2008 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

BROKEN SHIFT LEVER. COMING OFF OF FREEWAY, DOWNSHIFT TO THIRD AND IT SNAPPED. SHIFT LEVER BROKE AT A KNOWN STRESS POINT IN THE DESIGN. RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LEVER WHERE THE REVERSE LOCKOUT PIN IS LOCATED. THE MANUFACTURER IS CLAIMING THIS IS NOT COVERED UNDER POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. WHILE I DID HAVE IT REPLACED UNDER THE BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY, OTHERS WHO ARE OUT OF THE STANDARD WARRANTY ARE BEING DENIED REPLACEMENTS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE STILL COVERED UNDER THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AS THIS IS A KNOWN FLAW AND COULD LEAD TO ACCIDENTS IN THE FUTURE. HAVING A MANUAL TRANSMISSION GEAR SHIFTER BREAK OFF IN YOUR HAND WHILE DRIVING IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. NOW, SEEING THAT YOU CAN'T OPERATE THE VEHICLE WITHOUT THE SHIFT LEVER, THAT SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY IT AS POWERTRAIN. LET'S BE LOGICAL HERE. *TR

I WENT TO SHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR FROM A STOP (AT A RED LIGHT,) AND MY SHIFTER FELL OFF IN MY HAND. UPON DISASSEMBLING THE CENTER CONSOLE AT THE LIGHT, I FOUND THAT THE CAST-ALUMINUM SHIFTER ARM HAD BROKEN AT THE INSERTION POINT FOR THE RETENTION PIN. NOT ONLY AM I NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS ISSUE, BUT IT HAPPENED TO ANOTHER PERSON TODAY (WHOM I'M FORWARDING TO THIS SITE.) MAZDA SAID IT'S NOT UNDER THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY AND BECAUSE I HAVE AN AFTERMARKET TRANSMISSION MOUNT AND A COLD-AIR INTAKE, THEY WON'T MAKE A GOODWILL ADJUSTMENT (IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS WOULD BREAK IT....) THEY HAVE NO CONCERN OVER THE CLEAR SAFETY ISSUE, REFUSE TO DISCUSS OTHER INCIDENTS AND SPOKE TO ME AS IF THIS IS THE FIRST CAR I'VE OWNED AND MY TIME WOULD BE BETTER SPENT COLORING ON THE BUS. *TR

MOST CARS HAVE TWO HORN TONES, A "LOW" AND A "HIGH." FOR THE US MARKET, THE MAZDA3/SPEED3 DELETES THE "LOW" TONE. THE REMAINING "HIGH" TONE IS TOO WEAK TO BE HEARD BY SURROUNDING MOTORISTS. I HAVE ADDED AN AFTERMARKET LOW TONE AND HAVE LOST COUNT OF HOW MANY TIMES THIS UPGRADE HAS PREVENTED A CRASH. WHICH MAKES ME WONDER HOW THE NHTSA ALLOWED MAZDA TO SELL CARS IN THE US WITH SUCH WORTHLESS HORNS? *TR

2008 MAZDA 3. CONSUMER STATES PERSISTENT CLUNKING NOISE FROM THE SUSPENSION AND TWO OF ENGINE MOUNTS ARE COMING LOOSE *TGW THE DEALER DETERMINED THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE REAR SHOCKS AND REPLACED THEM. THE NOISE, HOWEVER PERSISTED. THE CONSUMER DECIDED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP AND THEY DETERMINED THAT BOTH FRONT AXLES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THERE WAS A CRACK IN THE CV BOOT. THE CONSUMER THEN WENT BACK TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THEM INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER DETERMINED THE STRUTS MOUNTS, REAR SWAY BAR LINKS, BUSHINGS AND CLAMS ALL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB

DRIVING NORMALLY - MY VEHICLE IS STOCK, NEVER RACED OR ABUSED, AND ONLY DEALER-SERVICED. WITH NO WARNING WHATSOEVER, WHILE DRIVING NORMALLY IN TRAFFIC, THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER BROKE OFF! I WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE GEARS AT ALL AFTERWARDS. ONLY THROUGH SKILL AND LUCK WAS I ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER ARE REPLACING THE AFFECTED PARTS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE USING THE EXACT SAME PARTS AS BEFORE (DESIGN, PART #S ARE IDENTICAL). AS OTHER OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM, THIS IS A SERIOUS QUALITY DEFECT, REMAINING UNADDRESSED, WITH SAFETY IMPLICATIONS. *TR

MY COMPLAINT IS REGARDING MY 2008 MAZDASPEED3 WHICH HAS SMOKED FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW WHENEVER THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED AT RED LIGHTS. THIS IS CONSISTENT AND MAKES BREATHING DIFFICULT WHILE WAITING AT STOP LIGHTS SINCE THE SMOKE GETS INTO THE CABIN DURING MOST BRIEF STOPS. THE ISSUE IS DOCUMENTED UNDER MAZDA TSB 0100410 JAN 10. THE ISSUE SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE FACTORY WARRANTY; HOWEVER IT HAS NOT BEEN FIXED SINCE THE DEALER CLAIMS THEY ARE UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE SINCE IT WAS SMOKING AT THE DEALERSHIP AS I DROVE AWAY FROM THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. *TR

THE ISSUE FIRST BEGUN (05/04/09) WHEN THE ENGINE MISSED FIRED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HWY, WHICH CAUSE THE CAR TO FEEL AS IF IT WAS GOING TO STALL. AFTER THAT INCIDENT, A KNOCKING NOISE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS APPARENT. THERE WAS ALSO VIBRATION FROM THAT NOISE THAT CAN BE FELT THROUGH THE PEDALS OF THE CAR. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE DEALER, WHICH WAS SIERRA MAZDA OF MONROVIA, CA, AND I EXPLAIN THE WHOLE SITUATION, THEY ONLY LOOKED AT THE CAR FOR ABOUT 15MINS AND THEN SAID IT WAS A CLUTCH RELATED ISSUE THAT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. I TOLD THEM THAT THE NOISE WAS A GREAT CONCERN TO ME SINCE I READ THAT SOME CUSTOMER WITH THE SAME MODEL CAR EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEMS BEFORE THEIR ENGINE BLEW (TOSSED A ROD). SURE ENOUGH AFTER FEW WEEKS, I VISITED THE DEALER FOR A LIGHT SWITCH REPLACEMENT AND ONLY DRIVING A FEW BLOCKS OUT OF THE DEALER, RIGHT AFTER THEIR "FULL CIRCLE INSPECTIONS", THERE WAS A LOUD BANG UNDER THE CAR, THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF AND SMOKE AND OIL WAS COMING OUT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED IMMEDIATELY BACK TO THE DEALER TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. THE DEALER'S TECHNICIAN PUT THE CAR ON THE LIFT AND YOU COULD SEE RIGHT THROUGH THE ENGINE BLOCK. THERE WAS A HOLE FROM ONE END AND ANOTHER ON THE OTHER END. THE ENGINE HAS TOSSED A ROD THREW THE BLOCK. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OWNERS OF MY CAR 2007-2009 MAZDA MAZDASPEED 3 THAT HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING BLOWN MOTORS AND HAVE BEEN DENIED BY THE DEALERS AND MAZDA THEMSELVES. I HAVE ALSO BEEN DENIED BY THE DEALER. THE DEALER REQUEST RECEIPT FOR MAINTENANCE WHICH I PROVIDED. SINCE I PERFORM MY OWN OIL CHANGES, I GAVE THEM RECEIPT OF WHEN I PURCHASE MY OIL FILTERS. MY CAR WHEN THROUGH THEIR "FULL CIRCLE INSPECTION" TWICE, ONCE WHEN THE INCIDENT FIRST HAPPEN, AND SECOND WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE ENGINE BLEW, AND EVEN THE TECH HIMSELF SAID OIL LIFE AND LEVELS WERE OPTIMAL. *TR

VEHICLE MOTOR FAILS CATASTROPHICALLY WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING FIRE. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING HER MAZDA SPEED3 AT HIGHWAY SPEED WHEN THE MOTOR FAILED WITHOUT WARNING AND CAUSED AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE. THIS EVENT HAPPENED ONE TIME, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE CAR THE APPROACHES ITS TOTAL LOSS VALUE. A MAZDA DEALER HAS INSPECTED THE CAR AND FOUND THAT THE MOTOR FAILED DUE TO INSUFFICIENT OIL LEVEL; HOWEVER, AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT THE OIL HAD FALLEN TO LOW LEVEL. THE DASH LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT DID NOT COME ON UNTIL AFTER THE MOTOR STOPPED RUNNING. MAZDA HAS DENIED WARRANTY COVERAGE, SAYING THAT THE FAULT IS DUE TO THE MAZDA DEALER THAT PERFORMED THE LAST OIL CHANGE SERVICE DID NOT INSTALL THE OIL DRAIN PLUG PROPERLY. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AND IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL STOPPED TO PROVIDE ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. *TR