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Two Florida residents allege in a Mazda class action lawsuit that their late model vehicle contains defective “smart” brakes which activate unexpectedly.
Plaintiffs Jason Miyares and Christie A. Vidaillet say they leased a 2019 Mazda 3 not knowing that the car suffered from a defect that caused unintended activation of the Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) and/or the Smart Brake Support (SBS) systems.
According to the Mazda class action lawsuit, 2018 through 2020 model year Mazda vehicles containing SCBS or SBS systems are affected by a braking defect.
“The Class Vehicles contain a feature called i-Activsense, which includes active safety technology and pre-crash safety technology, which are meant to prevent and reduce the risk of collisions,” explains the Mazda class action.
“When working properly, the SCBS and SBS systems alert the driver of a possible collision using the warning indications on the display panel and a warning sound if the front radar sensor and the [forward sensing camera] determine that there is the possibility of a collision with an object, such as a vehicle, pedestrian, or bicycle ahead. If the systems deem a collision unavoidable, the automatic brake control is activated to reduce damage.”
However, allege the plaintiffs, when the camera overheats, malfunctions occur. Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that the camera improperly activates the braking systems and the vehicle slows down or stops – even though there is no chance of collision.
“The Braking Defect presents significant safety risks for Plaintiffs and Class Members because when the braking system malfunctions and improperly stops or slows the vehicle, Plaintiffs and Class Members are unable to accelerate or maintain the speed of the vehicle,” states the Mazda class action lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs, Class Members, and other occupants of the Class Vehicles are at risk for rear end collisions and other accidents resulting in injury or potentially death because of Defendants’ failure to correct the Braking Defect and/or disclose the existence of the Braking Defect and the safety risks it poses to drivers, vehicle occupants, regulators, and the public in general.”
Indeed, the plaintiffs say that they experienced the defective smart braking system shortly after they leased their vehicle in the summer of 2019. Vidaillet alleges that the braking system lit up on her while driving and the Mazda went from 40 mph to a complete stop within seconds; however, there was allegedly no reason for the car to stop. Vidaillet says the car behind her was barely able to stop in time, narrowly missing a rear end collision.
The Mazda class action lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs took their car into the dealership. They said that they were told the computer would be reset and they would no longer suffer unintended braking. However, a few months later, the car reportedly stopped unexpectedly twice within 10 minutes.
The plaintiffs said that on this occasion, they were told to either disable the security features on the vehicle or point the air conditioner at the forward sensing camera. The Mazda class action claims the plaintiffs were not satisfied with this solution and have since refused to drive the vehicle.
Miyares and Vidaillet say that the defect affects Mazda vehicles nationwide, but cars in Florida are especially susceptible because of the state’s hot and humid conditions.
Mazda has been hit with other class action lawsuits over alleged defects in its vehicles. One, claims that traffic alerts advertised as a feature by the car maker were inaccessible due to a software defect. Another alleges that the daytime running lights in the Mazda CX-5 burn out prematurely.
Has your Mazda 3 stopped unexpectedly due to the smart braking defect? Tell us more in the comments below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid, Lea P. Bucciero, and Alissa Del Riego of Podhurst Orseck PA.
The Mazda Smart Brakes Class Action Lawsuit is Miyares, et al. v. Mazda Motor Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-25271, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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47 thoughts onMazda Class Action Alleges Smart Brake Defect
Hola soy de Chile y tengo un Mazda CX-9 – 2018 con Km de 60.000 entre el 2022 y recién comenzando 2023, y he tenido varias veces este problema que el vehículo se detiene inesperadamente quedo en medio de cualquier lugar y el auto se detiene por completo quedando la luz encendida en el tablero chek Engine, pensamos que era un sensor le hicimos scanner y volvió a suceder que podemos hacer en cualquier momento me chocan por atrás y quien responde ante esta situación, quisiéramos saber si en Chile existe este tipo de demanda colectiva o en su defecto que nos recomiendan hacer me da miedo manejar lo pero no tengo otro vehículo y por otro lado me da miedo venderlo y que le suceda este problema a otra persona, agradece sus comentarios
Rosita Miranda, 13-01-2023
I am currently looking to get out of my Mazda lease prematurely due to the auto break almost killing me and causing multi-car pileups. I have been so busy I have just accepted my fate of having to manually turn the smart breaks off every…single…time…I start my car after talking to the mechanics at the Mazda dealer and being told there was nothing to be done. Now that this is taking up a huge percentage of my energy every day, I am looking to see if there are other people dealing with this. I have a 2021 Mazda 3 and am just not sure how to proceed with this situation.
My 2019 CX9 with 8,700 miles had to go in repeatedly for smart city braking
Bought 2017 CX-5 in 2020 and the smart brake will activate nearly everyday in highway traffic. Always happens when I am accelerating and changing lanes to pass a slower moving vehicle. Even goes off in parking lots with lots of stationary objects and while my car is not in motion, but in reverse with the brake on. At this time it will start beeping loudly and if I keep accelerating backwards without moving the steering wheel, the brakes briefly lock. Very dangerous. I do not want the brakes to engage until my foot presses the pedal.
Same thing happened to me on 2017Mazdacx-5.
Had the same thing happen to my 2021 CX5, brought the car to Mazda, was told I need a new front camera, which is covered by warranty, only problem is that they are on back order, no telling how long it will take to replace
I have a 2020 CX9 and have had the same issue with the SBS. Totally freaked me out…I had like 9 different warning lights come on and my brakes just started shaking. It doesn’t stay on long enough to get it to the dealership!
I’ve also had the “put your hands on the steering wheel” warning pop up several times while driving (with my hands on the wheel), I’ve been unable to open my trunk and to engage the “hold”. This Sucks!!
2016 Mazda CX9 Signature. Forward Smart City Brake Support malfunction, Smart Brake Malfunction, Brake Override, others. Had sensors replaced, battery replaced. After 2 weeks, same issue. Acceleration quits, car slows to a stop. Dangerous situation, dealer can’t find any issues. Seems to be a system error. 41K miles. Disgusted and frustrated with no help to correct this problem.
I am found this page trying to find help our new Mazda CX9 will stop allowing me to accelerate when I am passing on the highway. This has happened at least 6 times now and the dealership told me to make sure the car was clean! I managed to take a video of this happening on two different occassions and I am afraid to drive my car. I am in Canada. The only way I can accelerate is if I get the car stopped and in park turn it off and on again. It is extremely frightening.
We have had multiple issues with the smart city braking in our 2016 CX-9. The scariest occurred while passing attempting to pass a truck and trailer on a two-lane road. We had plenty of time to pass, until the system shut the vehicle down mid pass. We had no where to go but to wait for the vehicle we attempted to pass to clear out of our way while we had traffic incoming at us. We had no idea what happened at the time, at least in the future we were aware we needed to shut down and restart the vehicle as quickly as possible.
My 2018 CX-5 has done this numerous times on the highway. Loosing power while driving is dangerous. This should be a recall real fast.
I got a similar issue yesterday when I was driving down the highway. I own a 2021 Mazda CX-5 touring that I bought in April 21. It’s is so infuriating that a car bought about 6 months ago and driven about 4000 miles would malfunction and put me and my family in harms way. I am not surprised that a lot of other people are facing the same issue.