The red plastic on my tail light has melted. I assume that this could have at some point created a fire or some other safety hazard. There are many complaints about this very problem in this make and model car and this needs to be addressed by mazda even if the car is no longer under warranty. This is a safety issue and I believe the government should take this seriously and move to action against mazda for this flaw in their manufacturing. We are now having to replace this part and it will cost about $600.00.
2008 Mazda MAZDA3 electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 17 of 17, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I parked my car on numerous occasions in the last few months where the transmission failed to engage in park. It required multiple tries to get the park indicator light on the dash to reflect that the car was safely engaged in park. Before I realized what was happening with the transmission. On at least 3 occasions I was unable to start my car at all when I returned from a brief stop. The problem with failing to start happened when the car was on a slight incline and I had engaged the parking brake. After jiggling the automatic transmission lever repeatedly, moving the steering wheel and applying the brake vigorously, I was eventually able to get the car to start. I'm not sure whether it was rocking of the vehicle from frustration or jiggling the gear selector that finally worked. The car has a new battery and has had all scheduled maintenance performed by my local mazda dealer. When this happens, other electrical equipment functions but there is absolutely no response from the ignition system.
My windshield wipers stopped working. After a visit to the shop, I learned that my micro computer was not working and needed to be replaced. This repair cost $729. After some research I found that this is a very common problem with mazda 3s made around 2008. My car is only 5 years old with fairly low mileage, I believe that a defective part caused the problem and this issue should be evaluated for recall and reimbursement. Thank you.
While driving at 65 MPH on interstate 95 in fort lauderdae, fl both of my headlights failed. I was in total darkness and thank god I remembered my dad saying that your high beams are a backup system. This worked. We have had this car in for service 5 times for lamp failures on headlights always at no cost? Now both failed at once, the internet is flooded with with complaints. Is my care safe? I do not trust the dealers, they never charge me for lamp repairs, are they hiding something?
Rear tail lights are factory equipped with factory bulbs and developed melted holes on the rear lenses.
I started the car, put it in reverse and began backing out. As the car began to move the steering felt sluggish like the power steering was not working. The condition lasted a few seconds then cleared up. That happened twice more as I was backing out. Whenever the steering became sluggish some of the warning lights turned on (low tire, ABS, brake, oil, etc). They turned off whenever the steering returned to normal. The condition seemed to clear itself so I put the car in drive and went a few hundred feet. The sluggish steering and flashing warning lights began again. I stopped the car, left the engine running and checked the tires, power steering belt, and power steering fluid level. All were ok. At this point I shut off the engine and removed the key. The speedometer and tachometer needles oscillated wildly from end to end for several seconds. The warning lights were also on. After waiting for the instrumentation to settle to the normal off state, I inserted the key and attempted to start the vehicle. There was no electrical power whatever, like the battery had been removed. I removed the key waited 15 seconds and attempted to start the engine again. That time the car started as expected. I drove the car slowly for a few minutes and there was no recurrence of the problem. The car has been driven several hundred miles since then with no recurrence of the steering issue or flashing warning lights.
Uncontrolled acceleration when vehicle is standing still (stop sign, traffic signal) have found it necessary to shift into neutral until engine revs down to normal rpms, and then proceed. This does not occur when vehicle is in motion (toyota prius). Have eliminated "floor mats" or foot slipping onto gas pedal.
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