I've got a 2016.5 CX-5 GT. It's 5 years old but has only 32,000 miles on it.

During last week's 30K maintenance at the dealer, they said the front brake pads have about 50% life remaining but the rear pads have only 5-10% left. They also said the rotors are warped. And they said I need a new set of tires.

Although I would have expected Mazda OEM tires to last at least 40K miles, I suppose age alone has an effect - does that seem right?

But what about brake pads and rotors? I live in a relatively flat area and drive normally. Is it normal to need to replace them so soon?

What are the best brand / type of rotors and pads to get? Do I assume correctly that this type of brake work can be done by a good independent shop or would I be safer doing it at the dealer?

Would it make sense to replace all 4 rotors and pads or just do the rear for now?

Thanks for any advice!

 

Tire life depends on your driving style and tire type. The higher performance tires on the sport models are softer and will wear faster than the regular tires. I usually ended up with around 30K miles on a set of performance Miata tires. Normally front brakes wear faster than rears since they do most of the stopping. When rear brakes wear faster, it usually means that the parking brake is dragging and that could also cause the rotors to warp. If the rears are worn and warped, you need to discover the cause and get that fixed first.

IIRC reading something about earlier CX-5s having a problem with the electronic parking brake where it would not release completely. Do some research and ask your dealer if there are any recalls pertaining to this.

 

We had a 2014 and experienced the rear brakes going before the fronts, which was strange, to be sure.

Our OEM tires did not last beyond 30K miles. OEM tires rarely last 40K. My OEM tires usually don't last 20K

Rotors, that depends. Typically all four do not go bad, usually only the fronts. Did they specify which ones?. I typically change them, especially when you feel the pulsing in the brake pedal. I do not bother to get them machined, that is a losing proposition. The rotors warp because they are too hot, and machining the material off just makes it worse, they warp faster

 

Often the “pulsing” of the brakes is not warped rotors, but uneven brake pad deposits. A great many rotors are replaced for no reason, when a simple bedding of the brakes would suffice. I don’t know about the OP’s situation, they may be warped. Did the dealer use a run out micrometer to determine the warp, or did they just guess based on a pulsing pedal?


https://www.autoserviceworld.com/car...dal-pulsation/


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With modern stability control systems, including Mazda's G Vectoring the systems use the rear brakes to control stability without your knowledge. This is why the rear brakes can wear out before the front brakes.

In saying this, Mazda has had a lot of issues with the electronic Parking Brake (EPB) causing uneven wear on the rear pads.

 

The dealership where I purchased my 2016 told me the same thing at 30,000 miles. I was going there for free oil changes. The next oil change was not free, so I took it to a dealer closer to home, they saw no problem with the pads and they were not replaced until 60,000 miles. Rotor warping can happen, I had to have my front ones replaced at the same time. They used rotors from a local car parts supplier, since OEM parts were on backorder and they worked fine. I have a feeling rotors are pretty generic, so aside from some of the pricey aftermarket high performance rotors available, I'm not sure there's much difference.