I am taking my 8 in for an oil change this weekend, and one of the things I am going to have the techs look at are my brakes. They are squealing, and I have noticed something with my rotors. The front rotors look like a vinyl record. They have these rings or grooves that go from the interior of the rotors to the outer edge, and when I rub my finger across the rotor, I can feel that these grooves have depth to them. The rear rotors have the rings as well, but are just a surface appearance, there is no depth to them. Is this normal for the front rotors? I have less then 5,000 miles on the car right now, and I am not hard on my brakes. I read an article about bedding the brakes, which I havent' done yet. Will this help or hurt? Should I try to get the rotors replaced?

 

No, it is not normal, the rotors should be smooth as glass. You either 1) had something wrong with your brake pads from the factory or 2) something got in between the rotors and the pads during your 5k miles, I would take it to the dealer and get them to replace them.

 

I have never seen a worn rotor "smooth as glass." Sounds like normal wear to me.

 

I just called the Service dept. and the guy I talked to said the wear was normal. He also said the squealing is from the metallic brakes on the metal rotors. I don't know if this is true or just a greedy dealership not wanting to do the service under warranty. If it is true, what makes Mazda think I would be satisfied with that? I don't want to hear squealing even if it is normal. I did call a brake repair shop before I called the dealer, and they said it didn't sound like normal wear and that it could cause the brakes to pull and squealing, which mine does both. I don't know which to believe. Aren't you supposed to know when the brakes need to be repaired when you start to hear squealing? So how are you supposed to know when it goes from a normal sound, to an abnormal sound?

 

Should I have grooves in my rotors with less than 5,000 miles?

 

There is a TSB on the front brake pads: http://www.finishlineperformance.com...6-04-1369b.pdf

All rotors as they wear will have lines or grooves in them. In your situation with noisy pads and you are thinking that the grooves are excessive, take it to the dealer and have them check it out.

 

Well I have and my car is right now with 16k on it has rotors smooth as glass. Those pads are flat, how would grooves be cut into them unless something got up in there or the pads were wore out? The rotors should be flat and smooth, thats the way I have always seen good brakes.

 

I called another brake repair shop (Midas), and the guy said considering the vehicle and that it is new, it is probably normal, but not necessarily good. He said Mazda probably used a certain type of rotor (don't remember the type exactly) that is soft. He said with wear like this already at this low mileage, I can expect that my rotors will be completely worn by about 15,000 miles. Basically, just another bypass of quality by Mazda (rotors, pads, battery, no oil cooler or a/c protection etc...). I can get a full set of drilled and slotted rotors for about $160, and new pads, and the guy at Midas said he could install them for about $100. I may just do that. If they are acting dumb about the rotors and squealing, then they sure aren't going to paint my rusty rotors without a fight. Ever since I got the 8, I have told myself that I would never buy another domestic vehicle because they are built cheaply, but I may have to revise that statement.

 

One other thought, you are in Texas, do you have a lot of sandy soil down there? If you think about it I bet sand could do this to rotors, just a thought.

 

My neighborhood has alot of sandy loam, but I think that is rare in this area. It is mostly clay. Plus, I remember seeing those rings when I bought it. I just didn't think about it them.

 

I have the EXACT same problem. I have complained to 2 dealerships now and neither did a thing. Now I am at 29,000 miles and they still squeak and have the "vinyl record" look on the rotors. I'm going to bring this service bulletin in and see if it makes a difference.

 

Check out the TSB, and they will replace your brakes (Mazda) under warranty - the squeaking should stop. I had a similar problem in mine and its gone now. Plus, the newer pads emit a bit less brake dust so I'd do it for that also. The wear is normal in my opinion. I also would trust a Mazda dealership over a guy at Midas, especially with a performance vehicle like the 8. If you want work done under warranty on your 8, getting stuff done at Midas opens up a whole new can of worms for you that may make future work difficult. Unless your dealer are being complete a-holes, show them your TSB and they will take care of it- they at least deserve the benefit of the doubt.

 

Normal for the crappy rotors they used. Call a brake repair shop, and see if they say that this is normal.

 

A little hard braking always gets rid of my squeals...

 

Well, I tend to believe the guy at Midas. I called Just Brakes first, and that guy said "No, that's not normal. When can you bring it in?" The guy at Midas said that it being a new car they probably used the soft rotors. He said this type of wear on soft rotors is normal. I said "So it's normal, but not necessarily good, right?" and he said yeah. He didn't try and sell me anything, or try to get me to come in. He also knew that Mazda was associated with Ford, because he mentioned that Ford was using cheap rotors on alot of their new vehicles. If it is normal, why do some people have the grooves, and some don't? If the pads are flat, what is causing the grooves. And when I called the dealership and complained of squeaking brakes, why didn't the guy mention that there was a service bulletin on that? He just said "Oh, that squeaking is normal because of the metallic pads." Like he was saying, yeah they squeak, so what. Live with it.

 

Its up to you Jag-I think its as much your responsibility as an owner to know of the TSBs as it is the dealers. Seriously, Im not arguing with you here man, I do not think its cool that the brakes squeak. I'm just saying I'd give Mazda the benefit of the doubt, call another dealer for example. You've called more than one outside source, call more than one dealer.

As for the "knowing Mazda is ford" issue. Its pretty well known, also, the rx8 is made in Japan, and most all of its parts are Japan parts, so "being a ford" doesn't mean "cheap ford rotors" like Mr. Midas told you.

Again, just playing devils advocate here. The fact is its noted in the TSB that squeaking can happen. It can be fixed if you bring it up, on the TSB itself it says it will be fixed under warranty. I'm just tellin ya my expreience, but I wish you the best in fixing it. I just don't think its that black and white, i.e. "mazda reliability is bad don't trust them because my brakes are squeaking"