Hooray! I managed to fix my handbrake with your instructions! One side was working and the other was not, and I was out of adjustment on the interior screw. Thank you!!! Why are you one of the few people to point this out? It just seems to be an essential part of handbrake adjustment and I have not found any other instruction like yours. Well done!
Great video You save my money and time too My 2014 mazda 3 has same issue i went to mechanic and he told me that your car has issue with handbrake wire you need to replace it After searching on RU-vid i saw your video and did it at home... Wow... It work for me... Seems like brand new.... Thanks buddy for the video
Thank you man note to people doing this back off the bolt by the brake fully before hitting the back end with a hammer or you may snap your brake cable. Glad my buddy noticed the cable was to tight
OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've had a weak hand brake issue on my 2005 Mazda 3 S for at least 8 years now. I always have to park in gear when it's on a slight hill meaning I cannot remote start my car when its on a hill. I've tried several methods all these years including the e-brake adjuster screw maxed out on tension with threadlocker to keep it in. The other month I finally found the cause of the issue, and it's because there's a slack in the exact e-brake line you're talking about in this video. So what I did was I used a lot of zip ties to fill in the gap in the cable line and it made the e-brake stronger but still not strong enough. I cannot wait to try your method!
Mazda should have done a recall on this issue, which is very dangerous when parking on a hill with the car out of gear. Also, the brake lever can hit the cover for the box in the forward position giving a false feeling the brake is engaged when it's not.
That was the trick it work Thanks you so much Didn’t catch why after a short time after replacing disk and pads that my hand brake wasn’t holding the way it’s suppose to. Have to remove caliper insert the piston and retract the lever all the way to the rear, push the brake many time before activate the hand brake and Voila.
Good. I might missed it, but sometimes to retract the lever fully you might need to loosen that nut in the cabin.Depends if you ever tried to adjust it using that nut.
I put on nw discs and pads around a year ago all good but same issue . So sm I needing to take them back off and push pistons back in to then pull/push that clip back ? I have many clicks which I'm not happy with atk I like 2/3 clicks hence why I prefer shoes besides pads at rear much better
*Do it the right way guys!* One thing I want to add to the video, is that to ensure the best result, *do* remove the panel around the brake handle first and loosen the nut. And only then do everything video says. And in the end, adjust the nut back. After some use, you might need to adjust it slightly again. I have seen it working after first time. Or once I readjusted it. Once I had to repeat the procedure because problem came back. But I am talking here about 2 same cars that I own. So, this is not in 1 car but over 2 cars. It has been 2 years since I've done this last time.
@@theodorekell Negative. It did not work for my model. It has slightly different parking brake lever and caliper. Neither the right nor left one was stuck in a forward position. New pads + rotors and parking brake still hardly holds my car in the mild incline of my driveway when pulled way up. I guess i am stuck doing the bolt adjustment as if these are bicycle brakes. Thanks for the video. At least I know to check for that issue.
@@O7fatchix Sometimes the procedure helps without levers being stuck. I had this as well. I loosen the cable, turn-in piston, install brakes, start car, push brakes hard many times, tighten the cable and it works. Also try this - with car stopped at the angle, press brake, then pull the handle. Release brake. This could keep piston in the position it has after brake press. I've seen this too
Great instruction thank you, and I did pull that lever back as you mentioned. My issue now is that it feels like the handbrake still does not hold the car when I engage it (the car seems to shift slightly when I take my foot off of the pedal brake), but also, the lever is then extremely loose after I disengage it. It no longer feels tight again when I go to apply it next time. Do you have any ideas on why this might happen?
@@theodorekell It turns out that the lever on the caliper was seized and was not springing back. A little lubrication and it works now as it should. Thanks for your response!
This is awesome. What's the easiest way to correct it if I did it wrong. Should I just take wheels off, fix actuator then pump breaks without handbrake? Or do I have to take caliper fully off again
Good question. I did this on both of my Mazda3 cars. And I need to do one of them again because handle again goes high. I don't remember if I removed the caliper in both. I believe, all you need is to remove the wheels with parking brake off. Move the lever/actuator. Start the car, push brakes hard few times (or put wheels back on first. I lift the entire rear of the car). After this it should work. If this is not helping, the caliper is held by 2 bolts. It gives you a chance to clean the brake pads sliders :). Turn pistons in and repeat what I said above.
You will be turning that bolt to the end of days if you have that lever not all the way back. I say this from personal experience having 2 same Mazda3 cars. Both adjusted the way I say. Now, over the year passed and 1 of the cars needs to be adjusted again, and another is still working fine.
This method is remedy if your system is still intact, meaning, your cables and calipers are in working condition, but only need tuning. If your calipers have internal problems, this will not help you. If you try and it works, good. If it works for a month and then problem starts again, your caliper is an issue.
@@theodorekell , Okay. Thanks. I just found out it's the cable. 🫤 The left side is broken. Do you happen to know how many hours it normally takes a professional to install a new cable?
I just did one of mine again, even though it did not have the actuator stuck. Still worked if 1 - release the nut in the cabin to make it loose 2 - attempt to move back the actuators. It is ok if not moving 3 - turn the pistons in 4 - assemble back and press pedal many times 5 - adjust the nut under handle in the cabin to the right tension So far, been a month or more and works
@@theodorekell sorry guys late to the party. Just got a mazda 3 yesterday and have the same problem. Do i need to compress the piston to try this method or can I just try and move the actuators on their own the pump the brakes?
@@ClarksonA64 short answer - yes. But here is full sequence as I discovered later. Loosen the nut in the console, move back the actuator, turn piston to full retracted mode, recheck the actuator all way back. Assemble the brake pads again. Start the car, press brakes hard few times. Tighten/adjust the nut in the console.
Its was working for like 2 minutes, but every time i pull the handbrake i lose more of the power until it dont brake the car at all. Maybe my rear caliper is done?
That is probably the case. One of my cars keep working for 2 years now. And another was working for a year or so. I did it again and it is again working for month or so. Did you release the nut fully before doing this? I think, this is also a good thing to do. Then use it in the end to regulate the handle. So, I would release the nut, rewind the pistons, pull the actuators, reassemble, press the brakes, adjust the nut. - in this order.
Yea that what i did, i also notice that the rear left actuator was not fully coming back when i pull the handbrake, so i was tighten the nut until the actuator touch the butom. So it aslo give more brake power to the right wheel until i lose all brake power. I'm just wondering what can cause that.
@@jordanbriand1944 I test my car when the rear is lifted to make sure both sides act same. If you have the difference, I would just think about replacing the calipers. I spoke to my buddy - mechanic. He thinks the calipers is the problem if the calipers stop functioning after short time.
Mine is non-electric, I did try and found one side is not retracting automatically, but couldn't remove the caliper bolt as it's sieged up, otherside works fine.
The light in the dash is strictly related to a switch next to the brake handle. I would try disconnecting that switch and see it light goes off. If not - you might have a problem in the dash itself.
