RedSheDevil

I had the brake pads replaced due to the TSB 200 miles ago. They squeaked again after one week, I took them in. They fiddled around with them a bit, no squeak. Now they squeak AGAIN, louder and constantly. Has anyone found a good solution using Mazda's warranty work? I'm saving money for better goodies than replacing crappy brakepads, so I'd rather not invest now. I'm at 10K and really unhappy. Will turning the rotors reduce the squeaking? I'd like to be armed with info before having the svc guy look at me like I'm just a dumb blonde.

I just bought her in March and have only had a brief two week period with no squeak since then. I can't stand it, it sure makes me look like a moron every time I brake. I'd like people to look at my car admiringly, not because I'm creating a noise disturbance!

RedSheDevil

Will they do anything different? Or do they just ply me with a crappy cup o' coffee and spray some stuff on them to make me go away?

willhave8

Or... maybe they will drink the coffee and spray some stuff on you... might be fun --- I am joking...sorry if this offends you.

Seriously, keep standing up for yourself.

I had my brake TSB done and they kept squealing for a month or so and then it went away in spring.

ToguePirate787

iTrader: (1)

im having the same issues as well, its a nice *** car lots of money and yet it sounds terrible with the squeeking breaks behind it at every freakin' stop you come to. I asked my mazda dealer about it all they said was they can only "wash" the pads, but it will still squeek after a while. Then i had asked what else can they do, they responded saying that MAZDA is working on a new break system for the RX8 and Mazda 6. I guess even the 6's have our problem too, but i highly doubt its as serious as our poor 8's. So if anyone has a solution to it than let me know as well.

RedSheDevil

Not easily offended, so no worries willhave! Do you have any idea why the squeal went away? I'd like to spray some stuff on them with all the hassle this is turning into!!!

RedSheDevil

Does anyone know what really goes into "washing" the pads? I hate to reduce my rotors if unnecessary, but I'm considering demanding that they turn them. I have no idea if this will solve anything other than leaving some metal shavings on their shop floor...

DivisionMonkey

I'm taking my 8 in today. It started squeaking at 1200 miles or less. I've owned a new car every 3 years for the past 12 and can say that I've never had a single one of them have squeaking brakes..especially after only 1200 miles. Unfortunately, my VIN isn't in the range of the TSB, so I'm not sure what's going to happen.

guy321

Performance brakes squeak. If you want no squeal then go to Just Brakes and get thier 99 (cough) dollar job. Otherwise, brake more agressively with the ones you have.. that will cause them to squeal alot less.


Motorweek was test driving the 300 srt8 .. and guess what.. the brakes were squealing!

DivisionMonkey

I'm sorry but I don't buy it. Brakes shouldn't squeak, performance or not. Also, aggresive breaking should NOT be required to stop the squeaking.

therm8

High performance pads squeak like crazy, and make more dust than a bulldozer in a dirt pit.

bxb40

I had noisy brakes too - dealer changed to new pads - noise came back. Found (hint: search button is your friend) the bedding procedure on this site - and did that. Quiet brakes since then (few weeks) plus better brake grip. Slight improvment in dust reduction as well. Remember that in normal or spirited driving conditions, you can never proper bed performance brakes - so, if you don't do it, and nobody besides you did it for your car, why would you expect to have anything else than noisy brakes?!? The RX8 does have performance brake pads, so you need to treat them accordingly. No dealer I know will bed in the brakes for me so I had to do it.
So, how many of the people complaining of squeaky brakes did actually do the proper bedding procedure? Or think that someone else did it for their cars?

RedSheDevil

Well, I would have been happy to do this, but I didn't know about it. I had never heard of bedding before, so it would have been impossible to search for.....

For all of you who may be in the same boat as me, here is the link for bedding your brakes.

Is it possible to "re-bed" them if you weren't aware of this procedure when you had the TSB done?

wedge357

I think as long as you have significant pad life left that you be able to do the bedding procedure. Their is no "re-bedding" since yours wasn't "bedded down" yet. (My fiancee will go nuts seeing me typing this to another girl). LOL

RedSheDevil

LOL, good to know!

Dark8

The bedding procedure will need to be done every so often with a street driven 8. This is because most of our brake use will never get the brakes up to it's optimum operating temperature and will remove the pad material that was transfered to the rotor in the last bedding. Look at the color of the rotors after bedding and know that when they return to shiny silver the bedding process will need to be re-done.


From http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/bedinfaq.htm :
FAQ #3: What do you mean I “un-bedded” the brakes?

If any brake pad is used below its adherent operating temperature, it will create friction through primarily abrasive mechanisms, slowly but surely removing the transfer layer on the rotor. For this reason, most street/performance pads like to be driven just a little bit aggressively every now and again to maintain a proper transfer layer of pad material on the rotor face.

If the brakes are used passively for an extended period of time, the transfer layer can be completely removed, effectively un-bedding the brakes. The brake system will still perform well under normal driving conditions, but before heading to the autocross or your favorite canyon back road you will want to perform a bed-in procedure. Failing to do so will only increase the risk of TV generation.

RedSheDevil

Damn, Dark8...that totally helped me understand what I need to do. And the previous page on that site What the hell is bed-in? helped me to understand how the whole system works and why the bed-in procedure will actually INCREASE my rotor/pad life.

As a new, hoping to become "gear-headette" all info is greatly appreciated. Thanks Dark!

RedSheDevil

OK everyone, the problem has been solved!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to BXB and Dark8's suggestions about bedding-in the brakes, I no longer have squeak. I am thrilled to have found a somewhat deserted road to do this on...I can only imagine what someone would think if they saw me in progress. I followed the site's suggestions and did the first run of 10, cooled down, then hit em again for a second run of 10. There's not a squeak to be had, though I'll let you know if the squeak comes back....

Thanks again for helping me regain my "cool factor" in the SheDevil....

bxb40

Redshedevil - you're welcome, now you can finally enjoy a GREAT car! Just like the carbon deposit cure/prevention - this car NEEDS to be driven hard (do not try to explain this to the cop that stops you - didn't work for me, so I cannot recommend it )

Maybe this would be a good time to make this a Sticky There are countless people complaining about noisy brakes, though almost none did the proper bedding procedure - and the ones that did cannot possibily answer each and every post with the SOLUTION.
Now there are here at least TWO satisfied customers (not of Mazda but of bedded bakes :0) ) so the method does work. My buddy crx_millenium did it too, with positive results. So it really works - best thing, get the updated pads from Mazda and bed them in properly. Do not drag on your brakes (why would you anyway?!?) and the blue layer is there to stay. Also, try not to have your rotors turned - after two times, you'll need new ones - unless they are damaged, as it will not help with the noise.
Be safe doing the procedure.
Godspeed!

So, Mods, pls make this a STICKY.

Dark8

I don't usually post on the brake issues but RedSheDevil seemed like she honestly wanted to know how to resolve the issue and wasn't just bitching about squeeky brakes and poor dealership service.

RedSheDevil

So true, so true! I'll keep y'all posted on the results over time....but for now -- zoom zoom!!!

Vertigo-1

iTrader: (3)

I got the new no squeal pads put in about a month ago...so far no squealing, but just lately I've started hearing this tiny warbling sound coming from the brakes when I'm braking. Almost as if something were loose. I can also hear the calipers opening and closing as they make a slight warble as well when I'm just stepping and releasing the brakes in my garage to reverse. Any ideas what it is?

Another question is, under normal driving conditions, is it better to just simply step on the brakes and hold them to drag the car to a stop, or is it better to do quick step and releases ahead of time before you need to come to a full stop to lessen the amount of brake dragging time? I've been doing it the 2nd way so far, but I wonder if this isn't contributing to some sort of brake dust buildup behind the pads versus just aggressively stepping on the brakes and dragging the car down to a complete stop.

RedSheDevil

Just go as fast as you can, then jam on the brakes just enough to not engage the ABS. Wait, I have no idea if that's good for the brakes, but it sure is a fun way to drive! :D :D :D

RedSheDevil

Just a quick update to my braking problem: I noticed a little squeal again this morning, so redid one pass of the bed-in (the whole 10x--not just one time of the 60 to 10mph). No squeaking, but I also realized that after the last time I cooled them down I parked in my garage with the parking brake on. DUH! So this time I cooled them down for a long time and didn't put on the brake. We'll see if it's the final solution.....

RedSheDevil

Squealing again on light city braking....may just be a part of life? Going in for other TSB work next week, will alert the service dept again to see if they do anything differently.

lure3o1

yeah i tried it too it still sqeaks