CarComplaints.com Notes: Except for a minor issue with cracked motor mounts, the 2008 MAZDA3 is a fantastic vehicle with a great reputation.
If you need to replace the motor mounts, first ask your dealer if they'll cover it -- the motor mounts were dealt with in a TSB & were recalled for some model years. Otherwise buy aftermarket motor mounts -- owners report this solves the problem. If you use the same OEM parts, they may just crack again.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
55,226 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I was driving around a turn going approximately 25-30 mph when I lost control of the car. It is believed that the tire suddenly lost air pressure and ran me off the road. I was left in the creek with my two and three year old. Two guys helped me get the kids and myself out the car safely. My car is now totaled due to the failure of the passenger side tire. Tire size was 205 55 16. There was no puncture holes on the tire so no reaason for the sudden loss of air.
2 TPMS sensor valve stems were corroded, while filling the tires with air the stems broke off causing tires to go flat. The remaining 2 did not look any better. Had tire dealer replace all 4 at $280 dollars
In the summer of 2014, I was traveling on a major highway going approximately 60-65 mph. My tire sensor light came on and, within just a few miles, my front driver's side tire blew out. I was able to safely guide my car to the shoulder without having an accident. Upon exiting my car and looking at my tire, I noticed the area around my valve stem was completely corroded. How I did not have an accident is an absolute miracle. On Wednesday, July 22, 2015, my tire sensor light came on. Knowing I would be traveling approximately 150 on that Saturday, I checked my tire pressure to see my front passengers side was down approximately 5 psi from the recommended 32 psi. I put air in my tire Friday night and went away on Saturday. On my more than 1 hour drive, my tire sensor came back on. I stopped at a gas station to find my tire psi was in the teens. I felt all around my tire but found nothing wrong. I filled my tire back up to 32 psi and continued on my way. Shortly after, my tire sensor light came on yet again. When I stopped at the next gas station to put more air in it, I noticed the area around my valve stem was completely corroded. It was so corroded I could move the valve stem and allow large amounts of air to come out. I ultimately was able to put on my spare tire but am now looking at a more than $200 valve stem/sensor replacement per a phone quote from my local Mazda dealership. As I spoke to different mechanics, they all seem to be well aware of the problem so it's a bit frightening there has not been a recall.
When I attempted to remove valve stem cover the valve stem cracked and came apart. I had to have the complete TPMS valve replaced. I then noticed that the other valve stems looked in the same condition. The Mazda dealer said that this was just aging and that the rest were O.K. I am not sure if they are. I said that the stems should not crack just by removing the cover.
Three times in the last 18 months I have had the TPMS sensors break off while driving on the highway causing the tire to run flat instantly posing a safety threat. Each time I take the tire to the shop and nobody can find anything in the tire and the conclusion is that the TPMS was brittle and broke off. I am now uncomfortable driving my Mazda 3 because I never know when my tire is going to blow -- not to mention I've had to pay to replace perfectly good tires every time one of the TPMS go bad.
- Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA
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On two separate occasions, the valve stems that contained the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) sensors became corroded and fell apart. This happened when I went to fill tires with air because they appeared to have low air pressure. Each time, as soon as I applied slight pressure from the air hose to the valve stem, the valve stem disintegrated and was pushed inside the tire. It took very little pressure to push the stem inside the tire. The tire then immediately deflated because air escaped through the open hole. This happened when I was stationary (because I was filling the tire with air). But, judging from the fact that only a slight amount of pressure was needed to push the valve stem into the tire, I believe that this could have happened very easily while in motion at any speed. I feel that it was a very dangerous situation that I was not warned about at any point and, after telling the company about it, I feel that my concerns were not taken seriously.
The tire valve stem cracked while checking air pressure on one of the tires. After that the other stems looked like they were ready to fail. Had them all replaced.
The tire pressure light came on as I was driving on the highway. When I stopped to fill my tires, the force of the air hose blew the tire pressure sensor into my tire. I had to have the sensor replaced, and was told that the other 3 sensors were close to wearing through as well.
February 2014 1st valve stem and sensor broke. This week 2nd and 3rd valve stem and sensors broke. $90-100 each to fix. Ruined one tire and caused sudden flat which could have resulted in accident.
I was driving on the highway traveling about 65 mph when my tire warning light came on, followed immediately by my front driver's side tire going completely flat. Luckily there was nobody too close to me, so there was no accident when I swerved onto the shoulder of the road. I changed my tire and made it to a service center where I was informed that it was my TPMS and valve stem assembly that had corroded and failed, causing my tire to immediately go flat. Not only did I have to pay to install a new tire ($300) I had to replace the destroyed TPMS sensor and replace another one that was also corroding. ($100 ea). The entire incident cost me about $500 due to a design flaw from Mazda that I have no power to avoid. The issue is that it is illegal to remove or not have the sensors re-installed, as they are a safety feature. The irony is that I have to pay $100 each to install a component that causes one of my tires to immediately deflate randomly in the next 3-5 years, depending on when it corrodes again. It is infuriating that I have to install a "safety feature" that will randomly cause me to lose control over my car in the near future. As it is right now, I will be forced to drive with a component that, over time, will corrode and fail, causing me to lose control of my car, then re-install the exact faulty component. The sensor / valve assembly should have never been made of a material that is susceptible to corrosion in the first place. I was lucky this time that this didn't cause an accident, but if the situation were different I could have easily been killed or have killed someone. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Both Mazda and the government have been aware of this issue for a long time now. What is going to happen when someone does die from this, and it comes out that the issue has been known for years, but nobody did anything?
About a year ago I bought 4 new tires for my Mazda 3. six months later I went in for my routine alignment and tire rotation. They said my two rear tires were worn down to showing the wiring and could potentially cause a blow out. They refused to put the tires back on for safety concerns. I had to purchase two used tires that had about the same mileage my other tires had on them. Again 5-6 months later I go into les schwab for my tire rotation and alignment and again they tell me my two rear tires are showing excessive wear. When complaining about having to get tires so soon they stated that Mazda designed the car this way to have a toe in alignment. Basically this will be a recurring issue unless I put a $500 camber kit on the back. When I asked about that they said it may change the way the car handles and have louder road noise. None of this was mentioned by Mazda when I purchased that car back in 2008. Not only is this issue causing me to spend money every 5-6 months but if I were to go to long without checking my tires I could have a blowout while driving, possibly causing an accident, injury or death. I see this as being a very big issue with the Mazda and I would like to see Mazda have to recall and fix this problem.
TPMS light alerted low tire pressure condition. Found tire with low pressure. During inspection of tire, a small air leak was discovered at the valve stem mid section of threads due to corrosion. The TPMS sensor assembly replacement was necessary to correct the failure. Approximately eighteen months afterwards, the same exact failure re-occurred in another TPMS sensor. The aluminum alloy valve stems on these sensors are highly susceptible to corrosion damage and need to be re-called. This failure is a common problem with these sensors, especially where vehicles equipped with these are driven where road "salting" is routine. The potentially dangerous low tire pressure condition caused by these faulty stems may lead to an accident resulting in death.
Approximately three years after purchase, I got a flat tire driving on 1-290 in central Massachusetts. When I looked at the issue, it was clear that the tire sensor valve had gone into the tire. I replaced said tire, and since then I have the issue three more times on all four tires total. The second and third time were two consecutive days April 2013 and the fourth one today 12/17/13. The sensors seemed to be rotting out and the stem ends up corroding. I have spent at least 1,000 in the last year and a half fixing this issue and it is very infuriating to say the least. It seems that looking online this is an issue which many have had, yet there has been no recall.
I got a flat tire yesterday because my tire pressure sensor valve had fallen inside my tire. This is the second time that this has happened since I purchased the vehicle in 2008. Thankfully, I was stuck in rush hour traffic and only going 20 mph. I realized my tire was flat when the senor light went off and my car veered to the left and fortunately it was the emergency lane or I would have hit a car. Took it to the service shop and the tps sensor now needs replaced because it had corroded and damaged the inside of my tire as well. When the mechanic looked at my other tires and tps sensor/stem valve was corroded. The third tire is fine for now but is showing signs of corroding as well. The 4th one was replaced a couple years ago and appears ok. Mazda needs to recall this problem asap and reimburse everyone that has had to fix this issue. I could have been in a serious accident if I was going any faster than 20mph. Its sad that someone has to get seriously hurt or die for a recall to happen. To replace both sensors and fix my tire I going to be paying over $300 for Mazda's issue. I take great pride and care of my car, I bought it new; nothing on that care should be corroding when it is only 5 years old. This is ridiculous that so many people are having the same issue. Not our fault as consumers that this is happening, fix this now Mazda!!
The contact owns a 2008 Mazda, Mazda3. The contact stated that as he sat in the vehicle, the valve stem became fractured. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken in for repair and diagnosed as valve stem corrosion. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.
I cannot believe that Mazda has not recalled the TPMS on the 2008 Mazda 3's. all of the TPMS have had to be replaced on my vehicle. Currently, I will be getting the last two fixed/repaired coming this Monday. All of them were either cracked or corroded. The first incident resulted in one of my tires being "shredded" on the inside. Part of the kit broke off and was inside the rim. I was accused by a dealership that I must have been driving on a flat tire. I can't believe how many times the TPMS warning light has come on. This is obviously a defective part. Mazda should be recalling this.
While driving on highway on July 29, 2013 I have experienced a serious safety issue with my 2008 Mazda 3 hatchback. The issue resulted in significant pull to the left side and lost of air/flat tire on the front driver side wheel. The reason behind this fault was a defective valve stem. After inspecting all the other wheels, it turns out all the valve stems are cracked. Some initial research tells me its a common problem among those cars and Mazda will not do anything to fix it. At this point I have called Mazda dealership and Mazda corporate office and none of them will do anything about this safety issue. Total cost of repair will be 4X $120 for all TPMS sensors with valve stems and 2X $115 for both front tires. Hopefully there is a recall coming soon...
While driving on highway on July 29, 2013 I have experienced a serious safety issue with my 2008 Mazda 3 hatchback. The issue resulted in significant pull to the left side and lost of air/flat tire on the front driver side wheel. The reason behind this fault was a defective valve stem. After inspecting all the other wheels, it turns out all the valve stems are cracked. Some initial research tells me its a common problem among those cars and Mazda will not do anything to fix it. At this point I have called Mazda dealership and Mazda corporate office and none of them will do anything about this safety issue. Total cost of repair will be 4X $120 for all TPMS sensors with valve stems and 2X $115 for both front tires. Hopefully there is a recall coming soon...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Big Island, VA, USA