Driving down the road and noticed my steering wheel started to not be aligned. I then noticed the steering response wasn't there like it usually was. I was on a highway and the car started steering as if it were a boat. A delay in the steering response was creating a dangerous driving experience. I brought it in to the dealership and they had told me that the part that holds everything together had completely rusted out. I could not take the car back with me as it was too unsafe to drive on the road. It's been 4 weeks now and still my car sits at the dealership. The car doesn't even have 90k on it and is in great condition other than that. Four weeks of no car and no word on anything about how it's going to get fixed has cost me money in rentals and also kept me from getting to all the jobs I need to get to. After doing some research on my own since I keep calling and they keep telling me they don't know what's going on with it, I'm noticing so many people with the same car having the same exact issue. This isn't a wear and tear issue like brakes or tires. This is a manufacturing and engineering issue that has failed. Any information on this would be great!
2009 Mazda MAZDA6 steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 36 of 36, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Was driving vehicle at 45 mile per hour. Suddenly noticed steering wheel was off center. I did not hit a pothole or any other obstructions on the road. Steering became very loose and vehicle hard to steer. When braking the vehicle started to make squealing sound and pulled to one side. Suspension became very harsh even on good surface road.. This is a catastrophic failure with no warning. Fortunately was able to get vehicle to auto repair center without getting into accident. Auto repair facility examined vehicle and showed me that engine cradle - subframe had rusted thought and broke. This caused the engine to go off center which caused the braking, steering, and suspension issues. Auto repair facility told me the vehicle was not safe to drive and made me sign a waiver to release the vehicle.
I backed out of my driveway, which has a slight curb to it, and heard a clunk or pop from the front of the car. Drove down my street and to a highway on-ramp and while turning onto the ramp the steering felt loose (required more steering angle than normal to turn same amount). While on the highway, to keep the car straight, the wheel needed to be held turned left ~20degrees. I drove to the 1st exit to get off the highway right away, and while applying brakes, the car pulled to the right. Going on city streets to try to return home, a traffic light turned yellow, and applied brakes again and car pulled almost over into the right hand lane. Immediately pulled into a parking lot and called a towtruck, and towed it to a shop. Pictures from inspection performed by the shop are attached.
Steering became difficult. We thought it needed an alignment nut 2 days later the steering became difficult. This was driving on a residential street at approximately 30 MPH. We took the car to a repair shop to discover the sub frame has rusted into two. $1700 minimum to repair with a used part.
Inspection agency found that the engine cradle was corroded to the point of near failure. Have been told that a replacement using a used chassis will cost over $1500. I have lived in new jersey/pennsylvania for all but 8 months I have owned this car since 2009. From reading about others with the same issue, it seems the engine cradles were not made to handle those winter conditions. Hopefully this will generate a recall since it seems like a common occurrence. I also had to have my front axle replaced about a year ago for a rusting issue that may have been due to the same material corrosion.
Car suddenly veered right on the highway and scraped both fenders and the mirror against a cement barricade. Steering has been unpredictable. While elevated on jack stands with both front wheels hanging, crouched facing the right passenger side tire, the tire can be gripped with the left hand on the rear facing tread and right hand on the front facing tire tread, then moved in and out with large amounts of play, wobble, and clunking noises. There is also a large amount of noise and clunking coming from the area where the streering " linkage" ( term?) connects to the hydraulic rack when the front of the car is on jackstands and the steering wheel is moved to both extremities. The hydraulic steering rack appears to flex left and right when the car is on the ground in the normal driving position and the steering wheel is moved to both extremities. The left drivers side wheel bearing is in need of replacement. While assessing that is when the extreme rusting of the front subframe was noticed, along with a huge rust hole on the right passenger side as described by others. Very close to the attachment of the lower a-arm of the same side. Car was purchased new from dealership with 1500 miles by an in household family member and has had all/nearly all of its scheduled dealership maintenance at the place or purchase up untill the beginning/middle 2017. Afterwhich I recieved the vehicle. This was all noticed on or aprox july 1st 2018 and the car hasnt been driven since.
This car was bought used. After suspension inspection I found out that the front subframe is extremely rusty and immediate replacement is necessary. According to the body condition there were no any incidents which may affected the subframe condition. Further driving with this is dangerous.
My son was driving my car to get food when the car lost control of steering and veered right towards the curb. His steering was straight but car was difficult to control. Thankfully he was only going 25 MPH. We took it to auto shop and was told engine cradle/subframe had rusted throughout. Very expensive repair. We also own a second 09 mazda 6 that we now worry about and will get looked at.
In august 6th, 2018, I was driving back from work with my 4y old son in quebec city at 50 km/h. When I want to stop at the red-light I sensed a significant loss of steering control to the right and I was completely shocked because I was just about to hit a cyclist. And my son was frustrated too. Luckily nothing bad happened. But from there I wasn't able to drive correctly, I held the steering wheel to 60 degrees to the left while going at 25 km/h to be able to drive straight and get back to my home. The following day I drove my car to the nearest garage, and to my surprise, the guy told me that the subframe at the right near to the wheel is completely corroded and the steering rack was separated from its mounts causing the steering loss. The garage owner told that he called mazda to ask for a new subframe for me, but they told him that they don't have it in stock and they have already 5 more people with the same problem waiting for that. Knowing that I do rust check and treatment before every winter. I am very thankful to god that nothing bad happened while I was traveling with my family during our holidays. Mazda should recognize this as a serious and very dangerous defect since it is happening for a lot of people.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mazda 6. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle started pulling to the right. In addition, the traction control and dynamic stability control off warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 148,500.
Mazda dealer was performing a couple of recalls. They found that the subframe was severely rusted. Said that it needed replaced before it failed. Said that engine could drop out or problems with steering if the subframe failed. 9 year old car with 100,000 miles and no other rust problems is unsafe to drive because of problem with the subframe. I contacted mazda but have not heard back from them.
Subframe rust the front passenger subframe is severely rusted to the point that tmy local mazda dealer (alden mazda in fairhaven, ma) didnt want to perform routine maintenance due to their concerns over this very serious safety issue. They told me that the car is unsafe to drive at this point. I drive approximately 150 to 200 miles on most days and I'm very concerned for my safety. I purchased the car on february of 2018 with only 68,000 miles on it. As of july 30th 2018 it's at approximately 79,000 miles.
Bought 2009 mazda 6 brand new. Car has 140,000 miles well maintained. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid a collision with a truck pulling a trailer. The truck was at a stop sign facing west, I had right of way driving north, truck driver pulled out in front of me turning left to go south. My speed aprox.40mph to dead stop.. My vehicle never left the road or no impact with other vehicle. As I started to drive straight, I had to keep my steering 20-30 degrees to left because my car pulled hard to the right. I pulled over to check for flat tire. That was not the issue. I was able to turn around and proceed to a mazda dealer aprox 2 miles south . I left the car there for mazda to inspect. The service advisor called me and told me the front sub frame had split/cracked due to rust corrosion--"thats northeast ohio for you". Repair estimate $2000-$2500. Repairs are not done. Dealership has allowed to leave the vehicle in the parking lot for a short time. My car can not be driven. The dealership offered to work with me to "purchase another vehicle " .
Engine cradle/crossmember is severely deteriorated on the passenger side. Excessive rust and holes in the structure. My concern is a safety issue in driving the car and having it stay together.
Update to the federal safety agency id number: 11074904 on 7/8/18, the front crossmember engine cradle failed, which has resulted in the catastrophic failure of being able to steer the car. The car is now unsafe to operate and drive whatsoever. I have been waiting 4.5 months for the manufacturer to provide the replacement oem part which I had scheduled the repair in the beginning of march 2018. The manufacturer has refused to sell the part to the mechanic, and the dealer said the price of the oem part has now doubled. This price gouging and inability to allow me to freely choose who to perform maintenance on my car is unacceptable and may result in the pursuit of legal action.
Garage kept mazda 6. While traveling about 40 a person cut into my lane and under hard braking we heard a loud grinding sound and the car pulled hard right. We pulled over and the car was not driveable. Had it towed home to find the subframe broke behind the passenger side tire. There was an unusual amount of corrosion there compared to the rest of the car.
Loss of steering due to passenger side rusted sub frame
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mazda 6. While driving 35 MPH and making a left turn, an abnormal noise was heard and the steering wheel became extremely loose. The contact stated that the steering wheel was uncontrollable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion mounts fractured due to rust, but the vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Advised at most recent service appointment that the 'subframe is very rotted' and will cause safety concerns.
Steering safety issue urgent. Vehicle was being driven on a highway when suddenly lost steering, front end of vehicle elevated upon turning steering wheel when it was stopped and stationary. Subframe of vehicle rotted prematurely allowing steering linkage attached to subframe to become detached. Vehicle unsafe and required tow to dealership. Dealership inspected vehicle and reported subframe needed replacement in order to fix safety issue - car not able to be driven until repair complete. Vehicle had been serviced at same dealership for years and issue never reported with subframe. This is an extremely unsafe condition for these vehicles. Technician verbally reported that premature rust/rot could be due to location of AC condenser drain line. Subframe replaced with new mazda oem subframe. Friend with same make/model/year recently reported same issue with subframe.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mazda 6. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel had to be turned all the way to the left in order to maintain a straight line. The contact pulled the vehicle over in a parking lot and heard a screeching sound when the brakes were applied. The steering wheel went all the way to the right. The contact called an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the subframe was rotted out and the front passenger side sway bar link needed to be replaced. The dealer, mazda of bedford in bedford, ohio, was contacted by phone and advised the contact to bring in the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 1-836240644. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
I am having trouble with my alignment going out had it done and a day later went back out. Apon review it turn out the sub frame by the motor cradle is disintegrated causing the problems with steering and alignment.
I went for an oil change and found out that the frame that holds the engine in place was completely rotted out and that my engine could fall out at any given time. Also, because of the rot, the rod that should be attached to the steering was not attached because the bolts had nothing to adhere to. This could have resulted in me driving with my daughter and losing my steering and possibly getting in a fatal accident. The car is in the shop as it is not able to be driven per my mechanic for safety reasons as well as failing inspection fro this. Please contact me as soon as possible as I do not have any transportation and I work full time. I can be reached at [xxx]. Or my mechanic at hometowne auto, [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2009 mazda6 possible loss of steering control. The steering rack mounting bolt on the right side is not connected to the frame. The mounting boss on the cross member frame (engine cradle) is rusted out after 8 winters and 69000 miles. The steering rack is only connected on the left side by 2 bolts that will fail soon. At that point there would be a total loss of steering control when the rack breaks free of its mounts. I found this after noticing that the car made a noise when turning, also while in park and turning the steering wheel back and forth, the front end of the car would lift up and back down. I inspected the front right for a cause and found the rack was loose. I believe it is too dangerous to drive in this condition.
I returned to my vehicle after work and the vehicle was dead except for the remote keyless entry and lights. The vehicle would not start and there was no accessory or on power. The dealer stated that the steering wheel lock and push button start had malfunctioned. I was quoted a repair bill of $1,660, which includes more than $1,000 in parts (parts numbers gs3m-66-15xd and gsyd-67-5dzg ). These are basic systems that failed after only 31,000 miles of use on a vehicle that was maintained very well.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mazda mazda6. The contact stated that while traveling 65 MPH, the low tire pressure warning light illuminated and the vehicle veered to the left. As a result, the tire blew. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the tie rod valves needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 88,000.
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