MadeInJapan

Hi, I have a 2001 SE with Auto Trans. I am just a few hundred miles from going over 50,000 miles, thus no longer under warranty. Have never had any big issues with this car...I love it. Anyway, I had my tires rotated today and asked the guy to tell me how much brakes I have left and he told me that still 60% on the front but only 20% on the back. This seems very strange to me....never had a car that wore out brakes faster on the rear. 90% of my driving is highway miles, thus the high mileage for a 2001...driving an hour to work daily. Anyhow I've never had brake work done...these are the original pads on my 4 discs....Any ideas? Is this normal? And how many more miles before I need to replace the rear pads? Is this an easy "do it yourselfer"? Have changed my own pads...even take rotors off to have them rotated on a Honda Accord....Thanks in advance for your replies.

proman

no that should not be normal. the rear should not wear out faster than the front. the install for rear pads is not too bad. just have an allen key to pull the piston back. It's possible your e-brake was too tight so make sure to readjust it so the rear brakes don't drag when your e-brake is down.
i say you got maybe another 1k beofre you REALLY need to change them.

MadeInJapan

It does seem however that I've gotten great wear out of my brakes....this at about 50K...what do you think?

gcs118

How exactly do they measure the wear on brake pads?

MadeInJapan

Don't know...but they did

davesdailyjive

drive with your e-brake on much?

MadeInJapan

No...never have...I'm beginning to wonder if my front brakes were never adjusted properly, thus most of the braking was done with the rear and not with the front. Is that possible?

SedanMan

Are you sure he didn't mean you used up 60% of your pad and have only 40% left?

I have only 30% left apparently and I have only 40,000 km.

MadeInJapan

Nope...but you have to remember that my miles are almost all highway miles. I did get concerned and called the service manager at the dealer. Had the 12K (one where all the little stuff getting fixed stops) and the 30K service done there. I asked him if by chance they did any brake work they didn't tell me about. He looked at my records and said there wasn't. But he did clue me in on something. He said that because of the way the rear discs are set up, they appear much slimmer than the front and many a customer complains that they are about worn out when they really aren't. His suspicion was that the guy who read my brakes didn't use any instruments...just eye balled it and gave me a report. I think that's very feasable. Any opinions about this? Anyone know of the rear discs looking slim when they really aren't?

SedanMan

The only thing I have heard about is that the rear pads get all crusted up in rust and therefore are always rubbing against the rotors. This causes premature wear.

AzianDragonz

I have just over 37,000 miles on my car and my brakes started sqeaking a while back. I called the service department where I got my car and the guy said it was about the right mileage to be needing new brakes.

MadeInJapan

Been awhile since I've posted in this thread, but now I have almost 55,000 miles on my car and still on my original set of brake pads. I figure that very soon I'll need to replace them, but so far so good. Makes me want to replace with original pads. Does anyone know where to buy them besides the dealer?

AzianDragonz

There are stores out there that sell OEM parts at a discount. Just search for it in google. I am having trouble finding rear brake pads for a 2001 Protege ES

gcs118

You might want to check out www.mazdastuff.com They are a Mazda dealer and usually sell OEM parts for cheaper than my local dealers. Granted there is no tax, but shipping rather, you might be able to work something out. I've purchased many items through them and I've been happy every time. Just a thought.

MadeInJapan

checked out Mazdastuff....unfortunately they don't list any brake pads on their site.