Right rear brake started grinding after just changing all the brakes and rotors the year prior (less than 15000 miles driven with new brakes). Inspected the brakes and found built up tread on right rear rotor and pads worn. The same uneven wear of the rear brake pads happened again this time as last time.

Took my 2014 Mazda3 to my mechanic shop and told me I need new calipers in the rear since the right rear brake seized up and will not compress and the pads and rotors were worn after just changing them a year prior.

I had lifetime warranty on the brake pads and rotors so those didn’t cost me this time, but the new rear calipers (Left and Right) with labor, parts and tax cost me $820. I have read a lot of complaints about this issue with other Mazda3 owners of the same vehicle and cannot believe there is no recall on this issue. Other models have a recall on this issue but not my car. That is bogus.

Mazda should do a complete recall on all models that experience this more than annoying problem or find a way to reimburse those owners that do have this brake defect.

Tuesday 1/12/16 I was coming home from work around 5:30pm. It was cold snowy winter night and the roads where slick. I was coming up to a stop, when I stepped on my brakes nothing happened. I tried to slam on my brakes and again nothing happen. I felt like my brakes locked up. The whole point of having an anti-lock brake system is so that you brakes don’t lock up when you slam on them. My ABS didn’t turn on at all. I didn’t get that grinding/ skipping feeling that a car gets when the ABS turns on, nothing happened. Which resulted in my running into the back of the pick-up truck in front of me. There was no damage done to his truck. My car on the other hand had some damage to the front end. We called the police and reported the incident. When I got home I called the dealership that I had purchased my car from. Which was Burdick Mazda in Drivers Village. When I spoke to the guy on the phone I explained to him what had happened and that I wanted them to look at my car to find out why my ABS didn’t turn on. I dropped my car off to them the next evening. I again explained what had happened to the rep at the service department. I told him that I wanted them to look at the ABS, brakes, and even asked him ask if the Bluetooth could have caused the ABS to malfunction. I just wanted to know why my car malfunctioned. He read back to what I wanted them to check out, then he state that I had a recall for my car so he’s going to put that on there as well. This was the first time I had heard about the recall for my car. I asked him what the recall was and he stated that all it said was it was a system update for the PCM and that there’s a lack of power in cold weather. He said that’s all he knows about it and that I would need to speak with the guy I spoke with over the phone. That he would know more about the recall but he wasn’t in until the next morning. 1/14/16 I called and asked him what the recall was. He told me that it was a system update for the PCM and that it could malfunction in cold weather. I told him that I was very upset that I was never informed about the recall on my car and that my ABS did malfunction in cold weather which resulted in an accident. That I felt like Mazda should take the responsibility of their product malfunctioning and repair the damage done to my car. He went on to say that the accident had nothing to do with the recall because the recall had nothing to do with the brakes. That the recall came out 1/6/16 and that it hasn’t been announced national yet that’s why I haven’t heard about the recall yet. That it’s not up to them (Burdick Mazda) to send out the recall. That it takes time for the vehicle owners to be notified and that Mazda is the one that sends out the recall notice, not them. I tried to explain to him that my ABS is what malfunctioned and he just kept saying the recall has nothing to do with your brakes. I feel like because I am a female that I don’t know that the PCM (powertrain control module) is the brain of the car and controls everything electrical in the car. Which the ABS is electrical. Yes my brakes are hydraulic, but my ABS is electrical and is designed to help prevent my brakes from locking up when the brakes are slammed on. I even did my own research before going and picking up my car. I spoke with a family member that was a mechanic and found documents online that support the function of the PCM, what it controls and if it malfunctions then anything electrical can malfunction. I even found a complaint on carcomplaint.com. This complaint was the same make, model and year. It was listed under brakes. As I was reading it was like reading what had happened to me with a few differences. I decided to bring my boyfriend with me to get my car. When we got there to get my car we wanted to know more about the recall because honestly I didn’t feel like I was getting any full explanations on it. They explained exactly what it was before. I then asked him “Doesn’t the PCM control everything electrical and my ABS is electrical couldn’t that have caused my ABS to malfunction?” He stated that it has nothing to do with the brakes and pointed to the paperwork. Under the ABS he pointed out that there was a code set due to car being in an accident and that I needed to get my insurance company involved that they found no other faults other than that code. I brought up all my research and tried to show it to him but he refused to even look at it. Instead of trying to talk to us he asked if we wanted to do a conference call with himself, someone from Mazda and this guy from customer relations. We agreed. When the conference call started he introduced everyone, then made a snide remark that he was nice enough to loan me a car while they had mine. When we asked him if the PCM controlled everything electrical in the car then the ABS could malfunction if the PCM has any problems with it? The guy on the phone ignored the questions and went on repeating that there was no faults found, that there was that code from the accident and that I need to talk to my insurance company. I tried to explain that I wasn’t disputing that I was in an accident, that the accident resulted from my ABS malfunctioning, he just ignored me and kept saying call your insurance company. At this point I was livid I know that I’m getting absolutely nowhere and that they truly didn’t want to deal with the situation so I signed the paperwork and left. When I got home I read the paperwork. I noticed under were they checked and tested my brakes there was a long code with no explanation to what it was, just a bunch of letters and numbers and the name of the tech that performed it. So I called the service department to find out what the code was. The girl that answered stated that I would need to speak to the manager in the morning that she can’t give out that information. I explained to her that it is my property and that they performed something to my car and that they can’t withhold that information from me. She refused to give me the information so we went back down there to get it. When we were walking up to the service department door we noticed that there was a service tech sitting upfront, but as soon as he saw us he walked out back. When we actually walked in there was no one out front to greet us. We waited close to 5 minutes before anyone came out. Once the service rep came out I placed the paper work on the counter. I pointed to the code and told him I just need to know what it meant. He said that he was sorry but he couldn’t disclose that information with me and that I had to wait until the next morning to talk to the manager. We asked to speak to whoever was incharge at the moment. He brought back the sales manager. He pulled us aside and actually talked to us. We explained the whole situation. We told him that they cannot withhold information that they performed on my property. He went out back to talk to the service department to find out for us. When he came back he said that they don’t know what the code means that they sent it to Mazda and haven’t gotten an answer back yet. Which if that’s the case then why s Burdick Mazda being so shady about the whole situation. 1/15/15 I called Mazda cooperate. I gave the woman my name, VIN#, and asked if there was a recall on my car and if so to explain it to me. She stated that there was and that it was a system update for the PCM, that there’s a lack of power in cold weather, that it could cause the wipers and blinkers to stop working and could cause indicator lights to come on. I asked her what the PCM controlled, she explained that it was the vehicle and controls everything electrical. I asked her if the ABS was electrical it she stated that she didn’t know that answer. I then told her what happened from beginning to end, including: what I knew, all my research, and how Burdick Mazda treated me that they sent the code to them and that I wanted to know what the code was. She stated that if the mechanics that I spoke to weren’t Mazda certified then they can’t give me that information from them and that she can’t verify the documents that I have found, I tried to give her the sites and again she said that she can’t verify them. She said that she didn’t know what the code is, that she has to talk to the dealership and look into it and that she would get back to me by the following Tuesday( which was 4 days away). Which didn’t make since to me to why she would need to speak to the dealership, when the dealership told me they were waiting to hear back from Mazda. I was very annoyed that I was just getting the run around from both Burdick Mazda and cooperate. When I asked to a supervisor she stated that there wasn’t enough for the supervisor to go on that she would look into and get back to me. I asked her if there was a supervisor on and she said that there was but I was still denied the right to speak to him. So I hung up and called right back demanding to speak to a supervisor. I explained to him everything that had happened. I then asked him if the PCM controlled everything electrical in the car, he said yes. I asked him if the ABS in my car was electrical, he said yes. I then stated that if anything malfunctions with the PCM then anything electrical in the car can go wrong, he agreed. I told him that this s a serious safety issue and that it’s not right that I’m being punished for my car malfunctioning, I expressed to him that Mazda seems like a very shady company and that I will never buy another Mazda again. He agreed that it was a serious safety issue and tried to look up the code but nothing came up. He told me that he would look into the code and himself or the other rep would be back in touch with me. I specifically told him that I DO NOT want to speak to the other rep that I only wanted to be in contact with him due to the fact she denied me the right to speak to a supervisor. He said that was fine and gave me his direct # and said that he would talk to her. He also suggested that I get my insurance company involved. When I got off the phone I called my insurance company and made a claim. On 1/20/16 I had a voicemail from Mazda cooperate. When I listened to the message to my surprise it was from the rep that I specifically asked to not be in contact with. She stated in the message that the code was to find out if my brakes were engaged at the time of the accident and that they were. If I had any questions to call either herself or the supervisor. I did have some questions so I called his direct # and left a message for him to call me back. Again he had the other rep return my call, completely ignoring my request to only speak to him directly. 1/25/16 I finally receive the recall notice. The first thing I noticed on the recall was that it was dated January, 2016, not actual date on it. When I read the recall it was for something different than what I was told. It stated that in cold conditions it can cause improper logic of the PCM and that in such conditions a malfunction indicator light may flash on and the PCM may fall into failsafe mode which would restrict the throttle opening causing a lack of power. I haven’t even owned this car a year yet. My insurance rates are going to go up and I had to pay my $500 deductible to have my car repaired. I feel like I’m being punished for my car malfunctioning. I don’t feel like Mazda cares about their customers at all. I will NEVER buy a Mazda, and I will never go to any dealership in Driver Village ever again. I feel like both companies are very shady. RECALL STILL HASN"T BEEN ANNOUNCED PUBLICY!!

Update from Mar 2, 2016: This complaint should be under electrical problems not brakes