have had the brake light and abs light come on/off for several years. manual says to take to dealership immediately when this happens. i've diagnosed problem to abs speed sensors. never have a problem when the brake/abs lights are on as this means abs is disabled anyways. however, every once in awhile when the lights are off i will step on the brake and it will feel like its pulsing or feels like you are sliding on ice (brake is engaged but isn't doing anything but you can feel pulse on your foot) i just step on the brake again and it will then slow down/stop. then shortly after this happens the brake/abs lights are back on and i don't have a problem braking again.

like i said this has been on going for me for 7 years. one of these days i may replace the abs speed sensor but for now i have no problem with the abs being disabled.

Noticed strange behavior when breaking - would pulse before breaking even when road was dry and only gradual breaking force was applied. This was starting to become dangerous.

Shortly after the ABS and Break warning lights came ON. Code reader indicated problem with one of the speed sensors. Had to use oscilloscope to figure out which one. Got a new one from Mazda for $240.00 and installed. Reset codes and problem fixed. 6 months later another speed sensor - this time on the other side on the front went bad. Decided not to throw my money away anymore. Pulled the fuse for ABS, and reset a special ABS code using the grounding jumper (as per Service Manual) - this disabled the ABS system.

I'm happy to drive without ABS, I actually prefer it, have more control over the car.