Owners of other Mazda vehicles such as the CX-5, CX-3, CX-30, MX-30, CX-8, Mazda8 (MPV), MX-5 Miata, Mazda2 (Demio), Mazda3 (Axela), Mazda6 (Atenza) and Mazda5 (Premacy) may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible replacement sets of new front brake pads with their part numbers include the following: Wagner ZD1258, Power Stop Z23-1258, ACDelco 17D1258CH, Beck Arnley 085-1748 and Callahan CPK11231.

Please verify the correct brake pad part numbers for your CX-9 before making a purchase by using the Amazon Part Finder website.

The tools and other items needed to complete this procedure include a lug nut wrench, a floor jack, two jack stands, a 17mm socket with a 3/8" drive ratchet, an "F" clamp and a tube of brake caliper grease.

The first few steps are to drive the SUV on to a level surface, shift the gear selector into "Park" and turn off the ignition.

Engage the emergency / parking brake and place wheel chocks on both sides of the rear tires to help prevent the vehicle from moving.

Slightly loosen the five lug nuts on the front wheel by turning them about 1/4 to 1/2 turn in the counterclockwise direction with the tire iron.

Carefully raise the front of the SUV with the included scissor jack located in the cargo area.

If you have a trolley style floor jack, place it under the frame rail to lift the vehicle. Or use a pinch weld floor jack adapter block.

Securely support the vehicle with at least two jack stands placed under the frame rail.

If you have jack pad adapter blocks, you can use them to place the jack stands under the pinch weld and avoid damaging it.

I prefer to only work on one side of the vehicle at a time to keep three tires on the ground for extra safety.

Set the lug nuts aside in a safe place.

Carefully remove the front wheel and tire to reveal the rotor, bracket, caliper and suspension.

The caliper bolts also act as the caliper slide pins (A.K.A. slider pins or guide bolts).

Loosen the top caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the vehicle) with the 17mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

Then loosen the bottom caliper bolt, again by turning it in the clockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the SUV looking at the outer face of the rotor) with the 17mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

Note - If you slide under the engine bay and look at the bolt heads on the back side of the caliper, you would be loosening the bolts in the normal counterclockwise direction. Since we are viewing the caliper from the outside of the vehicle, you would loosen the bolts in the "opposite" direction.

Do NOT mix up the upper and lower bolts / pins. They are different!

I used some blue painter's tape to keep the pins organized.

The top bolt / pin is longer and thicker. The bottom bolt / pin is shorter and thinner.

Rest the caliper on the top of the rotor or suspend it from the suspension spring with a bungee cord.

Try to avoid bending, kinking, twisting or stressing the rubber brake fluid hose.

Make a mental note of where the wear indicator bar or "squeal bar" is situated on the old brake pads.

On this 2019 CX-9 AWD model, the wear indicator bar was located at the top of the inner brake pad.

Clean off the rotor, bracket, caliper and lug studs with brake parts cleaner spray.

Try to avoid breathing in the brake dust or the cleaning spray since they may be carcinogenic (cancer causing).

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the top and bottom of the new pad abutment clips where they will come into contact with the bracket or the ears (ends) of the new pads.

Avoid getting grease on to the friction surface of the new pads or the rotors.

Push the new pad abutment clips into the top and bottom of the bracket. Make sure they are fully seated.

Attach the "F" clamp to the caliper and use the back of an old brake pad to help distribute the pressure across the two pistons.

Twist off the brake fluid cap in the counterclockwise direction and set it aside in a safe place.

Removing the reservoir cap may help make it easier to compress back the pistons by allowing the brake fluid to more easily travel back through the lines.

(I do not recommend using the "crack open the bleeder" method when retracting the pistons since this can easily lead to introducing air bubbles into the brake lines. I only open the bleeder valves when I plan on flushing out the entire system with new fluid.)

Repeatedly check the fluid level in the reservoir to make sure it doesn't overflow.

Clean up any spilled brake fluid immediately since it can easily damage painted surfaces.

To fully compress both pistons, you may need to release and re-apply the "F" clamp on the other side of the caliper.

Make sure that the pistons are moving straight back into the caliper and not at an angle.

Continue slowly compressing the pistons until they are just about fully retracted back.

Try to avoid pinching or otherwise damaging the rubber dust boots that surround the pistons.

As soon as you are done compressing back the pistons, replace the reservoir cap by twisting it on in the clockwise direction.

Rotor Replacement Directions

If your CX-9 has been exhibiting shuddering, vibrations or shaking in the front end while braking, the OEM front brake rotors might be worn out or warped and should be replaced.

A few compatible front brake rotor part numbers are as follows: DuraGo BR901482, Centric 120.45098, Raybestos 982130 and Beck/Arnley 0833710.

To replace the rotors, remove the two 17mm bolts on the back side of the caliper bracket. Remove the caliper bracket and set it aside with the two 17mm bolts.

Slide the old rotor off the wheel hub and lug studs.

(Some Mazda models may have one or two small "set screws" that secure the rotor to the hub. These will need to be removed before the rotor can be slid off.)

If the old rotor is stuck in place due to rust or debris, try hitting it with a rubber mallet.

Clean off the wheel hub and lug studs with brake parts cleaning spray.

Slide the new rotor over the lug studs until it is flush against the wheel hub.

Lower the caliper bracket back into place and spin in the two 17mm bolts.

I only have the service manual for the first generation 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Mazda CX-9 but I believe that the torque specifications should be the same since the 1st and 2nd generation models use the same brake pads.

The 2010-2015 CX-9 service manual specification for tightening the bracket bolts is 79.51 to 93.96 lb-ft (or 107.8 to 127.4 N-m) of torque.

Please verify this torque value for your vehicle model year and use your best judgment when tightening the bolts.

The wear indicator bar should be situated at the top of the inner brake pad.

Push the two pads together until they are flush against the rotor.

Line up the bolt holes in the caliper with their corresponding holes in the rubber dust boots attached to the bracket.

Apply a thin layer of brake caliper grease to the smooth parts of each combination caliper bolt and slider pin.

Do not apply grease to the threads of the bolt / pin.

Remember to not mix up the longer and thicker top bolt / pin with the shorter and thinner bottom bolt / pin.

Slide the longer and thicker top bolt / pin into the caliper.

Spin it in a few turns by hand in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the vehicle) to help prevent it from becoming cross threaded.

Spin in the bottom bolt / pin a few turns by hand in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the SUV) to help prevent it from becoming cross threaded.

Tighten the two caliper bolts in the counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the vehicle) with the 17mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet until they are snug.

Note - If you slide under the engine bay of the SUV and look at the back side of the caliper and rotor, you would tighten the bolts in the "normal" clockwise direction. Since we are viewing the caliper from the outside of the vehicle, the bolts are tightened in the "opposite" direction.

I only have the service manual for the 1st generation 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Mazda CX-9.

The 2010-2015 CX-9 service manual specification for tightening the caliper bolts / slider pins is 61.5 to 68.6 lb-ft (or 83.3 to 93.1 N-m).

I believe this value should be correct since the 1st and 2nd generation CX-9 models use the same brake pad part numbers.

Please verify this torque value for your model year and trim level. Use your best judgment when tightening the bolts.

It would be a great idea to bleed the brake lines and flush out the old fluid with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.

I highly recommend using the Allstar Performance Bleeder Bottle to bleed the brake lines.

It makes this procedure a very easy one-person job compared to having a reluctant assistant repeatedly pump the brake pedal as you manually open and close the valves. The bottle has a one way check valve so you can just pump the brake pedal yourself and not introduce any air into the lines.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located on the back side of the caliper just below the top bolt. To open and close the brake fluid bleeder valves, you'll need a 10mm wrench.

In general, the brake line bleeding order for most vehicles is to start at the caliper furthest from the brake fluid reservoir and work your way to the closest caliper. So the order most likely should be as follows: right rear, right left, front right and front left.

The torque specification in the 2010 to 2015 CX-9 shop manual for tightening the front caliper bleeder valves is 53-86 in.lbf (or 5.9 to 9.8 N.m).

Try to avoid over tightening the bleeder valves to prevent from stripping the threads or breaking them.

Carefully replace the front wheel over the five lug studs.

Spin on the five lug nuts a few turns by hand in the clockwise direction to help prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the lug nuts in the clockwise direction in a "star" or "criss-cross" pattern with the tire iron.

Continue tightening the lug nuts in the clockwise direction in a "star" or "criss-cross" pattern until they are snug.

It would be best to use a torque wrench to properly tighten the lug nuts to the owner's manual specification of 80 to 108 lb-ft (or 108 to 147 N-m).

Sit in the driver's seat of the car and firmly push down and release the brake pedal a few times to help restore the brake line pressure. Check the brake fluid in the reservoir and verify that it is at the proper level. If it is low, add some fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.

To break in your new front brake pads, just drive normally for the first few hundred miles while trying to avoid any very hard or "panic" stops which may glaze over the new pads and cause them to be noisy and/or not perform as well.

It's also a good idea to regularly check your driveway for drops of fresh brake fluid which may indicate a leak from the reservoir or the bleeder valves, check the brake fluid level in the reservoir and also verify that the lug nuts are still tight.

Be sure to record the brake pad change in your vehicle's service records.

For more, please check out all of the 2016-2021 Mazda CX-9 DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.