u/bienclavada

my 2017 CX-5 had a spongy brake pedal, I would have to pump it lots of times to get it to brake, and often I’d have to resort to stomping the hell out of it to get it to stop.

Had not been able to take it to get regular maintenance in about 1-2 years so I assumed it was worn-out brake pads. And because I would sometimes hear rubbing when stomping brake pedal to brake, I assumed I had damaged my brake rotors too.

My dad put in new brake pads and new brake rotors — did not fix the issue. ❌

Next I tried a master cylinder from O’Reilly - did not fix the issue. ❌

Next I ordered a Brake Booster and new Gasket (Hose was unavailable to order) from mazdaonlineparts.com — did not fix the issue. ❌

I just tried calling a local Mazda expert (not an official dealership) and they asked if I used “junk from China” (lol) when i tried the Master Cylinder. I told them the truth, which is that I literally just got whatever O’Reilly had that fit my car and was in stock (but it wasn’t OEM).

What is the chance that getting an OEM Master Cylinder will solve this issue?

does anyone have locations you can walk into to buy quality parts, specifically for Mazda Cx-5, in the Greater Los Angeles area?

I found a laser cap that’s actually affordable for me, and it supposedly features 650nm and 810nm which are supposed to be effective for new/light thinning and more advanced thinning, but it only has 100 little lights (LEDs?).

Could it be worth it and effective anyway? Maybe because there are so few lights, it would be okay to use daily, without needing a break between sessions?

Just wondering if anyone has any info, experience, advice, helpful two cents, etc!