2016 - Soft Brakes - Better Pads?

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2017 CX5 AWD Touring
Something just doesn't feel right with the brakes. Sort of spongy and not crisp and positive. Also when stopped I can depress the brake pedal all the way down to the floor and the vacuum just bleeds out. Usually cars have a positive stop and you can't push down any further.

Would changing to better pads help? I was thinking about swapping them out for CERAMIC pads from TRW.
Are the OEM semi-metallic pads?

Can I have a bad vacuum booster?
 
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Something just doesn't feel right with the brakes. Sort of spongy and not crisp and positive. Also when stopped I can depress the brake pedal all the way down to the floor and the vacuum just bleeds out. Usually cars have a positive stop and you can't push down any further.

Would changing to better pads help? I was thinking about swapping them out for CERAMIC pads from TRW.
Are the OEM semi-metallic pads?

Can I have a bad vacuum booster?

Sounds like a bad booster or air in the system. I would get that looked at right away.
 
Sounds like a bad booster or air in the system. I would get that looked at right away.

Yep!
The pads on most factory cars aside from real sports cars are very very very hard. My 370Z vs. Z06 was a great example. The Z06 would absolutely cover the rims with dust within a few miles. The 370Z? It didn't generate that much brake dust in several thousand miles. My CX-5? What dust, lol. These pads are like rocks.
 
Yep!
The pads on most factory cars aside from real sports cars are very very very hard. My 370Z vs. Z06 was a great example. The Z06 would absolutely cover the rims with dust within a few miles. The 370Z? It didn't generate that much brake dust in several thousand miles. My CX-5? What dust, lol. These pads are like rocks.

Hopefully it is not a bad booster since that is a major install and requires a lot of work.

Looked at the brake booster and it is stamped MADE IN CHINA (boom05) Not very reassuring.
 
....Would changing to better pads help? I was thinking about swapping them out for CERAMIC pads from TRW.
Are the OEM semi-metallic pads?...

On other vehicles I've had good luck changing the brake lines to stainless braided lines to firm up pedal feel. As for my CX, a 2014, it feels pretty firm once the brakes are warmed up a little bit and since it's just a CUV I'm not really that obsessed about it.

New pads can affect it a lot but many materials become even more sensitive to heating up to get good feel. Some are down right dangerous when the brakes are cool: some squeal like mad even though they stop great, some generate terrible dust, some wear out after only one or two spirited mountain drives. With so many choices on the market and people being so biased in their preferences (therefore providing personal reviews that slant towards performance characteristics they favor) I've pretty much given up trying to second guess the OEM.
 
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Probably a ceramic type if I had to guess by the stoopid low dust amount.

The vehicle brakes feel a lot better now since I sprayed down the rotors with brake clean and put on more miles. I also test drove another CX5 and the brakes were very similar so I am chucking it to oil/grease on the rotors and being too new.
 
My rear brakes only lasted 30,000 miles, so have it looked at soon before they charge you for wear and tear. I have 105,000 miles on my BWM and they still have a lot left on them. Do Mazda pads wear this fast? If so is the material they are made of too soft?
 
The vehicle brakes feel a lot better now since I sprayed down the rotors with brake clean and put on more miles. I also test drove another CX5 and the brakes were very similar so I am chucking it to oil/grease on the rotors and being too new.

Well how new were they? You do realize there is a break-in period for the vehicle. Yes? It's in the owner's manual.

This is why I always tell people to BREAK IN THE CAR. And I don't mean some stupid WOT Youtube crap. I mean properly break it in, per the manual. Brakes will get green-fade until this is done. In a real sports car, it's VERY BAD, as in, brakes are absolutely trash until you bed them properly.
 
My rear brakes only lasted 30,000 miles, so have it looked at soon before they charge you for wear and tear. I have 105,000 miles on my BWM and they still have a lot left on them. Do Mazda pads wear this fast? If so is the material they are made of too soft?

I have 36K miles on mine, and they are barely worn according to last inspection. The fact that your rear brakes wore before the front tells me something is wrong with your vehicle vs. the pad material, OR you just got some pad pads that slipped through QA/QC.
 
My rear brakes only lasted 30,000 miles, so have it looked at soon before they charge you for wear and tear. I have 105,000 miles on my BWM and they still have a lot left on them. Do Mazda pads wear this fast? If so is the material they are made of too soft?

The CX-5 has excellent brakes due to it's well designed brake distribution system. Drivers who use the brakes gently will find the rears wear out sooner and the fronts last virtually forever. Drivers who brake harder will notice more even wear front to rear. Heavy braking on a race track will cause the rear brakes to last longer. The wear will likely be faster in the rear than you are accustomed to with braking systems that are not as advanced. Under light braking the rear brakes apply the most braking force. This reduces "brake dive" and maintains better vehicle composure entering corners (especially on slippery surfaces). It also helps the anti-lock braking system perform it's job less intrusively because the more lightly loaded rear wheels will scuff first.

Modern disc brakes tend to last 25,000-75,000 miles in general but it does vary widely based on driving style/conditions. I've never heard of anyone getting over 100,000 miles without changing out pads. I'm at 27,000 and still on the original brakes. I checked them recently as I was installing my winter tires and they looked great. The rears only have another 5-10K or so but the fronts are only 1/3 worn.
 
The CX-5 has excellent brakes due to it's well designed brake distribution system. Drivers who use the brakes gently will find the rears wear out sooner and the fronts last virtually forever. Drivers who brake harder will notice more even wear front to rear. Heavy braking on a race track will cause the rear brakes to last longer. The wear will likely be faster in the rear than you are accustomed to with braking systems that are not as advanced. Under light braking the rear brakes apply the most braking force. This reduces "brake dive" and maintains better vehicle composure entering corners (especially on slippery surfaces). It also helps the anti-lock braking system perform it's job less intrusively because the more lightly loaded rear wheels will scuff first.

Modern disc brakes tend to last 25,000-75,000 miles in general but it does vary widely based on driving style/conditions. I've never heard of anyone getting over 100,000 miles without changing out pads. I'm at 27,000 and still on the original brakes. I checked them recently as I was installing my winter tires and they looked great. The rears only have another 5-10K or so but the fronts are only 1/3 worn.

Weird. My Jeep almost hit 100K on OEM pads and had plenty of pad left. It got 70K on OEM tires, lol! (although they were in BAD shape!).

I changed the brakes on my WS.6 at 75K miles or so, and put another 75K on it before I sold it. Was fine. That's a car that's hard on brakes, too.

Very interesting about the brake dist. on the CX-5, though.
 
The CX-5 has excellent brakes due to it's well designed brake distribution system. Drivers who use the brakes gently will find the rears wear out sooner and the fronts last virtually forever. Drivers who brake harder will notice more even wear front to rear. Heavy braking on a race track will cause the rear brakes to last longer. The wear will likely be faster in the rear than you are accustomed to with braking systems that are not as advanced. Under light braking the rear brakes apply the most braking force. This reduces "brake dive" and maintains better vehicle composure entering corners (especially on slippery surfaces). It also helps the anti-lock braking system perform it's job less intrusively because the more lightly loaded rear wheels will scuff first.

Modern disc brakes tend to last 25,000-75,000 miles in general but it does vary widely based on driving style/conditions. I've never heard of anyone getting over 100,000 miles without changing out pads. I'm at 27,000 and still on the original brakes. I checked them recently as I was installing my winter tires and they looked great. The rears only have another 5-10K or so but the fronts are only 1/3 worn.

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In my G the increased wear on rear pads appears to have been caused by EBD and the simulated LSD. The ESC in that vehicle lets you push the car farther to it's limits that most vehicles.

"In some systems, EBD distributes more braking pressure at the rear brakes during initial brake application before the effects of weight transfer become apparent."
 
This sounds to me like possibly some air got into the hydraulic system. Might just need the brakes bleed. A good mechanic at the dealer should easily be able to diagnose that.
 
In my G the increased wear on rear pads appears to have been caused by EBD and the simulated LSD. The ESC in that vehicle lets you push the car farther to it's limits that most vehicles.

"In some systems, EBD distributes more braking pressure at the rear brakes during initial brake application before the effects of weight transfer become apparent."

G37? I had a 370Z, and didn't notice it being especially lenient. But I thought the G37 had a viscous LSD just my my 370Z did, but there are MANY "G's" out there...AMG, G37, G35,...
 
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