An investigation revealed Mazda didn’t apply enough paint coating to stop road salt from eating away at the subframe. That’s a big ole no-no, particularly in the “salt belt,” where Mazda will recall 49,000 vehicles.
The “salt belt” includes Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
]]>Takata recalls are nothing new, in fact they’ve been going on for a long time. Yet, just when you think they’re about to go away for good another round of news hits that another person has died or an automaker tells owners that driving their cars is too risky.
]]>The recall is expected to begin on 09/27/17 and additional details are available on CarComplaints.com
]]>Thankfully, that fix is here.
There's still come confusion though surrounding recall “zones”, but don’t worry – CarComplaints.com has the full break-down.
]]>The 2014-2015 Mazda6 and 2014-2016 Mazda3 cars have brake calipers where water can enter and cause the parking brake actuator shafts to corrode and bind. This can cause the parking brakes to not engage or completely disengage.
So not only does the brake bind up when you're trying to drive, it could also disengage after parking on a hill.
Mazda engineers found a design flaw in the protective boot of the rear caliper. Bad seals allow water to enter and start corroding the braking system. No wonder it needs to be recalled, which is expected to begin in August 2017.
]]>About 70,000 cars will need to be recalled with most having already been previously recalled for the same issue. Last time Mazda focused on busted seals rather than the pipes themselves.
Mazda is also recalling over 34,000 of its 2004 RX-8s with ball joint sockets in the front suspension that can crack, resulting in a sudden loss of control.
According to the automaker, a faulty caulking process is to blame and the issue is most likely to occur under heavier loads. And you thought loading all those mulch bags in your car wouldn't be a problem.
Both recalls are expected to begin on July 30, 2017.
]]>One of the goals of the agreement is to boost the recall completion rates for Takata airbag inflators, which need to be replaced by 2019. Only 22% of 70 million inflators have been replaced so far, with some automakers closer to a 2% completion rate.
The agreements will cost the automakers about $553 million, with $76 million from Mazda. An administrator will be appointed to:
Additionally, a rental car program will be setup:
"The agreements also create a rental car loaner program, separate from any existing programs. Under the settlement terms, the four automakers will make rental or loaner cars available to customers upon request. The rental car program will begin 30 days after preliminary approval of the agreements for any customer who hasn't received replacement parts within 30 days."
The details still need to be finalized in court.
]]>And it worked great ... until one day when owners woke up to find the service grayed out in their infotainment system.
Mazda's agreement with a traffic service provider had expired, and rather than resubscribing or finding an alternative, the automaker turned the feature off through software updates.
That didn't sit well with owners like Edward Lewand, who purchased a 2016 Mazda with the "Grand Touring" premium because of features like "live traffic." He has since sued Mazda for paying for a feature that no longer exists and lowering the value of his car.
]]>Hopefully this case will bring good news for Mazda3 owners and lay the groundwork for future lawsuits.
]]>"Mazda says the fastening force of the injector mounting nut is faulty and can cause too much pressure on the injector gasket. If this condition occurs, the fuel blows through the cylinder head causing the engine oil to become carbonized and clog the oil strainer."
And then there's:
"The sealing performance of the fuel return hose can deteriorate and lead to cracks inside the hose, causing fuel to leak from the hose."
Oh yeah, then there's:
"The diesel engines can also stall because pressure in the cylinders and the closing force of the intake valves can decrease, catching soot between the intake valves and the valve seats. If this occurs, the engine will have poor compression and unstable rotation, causing the engine to stall."
As of right now, the recall doesn't affect US diesels but that could change. You can get the full rundown on CarComplaints.com.
]]>Mazda will recall the 2011 Mazda2, 2010-2011 Mazda3, and 2010-2011 MazdaSpeed3 to fix the problem. The lifter links will be inspected and, depending on their condition, replaced or reinforcement with brackets. The recall expected to begin March 31, 2017.
]]>By now I'm guessing you've heard about the dangers of Takata airbags, but here's a quick recap:
Mazda has now recalled more than 733,000 vehicles for this problem. Find out if yours is on the most recent list and make sure to scroll through all the different recall "zones."
]]>"Mazda says the problem is caused by insufficient heat resistance on top of the fuel tank that can cause the fuel pump rings to deteriorate from the heat of the engine and exhaust pipe. Without repairs, the fuel pump seals can crack and leak gasoline onto hot surfaces, leading to the very real potential of a car fire."
Mazda does not have enough fuel pump ring sets to perform the recall yet. Owners should watch for two notices – one alerting them of the recall, and another when parts are ready.
]]>How are those things connected? You've got me.
"The automaker says the 2017 Mazda Mazda6 cars were built August 12, 2016, to September 28, 2016, and again, all the cars are equipped with fog lights."
The recall is expected to begin this month, November 2016.
The 2010-2011 Mazda Tributes have fuel delivery modules that can crack and cause gas leaks, leading to possible fires if the fuel hits an ignition source.
The affected SUVs all have a 3-liter engine and were built between 03/03/2009 and 05/26/2011. The recall is expected to begin by December 15, 2016.
]]>Speaking of disasters, additional 2016 Mazda3's are being recalled because they have deformed gas tanks that leak through recirculation pipe welds. All in all, it's not a good day to be a Mazda3 gas tank ... or a Mazda3 owner.
For specific build dates of the recalled vehicles, visit CarComplaints.com.
]]>
Now it's Mazda's turn, although there's a backlog of vehicles waiting for parts. The recalled Mazda6 cars were built between February 4, 2008, and December 3, 2009.
]]>Mazda says the vehicles don't have enough of a corrosion protective coating on the ends of the external cylinders of the rear hatch gas lift supports. Without enough corrosion protection, the dampers can be affected by water containing road salt and cause the dampers to break.
The scary part is those hatch supports can give out quickly. On the plus side, it turns something boring like taking the groceries out of the trunk into an "exciting" game of chance.
]]>Mazda says salted roads during the winter can can cause saltwater to enter the ball joint and corrode the parts. The corrosion can cause the ball joint in the fitting to loosen and result in a rattle from the area of the ball joint and lower control arm. Enough corrosion and the ball joint can separate from the lower control arm.
The problem is affecting a ton of CX-7s and roughly 190,000 need to be recalled. Mazda says priority repairs will be made in the following "salt belt" states:
]]>"Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia."
[vehicles] exposed to severe environmental conditions including high ambient temperature and humidity, the material used in the crash pad may deteriorate over time. If there is prolonged exposure and deterioration, the crash pad could develop a sticky surface.
Once this happens, you need to get the dash replaced. The extended warranty means you'll have more time – 10 years with no mileage limitation.
The offer applies to:
Mazda notes the offer "does not apply to crash pads that are discolored, warped, or split."
]]>Takata's metal inflators are at risk of exploding because they don't contain a drying agent called desiccate. Over time, the ammonium nitrate inside the inflator can become unstable when exposed to heat and humidity. If they do explode during an airbag deployment, metal shrapnel shoots throughout the cabin, injuring or killing the people inside.
Mazda, like other automakers, doesn't have enough replacement parts to fix their vehicles. This is the largest recall in US history with 70 million cars affected and parts are scarce.
Owners should get an initial recall notice in the mail, and then another when parts become available.
]]>The first recall has more than 495,000 vehicles called back in a confusing recall based on different "zones" of the country. Mazda says 2004-2011 Mazda RX-8, 2004-2006 MPV, 2003-2008 Mazda6 and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 cars are recalled if they were originally sold in "Zone A".
Zone A includes Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are additional recalls in Zone B, and then to bring the confusion up a notch, in other areas as well.
In a second recall:
"About 236,280 model year 2009-2011 Mazda6, 2007-2011 CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles are recalled if they were originally sold in Zone A"
And then there are others recalled in Zone B.
It's all a bit of a mess, so we recommend checking out the David Wood's article or check our continuing Takata coverage.
]]>"The lawsuit alleges the clutch assemblies have a defect in design that causes premature clutch failure and premature wear to the transmission components. The plaintiffs say the defects cause problems with the clutch disks and pressure plates, in addition to the flywheels."
The lawsuit targets the 2010-2015 Mazda3 with either a 5-speed, or 6-speed transmission. The plaintiffs claim:
The plaintiffs are being represented by Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel, and McCuneWright.
]]>"The CX-5 brake pads can be affected by road salt used in colder weather, causing the brakes to stay partially applied because of rust on the outer rear brake pads."
2013 and 2014 owners might be eligible for a repair under Mazda’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty term of 36 months/36,000 miles. There are additional details on CarComplaints.com.
]]>[Mazda] says the front strut and steering knuckle can separate and cause what Mazda calls a "significant loss of steering control and increased risk of a crash.
Calling it a "significant loss of steering" is interesting. If your car doesn't start, would Mazda call that a "substantial lack of combustion"?
Semantics aside, the good news here is the issue only affects 578 cars. Unless you're one of those 578, in which case I doubt you'd call this good news at all.
]]>"if the (problem) is caused by poor vehicle maintenance (insufficient oil changes or using engine oil of viscosity lower than 5W-30), this warranty extension does not apply.”
The plaintiff could not produce comprehensive oil change records. So is Mazda calling anyone who doesn't maintain perfect records a negligent owner? Because if that's the case there's going to be a lot of "negligence":
"I have gone various places locally and out of town to change my oil, didn't keep all the receipts. Don't even remember all the places. What is the purpose of getting an extended warranty if you have to go through this? $1800 timing chain and who knows about the engine --- 2008 CX-7 owner"
The affected trucks were built between April 17, 2003 and May 2, 2006, and the recall should begin in late March 2016.
To date, Mazda has recalled 442,266 driver’s frontal air bag inflators and 416,475 passenger-side frontal airbag inflators.
]]>"Mazda says it's unaware of any CX-5 accidents or injuries related to the defect, but the automaker says the problem is a serious concern. Therefore, until repairs are made to the fuel system, dealers will offer a free loaner, demo or rental vehicle to CX-5 owners."
Mazda is recalling the CX-5 but they don't have a clue how they'll fix the problem. They have until March 1, 2016 to figure it out (that's when the recall is expected to begin).
]]>Takata's defective inflators have been found to explode with too much force, sending metal shrapnel flying throughout the cabin. It's a dangerous problem that's been linked to a number of deaths and injuries.
Unfortunately parts aren't expected to be available until later this year.
]]>The cars have a defect in the gas shut-off valve that can allow fuel to enter a charcoal emissions canister. Once too much fuel enters that canister, it can leak out. Anytime there's a fuel leak near a heat source the chances of your car turning into a Mazdakabob is greatly increased.
Once again, owners are being told not to drive their cars and to instead call Mazda to arrange a tow and a rental car if needed.
]]>Sound crazy? Unfortunately, it's not-- just ask some 2007-08 CX-9 owners.
The working theory is there are issues with the lower ball joints in the CX-9's front suspension that allows them to split apart. Once that happens, the wheels can come spinning off taking your commute from sunshine to horror show in 0.2 seconds flat.
Of the five reports submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 4 came from the "salt belt states." That has the agency wondering if corrosion is to blame as they open their investigation.
]]>Spot a trend?
"Mazda isn't saying a safety defect exists in the cars, but the automaker will use the "recall" to satisfy customers and gather the metal airbag inflators for examination."
I'm not sure satisfy is the word I would use here, especially when Takata inflators have killed people. At least Mazda has agreed to work with other automakers to try and find the root cause of this spreading airbag epidemic.
]]>The new region includes more areas of "high humidity," which has been known to accelerate the inflator problems. This includes Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
]]>"Mazda says the extended warranty notice is clear that “if the noise is caused by poor vehicle maintenance (insufficient oil changes or using engine oil of viscosity lower than 5W-30), this warranty extension does not apply.” Without maintenance records, Mazda says there is no way to know if the car was properly maintained."
On the surface, that might seem reasonable. But according to owners all it takes is one missing oil change receipt to miss out on warranty coverage. Additionally, owners say they were offered less help because they had oil changes done at a local shop rather than a certified dealer.
It's even worse if they did their own changes at home:
"Two days later we received a call from the dealer and were informed there was excessive sludge and they would need to see receipts from where we changed our oil. We performed our own oil changes and did not keep receipts from the auto parts store where we purchased the oil. Dealer said without the receipts we would not get warranty work done and charged us $260 to do the investigation to better their case. –– 2010 CX-7 owner"
Additionally, Mazda wants any claims of consumer fraud, breach of implied warranty and concealment to all be dismissed.
]]>This is the first Mazda recall for the dangerous, exploding inflators. It is limited to vehicles originally sold in, or currently registered in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"The automaker says the 2003-2007 Mazda6, 2004-2008 RX-8, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6, 2004-2005 MPV and 2004 B-Series trucks are recalled, but Mazda didn't say which air bags would be repaired. Some automakers are replacing just one front air bag while others are replacing both air bags."
Notifications are expected to go out to roughly 46,000 vehicle owners by October 17th, 2014.
]]>Additionally:
The lawsuit covers the 2009-11 Mazda3 and Mazda6 and seeks to have Mazda cover the cost of dashboard repairs and replacements. CarComplaints.com has more information including how to get in touch with the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in this case.
]]>
While the problem itself has been a headache, Mazda's response has been truly migraine-inducing. The automaker has steadfastly refused to warn people about the problem and won't honor warranties if owners can't provide perfect oil change records.
The suit Stevenson v. Mazda Motor of America Inc. has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
"Lead plaintiff James Stevenson said he purchased a 2008 Mazda CX-7 in 2009 and by 2013 the engine failed. Stevenson alleges that although Mazda extended warranty coverage in 2012 to seven years past the original date, Mazda refused to make the needed repairs under warranty."
Stevenson is represented by Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, Richardson Patrick Westbrook & Brickman LLC, and The West Law Firm.
]]>It's not all bad news, however. Mazda identified the problem as a materials issue in the brake booster and is offering what they're calling a "special service program" which is just a fancy way of saying extended warranty.
The Mazda program will extend the warranty coverage for brake booster repairs to unlimited time and mileage if the repairs are performed between March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2015. If you miss that deadline and have the repairs done after March 31, 2015, the warranty is extended to 7 years or 90,000 miles.
In other words, if you ever feel like your 2010-11 CX-9 brake pedal is hard to push, feels spongy or hisses at you -- get it repaired, ideally before the end of March next year!
]]>The 2008-11 Mazda Tribute is susceptible to losing its power steering because of problems in its torque sensor. Without that steering assistance, your car becomes as hard to steer at slow speeds as an old Cadillac through mud -- take it from me, it's not fun.
Mazda blames the problem on some defective software inside the power steering control module. The recall will involve updating that module's software or, if needed, replacing it entirely. Mazda expects this all to start in July.
In the meantime, concerned owners can contact them at 248-295-7895 and reference recall number 7614E. In the other meantime, do whatever it is one does with mean time.
]]>The auto-shutoff valve is allowing too much fuel to get into the Mazda6's gas tank when filling up. With a large enough temperature change the fuel can expand, pass into the charcoal canister and eventually drip out of the vapor vent line. Whether it's a drip or a splash -- once fuel starts spilling out and coming in contact with hot surfaces, it's a very bad thing.
Luckily, Mazda engineers have come up with a countermeasure to reduce the amount of fuel that can enter the tank before the auto-shutoff activates. Bring the heat, El Niño.
The issue affects the 2014 Mazda6 with the 2.5-liter SkyActiv engine -- about 19,000 vehicles in total.
]]>But you know what could actually get something accomplished? Filing a class-action lawsuit. Granted, you'd have to be pretty darn frustrated to get to that point -- but that's exactly where a 2004 Mazda RX-8 found herself after her multiple engine flooding problems before it finally died.
Christina Paschal, represented by Knapp Peterson & Clarke[1] and lemon-law advocate Robert L. Starr[2], says Mazda knows of a defect with the rotary engines in the 2004-2008 RX-8 and is failing to honor its warranties.
In Paschal's case, she says Mazda wouldn't pay for the spark plugs following an engine failure -- despite knowing it's part of the problem -- but did pay for new ignition coils. She's not alone. According to the lawsuit, Mazda refused to pay for spark plugs in almost half of 69,249 warranty claims.
The lawsuit claims Mazda knows about this specific problem based on a technical service bulletin (TSB) sent to dealers in 2004. The lawsuit currently includes an estimated 50,000 Mazda RX-8 cars purchased in California between 2004 and 2008. However it's possible the lawsuit could extend to owners in other states, that's where you come in...
Knapp Peterson & Clarke is a law firm that "prides itself on its creativity and accessibility in providing a wide range of legal services." ↩︎
Robert L Starr is a lemon law advocate with 12 years of legal experience in Southern California. ↩︎
As is often the case, corrosion recalls like this are limited to vehicles sold or currently registered in specific states where road salt is heavily used. As if this winter hasn't been bad enough for the people of: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Mazda will install a reinforced cross-brace to prevent fracturing, problem is those parts just aren't available yet. In the meantime, concerned owners who want their vehicles inspected can bring them in to a dealer. If any fractures are found, Mazda will provide a rental until the parts are ready.
]]>The recalled vehicles include the 2014 Mazda3 and the 2014-15 Mazda6 with both a 2.5L engine and the regenerative engine braking system. The PCM will need to be reprogrammed and the recall should begin in late April, 2014.
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