2009 Mazda5 Brake pedal goes to floor - Intermittent

jojopuppytoes

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2009 Mazda5
2009 Mazda5 Brake pedal goes to floor - Intermittent

First time it happened was when I was picking up the car from the Mazda dealer in the evening after they had closed over a year ago. No brake work was done during this service visit. Got in the car and started driving, brake pedal went all the way to the floor numerous times and consistently. Young kid who drove me to the remote lot to get the car also drove it and said it seemed like it didn't have any brake fluid. Left the car at the dealer, they looked at it the following day. The problem resolved itself and they could find nothing wrong. A few months later, it happened again while doing local driving, but only really went to the floor once; then somewhat inconsistent braking and then seemed to resolve. Same thing a few months later.

This past summer it started occurring on a more frequent basis. While doing local driving I would brake and the pedal would travel all the way to the floor. It might repeat a second time or not and then was generally a little inconsistent (in a way that probably only I could tell since I drive the car on a regular basis). I realized when this was happening that there was a whining or wheezing sound when I took my foot off the brake that would start after the occurrence of the first "pedal to the floor". At a red light sitting longer it would be a longer wheezing/whining sound compared to a stop sign which would produce a tiny whine. A few minutes or hours or days later, the whine would go away and the braking would feel normal. Every time I have tried to get it to the dealer while this was happening, it resolved before I got there. Since the pedal to the floor is a one (or on rare occasions two) time event, there is no way for me to get it to the dealer while it's doing it. It seems to currently be doing it on average every 2 weeks.

It is still under warranty (extended warranty). It has been to the Mazda dealer FOUR times for this issue: new Master Cylinder, new power booster and they have kept it and supposedly driven it trying to recreate the problem many days but have not been able to. Mazda has stated they will not cover any more work for this under warranty, since they are unable to re-create the problem.

Any ideas ?? (either mechanical or where to go with the problem with Mazda) ????
 
If the local dealer won't help go to mazda corporate. Does the car stop normally during all this? Sounds sort of like a poor bleeding job, possible aggravated by loose fittings. Has there been any fluid leakage during all this?
 
My old 2006 used to do that. I would bleed the lines and it would be good until I hit the brakes hard or ABS would activate, then it was back to pedal to floor. Bled again and was fine until the hard braking or ABS would kick in. Eventually it just started doing it randomly. Mazda replaced brake master and bled the lines and it was fine. My guess is that perhaps one of the parts they replaced was also already faulty. When they replaced my master cylinder they told me it was due to a slight rip internally on the diaphragm of the master where it would let air in the lines. I sold it shortly after that within two to three months so who knows if it really fixed the problem. You may want to research on Mazda3 apparently it is also a known problem.
 
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2009 Mazda5 Brake pedal goes to floor - Intermittent

Mazda has stated they will not cover any more work for this under warranty, since they are unable to re-create the problem.

Any ideas ?? (either mechanical or where to go with the problem with Mazda) ????

Wow, seems like Mazda is setting themselves up for a lot of liability in case you get into an accident. Was this the local dealer or the corporate office? Did you get it in writing? Seems like corporate would be more responsive to a safety issue as someone else mentioned. I assume you lose all braking power when the pedal goes to the floor. Good Luck.

Did some more research. Other postings seem to imply that it is related to the ABS system. See: http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/7819/brake-pedal-goes-all-the-way-to-floor-after-abs-was-activated, http://www.************.com/62-suspension-brakes/586314-brake-issue-after-abs-came-pedal-floor.html

So, the vibration is the ABS system? Maybe air in ABS? You might try activating the ABS system (brake real hard) and see if the problem re-occurs.

Did the dealer pull any codes? Do you have a code reader - does it show anything?
 
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If the local dealer won't help go to mazda corporate. Does the car stop normally during all this? Sounds sort of like a poor bleeding job, possible aggravated by loose fittings. Has there been any fluid leakage during all this?

The car does stop once the brake pedal gets to the floor.
Wouldn't the dealer know how to bleed correctly? They have done it a few times by now.
I don't see any leakage.
 
My old 2006 used to do that. I would bleed the lines and it would be good until I hit the brakes hard or ABS would activate, then it was back to pedal to floor. Bled again and was fine until the hard braking or ABS would kick in. Eventually it just started doing it randomly. Mazda replaced brake master and bled the lines and it was fine. My guess is that perhaps one of the parts they replaced was also already faulty. When they replaced my master cylinder they told me it was due to a slight rip internally on the diaphragm of the master where it would let air in the lines. I sold it shortly after that within two to three months so who knows if it really fixed the problem. You may want to research on Mazda3 apparently it is also a known problem.

Happened once after the ABS had kicked in; also happened once after hard braking. The rest of the times it seems unrelated to anything. I don't feel right selling this car to anybody.
 
I would suggest you get more forceful with the dealer/take it to corporate. DO NOT let them skate with the " it won't do it for us" BS i can assure you they won't be there for you if you get into an accident because of all this. Davicho' info would be good to pass on to their service manager as well
 
Happened once after the ABS had kicked in; also happened once after hard braking. The rest of the times it seems unrelated to anything. I don't feel right selling this car to anybody.

I didn't actually sell it to someone. I traded it in on my 2012 MZ5. I also agree that it does stop perfectly fine even if the pedal goes to the floor. It just doesn't feel right and it feels very scary every time you hit the brakes.
 
Has there ever been a conclusive solution to this intermittent brake-feel problem? I just replaced my 2006 with a 2007, put on brand new calipers, rotors and pads at all corners (yes, calipers, too, and of course a full brake fluid bleed), and the brake pedal doesn't "kick in" until the pedal is basically on the floor. Once it's there, it stops perfectly fine, but it's freaky until you acclimate to it. Does not feel like any other car I've ever driven.

Our old one had the intermittent brake feel, too. Some weeks, it would be so good: Nice firm pedal the second you step on it. Then you pull into a gravel lot, and the ABS kicks in, and the pedal is on the floor for another few days. May or may not return to "normal" after that. I've been in and out of my local mechanic, and the problem continues with this "new" 2007 model I picked up this week. This car has only 51K miles on it.

My mech says this is common in these models for some reason, but isn't sure why. Anyone in the 5 community figure this one out?
 
I just had the rear brakes completely replaced (rotors, callipers, and pads) on my 2008 Mazda 5. Before the replacement, I'd barely have to move the brake pedal and braking force would start in a linear fashion. Now, the brake pedal has A LOT of movement while doing little actual braking. You have to press it almost all the way to the floor (it feels like it anyways, but it's not actually to the floor) before meaningful braking occurs. It will stop, and it will kick in the ABS, but pedal movement is enormous now. Local mechanic is going to bleed the brakes again today. Hopefully that's all that's the problem. I've heard ABS equipped brakes are more difficult to bleed. Is this true?
 
Just got it back. My mechanic just re-bled the rear brakes. A few bubbles came out, but not much, he said. They must have been trapped somewhere. Anyways, the brakes are back to normal. :)
 
So what has been the answer to this brake issue? Ii have 2009 GT and am experiencing similar symptoms. Brake pedal seemed softerand had to press harder and lower when compared to other cars. Replaced brake fluid and had it checked but mechanic did not find anything wrong except that maybe the master cylinder needed to be replaced if the problem persists...
 
The abs module has a stuck open solenoid. Replace the abs module bleed system. ASE master tech. Have experienced this problem a few times.
 
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