Electronic hand brake caused damaged to Bakes

[Mr Jack F Taylor]

Hi all,

I have recently got my first Mercedes C-class 220d new and done 6000miles in it.

Recently I have noticed vibrations through the brake peddle when depressed and the accelerator peddle. I am also getting it through the steering wheel.

I am doing mainly motorway miles and A-roads through the week and all sorts on the weekends.

I have taken my car to the dealership and they have said that the electronic parking has caused damaged to the disks because of the car being parked for a while... it hasn't been sat anymore than 2-3 days max.

Due to the damaged cause it is not covered under warranty and so I am going to have to pay for new disks. Also it will likely happen again if it is the handbrake.

I have got the photos they took of the disks and it would be really good to hear all your thoughts on what to do.

Thanks

Jack

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome, if it's shaking though the wheel it's unlikely the parking brake that's caused the issue as they're on the rear brakes.

MB are correct in that brakes aren't covered under warranty as they can't predict how the car will be driven.

Its' the front discs you'll be feeling not the rears.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Those pictures show pad deposition as well, which is normal when the pads are pressed against the discs for a long time. It does not seem to severe and will wear away in time.

As blobcat says, if you have a shake in the steering wheel, it will be coming from the front.

 

[CowleyStJames]

Two things come to mind, that looks like an awful lot of wear on those disks for only 6000 miles, although Mercedes disks are soft.
And, you can definitely see the outline of the pads on the disks and it does look like it's been sitting with the pads locked onto the disks for a good period of time.
I'm tempted to say that where the pads and disks have been parked together, corrosion has set in hence the vibration, but that won't cause vibration thru the steering

 

[drmw]

A new car with 6000 miles on it will not cause what they said, so that is nonsensical.

I think you need to move this up the food chain & email the Dealer Principle, say what you have said here & ask him for his opinion at which point the fact (as you said) the accelerator, brake pedal & steering wheel are vibrating might actually cause them to look a bit further!

 

[Rory]

I have taken my car to the dealership and they have said that the electronic parking has caused damaged to the disks because of the car being parked for a while... it hasn't been sat anymore than 2-3 days max.

Leaving the car for 2-3 days (or any period) isn't exactly unusual - are they saying you can't do this? If so, that would render the car unfit for purpose.


Try a few hard stops, without actually coming to a stop, to clean up the discs. On both of our little used cars I look for regular opportunities to do this (when it's safe). I also generally don't use the handbrake (foot operated in my car, electric in wife's) unless the car is parked on a slope or somewhere where it rolling would be dangerous.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

As already said the front discs are warped if you can feel a vibration on the steering under braking. Whereabouts do you live if on the coast the salt air might eat into the rears when the parking brake is on but it won’t affect performance all mild steel brake discs corrode when stood but soon clean off when the car is used. The front discs may have warped if the car has been driven hard or the runout was very close to out of spec when fitted new.

You may have a problem convincing the dealer that the discs were faulty from new they are classed as consumables. I recall one member on here had the same issue with a new E Class he might post how he got on with the claim

Good luck with it sounds like it’s spoilt what’s been a good experience with the car overall

 

[Mr Jack F Taylor]

Thanks for all your comments guys.

They have said the damage in the picture is the result of the hand brake. It automatically apply when you turn the car off. To have it parked for a few days and it do damage is a little bit of a poor design choice if you ask me.

I know brakes do this and you get the dust off them after the first few times of braking.

The car really has only do 6000 miles and I certainly don't rag it around. It's far too much of a nice car to risk bashing it by driving like it was stolen haha.

They are currently pulling apart the rest of the car to find out the rest but was fairly sure it's the disks causing the braking vibration as I have compressed the disks.

It's totally ridiculous you spend 40k on a car and it's brakes are like cheese. Never had this problem with other cars!!

 

[Mr Jack F Taylor]

Certainly not gonna be best impressed if I have to purchase new disks.... £150 each.... I should coco.

We shall see how it goes. Cars due back on Saturday and I am fairly sure it won't be corrected. Stuff just isn't manufactured properly these days.

 

[star]

If the car is parked up with wet discs say after washing or if rain comes into contact with discs this can happen. Might clean up a bit but won’t disappear

 

[bembo449]

think you are being fed a pack of lies here , any one of my cars can be sat upto a fortnight without moving , handbrake on , absolutely no issues with brakes at all , stop being fobbed off and complain like hell , its a new car for f's sake

 

[Srdl]

Hi Jack and welcome to the forum. I'm with most of the others in that this shouldn’t happen. My car is sometimes left in the garage for a week with the handbrake on (as was my previous one) and I wouldn’t expect to have the problems you are having. As you say, the car applies the handbrake automatically when you switch off the engine so I think it’s up to them to prove that you are doing something wrong.

You may have to be persistent with this and become annoying but this just shouldn’t happen and is certainly not normal. Good luck!

 

[star]

Later mercs the handbrake works on the rear callipers/pads which are open to the elements and thus the discs can corrode when left with water on them. If and I say if this corrosion is the cause of the judder, I can’t see it being covered under warranty.

 

[LostKiwi]

Those pics show the same issue on all 4 discs therefore we can rule out parking brake as that only operates on the rear wheels.
That looks to me like the after effects of parking up for a period with wet discs/pads or with very hot discs/pads when left.

 

[star]

The handbrake may not be the issue here but the rust on the discs could be.

 

[ajlsl600]

when safe try bimbling around with yr foot on the brake for a while ,might clean it off , nothing to loose dont do it for long periods. on a while off longer, as for electronic handbrakes not yr issue i think ,however in my view electronic handbrakes is just another DTF issue fr me and i aint having such thing ,cable been doing grand for some yrs .and PARK in autos pretty effective too . i remember yrs ago some taffy parking up his scraper " EMERGENCY " brake u/s !and heading for the tea hut . drop the box then says I . 4 mtre blade , ,fairly effective emergency brake that...

 

[Craiglxviii]

It sounds suspiciously like what happened to our then new 65 plate E class. Front discs causing judder. MB claimed they had warped due to my driving style. They hadn’t, I put them on a Faro arm and both contained inclusions. So I replaced them (warranty refused) and had no problems for the remainder of my time with the car.

@CowleyStJames where is your fact and data to claim that MB discs are soft? I have fact and data to show matallurgically they’re directly comparable to their entire competitor range...

 

[Mr Jack F Taylor]

Thanks again all,

I am really unimpressed with the attitude of its a definite no no from warranty. You spend money and expect quality etc... unless I am going mad.

Garage was meant to phone back today with more info. Still heard nothing shall chase tomorrow and feed back.

I would say Craig that having imperfections in the disks would almost be a recall/no go step on QC. Surprised they got the factory.

I will not be paying money for new disks And if needs must I'll get the finance company involved and make them deal with it.

Sales of goods act, fair use policy etc

 

[star]

Having rust on the discs have given mb a get out clause.
Those two piece discs are fragile, instructions with new discs state you have to handle them a certain way, replace if dropped and to push the Caliper piston back a certain way.
I feel your pain but I think it’s going to be a hard fight.

 

[John Laidlaw]

With the others on this. Shouldn’t be like that and sod all to do with parking brake- if they don’t replace the discs they should at least have them skimmed and new pads fitted I’d say( won’t help if warped though) - how’s the rest of the car - happy?