Hello,

New to the Mazda family with a 2018 CX-5. This suv has 42,500 miles on it. Last night when pulling into my driveway, we got two warnings:

1. Smart Brake system Malfunction
2. Forward Smart City Brake Support Malfunction

It's going to the dealer in a few days for an open recall, but in the meantime is there any suggestions for me?

//Brew

 

Sometimes, especially when there is mist or humidity is high, I get this warning. Most likely the sensors/cameras get distracted.

 

The lights have come on/off for a few days in a row, but now are on constantly .....

The CX-5 is at the dealership for the PCM software recall.. They claim diagnosing the "brake" warnings above could take 5+ hours so they don't have time to do it today (ugh!)

I'm not holding my breath but I kinda hope whatever software updates they apply also addresses this issue!

//Brew

 

Did they give you a written $$$ estimate for this 'diagnosis' , or do you have an extended warranty which would (supposedly) cover this repair?

 

Unfortunately, no warranty and no quote... so far, she's driven it roughly 50-70 miles and no lights have come on since the PCM reprogramming for the recall...

 

They should have tried to read any codes and freeze frame information related to those brake messages, which may have been set, before they updated the ECM. Did they say anything about that? If not, I suggest asking them about it. And in any case, you would never want to allow them to do open ended diagnosis with no estimate provided. At probably over $100/hr, that would be a great way for them to empty your wallet.

If those messages do come back, even if you don't normally do DIY auto repair, I suggest going to an auto parts store or shop that has a scan tool capable of reading systems such as ABS, to find out for yourself what information is available from the computers relative to the issue(s). Then if additional information is read, you can at least try to do online research about what's been provided by the scan tool.

 

I'm going to wait for the codes/warnings to come back. Oddly enough, the weather was 95 degrees and very humid when the warnings came on.. Since the recall reprogramming, the temps are back in the low 60's to mid 70's.. Possibly related to the forward camera overheating.... Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it for sure and post any updates!

I do have a paid version of Toque Pro I use to pull codes off my other cars, so I'll assume it works with the Mazda as well.

//Brew