I have an 05' 6-speed and have roughly 19000 miles on my 8. Lately my wheels have been squeaking everytime I step on my brakes (hard or soft). I took it to Browning MAZDA for them to check it out. First off, they said that I was out of warranty for my brakes (12 months or 12000 miles). After having my 8 there for a couple of hours. They said that I still had more than 60% left on my front and rear pads and that the noise I was hearing was natural. I told them that my brakes never made that sound when I first bought the car 2 years ago and brakes don't squeak unless your pads are worn out and have to replace them. They said my 8 was fine and charged me $20.00 and sent me on my way. That blows!! Should I just go ahead and replace my front and rear brake pads anyway, even if they are still good? Is there anything I could do to keep my brakes from squeking? It's embarassing rolling up in a cool car and all of sudden you're squeaking as you try to stop! please help...

 

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...01-06-1568.pdf

 

Thanks for the link DarkBrew. If I print this out and take it back to MAZDA, will they do the repair free of charge?

 

They did for my '04.

 

I'll go back to the dealer first thing in the morning. Wish me luck, since it's a Staurday. Thanks

 

If at first you don't succeed....




try another dealer!

 

by any chance did u have any luck doing this , i just started having the problem with my 8, 04 27kmiles, and wanna get it fixed asap lol

 

i also got annoyed of the squeaking, so i went ahead to figure out what it was. So i took off the tire and the caliper, then checked the brake pads and they were still at about 70%. so there was no problem there.

While i was down there i went ahead and cleaned off all the dust and stick gunk that was on the SHIM pads (the thin layer that covers the outside of the brakepads). I also added some CRC disc Brake quiet in between the shim pad and the brakepads....VOILA! No more brake sqeaks. atleast for now! it's been about 2000miles havent heard anything yet.

 

I took that bulletin to the dealer because my brakes squeal and he said it had already been performed by another dealer before I bought it (I bought my 04 used in November)... I thought that was crap because my brakes still squeal - I don't care if it was done before - do it again! Should I just go somewhere else? The squealing drives me nuts. Makes it look like I am not taking care of my car, when I'm doing my best!

 

Thats bullshit.

Mine has been replaced 3 times, 2 of those came from the same dealership. no questions asked.

Unless Mazda changed their policy on this.

No more squeak now.

Me, Happy

(I dont mind to squeak btw, but hey free pads why NOT?)

 

don't buy a sports car next time

 

FYI...

www.racingbrake.com

I replaced the rotors (front) with the racing brake rotors (stock pads) and the sound is gone. I've driven on these for approx. 5k miles now and no sound what so ever.

 

I have 36K on my car replaced ALL the pads with Hawk Ceramic pads, less dusting for sure but after about 5000 miles

what ive seen is the fact that when my brakes are cold -- NO sound what so ever. after a few miles and they warm up they squeak HARD - unless I do heavy braking EVERYTIME


Sucks ***

 

When was the last time one of you with an 04 and over 24k miles had this done ?

 

My 04 had 37k when I bought it in November. Shortly after buying it and noticing the squeaking brakes, I took it to the dealer with the bulletin # in hand and he told me it had already been done under the previous owner. I guess I should have taken it somewhere else. I am an inexperienced 8 owner and still learning the ropes...

 

My 07 has been squeeling like crazy today when I brake but it is 5 degrees today in NH so I've come to expect the noise when it's cold. If I drag my brakes for a short distance the squeeling goes away for awhile and I don't have the problem at all when it warms up some.

 

tell yourself your car has brakes among the top 5 street cars ever produced and ignore the squeal that every other high performance car has...

and if thats not good enough, your driving the wrong car so sell it and quit putting my resale value down the *******...

 

Oh, I have the wrong car! I had no idea! And here all this time I was thinking I just needed to learn more about my car by joining a forum! Wow, I feel so dumb!

 

The rx8 is a daily driver sports car. It's not designed to be a trailer queen that is only susceptible to the performance bottom line (Hell it doesn't even but barely compare to its predecessor). Being a daily driver means it needs to be comfortable, too. Annoying squealing sounds are not comfortable. There are plenty of other equally priced (and cheaper) cars that have similar (and higher) performance that don't have this problem.

I doubt a Mazda (or any of the other main manufacturers) is among any ranked 'top 5 street cars ever produced' list except maybe in 'Value'.

This brings a myriad of questions all its own. How does the 'wrong driver' make a car's brakes squeal? Especially a driver that's interested enough in maintenance and general well being of the car to investigate the cause, ESPECIALLY in this situation, where Mazda has already openly said "We fucked up that part."? I'm not even going to ask how an enthusiastic driver trying to car for their car affects your car's resale value.

Yeah, a girl drives your car. Be threatened. She's looking into the problem to try and take care of it, instead of showing up at the dealership when the car won't start 20,000 miles after the previous owner did an oil change.

Stop being a troll.

Now, in an effort to get this thread back on topic; did the dealer even take a look at the brakes, or did they just say 'nope, it's been done, now get off my lawn'? I think everyone will agree that it's well within the realm of possible that a dealership can do shotty work, or wouldn't care about the satisfaction of a client.

I'd say there are a number of things you can do:

1) Take it to the dealer (or a different one) and insist they check it out, despite the vehicle's service history. Bitch about it enough (go up the chain o' command if you have to) and they'll do it.

2) Go with a different type/brand of brake pad. Different types will have varying performance/dust/squeal/life. It may stop great, but not last long, or will get your wheels very dirty very quickly.

3) Use a brake cleaner or another of those compounds designed for better brake pad fitment. I can't think of the brand that I've used off the top of my head, but using one of these and then heat cycling the brakes (get to 60 mph, nail the brakes until you almost stop, back up to 60, nail 'em, back to 60, nail 'em) has helped me on my Celica in the past.

 

Man, I can feel the love in this room.

I will say it again...if the squeaking bugs you that much get new rotors and the sound will go away. From all the reading about this issue I've seen VERY few people where the dealership actually solved the issue. The dealer will replace the pads and the issue goes away for a while then returns.

I'm running on my after market rotors about 5k miles so far and ZERO noise. Others had changed there brake pads for aftermarket ones and this does not "always" work either.

So your choices are(my opinion):

1) Keep complaining to dealer: 10% chance of getting fixed
2) Change to aftermarket pads: 50% chance of getting fixed
3) Change to Racing Brake rotors: 90% chance of getting fixed

Note: option 3 still has a chance of failure depending on pads used and durability of the rotor. This is why I got the two piece rotor so if they have issues in the future all I have to replace is the disk. Also, these rotors have better cooling so less chance of that I think.

 

I'd have to agree with cavemancan here. Even if you get the dealer to replace your brakes, there's very little chance it will make the problem go away, since it's the same part. I've had mine replaced twice, with no change. They tried to feed me some bullshit line "Well these really hard performance brakes just squeal like that." Save it.

Just like the hubs that are continuously rusty, the rattles throughout the cabin, the marbles in a blender noise at high RPM's, and the tail-lights that turn into aquariums when it rains, the brakes are just one of the "quirks" we just have to put up with as RX-8 owners. That is of course unless you get them replaced on your own dime. But for what that costs, I'll just live with the squeal.

 

sm4k and cavemancan: Thank you for your suggestions, and for not saying "just deal with it!" Changing the rotors might be my best bet, though it's definitely out of my range of knowledge. I'll check in on the midwest region forum to see if I can locate a quality mechanic in the area.

 

Zenmoused, I see we share some common complaints! :P But I admit the "quirks" are worth it. This is the first car I have truly loved. Now I don't roll my eyes when someone talks about their "baby".

 

I will say this that what I am about to say is not a flame by any means...

The Rx8 can be whatever you want it to be...Just like any other production car. All it takes is money. The only lable it can be given is "Sports car".

If you were to say that powerwise the Rx8 does not compare then I could swallow that statement but thats the only part that is true. Many have said that the chassis of the Rx8 is superior to the Rx7 (Disclaimer: I love Rx7's and I am not putting them down one bit...I wish I had a 3rd gen) and has more potential. All the Rx8 needs is more power. To make the statement you maid is an uneducated one I think (no offense). Maybe you worded it wrong...dont know...

Equally priced and cheaper? (Keep in mind performance is not meerly a rating of 0-60mph)

The only car that comes to mind that is equally priced or cheaper and similar performance is: Cobalt SS supercharged

I can not think of any car at or below our price of a car that will compare.

350z - more expensive
Evo - more expensive
WRX STI - more expensive

Maybe I am missing a car here...Again not flaming.

 

I changed mine myself and I can say that it was not difficult as long as your prepared. However, if your not the do it yourself type (which is OK ofcourse) I am sure an Rx8 owner in your area is. This could be a source of savings if you ask someone you know to help you out.

Also, I mentioned pads being a potential fix. I would do a search on here cause I think I vaguely remember someone changing there pads and it worked in regards to noise. If not then rotors all the way.

P.S. the rear rotors DO NOT make noise on MY car. So you may only need the fronts. Personally I would change all 4 to make sure you keep your brake balance. Then again I plan to race the car...