Hello all. I currently own a 2004 Mazda 6S with the V6 and 5 spd manual transmission. Purchased the car new and have had nothing but great results in the 6 years I have owned the car. The only challenge I am having right now is the lack of mileage I get out of brakes in the front of the car. I used to run OEM brakes from my Mazda dealer to try and get better wear out of them and when that didn't work i went to Midas to get the lifetime brakes (what a ripoff that is stay clear of that program). When my warranty expired and I had no reason to take the 45 minute trip to the dealer, I had my mechanic install new rotors and ceramic brake pads on the car roughly 6 months ago. I have never been more pissed on the quality of the pads. the Ceramic/metallic brakes squeak because of the way the metallic was put into the pad and now I have to replace the pads way to prematurely. I even have the calipers cleaned every 6 months due to the high amount of highway travel I do in upstate NY.

Are there any suggestions for either upgrading the brake systems to get better and longer wear out of the pads or are there brake pads that you would suggest I purchase to install on the car? I don't horse the car like I used to and am not hard on the brakes when I do use them. A frustrating situation for a car I LOVE to drive on a bi-weekly basis.

Thanks for the insight. i look forward to your thoughts and suggestions.

 

How many miles are you getting on your pads? It sounds like the pads need to be shimmed and that would correct the squeaking, it isn't necessarily a quality issue.

 

My '04 6S has 81k miles on it and now needs it's 2nd replacement of front pads. Seems these cars eat them up at 40-thou intervals. Cheers,

David

 

If you had an automatic where using the brakes is more necessary to slowing the car, I could see going through pads more frequently.

I can only assume that there is something wrong or binding in the caliper. A piston that doesn't move freely, or a slider that has not been cleaned and lubed properly.