Change Rear Brakes on 2016 CX-9 with electric emergency brake?

Here is the procedure for the CX-5, same for the CX-9

Switching On Maintenance Mode

1. Switch the ignition ON (engine off). (you have to press the start button TWICE) pressing once only gives you ACC power, (do not press on brake otherwise engine will start, engine must be off)

2. Release the electric parking brake. (to release the parking brake, you have to have your foot on the brake pedal, then press down on EPB switch to release it, you will hear the motor releasing and the light on the EPB switch light goes off)

• (I'll simplify remaining steps here: after step 2, release foot from brake pedal, and move over and press accelerator pedal down fully and press down on the EPB switch at the same time and hold, then press the start button 3 times quickly, you will hear the motor moving and the yellow parking brake with exclamation point light up) you are now in maintenance mode.

Now go do whatever you need to do on the brakes, for the rear brake pistons DO NOT TURN THE PISTONS, compress them straight back like you would do the fronts. After they are compressed back make sure the grooves are lined up in perfect North South orientation per Mazda instructions use Lisle #28600 for minor adjustments only.

Even if you don't plan to do your own brakes, it would be a good idea to let your mechanic know about the maintenance mode. They might not be aware and turn the piston which may damage the EPB motor.





Ending Maintenance Mode

1. Switch the ignition ON (engine off). (you have to press the start button TWICE (do not press on brake otherwise engine will start, engine must be off) pressing once only gives you ACC power

(I'll simplify the remaining steps here: press accelerator pedal down fully and pull up on the EPB switch at the same time and hold, then press the start button 3 times quickly, you will hear the motor moving back and the yellow parking brake with exclamation point goes out)

you can then move your foot and press on the brake pedal and pull up the EPB, you will see the normal red brake light light up and you're done.
 
Make sure you do this before you take the brake caliper off the pads - I tried after they were off and it ended up extending the caliper piston all the way out. (Maybe user error, but...)

The only way to get it to go back in was to disconnect it from the brake line and disassemble it (shooting compressed air in the fluid port to push the piston out, re-aligning it, and putting it back together). I didn’t trust my “re-built” caliper completely (even though it drove fine), so I bit the bullet and purchased a new one (only available from Mazda for ~$200).
 
Torque specs for reference (from a 2018 CX-5)
2018 CX-5 Front Brake 2-Piston Floating Caliper Torque Spec.jpg
2018 CX-5 Rear Brake Caliper Torque Spec.jpg
 
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I'm planning to change my rear brakes later this year, and I found this very helpful video of the whole process.

Good video. Once you have EPB maintenance mode on it's a standard brake job. I pushed the piston straight back with a pad spreader no problem. I can recommend the Raybestos coated rotors and pads I got from rockauto. P/Ns below (FRONT and REAR).

RAYBESTOS EHT1258H
RAYBESTOS EHT1934H
RAYBESTOS 982130FZN (2)
RAYBESTOS 982129FZN (2)
 
Good video. Once you have EPB maintenance mode on it's a standard brake job. I pushed the piston straight back with a pad spreader no problem. I can recommend the Raybestos coated rotors and pads I got from rockauto. P/Ns below (FRONT and REAR).

RAYBESTOS EHT1258H
RAYBESTOS EHT1934H
RAYBESTOS 982130FZN (2)
RAYBESTOS 982129FZN (2)

That's great to hear. This will be my first brake job ever, lol. I'll have to pick up a pad spreader tool and some brake lubricant, then I should be ready to tackle this job.

I just placed an order on Rockauto for the Powerstop rear brake kit. Originally I was going to do the exact same Raybestos parts you listed above, but I went with the Powerstop kit mainly for the looks. We'll see how it holds up.
 
That's great to hear. This will be my first brake job ever, lol. I'll have to pick up a pad spreader tool and some brake lubricant, then I should be ready to tackle this job.

I just placed an order on Rockauto for the Powerstop rear brake kit. Originally I was going to do the exact same Raybestos parts you listed above, but I went with the Powerstop kit mainly for the looks. We'll see how it holds up.
I've had Powerstop z23s on other cars. They work well, and are a good value. If the rotors aren't coated, I recommend getting some that are. The area around the wheel hub will get rusty in a hurry otherwise.

Here is the spreader I used (the "heavy duty" version): https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

For lubricants I used Sil-glyde for moving parts (pins, rubber boots) and Permatex 20354 for the contact surfaces.

Good luck and be sure to take it slow and double check everything, including torque specs.
 
I've had Powerstop z23s on other cars. They work well, and are a good value. If the rotors aren't coated, I recommend getting some that are. The area around the wheel hub will get rusty in a hurry otherwise.

Here is the spreader I used (the "heavy duty" version): https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

For lubricants I used Sil-glyde for moving parts (pins, rubber boots) and Permatex 20354 for the contact surfaces.

Good luck and be sure to take it slow and double check everything, including torque specs.

Thanks for the link and recommendations! The rotors are zinc-coated so I should be ok, but rust is common here so I wouldn't be surprised if they did rust. No big deal either way.
 
That's great to hear. This will be my first brake job ever, lol. I'll have to pick up a pad spreader tool and some brake lubricant, then I should be ready to tackle this job.

I just placed an order on Rockauto for the Powerstop rear brake kit. Originally I was going to do the exact same Raybestos parts you listed above, but I went with the Powerstop kit mainly for the looks. We'll see how it holds up.
Funny. I ordered new rear rotors+pads last year from RockAuto (Centrix GCX Elemental Protection; Partial Coating), still haven't put them on though. I've been waiting to hear some squealing first otherwise I feel like I'm wasting some good pads. Anyway, today it started to squeal a little.
One recommendation that I saw that I highly recommend doing is to use a proper pad spreading tool, even a cheap one. I used to use a C-clamp for that sort of thing, but on these rear calipers you might damage the e-brake motor housing.
 
I actually just heard my rears squealing for the first time yesterday too. When I swapped my winter tires on last year in October, I checked the rear pad thickness, and decided I would be changing the pads before the next winter.

The squealing is awful, lol. I won't be able to get to this until the weekend, but I think I'll head over to Princess Auto or NAPA to pick up a pad spreader tool and some brake lube.
 
I actually just heard my rears squealing for the first time yesterday too. When I swapped my winter tires on last year in October, I checked the rear pad thickness, and decided I would be changing the pads before the next winter.

The squealing is awful, lol. I won't be able to get to this until the weekend, but I think I'll head over to Princess Auto or NAPA to pick up a pad spreader tool and some brake lube.

Hm, seems the squealing went away after a couple of days. Maybe it was just a rock that found its way between the pads and rotors or something.
 
That's great to hear. This will be my first brake job ever, lol. I'll have to pick up a pad spreader tool and some brake lubricant, then I should be ready to tackle this job.

I just placed an order on Rockauto for the Powerstop rear brake kit. Originally I was going to do the exact same Raybestos parts you listed above, but I went with the Powerstop kit mainly for the looks. We'll see how it holds up.
Hey!! Have you installed the Power stop brakes yet? I paid for a full set of pads and rotors from Mazda (they installed too) about 2 years ago. I'm getting some feedback and vibration. I was also surprised to see the rear pads needed to be changed after 2 years from new. DlMazda service stated the rear brakes bite first before the front to limit the vehicle from dipping on each brake press... It's out in of warranty anyways so I'm going to do this job myself. Good info here!!

Anyone else find the brakes on the stock CX9 to be 'meh'? It's okay at best, I am wouldnt describe it as good by any means... Couldn't help but notice just how tiny the rotors are as well.. bigger is better in this situation, no?

Let me know how it goes with the Powerstop!
Thanks🙏🏽
 
Sorry, not much to update. The wife caught covid, and now I have it, and I also messed my left wrist up somehow and can't really work on the car. Parts are still uninstalled as a result. But I'll update once I've recovered.

I haven't had any complaints with my brakes. My OEM rear pads have lasted me nearly 80k km (50k mi) over 4 years, But I live in a relatively flat region, so that might have something to do with it.

Bigger is certainly better if you're experiencing brake fade from braking a lot. Bigger rotors remain cooler for longer. You could try bigger rotors with more aggressive brake pads?
 
...The wife caught covid, and now I have it, ....
Off topic, but I can't help saying how great it is that the above statement no longer carries the fear and dread that it did a couple years ago. We're certainly not on easy street with it yet, but so much better than what it once was. Here's hoping for a speedy and full recovery for both of you!
 
Sorry, not much to update. The wife caught covid, and now I have it, and I also messed my left wrist up somehow and can't really work on the car. Parts are still uninstalled as a result. But I'll update once I've recovered.

I haven't had any complaints with my brakes. My OEM rear pads have lasted me nearly 80k km (50k mi) over 4 years, But I live in a relatively flat region, so that might have something to do with it.

Bigger is certainly better if you're experiencing brake fade from braking a lot. Bigger rotors remain cooler for longer. You could try bigger rotors with more aggressive brake pads?
Yikes-- yeah I hear you, hope you guys have a speedy recovery. You'll want to take it easy for sure. I brought it home three weeks ago after travelling internationally etc. The wife and both kids under 6 got it as a result even though I tested etc... Guess the tests just didn't pick it up....
Took us out for 2 weeks as it circulated the house...
Get fresh ginger, grate and boil... Worked for us. 🤞🙏🏽
 
Off topic, but I can't help saying how great it is that the above statement no longer carries the fear and dread that it did a couple years ago. We're certainly not on easy street with it yet, but so much better than what it once was. Here's hoping for a speedy and full recovery for both of you!

Agreed 100%. The wife actually tested negative this morning, so I'm sure I'll be good to go in a few days or so. Thanks!

Yikes-- yeah I hear you, hope you guys have a speedy recovery. You'll want to take it easy for sure. I brought it home three weeks ago after travelling internationally etc. The wife and both kids under 6 got it as a result even though I tested etc... Guess the tests just didn't pick it up....
Took us out for 2 weeks as it circulated the house...
Get fresh ginger, grate and boil... Worked for us. 🤞🙏🏽

Glad to hear you guys are all better. My daughters got it too but it wasn't any worse than a bad cold, they both had fevers that broke in less than a day. For my wife and I it was just some sniffles. This bum wrist has been harder to work around lol. But hopefully soon it'll be back to 100% and I can get back to the car.
 
Alright, so new pads and rotors are now on the car. My wrist still isn't back to 100%, but it is getting better. The scraping noise came back so I figured I had better get the brakes done sooner rather than later.

I ended up bringing the car to my uncle, who's a "shade-tree" mechanic. He used to work as a tech for Nissan. I basically enabled Maintenance Mode, then just asked him to retract the piston using the pad spreader tool instead of twisting it. Everything aside from that was very straightforward, definitely something I'll be comfortable handling in the future. We used the brake lubricant provided in the box for the brake pads, which says it is a silicone/carbon lubricant. The directions @Zoom49 provided above for enabling and disabling Maintenance Mode were perfect!

Looking at the old brake pads, I had about 3mm of material left on 3 pads, but one pad (driver's side inner) was down to 2mm. I did the brake bedding procedure as outlined by Powerstop, and the brakes feel pretty good. I'll have to drive with them a little more to see if they make any noticeable noise, but so far, so good. Rotors look good behind the wheel but they still look as small as ever, lol. Pics next week.
 
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No issues with the brakes to report, everything works fine. No noise that I've noticed so far. I'll try to get a video clip.
 
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