2013~2016 CX-5 Brake Rotor and Pad recommendations?

ColoradoDriver

2014 CX-5 Touring AWD - 132k miles
Contributor
:
Denver, CO
Have a buddy who offered the use of their garage/lift and also offered to help me replace my rotors and brakes. He does all that work on all his vehicles and I've never done any brake work before.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on rotors and pads and where to buy?

My factory rotors are toast. Was told last time that they won't take another resurfacing (done that twice now).

Also, any gotchas I should watch out for doing brakes?
 
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I like OEM pads and rotors, because in my experience, nothing lasts as long, stops as quietly, nor throws less brake dust.

I did my 2013 last fall, and my parts bill for new OEM rotors, pads, and hardware was like $250. I bought from Mazda dealerships that sell on eBay or Amazon.

The only "gotcha" is, if you have an electronic emergency brake (a stupid answer to a question literally no one was asking, but that's a different topic entirely) you will have to put the brakes into "maintenance mode" before retracting the rear caliper pistons. There's guides both on this website and YouTube on how to do this.

Also, when you lubricate your caliper slide pins, DO NOT use any oil base substance like grease or whatnot. Only use silicone paste. The grease can break down the rubber grommets, causing them to fail and thus let dirt, grime, and water onto the slider pins. Not good. Silicone paste is cheap and every auto parts store has it.
 
I like OEM pads and rotors, because in my experience, nothing lasts as long, stops as quietly, nor throws less brake dust.

I did my 2013 last fall, and my parts bill for new OEM rotors, pads, and hardware was like $250. I bought from Mazda dealerships that sell on eBay or Amazon.

The only "gotcha" is, if you have an electronic emergency brake (a stupid answer to a question literally no one was asking, but that's a different topic entirely) you will have to put the brakes into "maintenance mode" before retracting the rear caliper pistons. There's guides both on this website and YouTube on how to do this.

Also, when you lubricate your caliper slide pins, DO NOT use any oil base substance like grease or whatnot. Only use silicone paste. The grease can break down the rubber grommets, causing them to fail and thus let dirt, grime, and water onto the slider pins. Not good. Silicone paste is cheap and every auto parts store has it.
Thank you! 2014 so no crappy push button e-brake thankfully. I was also not a fan in the newer CX-5's I've driven.

I will keep that in mind for the caliper slide pins. Will be sure to include silicone paste in my list of parts I need to get.
 
Have a buddy who offered the use of their garage/lift and also offered to help me replace my rotors and brakes. He does all that work on all his vehicles and I've never done any brake work before.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on rotors and pads and where to buy?

My factory rotors are toast. Was told last time that they won't take another resurfacing (done that twice now).

Also, any gotchas I should watch out for doing brakes?
Like theblooms, I usually use OEM brake parts as most of time the OEM brake pad kit comes with all the necessary hardware and grease (not on Mazda though). You may want to get new shims、guide plates (springs)、and rubber dust boots (for slide pins as those are marked “R” in workshop manual).

Front:
03FDD6B6-87B8-414B-8CF2-8C47E29FEC0A.jpeg


Rear:
38C2043C-DF83-480C-9CD9-5413A1F47D31.jpeg


I use silicone-based AGS Sil-Glyde for “rubber grease” and moly based (black) brake grease for “anti-rattle brake grease”.

6AC2923D-1246-46C0-8D12-AE5E90A2AB07.jpeg


You need some brake tools to push front caliper pistons and push and turn rear caliper pistons making enough space for new pads. Watch the brake fluid level in brake fluid reservoir on brake master cylinder as brake fluid may be overflowing while you’re pushing the piston in. Some suggest to release the caliper bleeder valve to let the brake fluid out when you push the piston, but I’ve never done that way unless I plan to change the brake fluid in the system after the brake job. You can rent special brake tool set (especially for your rear brakes you need a special tool to “push and turn” the piston) for free from AutoZone.

Front:
7A53F396-0487-4C79-BAC1-D1444F4FA3D6.jpeg

Rear:
E6C26DD3-EC05-4372-B221-A6EC239C4AD2.jpeg


At 108K miles, you may need parking brake cable adjustment.
BC0C91C5-C488-4FBD-ADD6-406CC5EF6FA4.jpeg



You can read Mazda Workshop Manual for proper procedure on brake pad and rotor replacement.

Mazda CX-5 Service & Repair Manual: Disc Brakes

For aftermarket brake parts:

2017 Brake/Rotor replacement at 105k miles - recommendations? Rockauto?

For 2016 and newer CX-5 with Electrical Parking Brake, make sure to put the EPB into Maintenance Mode and don't turn the rear caliper piston while pushing it in:

Maintenance Mode for 2016/2017 CX-5 electronic brakes
 

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Like theblooms, I usually use OEM brake parts as most of time the OEM brake pad kit comes with all the necessary hardware and grease (not on Mazda though). You may want to get new shims、guide plates (springs)、and rubber dust boots (for slide pins as those are marked “R” in workshop manual).

Front:
View attachment 306002

Rear:
View attachment 306003

I use silicone-based AGS Sil-Glyde for “rubber grease” and moly based (black) brake grease for “anti-rattle brake grease”.

View attachment 306009

You need some brake tools to push front caliper pistons and push and turn rear caliper pistons making enough space for new pads. Watch the brake fluid level in brake fluid reservoir on brake master cylinder as brake fluid may be overflowing while you’re pushing the piston in. Some suggest to release the caliper bleeder valve to let the brake fluid out when you push the piston, but I’ve never done that way unless I plan to change the brake fluid in the system after the brake job. You can rent special brake tool set (especially for your rear brakes you need a special tool to “push and turn” the piston) for free from AutoZone.

Front:
View attachment 306004
Rear:
View attachment 306006

At 108K miles, you may need parking brake cable adjustment.
View attachment 306007


You can read Mazda Workshop Manual for proper procedure on brake pad and rotor replacement.

Mazda CX-5 Service & Repair Manual: Disc Brakes

For aftermarket brake parts:

2017 Brake/Rotor replacement at 105k miles - recommendations? Rockauto?

For 2016 and newer CX-5 with Electrical Parking Brake, make sure to put the EPB into Maintenance Mode and don't turn the rear caliper piston while pushing it in:

Maintenance Mode for 2016/2017 CX-5 electronic brakes
Extremely helpful, thank you.
 
I like OEM pads and rotors, because in my experience, nothing lasts as long, stops as quietly, nor throws less brake dust.

I did my 2013 last fall, and my parts bill for new OEM rotors, pads, and hardware was like $250. I bought from Mazda dealerships that sell on eBay or Amazon.

The only "gotcha" is, if you have an electronic emergency brake (a stupid answer to a question literally no one was asking, but that's a different topic entirely) you will have to put the brakes into "maintenance mode" before retracting the rear caliper pistons. There's guides both on this website and YouTube on how to do this.

Also, when you lubricate your caliper slide pins, DO NOT use any oil base substance like grease or whatnot. Only use silicone paste. The grease can break down the rubber grommets, causing them to fail and thus let dirt, grime, and water onto the slider pins. Not good. Silicone paste is cheap and every auto parts store has it.
I miss having a mechanical brake lever, but do like that the parking brake can auto-engage.
 
I like the Akebono ceramic ProAct brake pads and the CarQuest Premium Painted rotors I installed about 30k miles ago. The new pads came with the required hardware. They stop better imo and generate less dust than OEM despite having a smaller surface area than the original pads. The pedal was notably more firm after installation and still is. Just my 2 cents. Somebody awhile back said they found Akebono was the worst pad they’ve ever used lol. YMMV.
 
I like OEM pads and rotors, because in my experience, nothing lasts as long, stops as quietly, nor throws less brake dust.

I did my 2013 last fall, and my parts bill for new OEM rotors, pads, and hardware was like $250. I bought from Mazda dealerships that sell on eBay or Amazon.

The only "gotcha" is, if you have an electronic emergency brake (a stupid answer to a question literally no one was asking, but that's a different topic entirely) you will have to put the brakes into "maintenance mode" before retracting the rear caliper pistons. There's guides both on this website and YouTube on how to do this.

Also, when you lubricate your caliper slide pins, DO NOT use any oil base substance like grease or whatnot. Only use silicone paste. The grease can break down the rubber grommets, causing them to fail and thus let dirt, grime, and water onto the slider pins. Not good. Silicone paste is cheap and every auto parts store has it.

I found the Gen1 stock Akebono pads/rotors to actually be good. For reference I've experimented on 4 different pads on a Gen1 CX-5.

Stock Akebono ceramics: Lasts long, quiet, decent stopping power, less dust due to ceramic.

Stoptech 308's: Dirtier than stock, stopped as good or maybe a smidge better than stock, was sorta harder to install.

Power Stop Z16's: Less stopping power than stock, sucked, was literally free to me, move along nothing to see here.

*Current as of this weekend*
Raybestos EHT 3's: The fact is these have semi-metallic properties and are GG rated. nuff' said. Cheaper than stock, as easy to install as stock, was louder on my Mazda 6. TBD on the CX-5. Out of all these have more bite.


Brake Fluids: I highly recommend bleeding the brakes once the brake fluid is darkened. Makes a noticeable difference. I've used this Brake Bleed & Flush (One Man Bleeder) - 2014 Acura MDX and the fluid which really impressed me was the Pentosin Super Dot 4 via Autozone. Seems to resist absorbing water as advertised.

FYI: I changed front pads on CX-5 this past weekend. Took me less than 1 hour. Fast. too fast as I broke a bolt that goes into the sliding pin. Autozone sells part# 14214 which is a new sliding pin/bolt kit. Fits perfectly. Literally identical looking sliding pin but the included bolt looks even stronger than OEM. Keep in mind Autozone is open later and 7 days a week in contrast to Mazda service department. Saved my ass!!!
 
If it's not too late, I like EBC discs, if they are on sale. DON'T buy slotted, dimpled or drilled discs; they are just cheese graters for your pads. I like and run plain Centric discs, too. I am running Porterfield carbon Kevlar pads, now. R4-1s on my Miata, ~2x the friction coefficient of typical pads and they destroy a disc in under 20k street miles. On my CX-5 I'm running R4-S pads. R4-S lasts longer, about the same as OEM, have a tiny bit less initial bite and greater brake torque when hot than OEM. Other than OEM pads, or Porterfield pads, I would run EBC pads.
 
So probably gearing up to do this over the next month. Had a little more time than I thought, but definitely need to look at doing this soon.

Was also talking to my buddy and he recommended Bosch rotors, saying he had good experiences with them. Was looking at RockAuto and seems to be reasonably priced. The OEM rotors I found online seemed kind of expensive by comparison. OEM pads didn't seem unreasonable, but still expensive comparatively to say Raybestos or Centric or something.

He also recommended looking at EBC, so looking there too.
 
... Was looking at RockAuto and seems to be reasonably priced. ...
Did you also include the shipping charge for total cost? One thing I dislike about Rock Auto is how they stack shipping charges from separate warehouses.

My local brick-n-Mortor auto parts store around the corner from me matched Rock Auto's pricing without any shipping charges 😁. Never hurts to ask.
 
Did you also include the shipping charge for total cost? One thing I dislike about Rock Auto is how they stack shipping charges from separate warehouses.

My local brick-n-Mortor auto parts store around the corner from me matched Rock Auto's pricing without any shipping charges 😁. Never hurts to ask.
I did not. Thanks for the heads up, will take a look.
 
Ended up getting the Bosch Quietcast rotors and pads as they all shipped from the same place with one shipping charge and got that for under $300 for fronts and rears.

Will be sure to update on how these feel after this is done. Will probably go over there next weekend or the weekend after.

Had also looked at the Powerstop kits they had, but was not interested in drilled/slotted rotors.
 
Last edited:
Have a buddy who offered the use of their garage/lift and also offered to help me replace my rotors and brakes. He does all that work on all his vehicles and I've never done any brake work before.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on rotors and pads and where to buy?

My factory rotors are toast. Was told last time that they won't take another resurfacing (done that twice now).

Also, any gotchas I should watch out for doing brakes?
Get the coated rotors!
 
Like theblooms, I usually use OEM brake parts as most of time the OEM brake pad kit comes with all the necessary hardware and grease (not on Mazda though). You may want to get new shims、guide plates (springs)、and rubber dust boots (for slide pins as those are marked “R” in workshop manual).

Front:
View attachment 306002

Rear:
View attachment 306003

I use silicone-based AGS Sil-Glyde for “rubber grease” and moly based (black) brake grease for “anti-rattle brake grease”.

View attachment 306009

You need some brake tools to push front caliper pistons and push and turn rear caliper pistons making enough space for new pads. Watch the brake fluid level in brake fluid reservoir on brake master cylinder as brake fluid may be overflowing while you’re pushing the piston in. Some suggest to release the caliper bleeder valve to let the brake fluid out when you push the piston, but I’ve never done that way unless I plan to change the brake fluid in the system after the brake job. You can rent special brake tool set (especially for your rear brakes you need a special tool to “push and turn” the piston) for free from AutoZone.

Front:
View attachment 306004
Rear:
View attachment 306006

At 108K miles, you may need parking brake cable adjustment.
View attachment 306007


You can read Mazda Workshop Manual for proper procedure on brake pad and rotor replacement.

Mazda CX-5 Service & Repair Manual: Disc Brakes

For aftermarket brake parts:

2017 Brake/Rotor replacement at 105k miles - recommendations? Rockauto?

For 2016 and newer CX-5 with Electrical Parking Brake, make sure to put the EPB into Maintenance Mode and don't turn the rear caliper piston while pushing it in:

Maintenance Mode for 2016/2017 CX-5 electronic brakes
I find it laughable that they tell you to use a special tool to turn the caliper back. As long as its in service mode, you can treat it just like any other caliper.
 
The service mode is for 2016 and newer which have the EPB. My 2014 requires the rear caliper piston to be rotated back into the caliper.
 
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