[Vik]

Guys, I just had service B on my 2002 ML320, and besides getting all the kinks fixed under warranty on the ML, my service rep says that I need new brakes, a 1500 charge. Now, I had my brakes replaced at service A, 10000 miles ago, is it normal for my service rep to tell me this? He claims I brake too hard, but everyone knows that's not true, are ML's known to wear their brakes out easily? This is just outragous how much I have to spend for every service visit just on brakes alone, and for both times the only things that came out of my pocket were brakes. Whats the deal? Do ML brakes just suck?

 

[ccweems]

Pads and rotors, F&R total about $400 and I don't expect you need all of that. Takes about 3 hours, 4 if you have to remove the rear rotors. By the time you have taken all the wheels off you are 1/3 done. Just remember that for $1500 they give you soft pads that dirty up the wheels and don't last as long as the Pagid (or any other brand) pads that are far cheaper. If you are burning up pads faster than 20,000 miles maybe you are driving faster (and braking more) than me. My front rotors were replaced at 60,000 miles. Rear rotors are still good. Suggest you: learn a little mechanic'n, suck it up and enjoy the typical MB ownership experience or buy Japanese.

 

[bjmkelly]

1500 is too much too soon

10,000 miles for a full brake job is hard to understand unless you have been on a race track for 1,000 of that...
fwiw I bought my ML 6,000 miles ago, at 44k with new brakes and they still look new.
Similar to ccweems I would estimate under 500 for a DIY job, 1000 for a professional install. And that is for pads and rotors all around which would be very unusual in just 10,000 miles.
In any case I can think of one other option beyond what ccweems offered and that is to take the car to a Sears or good independent shop. I bet they will be right around 1000 for the job IFF all that stuff is needed.
I do my own brakes on my Porsche - replacing the pads is very easy work if you have basic tools and an hour per axle to spare for the first time around. It is very satisfying. Cost about $100 per axle for pads and pins, $30 more if you have eaten into the wear indicator wires and need to replace them. Replacing rotors is only slightly more involved, at least on a Porsche - I have not done it on the ML yet.
I bought a micrometer to measure rotor thickness on my Porsche. In that case they are 28mm new and should be replaced at 26mm. I brink my car to the track regularly and expect 60k miles from the front rotors, 30k from front pads. 80/40k for rears. Someone probably has rotor thickness specs for your car. As for pads - has the brake wear indicator come on? Have you looked at them? If the friction material between the pad backing plate and the rotor is less than maybe 2-3mm then they need doing, again someone probably has the real specs. If the wear light has not come on however then that is some indication.
Hope this is of some help
Brian

 

[CQRT]

Our MB dealership told us twice that we needed brakes-- about 3-4 months apart... our independent dealer told us to wait until the light came on.

Nearly six months later, it did. Needless to say, we felt like the dealership was overstating our needs simply to generate revenue.

We did have the work done - - four sets of rotors and pads for just under a grand - - the second set in 45k miles.

I'm sure not in love with this truck but I probably wouldn't get another based on the rattles, wind noise and lack of overall quality. Too bad.

 

[Darkmann]

Vik - 3/7/2005 6:41 PM

Guys, I just had service B on my 2002 ML320, and besides getting all the kinks fixed under warranty on the ML, my service rep says that I need new brakes, a 1500 charge. Now, I had my brakes replaced at service A, 10000 miles ago, is it normal for my service rep to tell me this? He claims I brake too hard, but everyone knows that's not true, are ML's known to wear their brakes out easily? This is just outragous how much I have to spend for every service visit just on brakes alone, and for both times the only things that came out of my pocket were brakes. Whats the deal? Do ML brakes just suck?

No way; if the pad wear indicator light is not on, you don't need to replace anything. Besides, the rotors can't be worn to under spec in just 1K miles, I don't care how bad you brake. The pads, maybe, but not the rotors, especially on a 320. Mine (MY02 320) lasted 48K. Wait 'till the light comes on, otherwise get a second opinion. BTW, the ML brake DIY is published on this site and is very easy to perfom. Click <a href="http://www.petefagerlin.com/ML/brakes.htm">here</a> for details.

 

[rudeney]

No way; if the pad wear indicator light is not on, you don't need to replace anything.

I’ll just add a caveat to that statement. My 2001 ML320 needed brakes at about 20K miles, but the indicator light never came on. First of all, the pads that were worn nearly to the stock had no sensors on them. Secondly, there was one wear sensor that was grounding to the disc, but it did not illuminate the indicator because of a short in its lead.

While I would definitely not take the dealer’s word that the truck needs brakes, I would nonetheless inspect them every 5K-10K miles and not rely solely on the wear sensors.

- RODNEY

 

[onesixthree]

dont ever listen to them. theyll say that even when you have half the pads left. right before my warranty ended the dealer told me to replace the pads asap as there are only days worth of material left, but i drove it for some 2 months then i took it to my mechanic. the pads still had about quarter of material left. and it only costs about a third to get your pads and rotors done at indy shops

 

[MLOffRoad]

It's a load of crap .. check the pads and rotors yourself. Also the wear light is not a good measure if you need brakes. I once was metal to metal and the light didnt come on. The price is also absurd, you can do it all yourself in under 3 hrs for about $500 with the highest end parts, $300 if you want semi OEM.

 

[Darkmann]

Excellent point. Yes, there are documented cases where the wear sensors did not come on

even though the pads were worn past their limit.