Mazda 3 brake problem
July-18th-2012, 04:54 AM
#1
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Mazda 3 brake problem
I have a 2004 Mazda 3 2.0 manual. I am having issues with the braking system. My pedal is very spongy and goes to the stop but if I double pump it it is a good pedal. I am a mechanic myself but I can't worked out whats going on. I have replaced theaster cylinder, stripped the calipers and inspected them. Bleed the brakes a few times. Even when I block off all the lines the pedal is still not good. It also makes a really quiet whistling noise when you release the brakes. If you have had a similar problem or have any ideas please help.
July-18th-2012, 11:47 AM
#2
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spongy brakes = air in the lines, though if it's gotten worse over time it could be the rubber hoses going to each wheel getting soft.
Bleeding the brakes may not be enough, as if air got in at any time it could need to be flushed through the system. Also remember that the clutch uses the same fluid resivoir, so if that was letting air in it could be a problem too - though I doubt that's the case.
The whistling could be the brake booster, can you hear where it's coming from? You should be able to do that with the engine off to see if it's the mechanical stuff or part of the booster assembly.
Bleeding the brakes may not be enough, as if air got in at any time it could need to be flushed through the system. Also remember that the clutch uses the same fluid resivoir, so if that was letting air in it could be a problem too - though I doubt that's the case.
The whistling could be the brake booster, can you hear where it's coming from? You should be able to do that with the engine off to see if it's the mechanical stuff or part of the booster assembly.
September-6th-2012, 08:06 PM
#3
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I have a 2004 Mazda 3 2.0 manual. I am having issues with the braking system. My pedal is very spongy and goes to the stop but if I double pump it it is a good pedal. I am a mechanic myself but I can't worked out whats going on. I have replaced theaster cylinder, stripped the calipers and inspected them. Bleed the brakes a few times. Even when I block off all the lines the pedal is still not good. It also makes a really quiet whistling noise when you release the brakes. If you have had a similar problem or have any ideas please help.
November-26th-2013, 04:53 PM
#6
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Nikka1, I'm having the same exact problem with my 2006 mazda 3 automatic. The pedal initially feels fine, but as you slowly apply the brakes, it becomes spongy and ineffective, until it regains authority after about 1" of travel. So you replaced both the abs pump and brake booster and it fixed it? If so, can you describe what part I need to look for, I'm not too familiar with the ABS pump? Thanks!
December-12th-2013, 11:57 AM
#7
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Was anything done to the brakes recently? I was researching a problem where my pedal would go soft at an immediate brake creating a ABS event. What I read was that if work was done on your brakes the ABS may need to be reset. From my research on the net I read that if you take the car out and simulate about 5-6 ABS events, sudden hard breaking it should set the brakes back in and it should get hard again. Just a thought.
December-12th-2013, 03:11 PM
#8
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ABS Reset
Wildcard26, that was the exact fix for my problem. I had not had any brake work done recently, and the pedal sponginess really came out of nowhere; however, after replacing the master cylinder and the brake booster with no success, I went out and initiated quick stops at around 35mph to get the ABS to kick in, and after about the 4th initiation, the pedal felt like normal again, and has been working great since.
December-19th-2017, 08:45 PM
#9
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Was anything done to the brakes recently? I was researching a problem where my pedal would go soft at an immediate brake creating a ABS event. What I read was that if work was done on your brakes the ABS may need to be reset. From my research on the net I read that if you take the car out and simulate about 5-6 ABS events, sudden hard breaking it should set the brakes back in and it should get hard again. Just a thought.
December-19th-2017, 10:36 PM
#10
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Great to hear. Cheers!
July-15th-2018, 04:55 PM
#12
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Fixed it differently
Hi everyone, i had the same issue with my mazda3s 2010 this week, the breakes worked fine on my way to work, but when I arrived and parked the breaks didn’t respond as they used to, I thought the tires slipped in the parking lot cement... when i went back home that that afternoon I discovered the smushy breaks... they where down aprox 1 inch before starting to really break... in my way home I pumped the break repedily when I was on a full stop, doing that seemed to fix the issue, but went bad as soon as Instarted driving again... and after like 5 or 6 attempts they were fixed permanently... do you think It was air on the lines? Do you recommend to take it to the mechanic anyway?
July-6th-2019, 11:04 AM
#13
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flushing fluid worked, but my observation and theory...
I know this is an old thread, but perhaps my experience will reduce someone's confusion/stress/anxiety.
2004 Mazda3 S Manual transmission, but I had same symptom after replacing rear pads and pin sleeves.
Based on this thread, I tried the slamming on brakes 4 to 8 times to activate the ABS (which did not work) because I couldn't conceive that changing pads would effect the fluid!
However, flushing brake fluid did the trick.
My best guess is that in the horrible process of trying to twist and compress the piston, (where it didn't seem to be working right and I smacked it, tried to compress with a c-clamp slightly, and backed it out by turning counterclockwise) some air got into the system. Just insanity.
2004 Mazda3 S Manual transmission, but I had same symptom after replacing rear pads and pin sleeves.
Based on this thread, I tried the slamming on brakes 4 to 8 times to activate the ABS (which did not work) because I couldn't conceive that changing pads would effect the fluid!
However, flushing brake fluid did the trick.
My best guess is that in the horrible process of trying to twist and compress the piston, (where it didn't seem to be working right and I smacked it, tried to compress with a c-clamp slightly, and backed it out by turning counterclockwise) some air got into the system. Just insanity.
January-28th-2020, 07:10 PM
#14
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Many thanks to Wildcard26 and everybody contributed to this post
I was looking around for some ideas to fix up my 2007 Mazda 3 GT. Few mechanics told me different things but either way would cost me a fortune. then i wandered into this post....Brought car out for a few hard stop and i could feel The ABS were engaged. and then i feel the difference. Man never though it could be this easy to fix the weird spongy brake problem. I’ve been having this soft brake issue for a quite sometime but been lazy fixing it as the brake still works. Feels like life is beautiful again! Thanks a million!
Last edited by RayW; January-28th-2020 at 08:52 PM.
July-19th-2020, 07:33 PM
#15
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Same problem, stomping on brake doesn't help
I just bought my dtr a 2010 that has the same spongy brake problem. I tried trying to activate the ABS many times as mentioned but no change. Not only did it not fix it, but the ABS didn't work since at least 1 tire locked up and was skidding. So spongy brakes, no ABS, and no ABS warning light.
I see many complaints about this, and someone says there's even a TSB for it so obviously it's a manufacturing problem. but Mazda won't do **** without the customer paying about $2k. What the hell?
I see many complaints about this, and someone says there's even a TSB for it so obviously it's a manufacturing problem. but Mazda won't do **** without the customer paying about $2k. What the hell?
