Hey everyone it has been years since I've been on here. Been driving Fords for the last few years but my wife has a 2015 CX-5 so... here I am! Haha. We've had the car for quite a while now and it's getting up there a little bit in the mileage. Somewhere around 175k+ miles. Anyway... I know this model has had TSB's regarding suspension components and, depending on VIN, either strut assembly bearings (not our VIN) or lower front control arm bushing issues (definitely our VIN). I ended up replacing the lower control arms because, not just for the bushing in question, but the much larger rubber bushings were also cracking and showing major wear. So, I replaced those. Also, the boots were ripping wide open on the outer tie rod ends and the sway bar connecting links, so I replaced all of those as well (don't worry I got it aligned, and the shop said I got it super close to begin with too! haha)

Anyway, we're still dealing with squeaks. Every time we have replaced a front end component the squeaks and pops and whatnot have gotten less and less, however, we are still experiencing some very annoying squeaks. Despite the fact I've never seen so many suspension issues with any car I've driven, this has otherwise been a fantastic car and, honestly, the repairs could be worse lol. But anyway, just seeing if you guys had any suggestions. I initially thought brakes were the issue, but noticed the squeaks happened every time the car nose dived or front end lifted upon acceleration.

Also, speaking of brakes, I replaced the front pads just a few months ago, and replaced the rear pads literally just a couple of weeks ago. Rear pads are great. Front end is starting to produce a very light groan when braking, louder at higher speeds than lower speeds. The car still has all factory rotors. I use Wagner pads. I did notice along the contact area of the front rotors it feels like the smooth braking area is more "dug in" than it used to be (as in, the outer edge where the pad doesn't make contact is a tiny bit thicker than the rest of the rotor). At 175k+ miles I'm guessing maybe that tiny lip is causing some of that hum and maybe it's time for new rotors. But wanted to get opinions from everyone.

 

Concerning your brakes.
The mating surface between the new pads and the old rotors is not correct. The sounds you hear is common when the rotors/discs are not replaced the same time as the pads or are not machined/turned. Also, you should always bed in the new pads even if you did not get the proper machining of the rotors/discs.
Unfortunately machining the rotors/discs now will not cure the sounds unless you replace with new pads and this time bed them in.
Without properly bedding in new pads or brake shoes you can never achieve the maximum designed features of any brake pads or shoes. The only exception is in the very few manufactured pads that state no bedding necessary.

 

I actually did bed the brakes lol. I think it's safe to say the rotors are just done. They are the original factory rotors with all those miles. Considering it literally has a divot along the pad contact surface... that's probably safe to say I just need to get new rotors lol. Fortunately the braking performance is still awesome and brakes well... just has the annoying groan now, so it's not an emergency per se to get them replaced, but I'll look into doing it ASAP though. Thanks for the help!

 

BTW the sound you hear is from the mating surface not making the proper contact. During hard or frequent braking your braking will diminish very fast. So technically in an emergency stop situation you will not have the optimal braking.

 

For sure. New rotors have already been ordered Should be getting those in Thursday.

 

Nice!

 

Does anyone have any idea what the issue with the front end squeak could be?

 

Faulty lower control arm bushings (among other front-end issues) have been found in some earlier models (2013-2016).

 

Those were recently replaced, along with the sway bar links and outer tie rod ends (the rubber boot on both the tie rod ends and the sway bar links were ripped open and leaking grease, which I found surprising even at this mileage).

As far as the lower control arms I ended up replacing the whole shebang. Turns out not only the smaller bushing was bad but the much larger bushing was falling apart and cracked to hell, which I hadn't even noticed until I replaced them, so I'm glad I already had that process started.