i have a 2009 Mazda 3 (which i love)
however im beginning to not Love Mazda too much and heres why

#1 apparently there was a defect with the power steering mechanism... One day i fell prey to this as i was driving on the freeway.... My power steering failed and/or blew and i was stuck on the freeway. Thank goodness i wasnt killed since obviously on a freeway youre going at faster than normal speeds. My car was towed to Mazda... they never informed me there was a recall on the power steering mechanism for my car.. I didnt even know it until i googled it. I presented Mazda with the towing bill for my car seeing as how this was a defect and fault on their part and not mine.... They refused to cover the costs or admit to any liability. Thats #1

#2 i Live in New York and as i am writing this which is on 12-30-10 you may all now that we just got a ton of snow dumped on us. So today as im trying to back my car out of what i would call wet, soft snow (not ice or icey like snow) the right front end bumper of my car decided to detach itself from the car.. the whole front bumper did not come off just the right side which i was able to sort of whack back into place. Now heres the thing... i dont think front bumpers should become detached from the car while simply trying to pull out of wet, soft snow. Mine however did. Do you guys believe this to be a defect on the part of the car or am i just nuts here....
I called the dealership i bought my mazda from and spoke to the general manager and he told me that it is not a defect on the manufacturers part and that i would have to call my insurance company and report it to get it fixed... and that it is not their responsibility. To which i said to him how many cars do you know of where the front bumpers detach from the car simply by pulling out of wet snow... I was just wondering what the people on this forum think.... do you believe it to be a defect in the car.....? do i have a legitimate reason to be upset... ? If so what actions do you think i can/should take to resolve this disturbing matter?


Thanks...

P.S. after all the multiple issues i had with my car, i probably wont ever be buying a mazda again... But to forewarn the rest of this forum if you choose to buy a Mazda, DO NOT BUT YOUR MAZDA FROM GARDEN CITY MAZDA in hempstead, New York On Long Island.. They are absolutely the worst when it comes to taking care of their customers....Buy your mazda elsewhere...

 

#1 you def have a case against that stealership, and for your second issue, that problem could of happened when the dealer replaced your powersteering pump or it could of been something that happened during transport. My friend with his brand new 08 mazda 6 found out that all of the doors were loose as in the bolts that attach the hinge were so loose that we were able to tighten them with our fingers. Since these cars are built in japan things like that are bound to happen during transport but when they arrive here there SUPPOSED to be looked over but QC is not americas strong suit. Then again its is a jap car therefore 80% of it is plastic, actually all the pieces that hold the front bumper in place is all plastic, every single piece.

Im right there with ya, i love mazda and i love mine even though its given me quite alot of problems and even though ill never buy a newer one id still buy one (a 90's something)

 

Sorry you ran in to a problem. Can you describe what actually happened beyond "failed/blew"? Not sure how this would kill you though, it's actually easier to steer a non-power assisted car while driving at speed than it is when going slow. Have you ever driven a car without power steering?

Not sure if you can fight that one. Mazda said in their release about the recall that the car was not unsafe to drive, only harder to steer, and that it could be driven (with the owners discretion of course) to a dealer.

As to your bumper pulling off are we just talking about the clips where it meets the fender popping loose or what? It's possible that there was some ice build up under the corner of the bumper and it caught on it when you pulled out of your spot. Also remember that when cold the plastic become stiff and contracts, so the clips may have just come loose. I doubt the bumper could come completely off as it's connected to the splash shield in the wheel well, all along the bottom of the bumper, via bolts and plastic anchors in the center plus two hooks in the center.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...03-08-1860.pdf