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Brakes are not precision German engineering- actually a joke...

13K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  TunkpotterSV 
#1 ·
I have 3 identical metris vans since new TONIGHT I am doing a rotor/pad hardware replacement on all 4 wheels and have noticed yet another van after 40k. rears were uneven from factory virgin 1st brake job and this is a carefully driven van carrying light tool weight ! Why is there only a 1 piston rear calipers on a heavy van like this? Why does it wear out pads before the fronts by at least 10k? This seems to be the normal on all my Vans.. The rear pads are all uneven from the rear of rotor to outside pretty pathetic!
I also wish someone would come up with a better brake to rotor system with the caliper slide aluminum tracks,,I am starting to wonder if it is worth grinding a millimeter off the end of the pad frames so the pads do not get frozen.in the guides. This Mercedes braking system they brag about is a joke... really you think this is "simply the best"?
The brake dust is extreme and grease is gone in no time and the amount of heat is insane! I am not impressed with Mercedes brakes at all and I work on a large multi fleet
Heard the larger Sprinters eat brake pads badly too from other fleet mechanics,,
I am researching drilled rotors to dissipate heat . my wifes jeep Cherokee is going on 125k on rear brakes from new, never done! That's what I call impressive, Mercede's are a joke in the brake dep't .. and I don't know who designs these systems but 2 piston front and 1 piston rear is just wrong!
 
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#5 ·
I see the problem.... seems like one data point is good enough for MB :p

Pretty much the results one would expect and they even hint that there are approved brands as well. Pretty sure one of the Hella brands (can't find a brand map) makes the OE pads. They would be better served if they turned down the EPIC! just a hair.
 
#3 · (Edited)
A lot of the wear on brakes depends on your driving style/type too....if your carrying heavy loads and roaring around doing all city miles your going to eat through the brakes on any big vehicle quickly.

MB Brakes are on the softer side which is on purpose, it gives more braking grip/power. Single piston rear calipers are just fine, on most vehicles barely 20% of overall braking happens in the rear. I've seen plenty of cars with FRONT brakes barely the size of the rears on the Metris. And plenty of cheap domestics still have drum brakes in back.....like the ford transit connect. Twin piston front brakes is very normal. You only find quad piston brake calipers on higher end vehicles like a SL-Series or S-class. Ever looked at what one of those calipers costs? If they put something like that on a sprinter or Metris it would add $$$ to the price...then everyone would just complain even more that they are too expensive.

Brake wear is completely variable. My metris has probably 20-30% wear currently at around 11k miles....but it does a lot of city driving. My GLK250 has over 11k and the brakes barely show any wear at all because I do a lot of highway driving.
 
#4 ·
I have 3 identical metris vans since new TONIGHT I am doing a rotor/pad hardware replacement on all 4 wheels and have noticed yet another van after 40k. rears were uneven from factory virgin 1st brake job and this is a carefully driven van carrying light tool weight ! Why is there only a 1 piston rear calipers on a heavy van like this? Why does it wear out pads before the fronts by at least 10k? This seems to be the normal on all my Vans.. The rear pads are all uneven from the rear of rotor to outside pretty pathetic!
I also wish someone would come up with a better brake to rotor system with the caliper slide aluminum tracks,,I am starting to wonder if it is worth grinding a millimeter off the end of the pad frames so the pads do not get frozen.in the guides. This Mercedes braking system they brag about is a joke... really you think this is "simply the best"?
The brake dust is extreme and grease is gone in no time and the amount of heat is insane! I am not impressed with Mercedes brakes at all and I work on a large multi fleet
Heard the larger Sprinters eat brake pads badly too from other fleet mechanics,,
I am researching drilled rotors to dissipate heat . my wifes jeep Cherokee is going on 125k on rear brakes from new, never done! That's what I call impressive, Mercede's are a joke in the brake dep't .. and I don't know who designs these systems but 2 piston front and 1 piston rear is just wrong!
I assume none of these issues result from Euro6 alternator antics? I mean, I was wondering if extreme uneven brake wear could be contributed to by the mild hybrid features. Longshot IMO.
 
#6 ·
Counterfeit stuff is no joke.....the reprecussions range from dangerous performance like was seen in this video, to failure of critical vehicle components like engines/transmissions from faulty items like counterfeit filters, to the general impact on a company by losing sales on the parts they spend massive $$$$ development dollars to design and produce to a certain standard.
 
#8 ·
Rear brakes replaced at 25,000 miles of almost all highway driving (no traffic lights between my house and a friend in Germantown WI.) Pads had seized both sides, probably didn't use them enough! They still worked well, just got very hot driving along.
 
#14 ·
3 vans 3 different drivers, brakes rear wear out at 45k and score the rotors
without a warning. In fact the inner pads wear faster than the outer pads.
all same results, 50/50 city highway if you take your wheel off 5k after replacing pads and rotors with Mercedes factory parts you wlll feel rotor rear by feeling the top lip of rotor where the new pads do not contact,, this is not German precision engineering in my opinion. I had f250's and e350's heavy duty vans that lasted 60k so much more heavier.. I m convinced the rotors on the metris are undersized!
 
#19 ·
Well I'd answer to say to compare the same stopping power to My wife's 2014 jeep Cherokee overland 4x4 which has 127k since brand new with myself servicing a Daimler product which has had only 1 set of front brakes since new and now just needing first set rear with the same stopping quality as Metris is incredible!
I just do not understand what can differ,,, its either the pad material, the rotor steel, or the heat dissipating faster in jeep..I don't know,,, All I can state is that's all this Jeep grand cherokee has ever needed besides defective rear shocks which were covered, few flash updates and oil changes-filters,, no other parts ! Even has the original plugs and runs like new... That is a wow factor to me!
Mercedes builds some of the best cars in the world, yet are a needy,expensive maintenance and unreliable to most people I talk with who have owned several other brands...and I talk to many . No vehicle today should need parts or components in the first 75k..I guess that's why there is the pathetic 3 year /36k on this lineup. Cannot even cover the defective ventilation valve emissions issues..
 
#17 ·
All I can say is that when I get into the Ford I have to lighten up on the pedal because they're much more responsive. That doesn't mean they will stop the van any faster. Given the same road and rubber, the Metris might be more stable when braking in a straight line or on corners, but I have to step harder on the pedal. And I still don't think my brakes should have seized up and had to be replaced after 1.5 years and 25k miles. The Ford was doing the same job in the same conditions for 9 years and 130k miles. (I still much prefer driving the Metris)
 
#21 ·
Just to add...
Replaced front and rear rotors and pads at 75k, probably had another 10k life left on them, easily, but I had the time during holiday break.
Maybe the fact I pulled my 3rd row seat out of the back, and I let off the gas when I see brake lights or red lights ahead of me led to the long brake life?
Easy job and replaced with genuine mercedes parts.
 
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