Organ-type accelerator pedal

A

arunka007

:
2016 CX-5 GT | FWD | Soul Red | Tech Package
I noticed the brake and accelerator pedals are at different 'levels' in the CX-5. The brake pedal juts out more towards the driver than the accelerator pedal. As a result, I always struggle to find a foot position comfortable for both pedals.

Have any of you guys noticed this? Are both your pedals at the same level so that you don't have to fully lift-and-shift your foot to operate both? In my other car (Lancer) and in my previous car (Accord), I used to only 'turn' my foot to move across pedals. The heel didn't have to move. Can't do that in CX-5.
 
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Funny you should refer to it as "organ-type".

The CX-5 is the first vehicle I've owned that's hinged at the bottom (yep, like an organ volume pedal). I've had my car for a year now and it still feels a little strange to me.

I'm not really conscious of having to lift instead of pivoting my foot. I have pretty big paws and recall having to lift and move my foot in my last car, a Subaru Forester.
 
I haven't noticed this much in the CX5, as it's pretty similar to the other cars I usually get to drive (Prius, MPV, Miata, Accord). So the pedal "offset" differences aren't really abnormal.

However, any GM truck or car have HUGE pedal offsets. It's super annoying because I have to usually move my whole leg to go back and forth between the gas and brake. It poses a pretty scary safety situation, as when it's time to brake and you don't remember to lift your leg back enough, you just jam the side of your foot into the side of the brake pedal and have a delayed reaction to finally being able to apply the brakes.

At least with the CX5, it's not an excessive offset difference, to where I have to move my whole leg. Movements are all isolated to the ankle.
 
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I haven't noticed any offset myself, although now I'm going to pay more attention to it just to see. I usually pivot on my heel between the gas and brake, so that may mask any subtle differences in height.
 
Mister Bleu said:
Funny you should refer to it as "organ-type".

The CX-5 is the first vehicle I've owned that's hinged at the bottom (yep, like an organ volume pedal). I've had my car for a year now and it still feels a little strange to me.

I'm not really conscious of having to lift instead of pivoting my foot. I have pretty big paws and recall having to lift and move my foot in my last car, a Subaru Forester.
Click to expand...

It's not me calling it, its Mazda :)
http://www2.mazda.com/en/technology/safety/zero_safety/organ.html

Since they chose the organ type pedal for Accelerator, why didn't they do the same for Brake pedal as well? Both pedals feel different to operate because they are hinged differently. Just curious.
 
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deepfriedsushi said:
I haven't noticed this much in the CX5, as it's pretty similar to the other cars I usually get to drive (Prius, MPV, Miata, Accord). So the pedal "offset" differences aren't really abnormal.

However, any GM truck or car have HUGE pedal offsets. It's super annoying because I have to usually move my whole leg to go back and forth between the gas and brake. It poses a pretty scary safety situation, as when it's time to brake and you don't remember to lift your leg back enough, you just jam the side of your foot into the side of the brake pedal and have a delayed reaction to finally being able to apply the brakes.

At least with the CX5, it's not an excessive offset difference, to where I have to move my whole leg. Movements are all isolated to the ankle.
Click to expand...

This is exactly my problem with CX-5. I keep hitting the side of brake pedal every time I try to brake.

Are the pedals in your CX-5 aligned (no offset)?
 
The organ type pedal is old school. For a history lesson the first gas petal to "float" was the 65 Mustang. Up to that time they were all organ type that I can remember.
 
Mister Bleu said:
Funny you should refer to it as "organ-type".

The CX-5 is the first vehicle I've owned that's hinged at the bottom (yep, like an organ volume pedal)....
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm showing my age: this is like all cars USED to be. I thought it very novel when I got my first car with an accelerator that hinged from above and it started my obsession with making sure my floor mats didn't slide under the accelerator else I lose vital throttle authority when I wanted it most! LOL
 
arunka007 said:
This is exactly my problem with CX-5. I keep hitting the side of brake pedal every time I try to brake.

Are the pedals in your CX-5 aligned (no offset)?
Click to expand...

I just checked and the pedals are about 1.5in offset from each other. To me, the offset is small enough to where I can keep my heel on the floor and only move my ankle to comfortably operate both pedals, so it's not a problem. Other cars may have different offsets, but the biggest factor is whether I have to move my heel or not, which is usually not the case.

GM cars have a pedal offset to where I cannot keep my heel in the same position when going back and forth between the gas and brake.
 
Yep, they are definitely offset. Funny, I never noticed, but I think with my driving style the height difference does not affect me. I'd be nice if the pedals were adjustable, but $$$.


...sent...
 
It's clown shoes, but this isn't the kind of vehicle where heel-toe matters so much, so I guess Mazda gets a pass.
 
Is there an easy way to adjust the brake pedal height to be in line with the accelerator pedal without compromising the braking in anyway?
 
arunka007 said:
Is there an easy way to adjust the brake pedal height to be in line with the accelerator pedal without compromising the braking in anyway?
Click to expand...

They don't have any adjustment and I don't recall seeing any car that did although I wouldn't be surprised if adjustable pedals existed on some type of mainstream brake system in the past.
I've never paid too much attention to the exact placement of gas/brake/clutch pedals because, even if it feels "funny" at first, a normal human body has an uncanny ability to adapt. Before you know it, it's the new normal. I recall cars that it seemed had impossibly tight placement of the pedals for my size 13 shoes causing unintended application of the brake or accelerator at first but within three or four drives the problem magically vanished.

I imagine the brake is placed closer to "protect" the accelerator and reduce instances of people driving through buildings because they thought they were hitting the brake. This type of instance is all too common.
 
MikeM. said:
I imagine the brake is placed closer to "protect" the accelerator and reduce instances of people driving through buildings because they thought they were hitting the brake. This type of instance is all too common.
Click to expand...

This makes sense and sounds like it might reduce instances of people accidentally hitting the accelerator pedal. On the other hand, this forces you to lift-and-shift your foot from accelerator pedal to use the brake pedal (instead of pivoting it), potentially causing slightly delayed braking.

Delayed braking is safer than unintended acceleration I guess!
 
MikeM. said:
They don't have any adjustment and I don't recall seeing any car that did although I wouldn't be surprised if adjustable pedals existed on some type of mainstream brake system in the past.
Click to expand...

I'm quoting myself to demonstrate how bad my recollection can be.

As I was delivering a load of firewood to my cabin last week in my Ford F-150, I remembered my truck not only has an adjustable brake pedal but it is electrically adjustable and can be done while driving down the road, warnings in the manual to the contrary notwithstanding.

However, the brake pedal adjusts in conjunction with the accelerator pedal so the height relationship between the two always remains consistent, with the brake pedal 3" closer to the driver than the accelerator. This tells me the height relationship between the two is likely considered an important safety consideration.

My CX-5 has about a 2" differential as does my 2000 Volvo, I believe the brake is ALWAYS closer to the driver than the accelerator. This is normal.
 
Thanks for the info.

I never noticed it in any of my cars till now and I was able to pivot on my heel in all of those cars. Just can't do it on the CX-5. Maybe the offset is more in CX-5 than other cars.
 
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