CX-5 Parking brake malfunction
- Thread starter arunka007
- Start date
Hi everyone! Reviving this old thread (and also my first post)
My 2016 touring cx-5 is having the exact the same problem as the OP. It happens everytime on "cold start". I called up the dealer service dep. and they have asked me to bring in the vehicle tomorrow (Sat 5/4). I told them that it looks like a common problem to this model and that there have been mentions about the same on the community and also a relevant TSB. My VIN does fall in the VIN range mentioned on the TSB. They said they'll charge me $150 for a diagnostic (irrespective of a TSB) and only after that they'll be able to tell me the exact cost for the repairs.
This is the first time I am dealing with a dealer about repairs outside warranty. So my question is - is this normal for them to charge that amount for just a diagnostics? And what if they indeed come to conclusion that calipers need to be replaced? In that case is diagnostics charge included in the full repair?
Also, I called up mazda and told them the full thing and all the customer rep said to me was - since your vehicle is out of warranty, you'll have to get the repair done out of your pocket. (unless it's a drivetrain issue which it is not). So then how can I convince them to offload the cost of repair like the OP got.
Anybody know what the failure rate of the rear calipers are? Does it have to do with snow/salt, etc.? I've only seen it mentioned on this forum a couple times so I'm thinking it's not a big problem.
Would it make sense to have the calipers replaced when the back brakes are done. Is it expensive? I know Mazda wouldn't cover it since you would have to actually be experiencing the problem.
My VIN falls right at the beginning of the affected. Mine was purchased in April of 2015. So far no problems but I don't drive it much. Currently have 22,900 on Odometer.
Would it make sense to have the calipers replaced when the back brakes are done. Is it expensive? I know Mazda wouldn't cover it since you would have to actually be experiencing the problem.
My VIN falls right at the beginning of the affected. Mine was purchased in April of 2015. So far no problems but I don't drive it much. Currently have 22,900 on Odometer.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
I believe the failure rate with original rear brake calipers on 2016 CX-5 with EPB would be almost 100%. Read the TSB carefully, and you should know the ball and ramp has to be modified within the rear caliper as there's no other way to "improve the accuracy of screw threads". This problem has nothing to do with environment such as snow or salt, but purely the design issue on some internal EPB parts within the rear caliper. Some had argued that this problem wouldn't happen to every 2016 CX-5 but ended up they themselves also needed the TSB fix. Some had reported that their rear brake would suddenly lock up on the highway which is a very dangerous situation! This problem has been mentioned many times in this forum, and IMO it's a big problem since it's something related to brake system.
Ref. No. R052/16C said:
Faulty brakes are a serious business. Unfortunately, it usually takes a few bad accidents for a recall to happen. On top of that, there are dealers that aren't even aware of the problem which makes a bad diagnosis even more prevalent. I had to go back two times with TSB to even convince my Gold Cup dealer there was even a problem. I agree, a bad situation all around.
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Even though I'm out of mfgr. warranty by a year and I'm not experiencing the problem and since there's a TSB would Mazda be inclined to do the repair?
Do I have to wait for the brakes to lock-up? Would it be a free repair or would I be responsible for it?
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Your 2016 CX-5 has only 22,900 miles and the dragging problem on your EPB may not be easy to detect. I raised the issue with TSB to my Mazda dealer the last week before warranty expired. The service advisor was fully aware the TSB and put it down as one of the 10 issues on the ticket to check out. The tech initially said the rear brake looked fine. After I raised the issue to a master mechanic and asked him to check the EPB dragging based on the TSB. He eventually agreed there's some sign of dragging and approved the full service based on TSB under warranty.
Unfortunately the TSB is just an internal document helping the tech to resolve the problem. Once the warranty expired, Mazda has no obligation to offer free repair based on a TSB. In your situation there's not much you can do now. Even if you contact Mazda North American Operations but you have no obvious sign of problem to argue seeking for help. And I doubt most Mazda dealers would easily just tell their customers everything is normal unless you have obvious dragging sign or even lock-up situation on rear brake.
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- 2018 CX-5 Sport
The TSB says noisy brakes and rear wheel dragging. The problem the two other guys had was the control module failed. So just keep awareness of how your car rolls, brake noise, lower mpg, and rotor temperature if you have an IR thermometer. If they start dragging only then change the calipers but you will have to be the one to pay for them. Or, just don't use the emergency brake.
I really hate that manufacturers changed a cheap reliable parking brake system that never went wrong to a freakin mega expensive electronic parking brake. It is the opposite of KISS.
Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can get Mazda to do the roll test when I take it in for service in a couple months. Maybe get some piece of mind from that. I've been thinking of replacing current CX-5 with the turbo so maybe now I have a good excuse to do it.
Hopefully I don't replace one potential problem with another.
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- Cx5
I kind of doubt its a 100% failure rate. My 16.5 could have these calipers(cant read the date stamp). There are no signs of dragging at 33k miles. Ive checked with an IR thermometer and the inner and outer pads have similar wear.
That being said, the rear pads do need to be replaced because I live in the salty north east.
Me too. If it was 100% I'm sure this forum would be inundated with complaints, people swearing they'd never buy another Mazda, etc. It would be like the CR-V forum and oil dilution only worse.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
I said the same thing on LED DRLs on 2016 CX-5. So far there's only one member here claimed his factory ones haven't failed.
The EPB on 2016 CX-5 assembled before September 9, 2016 would have older version rear brake calipers. This is the design issue on certain internal parts. If you have bad design, the problem will come eventually in a matter of time. Again, Mazda had tried to resolve this issue with software by replacing the EPB control module to no avail. They had to redesign a couple of internal parts in rear brake caliper to truely resolve the issue which of course is costly.
Another thing is many 2016 CX-5 owners don't aware there's dragging issue caused by EPB until one day the rear brake locked up due to the heat caused by dragging. I've seen a couple of such reports here of course this's an extreme situation. As far as I know people here who have challenged my saying seemed to be all performed this TSB service eventually.
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- NE Indiana
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- '16 CX-5 GT FWD
Yes, and I am that one member that claims (and will swear to) that my 2016 DRL's haven't failed. And they still haven't.
Guess what? My EPB hasn't caused a bit of problems either. Build date of 05/15, 38,000 miles, almost 4 years old, but no issues (and no TSB service).
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- Cx5
My understanding is that its a tolerance issue, resulting in some units having the issue and some not. That understanding could be wrong.
The reports of calipers needing to be replaced that I have seen were vehicles with lower(under15k) miles. I would think that if it is a tolerance issue, its something that would become a problem early on.
Also, regarding the DRLs mine are still ok at 33k.Just another data point.
Curious, you guys that have no issues, do you use it everyday? I'm one that never uses a parking brake except on a steep hill, but when I saw this problem I started using it every day and the problem came forth. Smoked the rear brakes twice because they got jammed.
I've been using the parking brake diligently since purchased in April of 2015. Since reading the Parking Brake problems I stopped using it unless on a incline or hill.
No problems (yet).
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
No issues with the EPB.
My parents never had any troubles with theirs, and no problems here with mine.
Our parking brake is used whenever we place the vehicle in PARK. It has also been tested at speed, and on snow.
No issues to report as of 42k miles...
