Hi, I bought a 2019 Mazda 3 AWD Premium hatchback about 2 months ago. I love it! However, there have been 3 instances where the smart brake support/collision avoidance has kicked in unexpectedly. I'm not sure what the exact safety feature/system is called, but it has to do with braking. All 3 times the car has literally stopped hard, almost to a dead stop. One time I was slowing down behind the car in front of me who was making a right turn, and it stopped me from like 45 mph. All I can gather is it thought I was traveling too close? The other 2 times I was going like 30 on a pretty ordinary road, 1 lane in each direction, and the car suddenly put the brakes on. Neither time did I see anything in front of me. I only know that I was kind of rounding a curve both times and there was an oncoming car so maybe my car misjudged and thought the oncoming car was coming at me? But, that's just normal everyday driving. All 3 times the car also flashes the "Brake" light/message in red on the screen. It's scary because to me it's been so unpredictable because I don't see anything it should be trying to avoid. I'm worried that I'm going to cause an accident-that someone will run into the back of me when I stop so suddenly like that.

Anyone experienced this? I took it to the dealer today and they switched one of the settings, but I don't expect that to do anything. If the car thinks something is there, it will react, no matter the timing setting that is selected. He set it to respond later. They also said I could bring it in on Monday so I will do that. The guy said he hadn't heard of that problem before. They also said there is no way to turn the system off.

 

If you have not found out yet. There is a recall for exactly this problem. I believe it is recall# 4219L. It is going on since around Xmas 2019. Good luck.