Vehicle brakes lighting dim while coming to a stop and can not be seen from other vehicles approaching from behind on the road. When not replaced, stop light will run continually or not function, potentially causing premature bulb failure, safety issues and/or the transmission will not shift out of park. A failed stoplight switch will prevent the brake light from illuminating when the brake pedal is applied that may cause a collision and a life lost.

- Chicago Ridge, IL, USA

Same braking problem for which Mazda issued an extended warranty in April of 2014, where Mazda knows they have a defective part impacting the quality of braking, in which under pressure would generate a hissing noise and loss of braking power, extreme difficulty pushing the brake pedal (and complete loss of braking ability). Our incident occurred while traveling on interstate 10 at speeds exceeding 60 mph and traffic slowing. As I attempted to brake to decrease speed with slowing traffic I realized the car was not slowing and I had no option but to quickly swerve to the shoulder to avoid making contact with the slowing cars in the lane. The problem continued and I immediately contacted my Mazda dealership who recommended I immediately bring the car for service. Mazda obviously knows there is an serious issue as well as the NHTSA (why aren't they forcing Mazda to announce an immediate recall vs. Allowing an extended warranty?). I could easily see how this issue could lead to a critical accident or fatality. Come on NHTSA wake up... how about we sue you as not taking ownership and protecting public safety for known issues" why place all the burden on the manufacturer" what even frustrates me further... when the car was brought in to be serviced, they don't even have the parts available.

- Redlands, CA, USA

My brakes basically failed! when I was driving, I tried to apply my brakes and I could tell right away something was wrong. The car had a lot of trouble stopping and I was afraid it wouldn't stop. The brakes felt very hard and I had to apply a lot of pressure to them to get the car to stop. I had to almost stand on the brakes to get them to work. When I called my mechanic he said it sounded like the brake booster failed which apparently is very common in this make and model of car. I almost hit a car when this happened and it was very dangerous and quite scary! it was also very expensive to fix, but would have been a lot worse if I had hit something.

- San Diego, CA, USA

I was driving around town and attempted to brake. I noticed that there was a odd pressure that was not allowing me to brake properly. I had to push hard in order to feel my car slowing down. After I pushed past the pressure, the brake pedal was able to push down normally to a full stop. It has done this every time I have used the brake since. It is now getting much worse and becoming increasingly harder to push the brake down to get the car to stop. As I was parking in my garage I was almost unable to stop in time so that I didn't hit the back wall of the garage. The brake pedal when pressed completely to the floor makes a squealing noise. I have parked the car in the garage and do not plan on driving it until I can get it looked at. As I said, it is getting worse every time I drive it and I believe my safety is compromised when driving this vehicle in this condition.

- Norwalk, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Mazda Cx-9. the contact stated that the brakes failed intermittently. The contact mentioned that he had to apply force in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000. Updated 8/28/14 the consumer stated the dealer repaired the vehicle. Updated 09/15/2014

- Leland, NC, USA

Brake pedal would not depress. Car hit another vehicle that was stopped and it hit another vehicle. The Mazda never even slowed before hitting the stopped vehicle. My wife was driving and she has had this issue before but it was intermittent and we could not get it to act up to bring it to the dealer. The 3rd car involved I do not have a status of. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Sulphur, LA, USA

Vehicle did not stop (just like slide) when applying the brake. Needed to apply the brake pedal several times to stop the vehicle.

- Richardson, TX, USA

The contact owns on a 2010 Mazda Cx-9. the contact stated that while driving at 10 mph, the brake pedal became stuck to the floorboard and made an abnormal noise while the contact was attempting to stop. The contact was able to release the brake pedal and stop the vehicle by depressing the brake pedal several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 94,057.

- Cordova, TN, USA

I filed a complaint through Mazda in 2012 and it didn't go anywhere. I saw an article in usa today, regarding my vehicle stating that an investigation was started due to 7 reported incidents on brake failures which resembled my experience. I am now sharing my story as it could have resulted in serious injury. I was approaching an intersection and applied the brake but the car did not slow down, I pushed the brake all the way to the floor and the wheels squealed but the car did not slow. I let up on the brake and reapplied and that is when the car began to slow down. But, it was too late. I hit the car in front of me and launched it into the middle of the intersection. Thankfully, the light had just changed and the cross traffic was at a stop. When the police arrived, they noticed one skid mark on the driver side only which was around 200 yards. About 4 feet prior to impact, there were two skid marks, one on each side of the vehicle. They said that they had never seen anything like it and that I should take it to an independant person to get the brakes checked out. I have photos of this and sent all of the documentation sent to the insurance company and to Mazda. I felt neither believed me and was very diappointed in Mazda's response. Eventially, I gave up. We actually were going to sell the vehicle as I didn't feel comfortable driving it. However, after all of the responses I was getting about what I described as impossible with anti lock breaks or that it was a result of "panic breaking", I second guessed myself and we still have the vehicle. On a separate occassion 2-4 weeks prior to the accident on May 15, my husband was driving very slowly in a residential area and when he applied the brake, the car initially did not stop until reapplying. He rolled part way into the intersection. I was with him when this occurred.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

The vehicle stalls when idling at a stop light or in a drive thru. The vehicles motor begins to shake and then eventually dies and stalls out and the vehicle must be started again with the turn of the ignition. The braking system is also defective. When at a stop light and your foot is on the brake pedal. The pedal suddenly sinks as if the brake fluid in the master cylinder has drained fully and the brake pedal sinks all the way to the floor and the vehicle shoots forward even if your foot is on the brake. Another problem is in the power door lock system. There has been a time when the power door lock was stuck and the rear right door could not be shut. I had to drive the car to the dealership with the car door flopping all over the place. They were able to fix it at the dealership but could not figure out how it occurred. They were as puzzled as I was. The car was bought back in 2010 brand new from the Mazda dealership. The reviews were good for the vehicle. Its the first Mazda we purchased and is probably going to be the last.

- Indio, CA, USA

I was driving around a sharp bend in the road. I pushed down on the brake peddle to slow down and the car kept accelerating at the same speed. The car never slowed down and I had to take the corner at a unsafe speed. I drove to the next street and tested the brakes and they worked fine? very scary incident.

- Galloway, NJ, USA

The contact owns on a 2010 Mazda CX9. The contact stated that the brake pedal became stuck to the floorboard and made a strange noise while attempting to stop. The contact was able to release the brake pedal and brought the vehicle to a stop by depressing the brake pedal several times. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic for further inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 51,000.

- Orangeburg, NY, USA

I noticed a hissing sound when pressing the brake pedal today 3/20/2014 and loss of brake pressure. I notified the dealer and they promptly told me to bring it in right away to be looked at. I did however a google search for Mazda CX9 brake issue and notice there are 7 other incidents with Cx-9 brake issue explaining the same symptoms. "the NHTSA complaints say that the problem causes a hard pedal, increased braking effort and reduced braking effectiveness. Some complaints allege that they hear a hissing noise during braking similar to the sound of air leaving the tires. No injuries or crashes have been reported." I showed the dealership the google search from the internet...pertaining to 2010 Cx-9 brake issues. Mazda dealer sounds like they are aware of the problem...and should be taking proactive corrective measures to fix this problem.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Several weeks ago the brakes started making a hissing noise when I would depress the brake. Then, the car would brake as usual until I needed to come to a complete stop, whereas then I would need to depress the brake very hard to make the car stop, which then it would stop very suddenly. The most recent event occurred when my husband was driving down the road about 45 mph and had hit the brakes and the engine completely shut off, all the warning lights came on and it was very difficult for my husband to pull the car over and come to a stop. The engine did start back up and we drove all the way home and have not since driven the vehicle.

- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

Vehicle makes a hissing sound (heard inside the vehicle) when depressing the brake pedal. Sounds like an air leak. Occasionally the pedal will go hard as if power assisted braking feature is lost. Very dangerous situation! vehicle taken to dealer today (02/24/14) and was told replacement brake booster is required.

- Spring, TX, USA

Driving in snowy conditions; brakes failed twice when I applied light pressure. First time, the brakes shuddered, but the car finally stopped after I applied hard pressure; the second time it happened, the brakes shuddered, and nothing happened when I first applied harder pressure. Eventually the car skidded, but it was too late.

- North Andover, MA, USA

Driving, had my 2 year old son and 7 year old daughter in the car, a car slowed in front of me and when I pushed the brakes they felt hard as a rock and the car would not stop. Slowed down at a very slow pace while pushing on the brakes as hard as I could. I practically had to stand up. I was horrified. My brakes continue to do this. Sometimes they feel very hard and sometimes they push down but sound as if air is leaking out. I am taking the car in tomorrow to see what is going on. Obviously something is wrong, but there are no warning lights on or anything. I looked for recalls on the brakes and have found nothing. I have found others have had the same issue and hope that there is a recall before someone gets hurt or even killed. This was a very scary experience.....my children and I were fortunate I was able to go into the other lane without crashing.

- Moore , OK, USA

While driving my 2010 Mazda Cx-9 approximately 65mph on interstate 270S in Maryland, I pressed the gas pedal to accelerate in an attempt to pass several vehicles who were traveling in the right hand lane. Once I felt that I had enough additional speed to successfully pass the vehicles, I released the gas pedal and noted that the car continued to accelerate. I attempted to apply my brakes, but they would not slow the vehicle. After several unsuccessful attempts to apply my brakes, I searched for a safe place to continue traveling as my vehicle continued to accelerate, noting I would need to shift into neutral and move into the median. Luckily, after numerous repeated attempts, my brakes finally engaged and slowed the vehicle. I feel this is a manufacturer's defect that could ultimately lead to a fatality. I am too scared to drive the vehicle at this point in time.

- Frederick, MD, USA

Brakes would not work as usual. After "stomping" on brake, car continued to move for several feet. There were no warning lights of brake failure whatsoever. Took vehicle to dealer to be informed the master cylinder and brake power booster were out and the car was dangerous to drive. Very glad nobody got hurt. Couple issues: This brake failure is fairly widespread with this make/model/year as I've found from research. Why is there no recall" there's not even a technical advisory from Mazda about this serious threat to drivers of this car. Does somebody have to get hurt first" second, I get that parts go bad - but on something as important as the brake system, the car should sound some sort of alarm, light a dummy light....something to tell the driver to stop driving the car as they are in imminent danger. To not address at least this second issues is neglectful of Mazda and the ntsb. To not address the mechanical failures by way of recall is also extremely negligent.

- Denver, CO, USA

This individual brought the car in to the dealer complaining of high pitched squeaking sound from brakes. Dealership checked brakes and said nothing wrong. Picked up car next day and felt that car not riding well and let it sit in driveway for 2 days. Went to drive again and pedal was "hard" as if it was on the floor. Then whenever I pressed on the pedal, I heard a hissing sound as if air was letting out of tires. Car response for slowing to a stop much longer. Called dealer asap and arranged to drop car off that night. Dealer called next day to say good thing we dropped car off night before as there was little to no brakes left due to power booster failure. How was it that I could tell brakes were going but dealer could not? this is a leased car. 10 weeks left on lease. Past warranty. $800 repair. Clearly Mazda is having an issue with the 2010 Cx-9 power booster due to the number of complaints lodged on this site. The service department for the dealer worked very hard on my behalf and was able to get Mazda to cover most of the repair, the dealer picked up another $200 and I had to pay $100. Fair I guess but since this is a serious issue Mazda should recall the cars and do the fix for free.

- Irvine, CA, USA