Rear brakes replacement and cost

[mazdadude]

+1 Brakes are not something I skimp and refuse to be frugal on...hopefully the Mazda OEM pads and rotors are of a higher quality than OEM Nissan. IMO... Nissan OEM versions were crap and I went 3rd party. The rear drum brakes were the only problem area of an old '96 Protege we had years ago. Dealer could never get it right so I just ended up throwing the goods at it every 20-30K miles.

I've also been bit by caliper slide pins that weren't adequately lubricated.

I have noticed a pattern where the "Salted" areas of the country are seeming to need more rear pad "early" changes.(popcorn)

To the original poster... You got a great deal on the brake job!.

Wow you guys are really informative. Thank you.
Unfortunately doing this myself was out of question as I draw the line on my ability to be handy.. the line is somewhere after changing cabin/engine air filter and installing wind deflectors So I took the car to a shop recommended by a friend. Paid $175 total. Dealer quoted $275.

However, talking to my dad, and thinking about this myself, I was wondering why did the rear break pads had to be replaced first. I am not a heavy-foot driver, and I use cruise control a lot. Usually front goes first... Has anyone else had this happen to them?

 

[jjw6455]

There is also the TSB regarding premature wear of rear brakes (outside pads). I forget the number.

 

[Benior]

+1 Brakes are not something I skimp and refuse to be frugal on...hopefully the Mazda OEM pads and rotors are of a higher quality than OEM Nissan. IMO... Nissan OEM versions were crap and I went 3rd party.

You've reminded me of my hecho en Mexico 2002 Sentra SE-R, where I went through the front brakes in 13k miles. I replaced them with plain Brembo rotors and Hawk HPS pads, which still had plenty of life at over 40k miles.

 

[madar]

You've reminded me of my hecho en Mexico 2002 Sentra SE-R, where I went through the front brakes in 13k miles. I replaced them with plain Brembo rotors and Hawk HPS pads, which still had plenty of life at over 40k miles.

Brembo is a popular brand. They used to be original equipment suppliers for quite a few automakers.

 

[arod19426]

Quick Question:
Looks like I'll be needing new rear brakes shortly. Dealer quoted me $450. Other local dealer quoted me $345. Both said that the rotors on the car are lighter/thinner/softer metal than in the past, and that new rotors are required at EVERY pad change. I then called my local mechanic, who is as honest as they come, and he told me that he only replaces rotors if needed, unlike what the dealers told me.
Anybody have any insight? Are the dealers just full of it and trying to gouge me? If I knew it was going to be $450 every time I had to replace my brakes, I would have just bought another Acura. Brake jobs on my old MDX weren't even that expensive!

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Quick Question:
Looks like I'll be needing new rear brakes shortly. Dealer quoted me $450. Other local dealer quoted me $345. Both said that the rotors on the car are lighter/thinner/softer metal than in the past, and that new rotors are required at EVERY pad change. I then called my local mechanic, who is as honest as they come, and he told me that he only replaces rotors if needed, unlike what the dealers told me.
Anybody have any insight? Are the dealers just full of it and trying to gouge me? If I knew it was going to be $450 every time I had to replace my brakes, I would have just bought another Acura. Brake jobs on my old MDX weren't even that expensive!

How many miles?

 

[arod19426]

How many miles?

I have a 2015 with 35,000 miles.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

It sounds premature but I am used to that mileage on Nissan products. You could get rotors turned but in my experience that doesn't give you a 1:1 longevity with the next brake job.

OEM rear pads are $63.71.

http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-cx5-rear-brake-pads.html

If you look at RockAuto most 3rd party pads are half of that cost.

http://www.rockauto.com/

OEM rear rotors are around $65/each

https://onlinemazdaparts.com/parts/...cleid=417851&diagram=5470550&diagramCallOut=1

Again.. Rockauto shows rear rotors range from $16.07-$60.xx

 

[MikeM.]

Quick Question:
Looks like I'll be needing new rear brakes shortly. Dealer quoted me $450. Other local dealer quoted me $345. Both said that the rotors on the car are lighter/thinner/softer metal than in the past, and that new rotors are required at EVERY pad change. I then called my local mechanic, who is as honest as they come, and he told me that he only replaces rotors if needed, unlike what the dealers told me.
Anybody have any insight? Are the dealers just full of it and trying to gouge me? If I knew it was going to be $450 every time I had to replace my brakes, I would have just bought another Acura. Brake jobs on my old MDX weren't even that expensive!

Short answer:

New discs are only required if the old ones are out of spec.

Long answer:

You only need new rotors if the old rotors are out of specification.

 

[madar]

Why not go with the independent garage? Prices around here range from $275 with cut rotors to $300 with everything new for a measly $25 more. I'd go with everything new and be done with it for another 40 to 50k miles. The 2 Mazda dealers around here wanted $360 to replace everything. $450 is way out of the park. Discs do have a minimum thickness they could be cut down to, but there isn't a whole lot of difference between the cost of having someone machine rotors and having new ones installed.

 

[madar]

Quick Question:
Looks like I'll be needing new rear brakes shortly. Dealer quoted me $450. Other local dealer quoted me $345. Both said that the rotors on the car are lighter/thinner/softer metal than in the past, and that new rotors are required at EVERY pad change. I then called my local mechanic, who is as honest as they come, and he told me that he only replaces rotors if needed, unlike what the dealers told me.
Anybody have any insight? Are the dealers just full of it and trying to gouge me? If I knew it was going to be $450 every time I had to replace my brakes, I would have just bought another Acura. Brake jobs on my old MDX weren't even that expensive!

Who is the dealer? The one in Colmar wanted to do mine for $330 after a 10% discount coupon.

 

[arod19426]

Who is the dealer? The one in Colmar wanted to do mine for $330 after a 10% discount coupon.

Kennedy Mazda in Conshy wanted $450, while North Penn in Colmar/Montgomeryville wanted $345 without any coupons. My local independent shop in Collegeville said $130 if pads only, and about $250 if I need rotors as well.
What caught me by surprise, and what question was really about, was the line given to me by both Mazda dealers: that rotors are pretty much required with every brake job, since the rotors are made thinner by factory spec, as well as the material they use nowadays is softer, and wears down faster. I had never heard that rotors needed to be replaced every brake job- that sounded crazy to me. With my past vehicles, it seemed to be every 2-3 brake jobs where I needed new rotors (Hondas/Acuras mainly).
Thanks everyone for the replies

 

[madar]

Kennedy Mazda in Conshy wanted $450, while North Penn in Colmar/Montgomeryville wanted $345 without any coupons. My local independent shop in Collegeville said $130 if pads only, and about $250 if I need rotors as well.
What caught me by surprise, and what question was really about, was the line given to me by both Mazda dealers: that rotors are pretty much required with every brake job, since the rotors are made thinner by factory spec, as well as the material they use nowadays is softer, and wears down faster. I had never heard that rotors needed to be replaced every brake job- that sounded crazy to me. With my past vehicles, it seemed to be every 2-3 brake jobs where I needed new rotors (Hondas/Acuras mainly).
Thanks everyone for the replies

Shops usually push the new rotor bit because they don't want to have a comeback because of potential problems cropping up with the old rotors, new hardware is more reliable. The Mazda service manual itself says to machine the rotors with an on-the-car lathe if rotors aren't in tolerance with a minimum thickness of .35 in. The manual does warn against off car rotor machining:
CAUTION:
Excessive runout may result if the disc plate is removed from the vehicle then machined. Machine the disc plate while
installed on the vehicle.

 

[erhayes]

I have never needed to replace rotors. I sand them with a sanding disk, install new pads and good to go. This on 1995 Jeep GC (156,000 miles), 2000 Subaru Forester (sold at 127,000 miles), a CX7 Mazda with 89,000 miles. At 19,000 miles, the rotors on my CX5 are shinny new looking. I don't try to get the last 10-20% out of my pad which probably helps save rotors.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I have never needed to replace rotors. I sand them with a sanding disk, install new pads and good to go. This on 1995 Jeep GC (156,000 miles), 2000 Subaru Forester (sold at 127,000 miles), a CX7 Mazda with 89,000 miles. At 19,000 miles, the rotors on my CX5 are shinny new looking. I don't try to get the last 10-20% out of my pad which probably helps save rotors.

Don't buy a Nissan

EDIT: As far as I can tell the CX-5 is wearing better on brakes than any vehicle I've had in last 20 years.

 

[madar]

I had an 88 Chevy Nova, which was really an 87 Toyota Corolla, I actually kept the rotors on through 3 sets of pads. I kept filing the rust off the edges and sanding the glaze off every time.
They were single plane like the rear rotors on the back of our vehicles so that might have had something to do with their longevity as well as always using a torque wrench for everything. Never had that kind of luck with the vented discs. Twice I had to go back and replace discs on the second set of pads because of the rotor going bad thousands of miles after the fact. I just replace them now, once and done.