NHTSA Complaint #10172632 — 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE

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. *NM