Dealer says squealing brake noise is normal...is it?

IPT

Active member
Since day one my van had a bit of squeal when coming to a dead stop (2018 2500, passenger van with a very moderate build out). It seems to be getting louder and worse now. When I brought this up to dealer (since it's going in next week for other unrelated work) he said that was normal and there was no fix. That it tends to be worse in the cold weather (and that does seem to be true). Something about the weight of the van and that the rotors are hard while the are pads soft.

This sounds like nonsense to me, but I'm not a mechanic. I know on other cars one can use certain products when placing brake pads to eliminate or stop braking noise. So am I off on this? Is there no solution? I'd imagine that although expensive there could or would be an aftermarket rotor swap that would eliminate this?

Would love to hear what you all have found, done, or are experiencing.
 

johnshmit

Well-known member
It is not normal. OEM pads are noisy sometimes, but not enough to call them defective. Replacing them fixes the problem
 

IPT

Active member
It is not normal. OEM pads are noisy sometimes, but not enough to call them defective. Replacing them fixes the problem
Can you quantify "noisy sometimes"? I have it with just about every stop I make going under 20 MPH. I can always tell my wife is home from the brake noise :thumbdown:. Your suggesting replacing OEM pads with OEM pads would change it, or after market pads?

I don't think anyone was saying they are "defective". It seemed to me he was saying the screeching was quite normal and typically got worse in the cold weather. He attributed that the steel, or metal used for the rotors and (in my mind) suggested it was not a warranty issue, but more of an acceptable normality of this vehicle.
 

Wrinkledpants

2017 144WB 4x4
Mine squeal like that. Pretty sure it's a lack of anti-squeal material on the back of the pads. Easy enough to buy and add yourself. I haven't done this, but probably would if it bothered me more.
 

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
My 2015 passenger does the same thing. I'm not worried about it.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
 

IPT

Active member
My 2015 passenger does the same thing. I'm not worried about it.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
mine do not make any noise at all.
Mine squeal like that. Pretty sure it's a lack of anti-squeal material on the back of the pads. Easy enough to buy and add yourself. I haven't done this, but probably would if it bothered me more.
So it looks to be about 50/50. When it is the most annoying to me is in the national parks. Nothing like creeping along a back road looking for animals, finding one, and then having squealing brakes and scaring it away :thumbdown:.

It just seems lame to me to have a $60K+ vehicle that makes a noise like that every time I stop.

Thanks for the input. I might ask the dealer if they would do the aniti-squeal stuff while it's in there. I doubt it, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
 
When my 06 sits for a few weeks, I get a squeal that goes away after breaking hard a few times to clean off the built up oxidation. I occasionally get a dash break warning light that disappears once the oxidation has been scraped off. Others may experience different signals that could point to other causes than a minor build up of rust on the rotors.

This is my experience and worth just that much on squealing brakes.

If your van sits for an extended period and you get noise, try stopping hard somewhere safe a few times. If it helps then good. If it persists, you have other issues to deal with. Our rotors appear to be fairly reliable for a long time as long as you keep the pads in good shape. I don't recall any complaint about warped rotors, but I suppose it could happen if one does not maintain their pads as they should.
 

IPT

Active member
When my 06 sits for a few weeks, I get a squeal that goes away after breaking hard a few times to clean off the built up oxidation. I occasionally get a dash break warning light that disappears once the oxidation has been scraped off. Others may experience different signals that could point to other causes than a minor build up of rust on the rotors.

This is my experience and worth just that much on squealing brakes.

If your van sits for an extended period and you get noise, try stopping hard somewhere safe a few times. If it helps then good. If it persists, you have other issues to deal with. Our rotors appear to be fairly reliable for a long time as long as you keep the pads in good shape. I don't recall any complaint about warped rotors, but I suppose it could happen if one does not maintain their pads as they should.
We are driving the van anywhere from 2 to 4 times per week so it doesn't sit for all that long. It's not always long drives, but they all require braking. I will try the hard stops and see if that helps. Oddly last night it wasn't squealing very much :rolleyes:.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Silicone noise reduction compound (the kind that cures) on the back of the pads help. You can also switch pad types, which usually makes a difference.

I have had some success with doing 1-3 panic stops from 50mph. Make sure nothing is loose in the van, and literally brake as hard as you can.
 

asimba2

ourkaravan.com
Not sure if this is your issue or not but when I've been offroading mine, frequent intervention of the traction control system (which uses the brakes) is often cause for mine to squeal once I get back on the highway. A couple of hard brake applications usually makes it go away.

-Ken
 

Flagster

Active member
Can you quantify "noisy sometimes"? I have it with just about every stop I make going under 20 MPH. I can always tell my wife is home from the brake noise :thumbdown:. Your suggesting replacing OEM pads with OEM pads would change it, or after market pads?

I don't think anyone was saying they are "defective". It seemed to me he was saying the screeching was quite normal and typically got worse in the cold weather. He attributed that the steel, or metal used for the rotors and (in my mind) suggested it was not a warranty issue, but more of an acceptable normality of this vehicle.
our 2015 4x4 has had noisy squealy brakes since new...I haven't bothered to change them
 

ScubaZ

New member
My 2016 4x4 cargo low roof has squealed since I bought it (used) 20k miles ago. Dealer replaced all the pads and rotors and stopped the noise for about a week or two, then started back again. Its worse in cold weather. Only does it under light breaking. Dealer says there is heat soak in front rotors now (after a few hundred miles), which is a sign of using cruise control in the mountains (uses brakes to regulate speed downhill) or riding the brakes - I do neither. Dealer claims no issues with calipers sticking/dragging. Seems likely issue is the quality of the OEM rotors and pads are very inconsistent, which is why some have noise and some people don't.

I had a 2017 high roof passenger van before this one and never had any issues.

Post a solution if you find one... Please!
 

2Ramble

New member
My 2018 4x4 does it to. Started around 7k. At 10k now. I plan on changing to a aftermarket pad and going with the brake quite goo when the weather gets better.
 

OffroadHamster

Well-known member
My 16 4x4 had squeaky brakes from new. After 10K annoying miles I pulled the pads and replaced with stoptech posiquiet P/N 104.13160. Anti squeal on the back of the pads, turned and honed the rotors.

OE organics are ****. I would recommend against a full metallic pad on such a heavy vehicle as it will just chew through rotors.

I dont believe the rears squeal, FWIW. I left my rears alone.

I have over 30K miels on the van now and still no squealing. Will be doing new front rotors in about 10K more miles and replacing with high carbon cryo treated vented rotors. You wont get as much life out of them, but the larger veins should pay dividends The OE's get hot and glaze the pads a bit on long downhills and when offroading. The calipers have some tremendous grab, its just the pads and rotors that are not up to the task, IMHO.
 
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OffroadHamster

Well-known member
For some..ahem...informed reading.....

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61692

I like aftermarket parts when it comes to brakes....dont mess with the gospel with these folks however. Posiquiets stop well in all conditions, are hard to glaze, offer minimal dusting, are affordable and durable.

My rationale for new rotors, the above arguments notwithstanding, is ive turned mine, OE's are fine, but aftermarket offers alternatives, and I wont approach service thickness on brakes in any vehicle that transports my kids. Good brakes are the cheapest insurance you can buy.
 
D

Deleted member 50714

Guest
On the serious side, buy this, enough to do a 1,000 brakes. Use sparingly.
 

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OffroadHamster

Well-known member
What Bob said ^^^.

The great part about being an Engineer is designing stuff, the bad part is compromising with the lousy no good bean counters and their target COGS (no offense to my fine van friends in finance ;).

Could Mercedes have engineered better brakes for the sprinter....AB-SO-FRIGGEN-LUTLY. Could they have done so and still sold you a reasonably priced van? Maybe, but probably not. The material and labor to squirt that little bit of elastomeric on the back of the pad was deemed to have a poor cost-benefit.

Similarly they decided, much like everyone else, that braided lines, cryo rotors with bigger vanes, monoblock calipers, dual diaphragm boosters etc, would not achieve cost targets.

All this to say...you can make the brakes on your van much better...but there are trade offs.

Some trade offs are simple....like you trade a couple bucks and and hour of your time squirting liquid rubber on brake pads, and you get quiet brakes.

Some are more like, you trade brake longevity for better stopping performance.
 

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