[Brooksy11]

I was driving home from work today and rounding a slight left bend where the speed limit is 50kph(30mph) and I was going approximately that. About 100 meters(300 feet) ahead of me I noticed a school bus pulled over letting kids out but no lights flashing(so it’s legal/safe to pass). Suddenly my dash lit up with “BRAKE!”, or something along those lines and the car started beeping at me. I had enough time to react, look down at the alert, look back up and scan for hazards(which I did not see) and let off the gas to hover the brake but the warning went away. What just happened? 😂
Is there a school bus sensor on this thing? Did me rounding a slight left bend with a large vehicle on the right trigger this? Did a piece of fuzz in the air suddenly cover the sensor?Something else? I’m lost so any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Brooksy11]

I’d like to add that I’ve researched a bit about the recall regarding a situation similar to this but 1. In a thread about this recall it appears my car was built after the affected models and 2. I didn’t feel the car actually brake for me and 3. My VIN doesn’t pull up any recall notices when I search on Mazda’s site

 

[DPAcpa]

False warnings are possible and are much better than false braking. It happened to me around the time the recall came out but not since. Hopefully it won’t happen again.

I have never heard of it being safe to pass a school bus dropping of students. Perhaps your Mazda didn’t think it was safe either.

 

[Brooksy11]

False warnings are possible and are much better than false braking. It happened to me around the time the recall came out but not since. Hopefully it won’t happen again.

I have never heard of it being safe to pass a school bus dropping of students. Perhaps your Mazda didn’t think it was safe either.

The school buses aren’t allowed to use their flashing lights(which means you must stop) in my city so they just pull over. No idea how that came about but basically the kids are told to wait on the sidewalk until the bus leaves and then regular road rules apply. It confused me when I first moved here too but all I can do as a driver is lift off the gas and be alert as I pass.
Like you said, hopefully this brake alert was just a weird one-time occurrence.

 

[civic09]

It's happened to me once or twice (after the first recall/software update was done) with no car in front of me. I took my car in yesterday to have the connected services update done on my 2019, and I pointed this issue out (with the proviso that it would be almost impossible to replicate). The service guy said that the connected services update/recall updates all the software, so it could take care of the issue. We'll see.

 

[misar]

I get the BRAKE! warning from time to time but it is always obvious why the system triggered an alert. I am already aware of the potential hazard and normal driving avoids it but otherwise the warning would be useful.

 

[Cheqflagauto]

I have had my 2019 3 for just over 6 months and have experienced the same issue a handful of times. The only common theme that I have noticed is it always occurs in a gentle left curve. It has happened at the exact same place 3 times on a road I drive on literally 7 days a week just outside of my subdivision. It is at a spot where a road joins in on the right and there is a large subdivision entrance wall / sign. I think the Mazda sees the sign and thinks it is a stopped vehicle. My guess is the steering angle isn't great enough for the computer to figure out that I am not going to hit the "stopped" sign... It happens so infrequently that I have not attempted to address the issue with the dealership.

 

[mtSuge]

I just encountered the "Brake!" alert on my 2020 Mazda 3, which I bought used with 10k miles just last month. I was driving down a narrow street with parked cars on both sides, so that may have had something to do with it. Still, it was very disconcerting, having never experienced it before! Reminded me of those jarring, "Whoop-whoop! Pull up! Whoop-whoop! Pull up!" warnings on a jetliner if a pilot flies too low.

So, is this "by design" or is it part of a recall? My 2020 doesn't list one for this particular item. My previous car was a 2005 Mazda 3 that I drove for 18 years, so all these electronic features are new to me. 😂

 

[DPAcpa]

I just encountered the "Brake!" alert on my 2020 Mazda 3, which I bought used with 10k miles just last month. I was driving down a narrow street with parked cars on both sides, so that may have had something to do with it. Still, it was very disconcerting, having never experienced it before! Reminded me of those jarring, "Whoop-whoop! Pull up! Whoop-whoop! Pull up!" warnings on a jetliner if a pilot flies too low.

So, is this "by design" or is it part of a recall? My 2020 doesn't list one for this particular item. My previous car was a 2005 Mazda 3 that I drove for 18 years, so all these electronic features are new to me. 😂

As mentioned in a post in 2020, I had it happen a few times in 2019 but it hasn't happened since. I adjusted the sensitivity which may have fixed it.

I did have it happen in my wife's Subaru and scared the heck out of me. I was driving a little too fast on a one lane road with a sharp blind curve and an extremely narrow bridge. I guess the Subaru saw me heading towards the bridge and didn't know I was going to turn. Now that I type this, my speed may have been better defined as way too fast.

You may have been angled towards one of the cars on the side. Look into the sensivety setting and hopefully it won't go off again.