The motor vehicle maker, Mazda, has issued a recall for more than 300,000 of their vehicles. The more than 300,000 vehicles have been recalled after the discovery of a problem with the parking brake.
The parking brake on the recalled vehicles may not fully release and could also fail to hold vehicles resulting in the increased likelihood of an automobile accident. The malfunctioning of the parking brake is caused when water gets into the brake caliper and causes a shaft to corrode and bind. If the shaft corrodes and binds the parking brake has the potential to get stuck in a position and or fail to fully engage. This can cause vehicles to roll when they are parked, especially if they are on a slope.
Mazda has said that the parking brake issue only affects cars with a hand-operated parking brake lever system. The cars included in the recall are certain Mazda 6 cars with model years of 2014 and 2015 and certain Mazda 3 cars with model years 2014-2016. As of February 2017, Mazda has received 13 reports of drivers experiencing problems with the parking brake.
Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified beginning August 21st. If you own one of the recalled vehicles, you can take it to a dealership where they will check to see if the brake shafts are corroded. If the shafts are corroded, they will replace the calipers. If the brake shafts are not corroded they will place a boot to ensure that water stays out.
What do you think of this recall?