only 2,700 miles and brakes won't stop squeaking!!

I just bought my 2016 CX-5 3 months ago, and for the past 1500 miles my brakes have been squeaking at low speeds. Basically, I'm stuck in traffic for most of my commute to work in L.A., and when my foot is on the accelerator at a normal speed and then I stop, it's fine. But when I'm rolling to a stop while stuck in traffic (which is about 80% of my drive), it squeals like a banshee.

I brought it in yesterday and of course they couldn't replicate the sound and said everything is fine. But it's RELENTLESS and will not stop!!
I love this car, and it's the second one I've owned, but this is ridiculous. Today, the "home" button for the infotainment system got stuck and now it's unusable. So there's that too...

Does anyone else have either of these issues? If so, were you able to remedy them? Thank you!

You say the dealer could not replicate a problem which for you is "RELENTLESS and will not stop". Have you offered (ne: insisted) on taking a service tech out while you drive and show them how relentless it is?

Yes, they could not replicate it. My husband brought it in yesterday and the car did not make any sound while they test drove it (of course!! ugh). I have my car back today, and while driving to work it happened again. I videotaped it so I have some proof and will bring the car back in. They didn't drive the car in the exact way that I do (ie, stop and go in traffic) so that must be why it didn't happen with them. I guess next time I have to bring it in myself to replicate the sound.

The purpose of my post was to see if anyone else has experienced this problem as well.

I'm sure someone will come along here eventually and say they had a similar problem, but more importantly, what you need to understand is that brake squeal/noise can happen to any car and much of it (in the case of a new vehicle) has to do with the way the brakes are treated during break-in. No doubt your stop-n-go LA commute was not the best way to bed-in new brake pads, but it happens and it can be corrected by the dealer. You just need to make sure they know you have a problem and the only way that's going to happen in this case is for YOU to demonstrate it for them. Good luck!

Oh really? I didn't realize the break in process can affect this. I'm surprised that wasn't something they would've thought of based on my mileage and purchase date. Either way, thanks for the input!

Same Problem for 12,000 miles

mreenstringbean said:

I just bought my 2016 CX-5 3 months ago, and for the past 1500 miles my brakes have been squeaking at low speeds. Basically, I'm stuck in traffic for most of my commute to work in L.A., and when my foot is on the accelerator at a normal speed and then I stop, it's fine. But when I'm rolling to a stop while stuck in traffic (which is about 80% of my drive), it squeals like a banshee.

I brought it in yesterday and of course they couldn't replicate the sound and said everything is fine. But it's RELENTLESS and will not stop!!
I love this car, and it's the second one I've owned, but this is ridiculous. Today, the "home" button for the infotainment system got stuck and now it's unusable. So there's that too...

Does anyone else have either of these issues? If so, were you able to remedy them? Thank you!

Click to expand...

mreenstringbean said:

I just bought my 2016 CX-5 3 months ago, and for the past 1500 miles my brakes have been squeaking at low speeds. Basically, I'm stuck in traffic for most of my commute to work in L.A., and when my foot is on the accelerator at a normal speed and then I stop, it's fine. But when I'm rolling to a stop while stuck in traffic (which is about 80% of my drive), it squeals like a banshee.

I brought it in yesterday and of course they couldn't replicate the sound and said everything is fine. But it's RELENTLESS and will not stop!!
I love this car, and it's the second one I've owned, but this is ridiculous. Today, the "home" button for the infotainment system got stuck and now it's unusable. So there's that too...

Does anyone else have either of these issues? If so, were you able to remedy them? Thank you!

Click to expand...

Not sure if this is the root cause of your squeaky brakes but it was for me, do you religiously wash your car, and use over the counter wheel degreaser/cleaners?

I used to use that stuff and it would strip the grease off the back of the pads the pad ears and cause squeaks like crazy almost unbearable like you have described.

Stay away from that stuff, some of those wheel cleaners are pretty harsh, some CX9 owners had their silver paint strip right off their GT wheels and the wheels ended up looking horrible with OEM silver paint and dark black areas where the cleaners stripped off the paint.

I stopped using that stuff and just used regular car wash and water and a brush to clean the wheels. I removed all the wheels and re-applied grease to the brake pads and cleaned out the caliper pins and applied Sil-glyde for the pins, after that never had an issue again.

Give it a shot, nothing to lose, I'm almost sure it will work for you, don't go wasting money on the spray on rotor brake quiet products, they don't work, you'll need to disassemble the brakes and apply grease and Sil-glyde,
That's the low cost route.

High cost route is to replace rotors if they are scored and have lines from uneven pads, also replace with new pads.

Hoped this helps, good luck.

I have a 2015 Mazda CX-5. The brakes started squeaking at 10,000 miles. I took it into Mazda dealership and was told that front and back brakes were fine. The squeaking and NOW squealing continues daily, when backing up, almost constantly. My car has 22,000 miles on it. I have had it into 2 different Mazda dealerships, for a total of 4-5 times. Today's visit, I was told, by service advisor, that I will have to get use to it, that the brakes checked out okay, no safety issues. He said that Mazda had taken out abestos from lining for safety reasons and perhaps that has something to do with this issue. He told me that all cars' brakes squeal. I told him that it was loud and embarrassing. His answer - "I just wave when that happens when I am in my Chevie." What an unprofessional and unacceptable thing to say to a customer that is continuing to pay monthly car payments on a car that has become annoying to drive. However I am lucky, I leased this vehicle and the lease is coming up in several months and I am turning the car back into Mazda and I will buy from another company. I had planned to purchased the vehicle at the end of the lease. Too bad, because I love Mazdas, their handling, their style etc. This is my 2nd Mazda. I am not going to take a chance again. I hope that you are able to get help with your brakes. Good luck!

blackcx5 said:

Not sure if this is the root cause of your squeaky brakes but it was for me, do you religiously wash your car, and use over the counter wheel degreaser/cleaners?

I used to use that stuff and it would strip the grease off the back of the pads the pad ears and cause squeaks like crazy almost unbearable like you have described.

Stay away from that stuff, some of those wheel cleaners are pretty harsh, some CX9 owners had their silver paint strip right off their GT wheels and the wheels ended up looking horrible with OEM silver paint and dark black areas where the cleaners stripped off the paint.

I stopped using that stuff and just used regular car wash and water and a brush to clean the wheels. I removed all the wheels and re-applied grease to the brake pads and cleaned out the caliper pins and applied Sil-glyde for the pins, after that never had an issue again.

Give it a shot, nothing to lose, I'm almost sure it will work for you, don't go wasting money on the spray on rotor brake quiet products, they don't work, you'll need to disassemble the brakes and apply grease and Sil-glyde,
That's the low cost route.

High cost route is to replace rotors if they are scored and have lines from uneven pads, also replace with new pads.

Hoped this helps, good luck.

Click to expand...

Also, make sure your wheel lugnuts are tightened with a torque wrench!!! Uneven torqued nuts will cause uneven rotor wear and brake noises. First thing I did when I got the car home was loosen all the nuts and torqued every nut to specification.

Just my two cents, this is not just a Mazda thing any car can have brake noises for a variety of reasons, hard driving, heavy stop and go traffic, uneven torqued nuts, harsh wheel cleaners, even going thru a deep puddle of water when the rotors are hot will warp them, etc. If not regularly cleaned and maintained or properly lubed there will eventually be noises regardless if it's a Mazda or not.

This seems to be a more common complaint among the 2016 model years. I would pull the calipers and put more brake quiet compound on the back of the pads to see if that alleviates the squealing if the dealers insist there’s no problem. Maybe Mazda cheaped out in this area. I’m on my second set of rotors with OEM pads all the way around the car on my 2014 with 70k miles and they’re quiet as can be- no noise ever, and I don't remember seeing this much complaining about brake noise on earlier years on this forum.

My 2016.5 does this when driving under 10 MPH. I am not pressing the brakes and it makes this awful noise.

madar said:

This seems to be a more common complaint among the 2016 model years. I would pull the calipers and put more brake quiet compound on the back of the pads to see if that alleviates the squealing if the dealers insist there’s no problem. Maybe Mazda cheaped out in this area. I’m on my second set of rotors with OEM pads all the way around the car on my 2014 with 70k miles and they’re quiet as can be- no noise ever, and I don't remember seeing this much complaining about brake noise on earlier years on this forum.

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Mine have been squealing for a while now... dealer said its normal.

(bs)

to the OP...just to let you know, if you go the route of re-applying brake grease to the pad slide bracket(s) or the caliper slide pins, DO NOT put any grease or slick stuff on the mating surfaces of the rotor or pads where the two come in contact with each other.

Also, since you say that your husband and the service dept do not get the squeaking when they drive, but you do, then I hate to say it, but there is nothing wrong with the rotors or pads. The problem is with the stop and go traffic you get stuck in. Now, if your pedal shookd or you felt pulsing when applying the brakes, then it might be a problem with the braking components.

There are many different formulations of brake pad material out there, low metallic, semi-metallic, organic, and ceramic, and the science of brake pads will make your head spin. (article for reference: http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/4-types-of-brake-pads-to-be-aware-of )

Long story short...you might just need to change your brake pads to ones that are more suited for stop and go traffic, or high heat/friction conditions you experience. The pads on the CX-5 may not be the best at that condition, but do very well everywhere else. Our Pathfinder made low frequency grumbling sounds when inching forward in traffic or at a stop light. Sure, slightly annoying, but that was the only time the brakes made any noise, and I didn't feel there was anything wrong with them. Your case may be very similar.

Also, if you choose to replace your brake pads, DO NOT get race pads as they do not work well when cold and are meant for the tortures of hard/quick stopping on a race track.

not all brake pads are created equal...

hope you get it figured out.