the rear. My 1991 has the smaller 300mm upfront and 278mm in the rear. So I should feel more of a brake upgrade when changing.

 

Excessive brake pedal travel is an inherent issue with the R129. This was a very common complaint at the dealerships when the R129's were new. I had a 1995 SL500 years ago, same issue.

Thorgod

 

Excessive brake pedal travel is an inherent issue with the R129. This was a very common complaint at the dealerships when the R129's were new. I had a 1995 SL500 years ago, same issue.

Thorgod

That maybe so. However, it is curable. When I did my first bleed after the SS lines and new servo and master cylinder. I completely eliminated the non-linear brake pedal feel.

It did come back though but I would say that I have a caliper issue. I know my rear right caliper makes a noise when pressing the brakes sometimes.

Which is why I think if I recondition the calipers or get the upgraded bigger brembos and recondition those. I would go back to a very linear nice pedal feel.

 

Click on the 3 vertical dots on the top right of the page and you will see the Search feature for individual forums.

 

Of course! Perfectly intuitive! It isn't.

Thanks for the tip.

 

For what it's worth I just had my brakes refreshed with new fluid, SS lines, EBC red pads, and Zimmerman rotors. This significantly reduced my brake pad travel and improved feel.

 

This past weekend I finally got around to putting new brakes on the '99 SL500: Zimmerman rotors and Akebono pads.

The dead travel seems to be gone now. What isn't gone is is the mushy feeling and the lengthy pedal travel. At least I can now feel the brakes grab before the pedal travels an inch or two.

I don't know why M-B designed the SL's this way. All the other Benzes I have owned had a really firm pedal feel.

 

Mine possesses none of those issues. The symptoms you describe typically come from poorly bleeded brake lines/water in brake fluid.

 

my 97 R129 and 97 E420 have ENTIRELY different brake feel. E420 has very short travel but not easy to modulate. R129 has long travel and is very easy to modulate. Later models had "brake assist" that with fast application increased brake pad pressure. The tradeoff is do you want "instant" brakes that are hard to modulate or brakes that can easily be modulated, or something in between. I'd like something in between.

 

I have a W210 E430 and a 1996 R129 SL500 so I know exactly what you mean ;-)

 

Obviously no one can know how your brake pedal feels; when I got my SL 8 years ago I was aware of a long travel before the brakes caught; now I don't even notice it.