Hi Scotty, I have a 2006 Mazda 3 2.3L manual transmission Sport GT with 100,000 miles on the clock. Over the last couple of years, once on a while my ABS will activate during braking and then my brake pedal a loses pressure for the first half of travel and my brakes are way less powerful. This situation continues until I can find an area of gravel or wet road and then I slam on the brakes and let the ABS kick in a few times and then suddenly I have full brake pedal pressure back again and my brake power is restored. There are no warning lights on the dashboard at all. I was researching the issue and all I can find is that it could be a sticking valve in the ABS power/control unit..a $1000 part. I’ve never done a brake flush since I bought the car new in 2006. The brake fluid reservoir has enough fluid in it. Any ideas if that is indeed the issue or if it could be something else?
If the brake fluid is 18-19 years old it's going to be pretty grungy. You could try flushing it to see if that helps. You may need a bidirectional scan tool to bleed the ABS.
@chucktobias I took a look at the fluid and it was clear as day, almost as if it had just been changed. I also checked the water content and it was zero. So I figure there's no point changing the fluid. I guess it's still looking like the ABS module.
That's surprising, brake fluid will usually get pretty grungy over long periods of time. Probably best to take it to a good independent mechanic that has a scan tool sufficiently sophisticated to test the ABS module.
