Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||||
| 0103906 | 09/07/2006 | 10020973 | Mazda modular diagnostic system (m-mds) steering wheel angle sensor module self test shows fail. *kb | 02/05/2007 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 03/14/2013 | 84000 | ||
| Power steering jerks and shuts down while driving. very dangerous. also while setting still steering wheel did a complete 360 | |||
| 02/11/2013 | 69850 | ||
| Lost power steering. car would still turn with heavy effort. however, there was no electronic assist. | |||
| 01/08/2013 | 92000 | 1 | |
| Power steering failed. this made it nearly impossible to steer vehicle, making driving dangerous. this has happened on multiple occasions over the last few years. *tr | |||
| 01/08/2013 | 92000 | ||
| Power steering failed. this made it nearly impossible to steer vehicle, making driving dangerous. this has happened on multiple occasions over the last few years. | |||
| 12/22/2012 | 129000 | 1 | |
| Powers steering failed. *tr | |||
| 12/22/2012 | 129000 | ||
| Powers steering failed | |||
| 09/01/2012 | 92000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering assist would seize and cause the vehicle to veer abnormally to the left. the contact would have to move off the roadway and reset the power steering assist through the engine compartment. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised him that the battery terminal had failed. after replacing the battery terminal, the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they then advised that they were inspecting the wiring harness being the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 92,000. the current mileage was approximately 92,500. kmj | |||
| 10/17/2011 | 75000 | 1 | |
| Vehicle's steering wheel shakes and it is hard to turn right, sometimes the steering wheel will shake repeatedly and shake and turn left by itself. i replaced the steering harness with a new one but problem was not resolved. *tr | |||
| 09/01/2012 | 92000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx8. the contact stated that driving approximately 45 mph the power steering would lock up and pull the vehicle to the left. the contact would have to pull over to the side and reset the power steering in the engine compartment. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they advised him that the battery terminal had failed. after replacing the battery terminal the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they advised him that they were looking at the wiring harness being the failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 92,000. the current mileage was approximately 92,500. tb | |||
| 10/17/2011 | 75000 | ||
| Vehicle's steering wheel shakes and it is hard to turn right, sometimes the steering wheel will shake repeatedly and shake and turn left by itself. i replaced the steering harness with a new one but problem was not resolved. | |||
| 05/15/2012 | 52000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated that the power steering warning lamp illuminated and the steering fail to operate. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who repaired the steering column wire but the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering gear box needed to be replaced. the remedy failed to repair the problem. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. the failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 53,000. | |||
| 05/15/2012 | 52000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated that the power steering warning lamp illuminated and the steering fail to operate. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who repaired the steering column wire but the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering gear box needed to be replaced. the remedy failed to repair the problem. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. the failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 53,000. pmb | |||
| 05/15/2012 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated that the vehicle was with the intermittent power steering and fail to operate. the warning lights were illuminated after the failure. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who repaired the steering column wire but the failure reoccured. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the caused of the failure possible was the steering gear box. the vehicle was repaired again of the failure but the failure reoccured. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and who stated that they were aware but the vehicle was not under any warranty and offered not assistance. the failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 53,000. lg | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 98000 | 1 | |
| Power steering intermittently goes out. a search of the internet indicates that this is a known problem for mazda yet there are no recalls to fix faulty engineering. the radiator overflow leaks onto the connectors for the electric power steering causing corrosion and sporadic connections. *tr | |||
| 07/15/2012 | 110589 | 1 | |
| I jumped into my 2004 mazda rx-8 after work started it up and went to drive and noticed it was really hard to turn and i looked and noticed that a light that was a steering wheel with an exclamation mark next to it so i drove it home not even a mile away and read about it online and found out it happens a lot. probably going to take it to the dealer very very soon. *tr | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 98000 | 1 | |
| Power steering intermittently goes out. a search of the internet indicates that this is a known problem for mazda yet there are no recalls to fix faulty engineering. the radiator overflow leaks onto the connectors for the electric power steering causing corrosion and sporadic connections. *tr | |||
| 07/15/2012 | 110589 | 1 | |
| I jumped into my 2004 mazda rx-8 after work started it up and went to drive and noticed it was really hard to turn and i looked and noticed that a light that was a steering wheel with an exclamation mark next to it so i drove it home not even a mile away and read about it online and found out it happens a lot. probably going to take it to the dealer very very soon. *tr | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 98000 | 1 | |
| Power steering intermittently goes out. a search of the internet indicates that this is a known problem for mazda yet there are no recalls to fix faulty engineering. the radiator overflow leaks onto the connectors for the electric power steering causing corrosion and sporadic connections. *tr | |||
| 07/15/2012 | 110589 | ||
| I jumped into my 2004 mazda rx-8 after work started it up and went to drive and noticed it was really really hard to turn and i looked and noticed that a light that was a steering wheel with an exclamation mark next to it so i drove it home not even a mile away and read about it online and found out it happens a lot. probably going to take it to the dealer very very soon. | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 98000 | ||
| Power steering intermittently goes out. a search of the internet indicates that this is a known problem for mazda yet there are no recalls to fix faulty engineering. the radiator overflow leaks onto the connectors for the electric powere steering causing corrosion and sporadic connections. | |||
| 07/15/2012 | 110589 | ||
| I jumped into my 2004 mazda rx-8 after work started it up and went to drive and noticed it was really really hard to turn and i looked and noticed that a light that was a steering wheel with an exclamation mark next to it so i drove it home not even a mile away and read about it online and found out it happens a lot. probably going to take it to the dealer very very soon. | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 98000 | ||
| Power steering intermittently goes out. a search of the internet indicates that this is a known problem for mazda yet there are no recalls to fix faulty engineering. the radiator overflow leaks onto the connectors for the electric powere steering causing corrosion and sporadic connections. | |||
| 07/15/2012 | 110589 | ||
| I jumped into my 2004 mazda rx-8 after work started it up and went to drive and noticed it was really really hard to turn and i looked and noticed that a light that was a steering wheel with an exclamation mark next to it so i drove it home not even a mile away and read about it online and found out it happens a lot. probably going to take it to the dealer very very soon. | |||
| 06/11/2012 | |||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated the driver was traveling 35 mph when a vehicle crossed the center lane crashing into a vehicle in front of the contact causing that vehicle to crash into the contact. the vehicle was hit on the drivers side door. the air bag in the steering wheel did not deploy as the steering wheel detached from the steering column. the side air bags did deploy. the passenger side air bags did not deploy. the driver suffered a crushed pelvis, tail bone shattered, and their urethra was severed in half. the contact stated the side air bag did very little to protect the driver. there was no mention of a police report being filed. the failure mileage was unknown. | |||
| 06/12/2012 | |||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated that the driver was traveling 35 mph when another vehicle crashed into the vehicle preceding the contact. the preceding vehicle then spun into the front driver | |||
| 04/03/2012 | 70000 | ||
| On april 3,2012 at 10pm in buffalo ny. i was driving my 04 rx8 around a bend at 35mph. i experienced a jerk/twitch in the power steering. the indicator light came on instantly i lost the steering sending me into the front of a steel divider of a train bridge. i was taken to ecmc by ambulance. i luckily only suffered minor injuries to my back neck ribs head and shoulder. i am not one to sue nor am i'm going to persu any legal action against mazda. i will say my airbags did not deploy my car was considered totaled $10,000 in damage. i just thought anyone looking to buy an rx8 should read on numerous sites that this malfunction is an extremely common problem that mazda is aware about but still does not wish to post a tsb or a recall. love the car but have lost faith in mazda. sincerely unhappy owner | |||
| 03/25/2012 | 71000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated that the power steering failed while exiting a residential driveway. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 71,000 and the current mileage was 71,100. kmj | |||
| 03/25/2012 | 71000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. the contact stated power steering failed while driving out of the drive way. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 71,000 and the current mileage was 71,100. rds | |||
| 01/10/2012 | 108522 | ||
| As i turned on my car one time, the power steering just didn't come on. i then shut it off, and then turned it back on and it worked. after this happened several times the power steering ceased to turn on at all. it wasn't as if the motor for the electric steering was slowly going out; it was either night or day. | |||
| 01/03/2012 | 95655 | ||
| My mazda rx8 had power steering fail while driving my child home from school. so not cool. | |||
| 11/07/2011 | 89000 | ||
| My electronic power steering is going in and out causing me to lose power steering. this is a problem that many 2004 rx-8 owners are discussing online and in forums. dealers and mechanics know of the problem with connectors and racks going bad but mazda has refused to address the chronic problem. it is dangerous and costly, i am on my second repair of the problem. please push mazda to step up and address this growing and chronic problem. | |||
| 11/25/2010 | |||
| My power steering light comes off and on randomly. when the light comes on my power steering does not work, which in most cases i am already on the road and this is very unsafe.the power steering comes and goes, sometimes it last for a couple days before it turns off but most of the time it does not work at all. i have already taken it to the dealer and they say its the rack, which i spent over $1000 to replace and it still does not work. i have about 15 friends with this same car and they have all had the same issue. mazda needs to fix this before a wreck happens when someones power steering goes off while they are driving 70 mph down the interstate. | |||
| 09/14/2011 | 61000 | ||
| I first noticed a problem in my steering while driving in my neighborhood. the steering felt very light and crisp when i would turn to the left. when i would return to dead center and then turn the steering wheel to the right, the steering became very stiff. the next day when i started the car, the power steering malfunction light was on. power steering was completely disabled at that time. upon doing research i have found out that this is a very common problem with 2004 and 2005 rx8's. | |||
| 09/02/2011 | 67000 | ||
| I just got the car back from dealership they had to put new motor in at 67000 miles replaced motor and catalyist converter 3 colis and also told me they had to flush it out as it was flooded i drove less than 100 miles and power steering went out? now i dont know what the problem is and have to take it back less than a month later this is crazy!!!! cost me over 1100.00 to get it back and drive 2 times and now broke again this car is a piece of crap should have done homework on it before buying | |||
| 02/20/2011 | 60000 | ||
| I was driving my 2004 mazda rx-8, which had approximately 60,000 miles at the time, when i suddenly lost power steering in one direction and steering became very light in the other direction. this problem disappeared the next time i started the car, but reappeared intermittently for several hundred miles, eventually causing the car to lose power steering in both directions. this was intermittent for a while, as well, but eventually the power steering ceased to function altogether. these failures were accompanied by a power steering warning light, which remains illuminated to this day. the first time i experienced the phenomenon, i was very startled by it and feel that, had the problem occurred at an inopportune moment, it could have very well contributed to an accident. | |||
| 05/17/2011 | 32165 | ||
| Vehicle power steering intermittently decreases to the point of little or no power assist. most common on starts after a long vehicle soak. secondary concern is that the battery fails rapidly and repeatedly, and vehicle stalled in traffic en route to dealer to investigate poor power steering performance. root cause reported as a failure of the electric power steering system in vehicle. amperage request of power steering system is so great that can overwhelm electrical system, resulting in poor/no battery charging and believed cause of on-road stall. per manufacturer service, only fix is replacement of entire power steering rack. repair to be performed week of 5/20/11; old parts should be available. | |||
| 02/17/2011 | 85000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx8. the contact stated that while driving at low speeds the power steering suddenly failed and became difficlut to manuever. the vehicle was unable to drive and she had it towed to a dealer. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer and advised her that the body control module had failed. the vehicle was repaired for the body control module. the failure mileage was approximately 85,000. tb | |||
| 09/22/2010 | 58000 | ||
| Vehicle can turn left on its own with a faulty power steering rack and/or control module. | |||
| 03/10/2010 | 1 | ||
| I don't even know where to begin with the problem i have had with my 2004 mazda rx-8. i have owned it since september 2003 and it has had countless issues, parts replaced and failures. the incident i experienced last night put me over the edge and almost cost me my life. my rx-8, which was just at the dealer 2 weeks ago, had an engine malfunction while i was on a major highway in massachusetts. the speed of the vehicle went from approx 50mph to 10mph in a matter of a few seconds. luckily i was able to make my way to the breakdown lane without injuring myself or anyone else; however, this is unacceptable. every single part in my rx-8 has been replaced except for the engine mounts and engine. i have dished out thousands of dollars already and the vehicle only has 44,000 miles on it. not only is this a safety hazard to those of us driving the vehicle, but it is also a safety hazard to those around us. had the car behind me not been paying attention my vehicle could have caused a deadly car crash in the middle of rush hour on a major highway. i have contacted numerous dealerships, the bbb, and am now looking into a class action lawsuit. mazda needs to be held accountable for their actions. unfortunately because my car was purchased in 2003, bbb wouldn't have anything to do with the case, however i have 57 pages of detailed repairs that have been made to this vehicle since i owned it, which i am more than happy to send to you. tons of people online have had similar issues; just from automotive.com there are 30+ email addresses of individuals who have experienced problems similar to mine. please help us get to the bottom of this faulty engine and make mazda own up to their mistakes. people's lives are in danger and this is neither acceptable nor ethical. ps- an employee of nhtsa has been contacted prior regarding this situation. her name is cortney and her contact information is 1-888-327-4236 ext #: 1268. i received this from the automotive.com forum. *tr | |||
| 01/30/2010 | 50000 | 1 | |
| This is regarding a 2004 mazda rx-8 with about 65,000 miles. power steering on car works ok when car first started. after about 15 minutes (and usually by the time i hit the highway) the car will jerk itself to the left and back to the right very sharply, almost causing loss of control of the car on at least three occasions. after jerk, steering light will light on dashboard and no power steering assist is available. power steering has also gone out in the middle of a turn, also almost causing loss of control of vehicle. i found out through rx8club.com that this is a common problem with this car, and the dealership wants to charge upward of $2,000 to fix this problem. *tr | |||
| 07/12/2009 | 25000 | 1 | |
| Experienced failure of power steering on 2004 mazda rx-8 with approximately 25k miles of use. previously, power steering would fail intermittently but would correct itself after turning the car off and restarting it. we requested servicing of this problem in april of 2008 but it didn't show up in the computer scan of the car so the dealership told us to bring it back while the problem was occurring. however, it wasn't possible to drive the vehicle safely while the failure was occurring and it would correct itself once the car was stopped and restarted. very unsafe to have the steering fail/seize while the car was in operation. the problem continued intermittently until july 12, 2009 when it failed completely. car is currently back in the dealer shop waiting for parts that contain a sensor that should correct the problem to be shipped from japan. the repair will require removing and replacing most of the steering system as the part can only be replaced as an entire unit. we were informed this was not covered by the warranty as it's not a defect and occurs through normal wear and tear. *tr | |||
| 05/30/2009 | 80000 | 1 | |
| Failure of power steering on 2004 mazda rx-8. power steering shuts down intermittently during driving. steering then pulls to the right during driving and at a stop, the steering wheel will rotate on it's own. dealer has repaired suspected short in wiring harness, cleaned harness ground connections, replaced a sensor in the power steering circuit. car is currently back in the dealer shop waiting for a new harness pigtail to replace on the electrical steering harness. contacted mazda and they said since car is out of warranty, it's my problem--even though i consider the car unsafe for driving. *tr | |||
| 07/07/2008 | 55046 | 1 | |
| I bought my 2004 mazda rx8 from an authorized dealership in doral, fl with 53m miles on it, still under powertrain warranty & i purchased the extended warranty for 2 years.the car has been back to the dealership 8 times (that is averaging once a month) since purchase, back for various reasons including: engine light on, coolant light on, and the most important and dangerous-locked power steering! of the 8 times, 4 of those are for the power steering locking on me, either when i start the car, or while driving, it's random that it happens, when it 'feels like it'. i can't trust this car, and though the service dept at the dealership has attempted to repair it numerous times, the problem has not subsided. the times that i start the car and the power steering is not locked, while driving the wheel becomes very loose, then the car shakes, then the steering locks. i have been lucky and have gotten safely out of traffic, but the wheel is very hard to turn, especially when driving at low speeds. i'm officially filing a complaint b/c it seems to be a manufacturing problem, and i want this issue resolved. i would prefer to have mazda buy back the car from me, since, at this point, i don't feel safe in my car, especially to drive long distances. but if mazda can repair the problem for good, i'll be satisfied. thank you. *tr | |||