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Major Problem with Mercedes Benz

I have a 2007 s-550 4-Matic fully loaded. The brakes squeak when stopping almost all of the time from 10MPH to 0. I have had the car back at the dealer (who was a pleasure to do business with) but the answer is there is nothing they can do. They have replaced pads, rotors, etc two or three times. I have been trying to ask to speak or see a higher rep and have gotton no where.

I understand this is a major problem with Mercedes Benz and this is is a nightmare. It is loud and annoying. There is no reason that after spending a lot of money on a car the brakes should squeak.

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Permalink Reply by JAMES HOWELL on April 20, 2009 at 4:31pm: I OWN A 2005, SL500, DOES THE SAME THING AND THE DEALERSHIP WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. THIS WAS THE FIRST AND WILL BE THE LAST BENZ I WILL EVERY OWN; AS NOW IT EATS TIRES AS WELL. 2 ND. SET IN LESS THEN 51,000 MILES, HAS BEEN RE-ALIGNED NO LESS THEN 4 TIMES AND IT STILL DOES IT, LESS THEN 13,000 MILES ON THE LAST SET. THE DEALERSHIP AND THE FACTORY REP, GARY COX, SAYS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR OR THEIR DEALERSHIP. THEY ARE RAPIDLY BECOME JUST LIKE GM OF OLD; BAD PRODUCTS, WORST SERVICE ..............; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gerald Korioth on June 24, 2009 at 6:59pm: I have a S430 [sports package ]am not burning rubber , in fact I am driving very conservative.
I can get max, max 40k out of one set of tires. I drive 65k /year, sales. so if you drive 9k/year it would not be that bad. Spend a lot of $ for checking the alignment ect. It makes no difference. Two sets of tires / year is the rule.
At $420 a pop you can see the cost. Tire people tell you that is normal for that car. The dealer tels you they never heard of it.Ha,Ha,
Tire people don't install lesser rated Tires as it is from the OEM.
Question ? where do you drive 160 m/hr in the USA ?
welcome to the BENZO CLUB; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Martin Marcauley on July 27, 2009 at 11:17pm: Have they changed the brake disc? That's one of the possible faults; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sal Condor on July 28, 2009 at 2:02pm: I have had 2 Mercedes since 2002, The first one was the under-powereed rear wheel drive 240-C that could barely leave the driveway in Northern winters and then I replaced it with a 2006 E-350 4matic. This turned out to be a total lemon and spend substantial time in the repair shop. During the first week of ownership, the engine oil leaked. The driver side window froze during the cold winters and also leaked. The CD stacker in the dash skipped tracks even when going over minor speed bumps. The engine light came on with the frequency of fasten seat belts on an airplane. The dash rattled and rolled to its own rhythm. In summary, the over priced car was a low quality lemon and I had to pay a penalty to get rid of the lease.

Both Mercedes "customer service" and the dealership service was even more a lemon and were very unresponsive and often rude. I have learnt my lesson and will never go near another Mercedes Benz again. It is just an archaic meaningless "status" symbol and is not worth the over-priced hassle. Even a basic "regular" service cost around a thousand bucks with the padded extras and labor charges. It is a $1000 service club scam. Even Audi and BMW offer free 4 year service.

Buy Japanese and avoid all the headaches.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Wim van Acker on December 29, 2009 at 5:10pm: You may think you have had problems with your S Class, but how about my problems?
I bought a new S550 4Matic 3 years ago and have regretted it ever since. I also own a coupe (CLK 320) and a convertible (1966 300 SE convertible). The S550 4Matic has had many technical problems:
1 vibrations in the car. At 10,000 miles front axle and steering column disconnected, engine lifted and engine mounts replaced by new ones. Interestingly enough with a different part number, so apparently the engine mounts have been re-engineered. Anyone ever heard of a recall action? :-)
2 continued vibrations in the car. At 43,000 mile a good dealership (in Chicago, so not the Detroit Metropolitan area dealerships, which had tried to play automechanic until that moment) confirmed my complaints by noticing the transmission was hanging loose and 1/2 inch too low
3 anti-lock brakes defective during 6,000 miles. During that period always declared safe until I managed to have a brake specialist of a brake manufacturer declare the vehicle unsafe to operate.
4 Engine opened twice to exchange an engine oil sensor
5 compressor of air suspension blew up
6 driver's seat replaced twice, passenger seat once
7 ABS, ESP, Night Vision and cruise control became inoperative all at the same time
etc., etc.

MB USA has never taken responsibility for this terribly flawed vehicle and has consistently demonstrated the arrogant attitutde observed by many other Mercedes owners.

Never Again a Mercedes!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Merry Campbell on March 20, 2010 at 9:13am: I think I have the "lemon winner!" I have a 2003 sl500, what a piece of crap! I have had one problem after another from day one, had I really thought about it I should have claimed the lemon law, but stupid me kept thinking that it is a Mercedes, it will be OK, this is the last little thing.....how wrong. As of now I have 57,485 miles on this car, over the years it has had fautly brakes, several issues with the abc system so that the car would raise and lower while I am driving, the trunk leaked, still does, one dealer had it 7 weeks and it still leaks, nice mildew in the trunk and the interior of the windows sweat, last month I had to replace the ignition system, and then yesterday they tell me that my hydraulic shocks are leaking, and the transmission is leaking, oh, and it is not the healight bulb for fifty bucks, oh no, it is the ignitor module for 1001.00! , etc.... this is a small sample of the issues with this car. I am stuck with it as I have already spent a fortune....and it is worth about 22 grand if it had all the repairs done for 7 grand!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I am so proud to be the owner of a mercedes! They should be ashamed to put out a car like this and NEVER stand behind it! I think that an 85,000 dollar car should be able to get more than 57,000 miles without spending another 25,000 in repairs after warranty for crap that started while in warranty! I will never buy another and I will tell anyone who asks and I always do that this car might look good, but it is a POS! I would love to hear other vents on this car! BTW, I also own a 95 Land Cruiser with 190,000 miles, zero repairs to date, only maint., and a 2000 Jag S type with 170,000 miles, some repairs, but nothing like this! Love that Land Cruiser!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Atkins on May 21, 2010 at 11:38am: We own a 2003 S500 that exhibited the same loud squeaking when slowing to a stop. The dealer said it was normal. I took the car to an indepentant repair shop. He recommended that we replace both rotors and pads with aftermarket parts from a German factory that he named to us. We did this for all four wheels. The squeaks are now gone. I believe the noise happens because the MB pads are too hard. The job was also 30% less than the dealer quoted for installing the same MB parts that cause the problem. I have a similar problem with a 04 Maserati Spyder. That dealer's service manager told me the truth: the pads are very hard give maximum braking power.; ▶ Reply to This