The chinese booger glue holding the magnet probably failed.
Still the motor at fault. I am standing 2 feet from one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fanuc-A06B-0502-B001-AC-Servo-Motor-Model-20S-/321706165039?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ae72e832f
It is making 1 inch moves - shoving 1,000 pounds of CNC table Y axis @ 840 inches per minute. That means it accelerates, moves 1 inch & stops that load in under 150 milliseconds. It had been running these parts all day. Machine was made in 1986, and the x & y motors are original PM 3 phase brushless motors.
A quality motor will slam to a stop a hundred times an hour without damage.