2017 Mazda MAZDA3

IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN ONE MONTH SINCE A RECALL HAS BEEN PLACED ON MY MAKE AND MODEL, NEITHER THE MANUFACTURER OR DEALER OF MY VEHICLE ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT ME TO INFORM OF THIS RECALL SO I CAN TAKE NECESSARY MEASURES. I JUST SO HAPPENED TO GOOGLE 'MAZDA 3 WINDSHIELD WIPERS' AND STUMBLED ACROSS AN ARTICLE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AS THIS COULD END UP BEING DANGEROUS.

I WROTE THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED TO MAZDA CUSTOMER SERVICES: ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 4, 2018, I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK. I WAS DRIVING 75 MPH, THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT FOR THAT STRETCH OF TEXAS HIGHWAY. THE SURFACE OF THE ROAD IS BRAND NEW AND DRIVING CONDITIONS WERE IDEAL. AT APPROXIMATELY 6:10 PM, ABOUT 10 MILES FROM HOME, THERE WAS A LOUD THUD AND MY CAR DROPPED AND LURCHED TOWARD THE CENTER LINE. I THOUGHT I HAD HIT SOMETHING HUGE, AND EXPECTED TO FIND SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO MY CAR AND A SHREDDED TIRE. I MANAGED TO KEEP THE CAR UNDER CONTROL AND AVOID BEING HIT, AND WITH A SOUND OF GRATING METAL, MOVED OVER TO THE SHOULDER. TO MY SURPRISE, THERE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ANY DAMAGE TO THE CAR. NO OTHER VEHICLES HAD TO SWERVE AROUND ANYTHING IN THE ROAD. THERE WAS NO DEBRIS IN THE ROAD. I CALLED A WRECKER SERVICE TO CHANGE THE TIRE. HE DISCOVERED THAT THE FRONT DRIVERS SIDE WHEEL WAS SPLIT IN HALF, AND SAID THE WHEEL NEEDED TO GO BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. MAZDA CUSTOMER SERVICE FOLKS SOUNDED SYMPATHETIC BUT TOOK OVER A WEEK AND SEVERAL CALLS TO TOW THE CAR TO A MAZDA DEALER. THEY INSPECTED THE CAR AND DETERMINED THAT I HAD HIT SOMETHING, THUS THEY WOULD NOT COVER ANY OF THE COST. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ROCK, WOOD, OR ANIMAL IN THE TREAD - I REMAIN CONVINCED THAT THE RIM SIMPLY BROKE WHILE I WAS DRIVING. NO METALLURGIST LOOKED AT THE SPLIT RIM, AND THE OTHER THREE RIMS WERE ONLY VISUALLY INSPECTED. I PAID $601 FOR A NEW WHEEL AND TIRE BUT AM CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY METAL WHEEL RIMS BREAKING. I HAVE PHOTOS AND THE BROKEN WHEEL RIM AND TIRE.

THE ENGINE BEGAN REVVING HIGH AS I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND APPLY THE BRAKES AS I APPROACHED A TRAFFIC RED LIGHT. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL TO SEE IF BY TAPPING THE GAS PEDAL IT WOULD STOP REVVING. IT DID NOT. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, I PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND THE CAR SPED FORWARD DESPITE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. I WENT THROUGH A RED LIGHT TRYING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN ON TO A MAJOR HIGHWAY, CROSSED A MEDIAN STRIP, CLIPPED A VEHICLE IN THE REAR, TURNED THE CAR TRYING TO AVOID COLLISIONS WITH OTHER CARS, WENT OFF THE ROAD HITTING UTILITY POLE AND TRANSFORMER BOX ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY, FINALLY COMING TO REST WITH AIR BAGS DEPLOYED ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THIS HAPPENED ON JULY 8, 2018, A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT OBVIOUSLY SHAKEN AND CONFUSED HOW MY BRAKES COULD FAIL ON A CAR RECENTLY IN FOR ITS 10000 MILE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE 9 DAYS PRIOR. RESEARCHING THIS ON LINE FOUND SIMILAR INCIDENTS OF THIS OCCURRING WITH MAZDA 3 VEHICLES AND OTHER MANUFACTURERS (I.E. TOYOTA). REFERRED TO AS SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION (SUA). THERE ARE MANY REPORTED CASES OF SUA, SOME WHERE DRIVERS ARE AT FAULT. MY CASE WAS CLEARLY MECHANICAL DEFECT RELATED.

SO I HAVE VISITED MAZDA DEALER IN CERRITOS. FEW TIMES SINCE I PURCHASED CAR I HAVE BEEN TELLING THEM ABOUT MY CAR JERKING TO THE SIDE WHILE DRIVING ITS LIKE A WOBBLE EFFECT THEY SAID CAR WAS FINE I INSISTED TO GET IT CHECKED AND THEY DIDNT SONI WENT BACK AND TOLD THEM I WANTED FULL CHECK THEY SAID FOR WHATBITS A NEW CAR I SAID I DONT FEEL SAFE WITH MY CAR JERKIN TO SIDE AND MAKING ME COME CLOSE TO SIDE SWIPE OTHER CARS. ON THE FREEWAY THEY CHECKED IT MILDLY I SAY THAT BECAUSE THEY DIDNT LAST NOT EVEN AN HOUR WHEN I GOT CAR RETURNED TO ME THE PROBLWM CONTINUED INRECENTLY GOT AN A ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS JREKIN CAR KEPT DOING WHAT DONI DO NOW I DONT FEELBITS OK TO LETBTHIS DEALER CONTINUE WORKINGBIF THEY ARENT CHECKING CARS CORRECTLY

WHEN FROM A FULL STOP, THEN WITH WHEN NEEDING TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY, THERE IS A DELAY IN ENGINE RESPONSE. USUALLY HALF A SECOND TO ONE FULL SECOND DELAY IN ENGINE RESPONSE BEFORE IT STARTS TO ACCELERATE. ONE ONE OCCASION, IT DID NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL. I HAD TO THEN LET MY FOOT OFF OF THE GAS PEDAL AND PRESS DOWN ON THE GAS AGAIN FOR IT TO FINALLY ACCELERATE. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS FOR EXAMPLE WHEN I WAS ON THE FREEWAY. MY LANE WAS STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC, BUT THE LANE TO MY RIGHT WAS OPEN, SO I WAITED TILL IT WAS CLEAR THEN TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT AND PRESS THE GAS PEDAL. WELL TO MY SURPRISE IT DID NOT ACCELERATE AND CONSISTENTLY MOVED AROUND 5 MPH, WELL THERE WAS A CAR COMING IN THAT LANE AND MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE SO I LET OFF MY FOOT AND PRESS THE GAS AGAIN AND IT STARTED TO ACCELERATE.

WHEN STARTING THE CAR SMART CITY BRAKE AMBER WARNING LIGHT AND SMART CITY AMBER FAULT LIGHT WILL SOMETIMES APPEAR ON THE DASH AFTER CAR SITS IN HOT SUN AND REMAIN ON AFTER CAR IS STARTED AND IS BEING DRIVEN. THE WARNING LIGHTS MAY OR MAY NOT DISAPPEAR WHILE THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN. THE FIRST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS SOON AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR MAY 25, 2017. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS NOTIFIED AND AFTER INVESTIGATING REPLACED THE FORWARD SENSING CAMERA (FSC) AND PERFORMED A DYNAMIC AIMING PROCEDURE SYSTEM OPERATION. NO FURTHER SIMILAR PROBLEM WAS ENCOUNTERED UNTIL MAY, 2018. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS AGAIN NOTIFIED OF THE REPEAT PROBLEM. AFTER AGAIN INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEM THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT INFORMED ME "....THE FSC CANNOT OPERATE NORMALLY DUE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES, THE SYSTEM FUNCTIONS RELATED TO THE FSC ARE TEMPORARILY STOPPED AND THE WARNING LIGHTS ARE DISPLAYED. HOWEVER, THIS DOES NOT A INDICATE A MALFUNCTION." TSB15-006/17 (NHTSA ID:101234390) WAS CITED. ADDITIONAL WRITTEN INFORMATION FROM MAZDA WAS ALSO SUPPLIED BY THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WHICH STATED "THE WARNING LIGHTS WILL TURN OFF WHEN THE FSC COOLS DOWN BY TURNING ON THE AIR CONDITIONER OR PARKING IN THE SHADE" ALL OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION INDICATES THE SYSTEM FUNCTIONS RELATED TO THE FSC ARE TEMPORARILY STOPPED BUT THERE IS NO MALFUNCTION AND THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE COOLED DOWN. THIS MAYBE TRUE BUT IS IT ALWAYS TRUE OR IS IT A SAFETY HAZARD MALFUNCTION DUE TO FAILURE OF THE FSC FOR A REASON OTHER THAN A HEAT. COPIES OF THE REPAIR INVOICES CAN BE MAILED TO YOU IF NEEDED.

MAKING A RIGHT TURN FROM A STOP ONTO A FREEWAY SIDE STREET. IT IS A 50 MPH ZONE. ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE TURN ON LIGHT THROTTLE AT ABOUT 10 MPH, I GIVE IT THE GAS AND NOTHING HAPPENS. THE ENGINE IS STILL RUNNING BUT WILL NOT ACCELERATE. I LET OFF THE THROTTLE COMPLETELY THAN REAPPLY IT. NOW IT ACCELERATES. GAS TANK IS SLIGHTLY OVER 1/4 FULL. THIS HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY REPORTED TO MAZDA AS IT HAS OCCURRED A FEW TIMES BEFORE. THEY HAD INSTALLED A RECORDING DEVICE IN THE CAR FOR A WHOLE MONTH BACK IN JANUARY THIS YEAR. TODAY WAS THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEFORE THE BLACK BOX THAT THIS PROBLEM CAME BACK. THE CAR WAS PURCHASED IN AUGUST 2017.

WE LEASED THIS CAR IN JULY OF 2017. A COUPLE WEEKS LATER ON 8/9/17 MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING THE CAR. AS SHE APPROACHED THE EXIT RAMP ON A HIGHWAY NEAR OUR HOUSE SHE FELT WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS ANOTHER CAR HITTING HER IN THE REAR. SINCE NO VEHICLES STOPPED SHE DROVE THE CAR TO A CORNER NEAR OUR HOUSE WHILE HEARING A LOUD GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS THAT THE DRIVER SIDE REAR BRAKE UNIT WAS MISSING 1 OF THE 2 BOLTS THAT HELD IT IN PLACE AND THE SECOND BOLT HAD DISLODGED TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO HOLD THE BRAKE UNIT IN PLACE. LUCKILY THE UNIT DID NOT COMPROMISE THE INTEGRITY OF THE BODY WHEN IT WAS DISLODGED AT 55 MILES PER HOUR AND MY DAUGHTER DID NOT LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. HOWEVER, THIS WAS A BRAND-NEW CAR THAT WAS DELIVERED TO OUR DEALER FROM ANOTHER DEALER AND PREPARED FOR US BY OUR DEALER, HUNTINGTON MAZDA. WE ASKED THEM TO ENGAGE MAZDA TO FIND OUT HOW THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED. IT APPEARS THAT NO INVESTIGATION ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE AND THE VEHICLE WAS FIXED AND RETURNED TO US AFTER ABOUT 3 OR 4 WEEKS DUE TO PARTS AVAILABILITY. I HAVE A GREAT CONCERN THAT THIS ISSUE MAY NOT BE LIMITED TO OUR VEHICLE AND THAT SOMEONE COULD BE IN DANGER. THE QA MARKINGS APPEAR WHERE THE BOLTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN, SO THIS DEFECT OCCURRED EITHER AT THE DEALER OR A RESULT OF NORMAL OPERATION DISLODGING THE BOLTS. THE ATTACHED IMAGES SHOW THE BRAKES FROM THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. I ALSO CREATED A SECOND COPY OF EACH OF THE PICTURE WITH THE AREA IF INTEREST HIGHLIGHTED.