Warning sign BRAKE!

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
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  1. My model of MX-5 is: __ 21 R-Sport
  2. I’m based near: __Neath, South Wales
  3. I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __ Hi all. I haven’t driven my car for the last 4 days (i usually drive it daily). Today, I was driving as normal and all of a sudden heard a warning sound and the word BRAKE! appeared on the left-hand dial. I wasn’t near any cars or anything. This is the 1st time this has happened since buying the car 3 months ago. Does anyone have any advice on what happened or what I may need to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Cheers!

2

It’s the Smart City Brake feature, and it’s trigger-happy. A lot of people turn it off. I do.

3

I too, had this occur on my 2019 RF when there was nothing in front of me!
Another orange warning light appeared indicating ’ forward camera obscured’ when it wasn’t!

4

Another car I had with this ‘feature’ got spooked by an empty crisp packet that crossed in front of the car on a windy day…

So it might not have been an object, in the traditional sense. Technology, hey?!!

5

Recently driving down the motorway a flat sheet piece of insulation board ended up against my front bumper (must have fallen off a van or something) am I right in thinking that if my car had one of these systems it would have applied the brakes fully and caused the car behind to probably smash into me?

6

Quite possibly. Depends if it would have been in the dectector range, which is usually up behind the rear view mirror, built into the windscreen. I’ve had it a couple of times in various car fitted with emergency braking systems. Generally in situations where there is a closing gap on the car in front, but the system decides to take over.

It’s a very disconcenting sensation for you to have the brake covered in such a situation, but for the pedal to move away from you and the car to begin braking of it’s own accord.

Oh, and I had an Volvo XC60 that was continually defeated by an office carpark exit barrier. It couldn’t handle the fact you would roll over the contact point in the tarmac and the barrier would raise for you. If you rolled towards it and got too close for the safety systems, warnings would go off and the car would bring itself to a halt :rofl:

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7

It only operates up to 18mph.

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It operates up to about 60mph on bigger Mazdas, so I’d be surprised if the MX-5 was different. I can turn it off completely on the Mazda 3 - and lane guidance, which is the first thing everyone turns off on any car.

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Thanks all for the replies! Not concerned now! :handshake:

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Are we talking city brake or the emergency stop assist?

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City brake. Emergency stop assist is worth having, as few people push the pedal hard enough in an emergency. All it does is to detect a very quick, hard (panic) brake application, and boosts it using the ABS pump. If you’ve experienced it on a dry road, it is surprising how quickly the car stops.

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