2007 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

IN THE SPIRIT OF BEING PROACTIVE; I WILL LIKE TO SHARE A POSSIBLE MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN WITH ALL NEW 2007 MAZDASPEED 3 CARS. FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS I HAVE BEEN OBSERVING ON VARIOUS WEB FORUMS A DISTURBING TREND OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE DRIVER SIDE MOTOR MOUNT BOLT COMING LOOSE CAUSING THE MOTOR TO FALL WHILE DRIVING. I'M INFORMING THE NHTSA IN HOPES THAT AN INVESTIGATION WILL ENCOURAGE MAZDA INTO A RECALL/TSB BEFORE THIS ISSUE CAUSES A SERIOUS INJURY/FATALITY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER. *JB

MAZDASPEED3 TRANS MOUNT FAILURE I WILL BE PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AND WANTED TO REPORT THIS AS A DATA POINT RATHER THAN AN ACTUAL INCIDENT (MY APOLOGIES IF THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT WAY TO GO ABOUT THIS, PLEASE INFORM ME AS TO ANY OTHER WAY TO GO ABOUT LOGGING THIS ISSUE). THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE REPORTS OF THE TRANS MOUNT FAILING ON THIS VEHICLE, ALONG WITH PICTURES AND DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DAMAGE CAUSED TO THE VEHICLE AND THE STEPS TAKEN BY THE DEALER/FACTORY TO DATE. I WOULD POINT YOU AT THESE LINKS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON A COUPLE OF CASES: HTTP://WWW.MAZDA3FORUMS.COM/INDEX.PHP?TOPIC=65861.0 HTTP://WWW.MAZDA3FORUMS.COM/INDEX.PHP?TOPIC=63851.120 IF EITHER OF THESE HAD OCCURRED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS I'D HATE TO THINK WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATE INCLUDED ON THIS FORM WAS THE DATE AT WHICH THE INCIDENT ON THE FIRST LINK BELOW OCCURRED. THIS IS NOT MY VEHICLE. I DON'T CURRENTLY OWN A SPEED3 (YET). I'VE SEEN A TOTAL OF SIX OCCURRENCES OF THE FAILURE SINCE I STARTED AN ONLINE INVESTIGATION EARLIER TODAY. I HOPE THIS HELPS. *JB

MAZDASPEED3 TRANSMISSION/ENGINE MOUNT. THESE HAVE BEEN FAILING ON A QUITE A FEW 2007 MAZDASPEED3 CARS. MY DEALER WOULD NOT EVEN CHECK MINE UPON REQUEST. MANY DEALERS EITHER CLAIM TO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT, OR ARE NOT GIVING THE PROPER SERVICE ON THIS. MAZDA CANADA/USA IS ALSO CLAIMING IGNORANT ON THIS. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AS MAZDA HAD FLOWN ENGINEERS FROM JAPAN TO THE US TO REVIEW A COUPLE OF CASES, AS REPORTED BY ANOTHER MEMBER. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AS THIS MOUNT HOLDS THE ENGINE IN THE CAR, AND CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE INJURY OR WORSE IN MY OPINION. BTW, I WORK AS AN ENGINEER. I HAD TO CHECK MY BOLT MYSELF AND FOUND IT TO BE LOOSE. *JB

2007 MAZDASPEED 3 : TRANSMISSION MOUNT BECAME LOOSE AND CAUSED MIS-SHIFTS, LOUD CLUNKING NOISES AND STABILITY DEGRADATION. ASKED DEALER TO TIGHTEN BOLT BUT WAS UNABLE TO GET THEM TOO. ON PERSONAL INSPECTION BOLT WAS LOOSE AND TRANSMISSION WAS FREE TO MOVE AROUND. AFTER TORQUING BOLT TO SPEC ALL PREVIOUS MENTIONED SYMPTOMS WENT AWAY. *JB

I HAVE HEARD VIA MAZDA3FORUMS.COM THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE FAILURES OF THE DRIVERS SIDE TRANSMISSION MOUNT AND I DECIDED TO CHECK MY OWN SINCE I HAVE WORKED ON CARS FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS...AND I DO NOT TRUST DEALER SERVICE. I ATTACHED A TORQUE WRENCH TO THE BOLT AND PROCEEDED TO GET ABOUT 1/3 TO 1/2 A TURN OUT OF THE BOLT WITH ABOUT 50 FT/LBS AS MY STARTING POINT. I THEN REMOVED THE BOLT, COVERED IN RED LOCATED AND REINSTALLED, TORQUING THE BOLT TO 90 FT/LBS. I FEEL THAT THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AND OWNERS OF THIS NEW CAR SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CHECK THEIR MOTOR MOUNTS FOR FEAR OF FAILURE WHEN THE MOUNTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE RIGHT FROM THE MANUFACTURER.*JB

THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW COMPLAINTS OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE MOTOR MOUNT BOLT COMING LOOSE ON MAZDA SPEED3S. I HAD VISUALLY CHECKED MINE FROM THE BOTTOM SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, AND IT LOOKED OKAY, BUT TODAY I DECIDED TO PHYSICALLY CHECK IT. I PUT THE FRONT ON RAMPS AND REMOVED THE BATTERY AND BOX. I GOT UNDERNEATH AND REMOVED THE UNDER TRAY, BUT COULDN'T LOCATE THE BOTTOM OF THE BOLT (OR SO I THOUGHT). THEN I PUT THE JACK UNDER THE TRANSAXLE AND JACKED UP A BIT UNTIL THE CAR STARTED TO LIFT. I DIDN'T SEE THE HEAD OF THE BOLT POP UP, SO I THOUGHT IT WAS TIGHT. THEN I TURNED THE BOLT COUNTERCLOCKWISE, CAREFULLY NOTING THE AMOUNT OF TORQUE REQUIRED TO BREAK THE BOLT LOOSE. IT WAS NO MORE THAN 30 FT-LBS. I GAVE IT A COUPLE OF TURNS AND NOTICED THAT THE HEAD OF THE BOLT WAS NOT MOVING UP, WHICH IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. I PUMPED THE JACK HANDLE TWO MORE TIMES, AND THE BOLT JUMPED UP QUITE A BIT, MORE THAN WHAT I THOUGHT I HAD LOOSENED IT. SO I TIGHTENED THE BOLT BACK DOWN, AND IT DEFINITELY TOOK MORE TURNS TO GET IT TIGHT THAN WHAT I HAD TURNED IT LOOSENING IT. I THEN REMOVED THE BOLT COMPLETELY AND LOOKED AT EVERYTHING. THE BOLT DID NOT HAVE LOCTITE ON IT, AND THERE WERE SOME SMALL BITS OF LOOSE METAL IN THE THREADS. I LOOKED IN THE HOLE AND SAW THAT THE THREADED HOLE IN THE TRANSAXLE WAS NOT CENTERED WITH THE HOLE IN THE MOUNT ITSELF. IT WAS AS FAR OFF TOWARD THE FRONT AS IT COULD GO, PROBABLY DUE TO THE ANGLE OF THE CAR AND THE JACK. IN THE METAL SLEEVE IN THE MOUNT (THIS PIECE IS UNTHREADED) I SAW MARKS CORRESPONDING TO THE THREADS OF THE BOLT WHEN I LOOSENED IT. THIS BINDING BETWEEN THE BOLT AND THE SLEEVE COULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY REASON I FELT ANY BREAK OUT TORQUE AT ALL. THE THREADS IN THE ALUMINUM PIECE BELOW LOOKED TO BE IN REASONABLE SHAPE (CAN'T SEE MUCH DOWN THERE). THE THREADED HOLE IS ABOUT AN INCH LONG, WHICH SHOULD BE PLENTY OF THREADS IF THEY ARE ALL ENGAGED. I CLEANED THE BOLT, PUT SOME RED LOCTITE ON IT, AND TIGHTENED IT TO 75 FT-LBS. *JB

I HAD READ REPORTS OF TRANSMISSION MOUNT BOLT FAILURE WITH MY NEW CAR THAT HAD RESULTED IN THE ENGINE FALLING OUT OF THE ENGINE BAY ONTO THE GROUND. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE REASON THIS WAS HAPPENING WAS DUE TO A TRANSMISSION MOUNT BOLT THAT HAD WORKED ITS WAY LOOSE UNTIL THE POINT OF BREAKING OFF. THIS WAS BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF SEVERAL DEALERS ACROSS THE USA BY SEVERAL OWNERS AND NONE SEEMED TO SHOW ANY INTEREST IN CHECKING THE PROBLEM FOR FREE, SINCE NO OFFICIAL SERVICE NOTICE HAD COME FROM MAZDA AND THEY WOULD NOT BE PAID FOR THE LABOR OF CHECKING IT OUT. AS A PREVENTABLE MEASURE, I CHECKED MY BOLT PERSONALLY AND HOOKED UP A TORQUE WRENCH TO SEE HOW TIGHT IT WAS. I STARTED AT 10LBS AND WENT UP IN 2LB INCREMENTS. I WAS ABLE TO TIGHTEN THE BOLT BEGINNING AT 26 FT/LBS. I GOT ALMOST A FULL TURN BEFORE IT BOTTOMED OUT AND THEN I SET A FINAL TORQUE AT 75 FT/LB. I THEN REMOVED THE BOLT, COVERED IT IN RED THREAD LOCKER AND REINSTALLED IT AGAIN TO 75 FT/LBS. I BELIEVE THE TORQUE SPEC FOR THIS MOUNT BOLT SHOULD BE BETWEEN 70 TO 90+ FT/LBS SO, I AM UNDER THE ASSUMPTION IT WAS QUITE LOOSE AND CERTAINLY DANGEROUS. THIS COMPLAINT REFERS TO THE DRIVERS SIDE TRANSMISSION MOUNT BOLT. *JB