park brake lever adjustment...

[Jetmech]

Went to the dealer today to get a safety done as I am buying out the lease on my Mazda 5. Anyways they come back with the usual suspects as new tires on front, wheel alignment, front brake job and rear sliders seized and the park brake adjustment.

I declined the service for everything and decided to take care of everything myself except for the alignment, which I had done at a friends shop. The front brake pads/rotors and rear sliders were a piece of cake and the park brake lever adjustment as well once I dug around.

If you look at the center console directly behind the park brake lever, mine is in a little cubby hole next to rear top mounted drink holder you will see a little access door that can be pried open. Looking inside while the drivers seat is reclined a fair bit you will see a 10 mm nut on the lever assembly.

Using a long extension, deep 10 mm socket and a flashlight adjust the nut in a clockwise rotation until the lever starts to engage sooner in the throw. Once you are happy make sure your rear brakes aren't dragging and resecure the door and you are good to go.

5 mins and I was done. They wanted $50 at the dealer to adjust the lever.

Cheers and hope this help save someone else some money down the road.

 

[flcruising]

So that's what that cover is for!

Thanks for the tip.

I would have pulled the center console out to do this. It's only 4 screws, but still, this method is alot quicker.

 

[southpawboston]

nice tip!

 

[Wishmaster]

Thanks!!

 

[southpawboston]

has anyone else had an improperly adjusted parking brake straight off the lot? i noticed that mine does not begin to drag until the third click and usually requires 9-10 clicks for full engagement.

 

[flcruising]

Sounds about right to me.

 

[KBrian]

At least 5 clicks before any grab at all. In fact, I often drive off with the lever still up a few clicks without noticing.

 

[southpawboston]

i adjusted mine this weekend, and it's much better now. it now begins to grab at the first click, and it's fully engaged by five clicks. now it feels just like the parking brake i was used to on the mazda3.

my only advice for anyone who wants to do this through the tiny access cover on the console is that you tape the socket and extension to the driver (you need a 10mm deep socket as well as a ~4" extension). at one point the extension fell off the driver handle, deep inside the console, and i had to use a magnet taped to a rod to fish it out.

 

[southpawboston]

i adjusted mine this weekend, and it's much better now. it now begins to grab at the first click, and it's fully engaged by five clicks. now it feels just like the parking brake i was used to on the mazda3.

my only advice for anyone who wants to do this through the tiny access cover on the console is that you tape the socket and extension to the driver (you need a 10mm deep socket as well as a ~4" extension). at one point the extension fell off the driver handle, deep inside the console, and i had to use a magnet taped to a rod to fish it out.

 

[flcruising]

I don't think grabbing at 1 click is good. If you can feel it that soon, then the rear brakes are probably dragging slightly when fully released even though you can't feel it.

 

[southpawboston]

I don't think grabbing at 1 click is good. If you can feel it that soon, then the rear brakes are probably dragging slightly when fully released even though you can't feel it.

ah, but the first click actually involves a fair amount of cable travel from rest; subsequent clicks are very closely spaced. i jacked up the back to make sure there was no drag on the wheels. my mazda3 brake engaged on the first click as well, and my rear pads were fine after 42,000 miles.

 

[flcruising]

... i jacked up the back to make sure there was no drag on the wheels. my mazda3 brake engaged on the first click as well, and my rear pads were fine after 42,000 miles.

Well why didn't you say that in the first place?

Still seems a little anal retentive, but to each his own.

 

[southpawboston]

Well why didn't you say that in the first place?

Still seems a little anal retentive, but to each his own.

i prefer obsessional . but hey, i had already owned another mazda (same platform) and found many small details on the 5 didn't seem "up to snuff". if i hadn't been so well attuned to my previous car (and if that car didn't raise the bar on how a small car should feel), i would have just accepted these differences as par for the course. besides, i never had a car that had that much slack in the brake cable. the brake handle was wobbling freely at rest!