Sprinter Brakes and Rotors?

[PleasantonMac]

Hi all,

This one's for the Sprinter van owners out there. I have a 2021 Pleasure-Way on a 2020 Sprinter 144. 33000 miles, and I recently heard the brakes start squeaking. Took it in to my local mechanic, who told me that the front pads were gone, and it had affected the rotors as well. (The rear pads were still at 5mm.) He said the rotors needed replacing. He then said that it was possible to sand the rotors, but it was notoriously difficult on European cars; perhaps the dealer could do it, but he couldn't.

He also said that for these models, they always recommend replacing the rotors with the pads. And THAT is my main question. Is that true? I thought the whole point of pads is that you wouldn't have to replace rotors.

I'm not surprised that the pads are gone. We've been doing a LOT of steep mountain driving, and there's only so much downshifting i can do.

Anyway, what has your experience been with Sprinter pads and rotors? Have you been able to just change pads? Or is my mechanic correct? (They've always been trustworthy up until now.)