The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to her destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 10V374000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. The VIN was not available.
Mazda MAZDA3 steering lock-up problems
38 of the 2,994 owner complaints about the Mazda MAZDA3 describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 2007 model year.
- owner complaints
- 38
- worst model year
- 2007
- typical mileage
- 93,173
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Engine failure 13Stalling 3Power steering loss 2Won't start 1Steering noise 1Check engine light 1Ball joint 1No deployment 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2007 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated their daughter was driving at 15 mph, when making a right turn the steering wheel locked up causing the driver to hit a curb and crash the vehicle into a mailbox. There were no warning lights illuminated on the vehicle, however, the driver stated there was a beeping noise coming from the vehicle once the steering wheel locked up. There was no one injured. There was no medical treatment at the scene. A police report was filed. There was damage where the front bumper of the vehicle came off and the front passenger side. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximate 101,000.
When driving the steering wheel locks up . Super hard to pull over. Very dangerous. Could have been killed. The power steering light and engine light come unill I turn vehicle off and on. I have read many post on line of this happening to this vehicle and I'm shocked this is not a active recall or haven't caused any deaths.
Power steering light came on, steering became impossible at first, checked fluid, and lines, all was ok, then steering wheel locked up, could not drive anymore. Car was in motion when it all started, on a public road.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 mazda mazda3. While the contact's daughter was driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The contact was unaware if any indicators were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to mazda of arlington (1400 tech centre pkwy, arlington, tx 76014, (817) 575-6000) where it was diagnosed that the power steering assist failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Safety recall-electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator while driving on the highway, with my wife and daughter in the backseat I notice my battery light come on. After that every warning light on dashboard came on and the car began to slow down even when pressing my foot on the gas. The car even tried stoping and the steering locked up. We were successfully able to get it towed but I believed this happen because the dealers didn't fix the recall and instaed they bypassed it.
In motion on city street power steering locked up and would not operate. Restarted car and worked for 30 seconds before failing again. No computer code stored and mechanic can't find issue or replicate issue.
I had a serious accident because my steering locked up so I couldn't steer my steering wheel . I rolled my car and nearly was killed
When I was driving my steering wheel locked up, my radio turned off and turned back on and my power steering light came on. I was going around a curve so it was really unsafe and I could have wrecked. Suddenly the light turned off and everything was fine, about 3 minutes later it happened again. Then went back to normal.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 mazda 3. While driving 45 MPH, the power steering warning indicator illuminated and the power steering seized. When the vehicle was turned off and back on, it operated as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
Related recalls
Steering: electric power assist system
- What is wrong
- Mazda is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 mazda3 and mazda5 vehicles manufactured from april 2, 2007 through november 30, 2008. These vehicles may have a condition in which a sudden loss of power steering assist could occur at any time while driving the vehicle.
- Risk
- Power steering assist is suddenly lost reducing the driver's ability to steer the vehicle as typically expected, and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power steering pump and lines free of charge. The safety recall began on september 15, 2010. Owners may contact mazda customer assistance center at 1‑800‑222‑5500.
Recall number 10V374000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mazda MAZDA3 steering lock-up
Which Mazda MAZDA3 years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2007 (9 complaints), 2008 (7 complaints) and 2010 (7 complaints).
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