I am very concerned about the safety of the car that I have had since 2004 mazda 3. On sunday, I was hit by a car at about a 20 to 30 degree angle and the impact hit my passenger door. Neither one of us was going at a speed that should have had a result in the damage that occurred. When he hit us and the car came to rest, the police and towing people discovered that the engine had snapped off its' mounting. My airbags did not deploy either. He told me that both he and the towing agent had ever seen this happen before to a car with as little damage to it. I went to the tow place where they were holding my car to take pictures and look at the car, and both of the people (different people than the original tow driver) said they had never seen anything like that. The one guy said only twice has he seen that happen and both had major damage to the car and that they were demolished up to half of the car. He also said the mounting piece of hardware looked like it was made of diecast not metal or aluminum, when we inspected it we noticed the part that was snapped and I must admit it looked like plastic. I had to have the struts replaced in 2008, but yet I had never hit the tires hard on anything. My question is this something that should be investigated and could it be dangerous to other drivers of this year. I know that they have made engines that are designed to drop in accident recently, but not for this year and not for that type of accident. I have written to mazda requesting an investigation and I await their response.
2004 Mazda MAZDA3 engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 21 of 21, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mazda3. She stated that the vehicle could be driven as an automatic or a manual. While driving 20 MPH in manual mode she attempted to shift gears, to no avail. She had to take her foot off of the gas pedal in order for the gears to release and afterwards the gears started to shift on their own. She was able to exit the freeway when the vehicle lost all power, but continued to accelerate. She was unable to stop the vehicle or make a turn. The vehicle began moving from one lane to another and accelerated through a red light to avoid a collision. The vehicle stopped accelerating within in a few minutes. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who diagnosed the failure as the intake manifold. The intake manifold melted, damaged the sensor and the catalytic converter. The mechanic replaced the catalytic converter, sensors, and the gaskets; however, she had to add oil to the engine because the engine light illuminated constantly. She took the vehicle back to the mechanic who stated that the engine also needed to be replaced. She contacted the manufacturer and filed a report; however , the manufacturer stated that they would not assist with the repairs. The engine was not replaced. The failure mileage was 25,000 and the current mileage was 75,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mazda 3. Since 2007, the contact heard a ticking noise in the engine. The noise intensified and the dealer stated that the intake manifold was the cause of the failure. The repair would cost $1,036. The contact attempted to call the manufacturer as well. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 82,200.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mazda 3. While attempting to merge onto the highway at 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shut off. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. Prior to the failure, the vehicle began vibrating and the instrument panel lights flashed. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The failure has occurred more than three times. The current mileage was 36,000 and failure mileage was 24,000.
While driving on a residential road, at a low speed, changing gears from 2nd to 3rd, the car stalled. Upon trying to restart the car, it wouldn't turn over. After the car was pushed off of the road, there was a puddle of oil left behind. Realizing that the car wasn't going to restart, it was towed to a local repair shop. After being put up on the lift, it was discovered that the rod slammed into the engine blocking, seizing the engine. There should have been no reason for the rod to crack on a well maintained engine, on a 2004 vehicle. In order to get this car back on the road, the engine will need to be completely replaced. I don't see any recalls on this make and model, and I truly feel that there was something compromised with the vehicle, in order for this to happen. The oil was changed just 5k miles before. There were no check engine lights on... We are very upset about this news and are hoping mazda has experienced other problems such as this one.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mazda mazda 3. While driving 15 MPH, the contact heard a thumping noise coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact noticed that the belt on the pulley for the power had failed. The dealer stated that the pulley needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 56,000.
I am writing you to seek your assistance in reviewing a complaint that I filed with mazda, but have yet seen no resolution. On december 27, 2005 - the oil filter housing cartridge on my 2004 mazda3 basically fractured and all of the oil was run out of the car, and then the engine seized. My car had approximately 54,000 miles, and 5 oil changes, all with synthetic oil. I had the car towed to tom bush mazda, where they volunteered to do some research to see if they could determine the cause, and then perhaps ask mazda for "goodwill" on the car itself. On tuesday, january 3rd, I went into the mazda dealer, and was told that the "oil filter housing cartridge" had been cracked by faulty workmanship at one of the oil change locations that had changed the oil. Upon doing further research, I found that mazda changed the design of the engine to no longer use the plastic cartridge housing, but went to a canister filter, and issued a service bulletin to all of their locations that severe damage could result if the proper tool was not used to remove the cartridge. They no longer use this design. There are several complaints via web search of similar failures occurring to this faulty design feature. It is further complicated by the fact that I had the oil changed at tom bush mazda prior to the release of their service bulletin - it adds more confusion to who may be culpable for the problem. I am trying to be rational about the issue, and am finding that mazda will not describe the change in design or accept responsibility in the defect of the product/design. The oil loss in question was catastrophic - not a minor leak, the entire contents of the engine emptied in 30 or less seconds. I have contacted the regional director of customer service, michael von balsom, at 904‑731‑4010, and have not received any return phone calls, have requested an estimate of repairs from tom bush mazda from pam busby, and have not received an estimate.
On october 2004 I bought a new 2004 mazda 3 . After the 1st week I noticed a rotten egg smell . The dealer denies that the catalytic converter is bad and will not replace it. This smell is sickening. How can you help.
Vehicle will not start or idle falls vehicle, mazda3 manual, would not start in driveway on cool spring sunday evening. Towing service was dispatched and vehicle was taken to the closest mazda dealership. After several dealers calls to mazda's corporate headquarters, the service professional was told to replace the ignition key and microchips. After four days I went to pick up the vehicle. Upon starting the vehicle in the dealers lot the idle began to fall once again; however, it did start this time. A few miles from the dealership the idle became so hard to deal with that the vehicle was towed back to the original service dealership once again. Several more calls were placed to the headquarters and finally the decision was made to replace the o2 sensor. The car has started and run ever since the repair, but the idle is much lower than it was on original receipt of the vehicle, and the engine at idle speeds is much louder and sounds labored. Once winter comes I fear the problem will reappear. The future of the vehicle's performance is unknown. Possible safety compromise.
The lights on the console keeps popping on. First it was the air bag light that took 4 unsuccessful visits to the dealer. That problem subsided? And now the engine light is popping on...
The A/C on my new car does not cool the car to any comfort level.. I sweat in the heat with the AC on.it doesn't cool the car inside.I had it checked by my mazda dealer they said it is up to the maufactuer's standards.I told them that I have difficulty accelerating with the AC on when passing at 40mph the car would not move it dragged.I had to flloor the gas pedal on a majorr interstate to move from 40-60,from too slow to too fast.I had seconds to move or get killed.the AC does not work and the service managerr told me I have too small an engine and that I should have gotten the larger engine the( 2.3) yet they deny anything wrong with the AC system.the AC hasn't worked since I bought it in may I noticed it in july.it took three weeks for the dealer to get back to me about an appt. Please ignore the hood equipment added below( nothign addded after car was sold) could not remove equipment added in this report.
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