1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata

WHILE ON THE OFF RAMP FROM THE FREE WAY IN MY 1999 MAZDA MIATA II DISCOVERED THAT THE COVER ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE STEERING COLUMN HAD COME UNBOLTED AND HAD FALLEN BETWEEN MY FEET AND THE BRAKE PEDDLE. THERE WAS NO TIME TO DOWN SHIFT, I ATTEMPTED TO TURN BUT WENT THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. THE CAR WAS TOTALED AND I WAS INJURED. THERE WAS NO OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE OR PEOPLE INJURED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 MAZDA MIATA. ON THREE OCCASIONS, WHEN THE CONTACT FILLED UP THE GAS TANK, THE GAS OVERFLOWED. THE DEALER STATED THAT HIS VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 00V032000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:FILLER PIPE AND CAP). THE COST FOR THE REPAIR WILL BE $175. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 63,500 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000.

I HAD BOUGHT THE CAR THE DAY BEFORE ON FEB 21 2008 AND ON FEB 22 2008 I WAS DRIVING AND DOING 60 AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR STALLS WOULDN'T LET ME SHIFT OR GEAR DOWN, AND AS TRYING TO DO SO THE BRAKES LOCK UP WHEN I LET GO OF THE CLUTCH. THEN COASTING INTO THE CLOSEST DRIVEWAY. NOW IT WONT START AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BECAUSE I JUST GOT IT FROM A USED CAR LOT THE DAY BEFORE. AND ALSO MAKES ME WONDER, DID THEY KNOW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN OR SOMETHING SIMILAR WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT CAN I LEGALLY DO ABOUT THIS? *TR

I HAVE HAD 4 FLAT TIRES WHILE DRIVING IN THE PAST YEAR WITH RADIAL GT, ULTRA HP 4, SIZE 185/60R14 ON A 1999 MAZDA MIATA. ONE IN OCTOBER 2006, ANOTHER IN MAY 2007 AND 2 MORE TODAY (7/5/07). ALL FLAT TIRES WERE FROM SMALL HOLES BETWEEN THE TREAD AND SIDEWALL. THE FIRST 2 WERE THE RIGHT REAR. TODAY, BOTH THE LEFT REAR, AND 15 MINUTES LATER, THE RIGHT REAR WENT FLAT. IF THIS HAPPENED ONCE, OR EVEN TWICE, I'D THINK IT WAS A COINCIDENCE. BUT IN 25 YEARS OF DRIVING, I'VE NEVER HAD A TIRE GO COMPLETELY FLAT WHILE DRIVING. 4 TIRES IN ONE YEAR SEEMS KIND OF ODD. THESE TIRES HAVE LESS THAN 20,000 MILES ON THEM AND PROBABLY HAD AT LEAST HALF THE TREAD LEFT. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE OR CLOSE CALLS BECAUSE OF THESE, BUT I HAD TO CHANGE TIRES ON BUSY FREEWAYS FOR 2 OF THESE FLAT TIRES. THANK YOU. *TR

1999 10TH ANNIVERSARY MAZDA MIATA CURRENTLY WITH 33,900 MILES ON IT. ABOUT 600 MILES AGO CAR SUDDENLY STARTED AND RAN ROUGH WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. HAD CODE CHECKED AND REVEALED P0300 (RANDOM MISFIRE I.E.IGNITION COIL PACK FAILURE). CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT OUT AFTER READING CODE. SYMPTOM REAPPEARED RECENTLY WITH SAME CODE P0300. REPLACED SPARK PLUG WIRES WITH NGK OEM WIRES ABOUT A WEEK AGO AND SYMPTOM REAPPEARED THIS AFTERNOON. I UNDERSTOOD THIS IS NOT COVERED BY THE EMISSION CONTROL WARRANTY BUT THE SUBSEQUENT CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILURE IS COVERED UNDER THE 8/80.000 EMISSION WARRANTY. IF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS SUBSEQUENTLY CAUSED BY THE FAILURE OF IGNITION COIL THEN WHY IS THE IGNITION COIL NOT COVERED UNDER THE EMISSION WARRANTY. THIS IS ANOTHER BUREAUCRATIC SNAFU. THE CAUSE OF THE EMISSION FAILURE IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE EMISSION CONTROL WARRANTY. SO MAYBE I SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILED AND HAVE MAZDA (FORD) REPLACE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND THEN REPLACE THE IGNITION COIL PACK THEN BECAUSE IT WILL COST ME THE SAME BUT OVER $1000 FOR MAZDA (FORD). *NM

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON INDICATING CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILURE. MY VEHICLE HAS 40K MILES AND HAS BEEN WELL TAKEN CARE OF. AFTER INVESTIGATION, MANY 99-00 MIATA'S HAVE IGNITION COIL FAILURES WHICH CAUSES UNBURNT FUEL TO CONTAMINATE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND ASSOCIATED O2 SENSORS. THIS SITUATION WAS RESOLVED AND IS NOT A PROBLEM ON POST 2000 MIATA'S, AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE COVERED BY A RECALL BY THE MANUFACTURER, SINCE IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM. *NM