# Mazda 3 & Mazda 5 recall: 90-thou cars in Canada



## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

*Mazda owners, take note!*

*90,000 Mazda 3s and 5s recalled in Canada*



> Mazda Motor Corp. is recalling more than 300,000 Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 vehicles in North America to repair problems with the power-steering system that could lead to crashes, a problem the automaker dealt with in Japan a year ago.
> 
> The recall includes 90,000 vehicles in Canada.
> 
> ...


(Metro News)


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

Warning - long story of this happening to me at the worst possible time.

I had this happen to me a couple of months ago. I drive a Mazda3 hatchback. I was on my way to Chicago on the Canada Day long weekend, one of the hottest days this year. Stuck on the Ambassador bridge at Sarnia for an hour in the hot sun in a long line of cars, with the A/C running full blast.

When I reached the lines for the border booths, they suddenly changed the line I was in to "Nexus Only" and I was asked to shift to another line. I turned the wheel, started crawling, and then could not turn my wheel back. Power-steering died and I held up two lanes of traffic for a while. Got ****-scared, thinking my engine went kaput. 

Limped to the booth, answered the routine questions, then told the border-guard that it was my turn to ask questions and asked if he knew anything about cars  and asked if I could park at the inspections area and wait for a tow-truck.

He laughed; and was kind enough (yes, this was an American border-guard) to tell me that if I parked there I would be hassled and checked by the customs officials and directed me to the rest area immediately after the booths.

Remember, it was Friday evening, 6 p.m. Mazda was closed, Mazda Roadside Assistance offered to tow me to the nearest Mazda dealership (which was around 100 kms away in Lansing) and leave me there to wait for the dealership to open the next morning.

While waiting for the tow truck, the car had cooled considerably. I started the car and found that the power-steering light went off and my steering was back in working order. I continued to drive to a friend's place in Lansing, MI, stayed the night and next morning went to the nearest dealership, where they told me that this was a known problem, but they did not have the parts and that I could wait till they received it or I could continue to drive (carefully) and get it repaired inn Canada on Tuesday when i got back.

So, I drive to Chicago, spent the weekend there, drove back on Monday, left the car with my dealership in Burlington on Tuesday, they gave me a rental car for the two weeks it took them to get the parts and then I got my car back.

Point to note is that when I had my problem, I was told that there was no recall, but there was a Technical Service Bulletin saying that if anyone came in with this problem, they needed to replace such-and-such parts and also to provide a rental car in the meanwhile. Now they have made it an official recall.

Cheers


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Thank God I haven't had a recall on my Vespa yet,
I feel sorry for you gas guzzling cagers, That's just way too many recalls.


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

dolawren said:


> Thank God I haven't had a recall on my Vespa yet,
> I feel sorry for you gas guzzling cagers, That's just way too many recalls.


I wonder what tune you would sing if you lived in Burlington and had to commute everyday on your Vespa to Markham for work 

Cheers


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## AppleAuthority (May 21, 2005)

Wow Burlington to Markham? Do you take the 407? That would be quite costly if you do.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

Just out of curiosity - is this traditional hydraulic power steering with a belt-driven pump, or electric boost like my Yaris?


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Gerbil - derailing my own thread here - a good friend of mine picked up a 2007 Yaris 2nd-hand (from a Honda dealer here in Mexico). He's been faithful about service, only at Toyota dealerships, and the most recent was at 50-thousand kms. On Sunday afternoon, at 53-thousand kms, it died on the highway. No heat warning, nada... just refused to keep speed and slowly came to a stop. Had it towed, and a mechanic (non-Toyota) says his engine is shot. Possibly the oil pump (never heard of an oil pump, but hey, I grew up on tractors and old Chevy pickups). Anyway... know anything about Yaris engines? Is there a super-secret recall or warranty thing out there? He's facing a $2500+ repair from Toyota at minimum...


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

CubaMark said:


> Gerbil - derailing my own thread here - a good friend of mine picked up a 2007 Yaris 2nd-hand (from a Honda dealer here in Mexico). He's been faithful about service, only at Toyota dealerships, and the most recent was at 50-thousand kms. On Sunday afternoon, at 53-thousand kms, it died on the highway. No heat warning, nada... just refused to keep speed and slowly came to a stop. Had it towed, and a mechanic (non-Toyota) says his engine is shot. Possibly the oil pump (never heard of an oil pump, but hey, I grew up on tractors and old Chevy pickups). Anyway... know anything about Yaris engines? Is there a super-secret recall or warranty thing out there? He's facing a $2500+ repair from Toyota at minimum...


I guess anything can fail, although the Yaris has the reputation of being bulletproof. If the oil pump has failed it would be very unusual indeed - not just in the Toyota context but on internal combustion engines generally. The oil pump is one of the simplest and most reliable components on any engine.

If the engine is toasted, I'd suggest finding a good used one from a wrecked Yaris to drop in - they aren't too expensive because there's no demand - the brand has very few failures that would lead to a demand for used engines.


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

AppleAuthority said:


> Wow Burlington to Markham? Do you take the 407? That would be quite costly if you do.


This was a project I was on for two years and it is over now, but when it was on yes, I did use the 407 and was not reimbursed by the company (the world's largest consulting company who said I could always take the 401 and that it was my fault I lived in Burlington); and my monthly 407 bill was around $550.

I no longer work with that company BTW.

Cheers


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

CubaMark said:


> Gerbil - derailing my own thread here - a good friend of mine picked up a 2007 Yaris 2nd-hand (from a Honda dealer here in Mexico). He's been faithful about service, only at Toyota dealerships, and the most recent was at 50-thousand kms. On Sunday afternoon, at 53-thousand kms, it died on the highway. No heat warning, nada... just refused to keep speed and slowly came to a stop. Had it towed, and a mechanic (non-Toyota) says his engine is shot. Possibly the oil pump (never heard of an oil pump, but hey, I grew up on tractors and old Chevy pickups). Anyway... know anything about Yaris engines? Is there a super-secret recall or warranty thing out there? He's facing a $2500+ repair from Toyota at minimum...


Sounds more like a computer failure than a dead engine. A woman friend of mine had a battery cable work loose and a "mechanic" told her she needed a new engine. Could just be that mechanic has a boat payment coming up. Worth having a Toyota Mechanic check it out. If it is indeed the engine the suggestion of dropping in a used one is excellent.


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## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

dolawren said:


> Thank God I haven't had a recall on my Vespa yet,
> I feel sorry for you gas guzzling cagers, That's just way too many recalls.


Neither have my running shoes, so no need be up on your high horse. Let me know how that Vespa works out for you when it's snowing, -30 degrees outside, with high winds, and you have two children to take to day care.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

hayesk said:


> Neither have my running shoes, so no need be up on your high horse. Let me know how that Vespa works out for you when it's snowing, -30 degrees outside, with high winds, and you have two children to take to day care.


Response win.


I had a 2005 Mazda3 at one point which never had any problems, and although it wasn't technically included in the 'affected 2007-2008' models, some of them older models had the issue as well. (2004-2006.)

My 2010 Mazda3 has been rock solid, however.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

eMacMan said:


> Sounds more like a computer failure than a dead engine. A woman friend of mine had a battery cable work loose and a "mechanic" told her she needed a new engine. Could just be that mechanic has a boat payment coming up. Worth having a Toyota Mechanic check it out. If it is indeed the engine the suggestion of dropping in a used one is excellent.


On reflection, I think that a good possibility is simply that some grease monkey left the drain plug or oil filter loose at the last oil change. The oil leaks out, oil pressure goes to zero, and the computer shuts everything down before there's any damage. This is a lot more likely scenario than either an oil pump failure or a computer failure. Those computers (Toyota calls the biggest one the ECM) are extremely reliable, something like the oil pump. 

Of course there are always incompetent and/or dishonest mechanics around - the car should certainly be looked at by a Toyota mechanic before any major work is started.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Issue is, there is no leakage, and the engine has oil. Weird. The computer thing is a good tip, though. Problem here in Mexico: practically no consumer protection...


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

CubaMark said:


> Issue is, there is no leakage, and the engine has oil. Weird. The computer thing is a good tip, though. Problem here in Mexico: practically no consumer protection...


The only way to find out for sure about the computer is to plug in the proper diagnostic equipment - that's located at either a Toyota dealer or an independent Toyota specialist. A non-Toyota mechanic is just guessing - what if the ECM (computer) gets replaced at great expense and the problem still remains? "OOPS!"

That said, it's still possible for a _good_ mechanic to narrow down the problem. Will the engine turn over? If not, is it seized, or is the starter just not receiving power? If it will turn over, is there any sign that the spark plugs and fuel injection are trying to function? Are all the cylinders showing compression? Are the camshafts operating normally? Are there any obvious electrical problems around the computer or the battery? Are there any blown fuses? The actual problem could be as simple as a broken wire or a blown fuse. Sometimes all it takes is a sharp eye.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I think my Mazda 5 was manufactured in December 2006 so no go...

But anyway, how oh how did we ever survive before power steering? I've had my fair share of cars without power steering... the only time it's hard to steer is when the car is stopped. Once you're moving, steering is almost effortless.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

Lars said:


> My 2010 Mazda3 has been rock solid, however.


So...in other words...nothing in the mail yet.


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## K_OS (Dec 13, 2002)

dolawren said:


> Thank God I haven't had a recall on my Vespa yet,
> I feel sorry for you gas guzzling cagers, That's just way too many recalls.


Do me a favour and go to Rona and pick me up some 6' 2x4's, next take a couple of kids and there stroller to the local park as well lug a small cooler and bbq for a day of fun, when you can do that with a Vespa let me know otherwise I will stick with my SUV thanks.

Laterz


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

K_OS said:


> Do me a favour and go to Rona and pick me up some 6' 2x4's, next take a couple of kids and there stroller to the local park as well lug a small cooler and bbq for a day of fun, when you can do that with a Vespa let me know otherwise I will stick with my SUV thanks.
> 
> Laterz


I could probably do most of that with my Yaris. If I needed to haul lumber one day, I'd rent a truck. The advantage of doing that over buying an SUV would be that I wouldn't need to burn huge amounts of fuel moving a heavy vehicle around and spinning useless 4-wheel drive mechanisms the other 364 days.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

Gerbill said:


> I could probably do most of that with my Yaris. If I needed to haul lumber one day, I'd rent a truck. The advantage of doing that over buying an SUV would be that I wouldn't need to burn huge amounts of fuel moving a heavy vehicle around and spinning useless 4-wheel drive mechanisms the other 364 days.


A few 6' 2x4s would tuck in nicely with the back seat down. Longer than that, a sturdy roof rack can be purchased, probably for about what one would pay for one or two months additional fuel costs with that SUV.


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## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

Oddly enough, I chose a small hatchback instead of a sedan because I need to haul the occasional 2x4 - mine is 7'8" from the back to the front with the front passenger seat reclined and the rear seat folded flat.

However, people have their own needs for driving whatever they drive and there's always something worse and there's always something better with respect to fuel economy. For all we know, the K_OS lives back in the woods, or has back problems making loading things into a lower car painful or difficult, or some other need not mentioned in this thread.


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