Was wondering how the parking brake is adjusted. I took it to a local mechanic and he told me that it was self adjusting and just pull up and let down serveral times and that it should tighten up automatically. I have dopne this about 50 times now and the parking brakes still do not seems to work the way they should. Is there something else that i can do, other than take it to a dealer $$$$$....

 

The rear brakes are self adjusting but not the parking brake lever. Parking brake should remain in good adjustment unless the rear brake shoes are not self adjusting correctly. To adjust just the parking brake lever, remove the trim around the parking brake and rotate the 10mm nut on the end of the parking brake cable as shown below. Correct adjustment is five to seven clicks to hld the vehicle.

[IMG]local://upfiles/1377/AFC717BFFEAF44A4A3770A8549F2770F.gif[/IMG]

 

The rear brakes are self adjusting but not the parking brake lever. Parking brake should remain in good adjustment unless the rear brake shoes are not self adjusting correctly. To adjust just the parking brake lever, remove the trim around the parking brake and rotate the 10mm nut on the end of the parking brake cable as shown below. Correct adjustment is five to seven clicks to hld the vehicle.

[IMG]local://upfiles/1377/AFC717BFFEAF44A4A3770A8549F2770F.gif[/IMG]

 

2004 MPV has4 wheel disc brake and a tiny drum brake inside the rear rotor for parking brake. You need to adjust the drum brake manually. There is an access hole on the rotor covered by a rubber plug. If you are not sure which way to turn the adjusting wheel you may have to remove the rotor the first time.

 

I’ve searched high and low on the internet, and basically found nothing on how to adjust the parking / emergency brakes on my 2004 Mazda MPV with the “hybrid� rear disk brakes / drum parking brakes. The previous post by jmjmn was actually the most useful and accurate info I found – but it needed a little more detail.

Here’s my story. I noticed that I had to pull my parking brake lever to the maximum, and even still, it didn’t completely hold the van on a steep hill. Another thing I noticed, when using the brake lever as an emergency brake, the brakes would make a big CLUNK when engaging.

I took my MPV to a local garage to diagnose. Basically, they had never seen this hybrid technology. ME EITHER. I never knew there was such a thing. They took the rotor off of and low and behold, dual braking system – disc and drums - wow. Anyways, they didn’t know what to do, so they told me to go to the dealer.

While having the rotor pulled off, I noticed an adjuster screw that’s common on drum brakes – looked like it’s never been adjusted. But both me and the mechanic didn’t want to do anything since we weren’t familiar with the technology. With the old, self adjusting drum brakes, all you had to do was backup the car, and step on the brake to self adjust – these brakes didn’t. I also noticed very little wear on the pad – they had plenty of life left (I have 50,000 miles – btw, I’ve never changed the front or rear disc brake pads and they’ve got pleny of life left too). Another thing interesting, it had a one piece circular brake pad instead of two pieces.

I went to a MAZDA dealer, paid them $45 to inspect and adjust the parking brake. HOWEVER, all they did was adjust the parking brake LEVER. Even I could have done that!!! They told me the nasty CLUNK was normal, and adjusting the LEVER was the normal procedure. Fine, as long as the car is safe, fine. BUT, is that really how you are suppose to adjust?

So, I go home and do more research on the net. Found a couple of informative sites – one has to do with a Lexus/Toyota training manual, and the other from Autozone. Since Toyota appears to have the same technology, the braking system should work the same as the 2004 Mazda MPV.
https://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/13/fa/52/0900823d8013fa52/repairInfoPages.htm#hd1-1-2 this actually shows how to adjust the parking brake.
http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake06.pdf see page 7 (aka page 64).

So, from the previous post from jmjmn, with additional info from my experience, here’s how I believe how to properly adjust the rear parking brakes on a 2004 (I assume it’s the same for 05 and 06) Mazda MPV.

>>>>>from jmjmn - 2004 MPV has4 wheel disc brake and a tiny drum brake inside the rear rotor for parking brake. You need to adjust the drum brake manually. There is an access hole on the rotor covered by a rubber plug. If you are not sure which way to turn the adjusting wheel you may have to remove the rotor the first time.<<<<<

NOTE – to repeat, the parking brakes need to be MANUALLY adjusted. 1. the wheel does NOT have to be removed as the rubber plug is right there in front of you (though it might be easier). 2. The adjuster screw/cog/ring is near the bottom, so you have to rotate the plug to the bottom until you see it. 3. Raising the vehicle so that the rear wheel is free spinning would make things easier. 4. (from the Toyota Camry instructions) As you make the adjustment, adjust until the wheels stop free spinning. Then, loosen 8 notches so it free spins again (I have no idea how much a notch is). Do on both wheels. That should be it.

I still can’t believe that even the “experts� at the dealer didn’t adjust it this way! (actually, I’m not surprised – they’ve screwed up in the past).
And, it’s so hard to find info on this hybrid dual rear brake technology.
Also, since I haven’t tried the “proper� method of adjusting the handbrakes, is there a difference between adjusting the brake lever vs directly at the brake drums – does it accomplish the same thing?? And is the nasty CLUNK normal or not?

As with anything you see on the net, don’t blame me if anything goes wrong. You are responsible for your own actions. I’m just sharing my experience and research. August 2008.

2004 Mazda MPV parking brake adjustment

 

some pictures

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[IMG]local://upfiles/18238/CF9B747EA5544B54BE35D3332A51C60B.jpg[/IMG]

 

Thanks , this really solved my problem.

 

Would this be the same on a 2001 MPV?

 

I have a 2006 MPV. I adjusted the ebrake drums within the rear rotors by lifting the e-brake handle 3 clicks then adjusting the wheel that's behind the hole (covered by a rubber plug) in the rotor. Adjusted one side so the wheel didn't spin. Adjusted the other side so it was hard to spin (not as tight as the previous side).
The e-brake handle still had too much movement. At max pull up, the e-brakes weren't holding the car on my driveway).
I took apart the e-brake handle assembly and there's a 10mm nut screwed onto a long bolt (you can see it looking above the e-brake). I kept tightening the nut (clockwise) but there's still too much movement. Do I just keep tightening? I'm worried if I try tightening too much, I'll break something.

 

I figured out the problem with my 2006 MPV. Turns out the star wheel gear that screws into a shaft was frozen to it's smallest (i.e. pushed in) position. I bought a from Amazon and replaced the gear and shaft so now the shaft freely pushes out and I can adjust the drum pads used for the emergency brake.
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