Brake Disc Pads Problems of Mazda Tribute

2004 Mazda Tribute frost builds up on the brake pads when it is cold-causing the vehicle not to stop properly. This has happened 2 times and we had the brakes checked out at 2 separate places plus called the Mazda dealership and were told that the problem is frost on the brake pads. Very dangerous! our collage age son was coming home from work, coming off the interstate, and could not stop at the stop sign on the ramp! (22 year old 4. 0 pharmacy student).

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I own a 2002 Mazda Tribute with only 47,475 miles on it. In the past 6 weeks I have noticed when stepping on the brakes on dry pavement the antilock brakes kick in and the pedal goes to the floor unless I pump them. This has become very dangerous as it is happening more frequently. I had my son look at the brakes to make sure it wasn't the pads and he found a broken tooth on the driver's side front abs ring which is causing the problem. I did some research on the web to find if there are any recalls and found no recalls for this trouble but I did find others who are experiencing the same problem. I will have to have the car serviced at an approximate cost of $800. 00. I feel that this must be a problem that needs to be looked into. A car with 47,475 miles should not have these problems. Please let me know if anything can be done to have Mazda cover this cost or if I have any other recourse.

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Brakes failed to stop vehicle within 200ft, started as a regular braking but only slowed, applied full force and held foot pressure. No pulsating and slowed to approximately 5 mph. Turned car right to avoid car and bumped his right back bumper with my left front bumper. Minimal damage to other vehicle. My bumper has a 3 inch rip in bumper. Road was dry but it acted like the brakes where wet, Mazda recalled abs in March 2007 by NHTSA records, I did not receive a recall on this ! can you help, brake pads replaced approximately 12,000 miles ago.

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At 47,968 miles and when my Mazda Tribute was four months out of warranty, I was told that I needed new front brake pads and to have the rotors resurfaced costing $340. After they had the car up, I was told there was not enough material on the rotor to resurface and that I would need to have the rotors replaced, costing $485 before a coupon. I requested and still have the parts they replaced and feel there is something wrong after reading other complaints on this problem on a car with so little mileage (and mostly highway miles). Also, the cd player broke once under warranty (it failed to eject or play cds) and was replaced, but has broken again after 18 months - same problem. The cd repair is very expensive - about $500 to exchange for a rebuilt unit and over $300 to repair minimum and there is a problem with the design of the unit. The dealer and Mazda could not tell me the part number or maker of the unit and a couple of dealers did not even offer a repair option, saying the unit would have to be replaced.

Mazda Tribute 2003 only 30,300. Miles took in for general service to be informed my brakes & rotors need to be replaced at once could be a safety issue. Rotors had unusual wear pattern & pads were worn smooth. I understand the two materials are not working together and pads are harder than rotor material. This is a safety issue which could result in brake failure or fire.

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At 39720 miles I brought my 2004 Mazda Tribute in for a problem that turned out to be leaks in the transfer case and timing chain cover which were replaced under warranty. At that time, the Mazda service center (#1) told me that the front disc brake rotors had worn below minimums, could not be resurfaced and should be replaced. They also said that the pads were at their minimum thickness and should also be replaced. This was after having taken the same car to a different Mazda dealer's service center (#2) one week earlier and being told that the front brakes were ok (5/32 on pads; 2/32 being the legal limit) and could probably go for another year before needing to be changed. That technician (#2 dealer) didn't seem to have a problem with the rotors. I was told by the #1 dealer that the rotors were not covered under the Mazda warranty - this was considered a normal wear item. However, Mazda's own national customer service agreed with me that rotors are technically not a "wear" item. This is only the second time in 30 years of driving cars with disc brakes that I have ever had to replace a rotor; the last time the car had 90,000 miles on it. Rotors generally don't wear at anywhere near the same rate as pads. Also, there was no warning to me while driving that I was getting to a potentially dangerous condition. The brakes appeared to work fine, did not pull to one side or make any kind of squealing or metal-on-metal sounds. This is a serious condition worthy of a recall! it should have been done a while ago as I have heard of this problem for more than a year now! the fact that two Mazda trained technicians came up with two completely different assessments of my brakes is also cause for concern.

During a routine maintenance visit, I requested that the front disc brakes be inspected and serviced if deemed necessary on this vehicle. The mileage at the time was 38,400 and the vehicle had been serviced on multiple occasions by the Mazda dealership from which it was purchased. The service advisor called me to inform me that the brake rotors were worn and would have to be replaced to ensure the vehicle remained safe to operate. They refused to replace the brake pads alone. When I retrieved the vehicle (without the brakes being serviced), I inspected the rotors to find a very unusual wear pattern on the rotors. The pads (which had several thousand miles left to go) had "cut" a perfectly smooth/flat groove into the rotor surfaces across the entire width of the pad surface - leaving a raised edge on the inner and outer edges of both sides of the rotors on the driver and passenger sides. It appears that the brake pad material is harder than the rotor material and the wear on the rotor was equivalent to the wear of the pads.

Catastrophic front disc brake failure on 2003 Mazda Tribute after only 56,651 miles, requiring complete replacement of both front disc pads and both front rotors. Dealer indicated that they were seeing excessive wear, and frequent replacement on front disc brakes, which indicated that they were under designed by Mazda or that Mazda was using inferior quality brake pads.

Front disk rotors are completely worn out, although the pads are in great shape (not worn out). Mileage is under 50,000 miles.

Front disc brakes - allegedly worn out at 22,000 miles and now at 34,000 miles. 2 different dealers have looked at problem and declined to make a warranty claim. Now being told by 2nd dealer that rotors are "throw away" and need to be replaced along with disc pads. I've never had to replace brakes on any car with less that 60,000 miles.