Coming back to work from lunch. Sat in my seat and heard a POP! The seat became loose and would move forward and backward when driving (left side of seat.)

I looked up my recalls and I believe that this is covered under NHTSA #17V-082. I have an appointment with the dealership tomorrow. I'll update if they try to tell me that it is not covered.

If you don't hear from me, then they fixed it under that recall.

Those of you that paid to have this fixed in the past should revisit it and see if you are eligible to get your money refunded.

I drove my wife's car today and the driver's seat almost rocked into the back seat when I accelerated. I looked under the seat and saw that the weld had broken that secures the front left side of the seat to the seat frame. It is unsafe to drive in this condition because the seat acts like a rocking chair, rocking back when you accelerate and rocking forward when you brake. My wife is the only regular driver of this car since it was purchased new and she weighs less than 150 lbs. There is no excuse for this.

On the door side of the underside driver's seat, there is a bracket (from the seat) held on a round steel lug/dowel (on a bracket of the base rack) by a crimped or welded washer. This washer popped off letting the bracket slide off the dowel basically freeing the left side of the seat to fall backward.

Temporarily, I folded down the back seat and pinned it against the driver seat (head rest extended as much as possible) to keep it from falling backward but it still meant driving with my back twisted. The dealer said it was not a recall and would cost in excess of $1000 to replace the "seat rack."

Through much effort, I got the dislodged bracket back on the steel dowel and used a pair of vice grips to clamp that bracket (part of the seat) to the adjacent bracket that the dowel is attached to (part of the base rack) to keep the seat bracket from sliding off of the dowel. I have been driving this way for a couple months and I have no idea how the seat would hold up or react in an accident.

I'm amazed that this type of fatigue failure with everyone reporting a similar lifespan on the car (mid-60k mileage) that could cause a moving accident (some on here have reported that the seat gave way at speed) is not seen as a design/fabrication issue that warrants a recall.

Update from Jan 29, 2017: Update: replaced my vice grips with a small C-Clamp and added photos. For clarity, the silver part is the bracket from the car and the black part is from the seat. The black part fits over the lug/dowel connected to the silver part.

Pulling out of my driveway at about 2MPH I felt something pop and my seat partially tilted back. Thought maybe came off track so checked it. Nothing seemed odd. Turned the corner and seat went way back on me. Upon further inspection from my beloved ex (only beloved at that moment) he determined left side of mounting snapped. Mazda refuses to fix it or recall it. For me to fix it would be $900. I can't afford that so I drive and pray. This is second significant issue with this car. First was melty dash which they finally recalled.

driver seat is rocking back and forth about to break

A couple months ago I heard a click while driving my car and after hearing that click I noticed that my drivers car seat titled a little. Yesterday after loading my car I heard another click and now both front welds attaching my drivers seat to the floor board have broken off leaving my drivers car seat completely unattached at the front. My car is now extremely unsafe and basically a rocking chair. After calling both the dealership I purchased my car from and the mazda dealership they both turned me away telling me it wasn't something that they would look at. This is an extreme danger and after doing my research on the internet it seems to be a very common problem with these cars. Can anyone help? or have a solution for this? how can i fix this problem?

Thanks

Robert

While driving the car, I heard a snap and my seat became a rocking chair. Every time I press the clutch or there's a speed change the seat rocks back and forth. Dealership stated it is not covered under warranty, but my question is "should a bracket from a car seat ever break?" I don't think so.. the brackets should be designed to not break under fatigue..I have one broken bracket and now the other 3 are taking additional stress. If I don't fix it, the others will probably break too.

I've driven cars 20 year old cars and the seats are fine.. I hope Mazda corrects this issue..I rather spend my money on tires and brakes than a seat..

I was driving with friends in the car on the highway to get some dinner. 70 is our speed limit. All of sudden I heard a snap under me and my body shifted. I sit pretty up right so i felt moving back at least two inches and my hand shift position as well which almost cause a accident. I call the dealer today, "you're not under warranty, sorry" really? i almost die in a car you guys sell me and i get a sorry? It was either get it fix or play when the other side of the seat bracket is going to snap. But I really dislike the fact the service click on me when i wanted a appointment for a oil change as well. I wish mazda due a recall for this problem so i can get it fix and rub it to the service man

Address: 307 S Central Expy, Richardson, TX 75080

Phone:(877) 506-2932

On June 10 while waiting at a red light, the light turned green and as I started moving forward both front brackets broke causing the seat to move backwards. The car stalled (manual transmission) as my foot went off the clutch pedal. I managed to slam the brakes so I wouldn't hit the car in front of me. I contacted my dealership where the car was purchased and I asked them if there had been similar incidents and their reply was no...

Since the 3 year guarantee is up they refused to help me. They quoted me $550 for the part plus tx/labour for a total for $775...I then contacted Mazda Canada headquarters and explained what the problem was....again "we are not aware of any issues sir" and refused to pay for the repair/seat replacement. I explained to the Mazda rep that a passenger would have no protection in a frontal collision and the reply was "we're sorry but your car is 5 years old and is no longer covered by the guarantee"

Who fixed the problem? Why my own father....a retired welder, yesterday we removed the seat (4 screws easy job) took the seat out...my father welded the brackets back in...put the seat back in...that was it.

The reason why I am writing you is that I want Mazda 3 drivers to be aware of this problem, there could be catastrophic consequences in case of a collision as this is a safety issue.

Seal weld broke while driving, causing my seat to rock back like a rocking chair and I nearly hit a wall because I pulled on the steering wheel for support. I looked this problem up online and i am not the only person this happened to. I contacted the dealer about this, and they won't acknowledge it as a problem. My concern was how could a seat like this protect the driver if there was a collision? especially since it occurred while driving in a parking lot with limited speed and no breaking force.

The dealership instead of admitting to the problem.. decided to inform me and i quote.

"One thing I know is that we rarely see issues with the seats with any Mazda3's so I wouldn't say it's an inherent design weakness. If it was, we'd be seeing it often but we don't and we are the largest dealer in Ontario. John Dustan | Service Manager"

Thank you for bragging about how big your dealership is.. I am glad you care about the safety of others.

Update from Sep 24, 2016: Found 67 similar complaints here. They should link them all together. It ia the biggest compaint i see.