MS3 typical brake pad life?

[papajosh]

How long should I expect the stock pads on my MS3 to last? I've had the car eight months now, and have just under 15K (from a couple of road trips), and the brakes are squealing when I come to a stop (under 10mph). Is this to be expected? I'm not unusually hard on the car (don't race...rarely launch it). I assume the warranty only covers the first 12K...so if I DO need to get them replaced, should I stick with stock pads or buy some after market upgrades?

TIA

Josh

[Falconx84]

we have brakes????

I have 6500 miles on my ms3 and the brakes squeal coming to a stop. I drive mostly city in lower gears to engine brake, and I'm not hard on the brakes. The only time I get to open her up is on a straightaway and by the time a light comes up I'm coasting/engine braking

Mine's been doing it since like 3-4000 miles

[tru-boost]

mine have the sqeek at low speed stops too. i think it is due to the cold. mine just started doing it when the temps dropped. i did look at the pads, and they look pretty thick still. 16k on my car BTW.

[Sacrilicious]

mine have the sqeek at low speed stops too. i think it is due to the cold. mine just started doing it when the temps dropped. i did look at the pads, and they look pretty thick still. 16k on my car BTW.

i think it's the cold too. my brakes have started squeaking a bit in the last month or so, and i just changed out to my winter tires this past weekend, so i know that my pads have plenty of wear left on them.

[DH Motorsports]

There's no "typical" service life out of brake pads...

Driving habits vary too greatly.

[ZooZoom]

Replaced my stock pads around 20K miles. Not because they had worn out but rather to upgrade to track pads. I would say they had 30% life left. And my driving habits probably tilt towards passive-aggressive. Not crazy stupid harsh but certainly more enthusiastic than Mother Teresa would be.

[AllLostThings]

I've just hit 5000 today and I have no cold weather squeal. I honestly hope it doesn't happen.

[edrive73]

I have over 18k on mine and no issues. The squeal can be caused by brake dust 2.

[dan1101]

we have brakes????

GOOD LORD do we have brakes! I've greatly impressed two people with the stopping distance. If you haven't done it already, I highly recommend you all find a deserted road, speed up to 60mph, and test out your brakes. It stops RIGHT NOW!

I engine brake a lot, not necessarily just by downshifting but by taking my foot off the gas well in advance of needing to stop. I got over 100,000 miles on my Contour brakes (4 wheel disc), the rears actually wore out before the front.

[Mocoso]

12K on mine with one track day and you wouldnt know it... prob. good for another 4-8K miles - I dont tend to brake hard on the streets though....

One thing I have noticed is the brake pedal travel is noticeably longer as the pads wear...

[Falconx84]

I thought the hydraulic system was supposed to auto-adjust as the pads wear....

[fourthmeal]

The problem for me is not the pads...its warping the rotors! It happens way to easily, IMO. The dealer resurfaced them once already, and they warped slightly again on my road trip during a high-speed braking maneuver thanks to a dick driving a big rig.

[whitey4311]

Already had to have the my dealer resurface my rotors at 11,500 miles also. I dont drive hard and its never been to a track so I dont understand why this happens.

Hate to find out what the price of stock rotors is going to be when they cant resurface any more.

[Falconx84]

Already had to have the my dealer resurface my rotors at 11,500 miles also. I dont drive hard and its never been to a track so I dont understand why this happens.

Hate to find out what the price of stock rotors is going to be when they cant resurface any more.

1 - mine was done at 250 miles, debris on pad from factory, maybe I'm just sensitive, lol

2 - thats just an excuse to go aftermarket :)

[Mocoso]

I thought the hydraulic system was supposed to auto-adjust as the pads wear....

Ya so did I... wondering now if I should have it checked...

[tru-boost]

i gave my car a good bath today and so ar, no more sqeek. i always claen my rims with a brake dust remover spray. i sprayed it on the rims as well as on the brakes. i bushed down the rims and hosed off all the suds... that was it. hopefully that all it needed.

[mrlilguy157]

nice to know. im an idiot and started a thread a few posts up.

thanks guys. glad i'm not the only one. its definately a cold weather thing, and with a clean car it doesn't happen.

[Young Roids]

Well I wonder what happens when they wear out compleatley. According to GDorris the system will dump pressure and they will not work.:eek:

[blacksheepms3]

Well I wonder what happens when they wear out compleatley. According to GDorris the system will dump pressure and they will not work.:eek:

That's a scary thought. I read two posts here with MS3s brake failure due to heavily worn pads. The guys said something about the brake bites hard because the pads are down to metal, it bites hard that the tires slid, the ABS thought the car was on ice or oil, then it dumped brake pressure, then alas the car met a wall. Very scary. Why cant it just keep braking, it's too smart for it's own good.

[Young Roids]

I almost feel that Mazda should issue a reflash to correct this problem.

[Mocoso]

Guess Im on the opposite camp: if you fail to mantain your car properly and let your pads get to 0 I dont care how car behaves after that point... bottom line is its your fault for assuming you will stop with no brake pads... why put the burden on Mazda to fix what doesnt need fixing: Your stopping distance will be severly hindered if you run the brakes with no pads left.... what does it matter if the stopping distance is hindered by 100% or 1000% - either way you shouldnt do it

[Young Roids]

But how will the average joe know when his pads are worn out? Like GDorris said he checked them and they looked good because the outer pad still had alot of life left, but the inner pad wore out much faster.

[chacon101]

Regular maintenance intervals should take care of that. I would say it could be a possible dealer issue if you have been following their schedule and they fail.

[Mocoso]

But how will the average joe know when his pads are worn out? Like GDorris said he checked them and they looked good because the outer pad still had alot of life left, but the inner pad wore out much faster.


Wear indicators... I dont buy the MS3 doesnt have them... GDoris may have eaten through the pads on track and didnt hear the indicators or his failed but in general I cant believe MS3 wouldnt come with them.. even Yugo's had them... its a penny part - If the dont come with them then yes that is def. something Mazda should look into...

[Hikaru9]

There's no "typical" service life out of brake pads...

Driving habits vary too greatly.

(iagree)

As for my case, I would expect them to last for quite a while as I rarely use the brakes. (engine braking FTW ^_^v )

[blacksheepms3]

yeah, the brakes should make sounds or stopping distance should be significantly increased as it would be noticed before it would totally fail. What scares me is the sudden onset of failure. There's a video on youtube with an ms3 ont he track hitting a wall because the brakes failed. Either the driver knew his brakes were very bad and still drove his car or the failure was sudden. I didnt get to ask the driver cause the video was taken from inside an integra. You can see the car hitting a wall and filling on air several times. Caption says ms3 brake failure or something like that. If the tires have tpms why not the brakes...or atleast the old school monitor...squeeking sounds when applying the brakes. hehehehe

[blacksheepms3]

(iagree)

As for my case, I would expect them to last for quite a while as I rarely use the brakes. (engine braking FTW ^_^v )

It's better to replace brake pads than to replace transmission. right?

[Young Roids]

It's better to replace brake pads than to replace transmission. right?

MOre like the clutch than the tranny but still I would rather replace the breaks. I can do a break job in a couple hours where as for the clutch I do not know how to replace that so it will cost 600+.

[Falconx84]

yeah, the brakes should make sounds or stopping distance should be significantly increased as it would be noticed before it would totally fail. What scares me is the sudden onset of failure. There's a video on youtube with an ms3 ont he track hitting a wall because the brakes failed. Either the driver knew his brakes were very bad and still drove his car or the failure was sudden. I didnt get to ask the driver cause the video was taken from inside an integra. You can see the car hitting a wall and filling on air several times. Caption says ms3 brake failure or something like that. If the tires have tpms why not the brakes...or atleast the old school monitor...squeeking sounds when applying the brakes. hehehehe

that was gdorris... theres a thread on this site and/or the "other" forum

[Hikaru9]

MOre like the clutch than the tranny but still I would rather replace the breaks. I can do a break job in a couple hours where as for the clutch I do not know how to replace that so it will cost 600+.

Chances are... I will be driving a different car well before my MS3 will need a new clutch. I guess I don't like saving money as I have yet to drive the same car for more than four years. -_-;;