Where is the Mazda miata parking brake adjustment?

Answer 1

Simply Adjustment 1

The hand brake adjustment is inside the plastic cover just over the hand brake lever. Use a Philips screw driver to unscrew the short screw then pull the 2-part covers apart then remove. Look down toward the floor direction and you will see a cable ending with a slot like end. To tighten the parking brake, use a large flat end screw driver, turn clockwise. The manual suggests 7~9 clicks to lock the rear brake.

Simple Adjustment 2

The hand brake or parking brake is supposed to be self-adjusting. Thus if you turn the adjustment screw clockwise and you pulled the handbrake lever with all your might still unable to lock the rear wheels you can do the next thing before getting your hands dirty.

Turn the adjustment screw counter clockwise, yes loosen it. I suggest you put the car on the drive way with a slight incline or decline when you do this. Pump the brake several times. Now pull up the handbrake while letting go of the pedal. The lever should be easier to pull. Else repeat loosen-and-pump procedure. Then use the screw driver to turn the adjuster clockwise so that the rear wheel will lock at 7~9 clicks. Put back the plastic covers for the lever and replace the screw.

If the easy fix does not work, something is probably wrong. Read the following:

Adjustment 3 (Gloves and wrenches apply)

There is a bolt with a 14mm head on the back of each rear caliper. Actually there are two bolts of this size, one holds the bracket for the handbrake, one unscrews to gain access to the caliper adjuster. Pull the one covering the adjuster (don't worry, no fluid should come out!) and you will find an Allen type adjusting screw. It takes a 4mm wrench to turn it. The technique is to (with the handbrake off) turn the adjuster in (clockwise) while rotating the brake rotor by hand. As soon as it stops or you feel a heavy drag, stop and back the adjuster off 1/3 turn.

Make sure that the rotor now turns freely. Reinstall the 14mm bolt and repeat the procedure on the other side.

*If* your Allen bolt strips.....Don't panic! You can use a magnet or a snap ring pliers (stick the points in the socket of the Allen bolt and expand to grab the adjuster) to get the damaged adjuster out. When you get it out you will see that the teeth on the adjuster are ground up. Either file or grind the damaged end 'til it's cleaned up, grease it up and reinstall. A little spray grease whenever you're adjusting is always a good idea and will help prevent this problem in the first place.

Also:

Underneath your vehicle, a steel threaded cable comes from the back of one hub and is joined by a short cable from the other hub--then the original cable runs to a threaded end with an adjuster nut in it--and one smaller nut on the end outside of that--(this is the equalizer bar)--you'll see it real close to your transmission.

You might have to jack-up the back of the vehicle???

Pull the parking brake lever up sharply and then release it. Pull the parking brake lever to the second click and leave it there. You're looking for a slight drag of the brake shoes when you spin the wheels. To increase the drag, get under at the equalizer bar and turn the adjusting nut to take up the slack in the cables. Get out and spin the rear wheels if you think it's to tight. I will say don't be afraid to crank on it for a while as in this case, a little adjustment really does not go a long way. When you think you have the drag right, go back in the car and pull the brake up the the fourth click. At this point the wheels should be locked and you should not be able to turn them even when trying hard. If you can, tighten them up a little more. Once you've done this, release the brake and make sure the wheels spin freely. If they are still binding due to the parking brake, back off the adjustment a little. And that's basically the whole adjustment procedure.