I am new to this forum and have some technical questions about a rear brake pad replacement I had done back in February. I'll give you some context.

Last week, I noticed that my parking brake would not disengage. I had my car towed to the official Mazda dealership close to me to have it checked out. Turns out, both rear brake actuators, calipers, rotors, and brake pads needed to be replaced. The reason they gave is that when I had my brake pads replaced last (in February at a local repair shop), they did not put the car into Service/Maintenance mode, thus causing this damage...it is going to cost me 2 grand.

In talking with the dealership repair shop and my amateur research, I have yielded this info: the calipers and actuators were stuck, and causing the brakes to drag. In the past seven months, I have basically been driving on a partially engaged parking brake the whole time, wearing against the brakes themselves. This was caused during the non-Service Mode repair when theoretically they were rotating the brake piston incorrectly, causing the calipers to become stuck.

I am hoping you all can give me some more detailed technical info on what happened when they did not put the car into Service Mode back in February leading to all these parts needing replacement and if anyone has experienced similar issues.

 

Get it in writing from Mazda and go see the local repair shop and see what they say.

Consider second hand parts too.

 

Because of the time lapsed from the original service in February unless you plan to file in small claims court and can without question show proof that they did not follow a proper service procedure I would say just get your vehicle repaired either at the Dealership or a different service shop. Most states give you 12 months to file a claim. But who ever you choose to do the work IMO first get a written estimate and its important to do that before you start talking about what other shops already did ! I recommend to get an estimate from your local Firestone in your city/state.