2019 Mazda MAZDA3

To whom it may concern, I was on a back road late in the evening not far from home [XXX] and a small deer ran into the road. I needed to brake to avoid hitting the deer. After breaking, a Brake System Malfunction warning message and i-ACTIVESENSE System Malfunction warning illuminated on my dashboard. I brought the car to a Mazda dealership the next morning. The technician determined that the brake fluid level sensor became stuck, requiring replacement of the brake fluid reservoir and the brake fluid level sensor. What failed: The repairs include replacement of the Brake Fluid Reservoir and the Brake Fluid Level Sensor. This is the link to the dealer report [XXX] . No one other than the dealer has inspected these parts to my knowledge. There was no accident of any kind. I personally felt unsafe after these parts failing and reached out to Mazda Customer Care to request investigation of the issue. The case manager just called me back today to say they could not help me. Mazda has denied warranty coverage, claiming the parts are not covered. However, I really do feel this is a critical safety system component that failed after normal emergency use with no collision or impact. Why I feel this is a safety concern: - The brake warning system became unreliable after a single emergency stop. - My car only has 42k miles and is in excellent condition and is fully dealer serviced. - A driver could lose the ability to receive proper brake system warnings if this failure occurs again. - A critical brake sensor should not fail under normal driving conditions, and its failure could lead to delayed driver response in an actual brake fluid loss scenario. It makes me worry for the future. For your consideration: I believe this represents a safety-related defect that should be investigated, as it affects the reliability of the brake system warning indicators in the 2019 Mazda 3. I appreciate your time and consideration. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I WAS ACCELERATING AFTER A TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND THERE WERE NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME WHEN THE CAR STARTED BRAKING AUTOMATICALLY AND CAME TO A FULL STOP. LUCKILY THE CAR BEHIND ME WAS ABLE TO STOP IN TIME BUT THERE WAS NO WARNING AND NO REASON. I COULD HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED. I PULLED OVER AND CHECKED THE TWO SENSORS AND NEITHER ONE WAS BLOCKED (IT HAD SNOWED HERE RECENTLY). I'M HONESTLY SCARED THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN AND MAZDA IS SAYING THERE ARE NO OPEN RECALLS ABOUT THIS FOR MY CAR AND THAT THE CAR IS FINE.

WITHOUT CAUSE: THE VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY DETECT THE PRESENCE OF ANOTHER VEHICLE AND/OR SENSE AN IMMINENT COLLISION AND SUBSEQUENTLY APPLIES THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM, CAUSING THE VEHICLE SPEED TO SUDDENLY DECREASE. THIS HAS HAPPENED REPEATEDLY OVER THE COURSE OF DRIVING THE CAR AND RESULTED IN BEING ALMOST REAR ENDED NUMEROUS TIMES. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SCENARIO AND COULD EASILY CAUSE A SEVERE ACCIDENT, ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAY WHEN EVERYONE AROUND IS GOING REALLY FAST AND NEEDS MORE TIME TO REACT TO THE SUDDEN AND SHARP SLOWING DOWN OF MY VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENS IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS, FREEWAY, HIGHWAY, OR IN THE CITY. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP NUMEROUS TIMES TO HAVE THIS FIXED, BUT GET A DIFFERENT ANSWER EVERY TIME I TAKE IT IN. BUT THE PROBLEM REMAINS UNRESOLVED AND CONTINUES TO PLACE ME, MY PASSENGERS, OTHER DRIVERS, AND EVEN PEDESTRIANS IN HARMS WAY.

THE SMART BRAKE SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING. THE CAR SLAMS ON ITS BRAKES FOR NO REASON. NO VEHICLE IS AHEAD OF ME. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN THIS OCCURS AND I HAVEN'T BEEN REAR ENDED YET. IT'S HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE AND AFTER I COMPLETED THE RECALL. THE CONDITION IS WORSE WHEN IT'S RAINING. THE CAR HAS BEEN AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR OVER 30 DAYS UNABLE TO REPAIR.

I WAS TRAVELING EAST BOUND ON THE 10 FWY AT ABOUT 50 MPH BETWEEN THE EXITS TOWN AND INDIAN HILL WITH INDIAN HILL EXIT AT 1 MILES AWAY AND I WAS CHANGING LANES SO THAT I COULD EXIT ON INDIAN HILL THERE WAS A TRUCK THAT WAS AT THE INDIAN HILL EXIT PUTTING IT IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE 1 MILES AWAY THERE WAS A CAR THAT WAS BEHIND ME AT APPROXIMATELY MILES AWAY. JUST AFTER I CHANGED LANES THE CAR WENT INTO AN EMERGENCY STOP AND THEN STALLED ALMOST CAUSING THE CAR THAT WAS BEHIND ME TO COME CLOSE TO REAR ENDING ME THIS IS MY SECOND COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS ISSUE (NHTSA COMPLAINT #11219653) BUT WAS THE THIRD TIME THAT I HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE. THE SECOND TIME I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE ON FEB 27, 2020 10:00:00 AM

I DRIVING UPHILL ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET. AS I STARTED TO SLOW TO TURN THE SMART BRAKE SUPPORT FLASHED BRAKE ON MY DASH AND IMMEDIATELY ENGAGED THE BRAKES AND STOPPED THE CAR. THE ROAD HAD A VERY SLIGHT CURVE WITH A FEW CARS PARKED. THERE WERE NO OTHER MOVING VEHICLES IN THE AREA. IF A CAR HAD BEEN BEHIND ME IT WOULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THE SYSTEM HAS GIVEN FALSE WARNINGS A LOT BUT THIS WAS THIS FIRST TIME THAT IT STOPPED THE CAR. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 2 DAYS LATER AND THEY TESTED THE CAR AND SAID IT IS WORKING NORMALLY.

THESE ISSUES BEEN HAPPENING SINCE THE SECOND MONTH I OWNED MY 2019 MAZDA 3 HATCHBACK. 1- SUSPENSIONS, THEY'RE VERY ROUGH & HARSH., THEY BOUNCE SO MUCH FOR NO REASON, I DAMAGED ONE TIRE ALREADY WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON I476 NORMAL HIGHWAY WHERE I STEPPED ON NORMAL POTHOLE ENDED UP DAMAGING MY TIRE, SUSPENSIONS ARE REALLY DANGERS ON ALL ROADS. 2- "ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL" THIS FEATURE MANY TIMES ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, REAR END SPECIALLY ON HIGHWAYS. FOR SOME REASON IT DOESN'T DETECT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WHEN I HAVE AUTO CRUISE ENABLED, NO RAIN CLEAR WEATHER, THIS BEEN REPORTED MORE THAN 5 TIMES TO THE DEALERSHIP & ITS HARD FOR THEM TO TELL WHAT HAPPEN. THEY EVEN HAD SPECIALIST CAME FROM CA TO CHECK UP THE CAR HOWEVER IT WAS DECLARED THE CAR HAS NO ISSUES, YET I STILL HAVE ISSUES EVERY DAY, S 3- EMERGENCY BREAKING, SOMETIMES IT ENABLES FOR NO REASON & THE CARS BEHIND ME ALMOST REAR ENDED ME, THEY THINK I DID BREAK CHECK BUT I DON'T THE BRAKES! 4- PERUZZI MAZDA, WHERE I PURCHASED MY CAR, SAID THEY WILL NEVER WORK ON MY CAR AGAIN BECAUSE "IT WASTED ENOUGH OF THEIR TIME". I HAVE VIDEO OF ME PICKING UP THE CAR FROM PERUZZI MAZDA, DEALERSHIP & IT WON'T START UP OUT SIDE THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT & I CALLED THE MANAGER & HE SAID LEAVE FOR NEXT DAY, HE CALLED ME DAY AFTER SAYING IT WAS MY IPHONE CHARGER... I ASKED HIM HOW THE TECH WAS ABLE TO BRING IT OUTSIDE TO THE FRONT DOOR WITHOUT NO ISSUES? HE REFUSED TO ANSWER. I WORK AT A HOSPITAL & I DAILY MY CAR TO WORK, ITS NOT SAFE FOR ME OR TO ANYONE ON THE ROAD TO DRIVE IT AT ALL. *TR

VEHICLE IS 2 MONTHS OLD AND THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING IS GOING OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET WITH NO CARS AROUND. TODAY IT WENT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AND LUCKILY THE DRIVER BEHIND ME WAS PAYING ATTENTION. I CALLED THE DEALER TO ASK ABOUT SERVICING THE RECALL AND THEY SAID THEY DID NOT HAVE A SOLUTION. WHEN I TOLD THEM I ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED. THEIR RESPONSE WAS THANK GOODNESS YOU DIDN'T AND IF THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE THEY COULD HELP ME WITH. ZERO OFFERS TO HELP OR CONCERN FOR AN OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE.

I WAS DRIVING ON US ONE BETWEEN FT. PIERCE AND VERO BEACH, JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, 2019. THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC IN FRONT OR BESIDES ME, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE CARS APPROACHING FROM THE REAR. THE CAR SUDDENLY VIOLENTLY SHOOK AND CAME TO AN IMMEDIATE STOP. I TRIED TO START IT, AND NOTHING HAPPENED. I COULD SEE CARS COMING UP BEHIND ME AND KNEW I COULD EASILY BE HIT FROM THE REAR. THANKFULLY THEY SAW I WASN'T MOVING, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO MOVE TO THE OTHER LANE. AFTER 5 OR 6 ATTEMPTS, I FINALLY GOT THE CAR STARTED AND PULLED OFF THE ROAD. I HAD NOT HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND THOUGHT PERHAPS I HAD CAUSED THE SITUATION. I DID NOT REPORT IT AT THAT TIME AS I DID NOT CONSIDER IT COULD BE A DEFECT. I NOW KNOW THAT IT IS.