have had every single caliper replaced on my 2002 protege ES.

one i had garage do as i was on vacation. charge 140 for part and labor.

all others i have done myself for about 60.00 each caliper. Rears are worst because of parking brake cable. but not too bad.

this is really the only issue I've had with my protege and is the reason I've kept it for over 10 years. don't want to trade away my trusty protege that's not worth anything as a trade in for something that may have tons of problems!

also have a 2010 mazda3 and so far no problems with it, owned it for 3 years.

First break pads front and rear with rear being worse, wore out in just over 1yr - around 20000km. I was shocked, because I never had to replace breaks that early on my Honda Civic. The Civic can easily do 3yrs on the same pads. I am a delicate breaker, and I don't deliver pizza. First time around I had the breaks replaced at Mazda dealership with original Mazda parts. They lasted 1yr., after which time my disc rotors were also warped. Again, noticed that the rear pads were worn out more than the front - very unusual. This time I decided to do the breaks myself. I bought the softest and cheapest Canadian Tire after-market break pads, and got a set of new rotors from Mazda. After installing the rear pads I made sure that the adjustment screws are set properly (The Mazda Service Manual is pretty accurate) providing enough slack for the wheels to turn easily with breaks released. Since that time my breaks were lasting at least 2yrs and didn't have to replace the rotors. Also, noticed that the rear pads no longer exhibit excessive wear. I guess the moral of the story is - if you want the job done right, you gotta do it yourself.