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.
Power steering failure. Normal mixed driving, highway & city stop & go, while waiting in a drive thru for coffee, steering wheel became almost immovable, would still turn to normal limits both right & left, however the effort required was very high. Returned car to dealer under warranty noticing that steering effort remained constant throughout the drive. Effort required was not dependent on speed, or direction.
2008 Mazda 5 power steering failure. Normal driving conditions and power steering failed during operation at highway speed. Power steering fluid fine and no other physical signs apparent to cause failure. Power steering resumed once the car was turned off and then on again.
I was about to parallel park in reverse and the power steering died. A light showed up on the dashboard indicating the same. Because it was a busy street a bunch of cars and bike riders were backing up behind me. I muscled the car into the spot without the power steering. When I shut the car off and restarted it, the power steering worked again.
Car was idling in the garage for about 20 minutes, when I went to back it out of the garage the steering response was extremely heavy (e.g. no power steering) and the power steering warning light on the dashboard was on. I drove without power steering -- very difficult -- for about 10 minutes -- then came home, turned off the engine, and let the car cool. After cooling off the power steering returned and the warning light no longer came on. Various online forums indicate this is a persistent problem with Mazda 3S and 5S, and that the problem has occurred to many vehicle owners while driving. Mazda has issued a tsb, but has not issued a recall. See: [begin technical service bulletin] tsb: 06-002/09 2007-2009 mazda3 and 2007-2009 Mazda5 - heavy steering effort with power steering malfunction indicator lamp on and dtc C1099 applicable model(s)/vins 2007-2009 mazda3 vehicles (not including mazdaspeed3) with vins below (produced between April 1, 2007 and November 4, 2008) '2007-2008 jm1bk****** 742201 - 880507 '2008-2009 jm1bk****** 100002 - 251982 2007-2009 Mazda5 vehicles with vins jm1cr***** 155672 - 349055 (produced between produced between April 1, 2007 and November 4, 2008) description some customers may feel that the steering effort is hard or heavy with power steering malfunction indicator lamp illumination and dtc C1099 [electro hydraulic power assist steering (ehpas)] stored in memory. This problem is caused by contamination of the system from such things as corrosion getting inside the power steering line, sticking in the power steering pump, and lowering the revolution speed. The system then goes into a fail safe function. Customers having this concern should have their vehicle repaired using the following repair procedure. [end excerpt from technical service bulletin] I am writing because I feel this is a manufacturing defect that Mazda should be required to repair at its expense, not the owners'. thank you.
I own a 2008 Mazda 5 with just over 50,000 miles on it. I travel in sales, so I am put quite a few miles on per year. In the past month I have experienced 3 occasions where upon starting my car, the power steering light comes on and there is no power steering. Each time, I put the car in park and restart and the light goes out and the power steering returns. Heat seems to play an issue in this. Also, the power steering will not reset after restarting the car unless the air conditioning is first shut off. There is a section in the owners manual that addresses what to do if the power steering light comes on and the power steering fails to respond. This would indicate to me that Mazda has seen this occur. As someone who was in the automotive industry for over 30 years, I have no clue why a auto manufacturer would add electronics to a power steering system. I have contacted my local Mazda dealer and they told me that they have seen this problem before. Apparently, it could be the pump or the hoses to the steering rack and naturally the warranty ends at 36,000 miles. I know pumps run over $ $650 which does not include labor. I am 58 years old and have never had to replace the power steering on any vehicle, especially one with such low mileage. Needless to say I am not pleased.
- Bloomington, MN, USA
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2008 Mazda5 lost power steering while driving. Ps light came on. Pulled over and turned car off. Waited with engine off for 30 minutes. Ps restored after engine turned back on.
We were driving from reagan airport to kensington, Maryland. While changing lanes on I-495, the power steering gave out on our Mazda5 with 39K miles on it. We were able to drive home with great effort. We took the car to the Mazda dealership and they know about this problem, that it is typical for Mazda5S.
The contact owns a 2008 Mazda5. While the contact was driving approximately 10 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The identical failure occurred eight months after the first occurrence. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer twice. The vehicle had not been repaired when the complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 3,000. The VIN was not available. The current mileage was 15,800.
I was sitting in very slow moving traffic on a surface street, traveled 1/4 mile in approximately a 45 minute time span. As I turned right on to a new street I noticed the steering became very difficult. I immediately took the vehicle to the parking lot to my left. It took great strength to turn the wheel to make the left hand turn. I stopped the car, checked the power steering fluid. It was at proper level. I restarted the vehicle and still no power steering. After sitting for approcimately 15 minutes. I restarted the vehicle again and the power steering had returned. I had the car towed to the dealership. I am reading several reports of similar instances of this occurring in the same make and model of vehicle under similar cirumstances.
2008 Mazda5 with 55,000mi (90% highway driven). While driving about 20 mph in town the steering wheel all of a sudden became very difficult to turn and I noticed the steering failure light on the dashboard. Pulled to a safe location and called my dealership. The mechanic indicated that it was a voltage trip and if I turned off the car and restarted it would reset and work again. The steering did work after I started the engine and I have driven about 200 miles with no other occurrence. On Friday I had my oil changed at the dealership and when I told them of the problem they indicated that I would have to replace my pump and a length of hose. Why the hose too? its 6,000mi out of warranty. After some internet sleuthing, it seems that this is a very common mechanical failure that Mazda is not dealing with responsibly. Hard to imagine they are not learning from Toyota's and Honda's experience. This is a huge safety issue especially if this failure occurs unexpectedly on the highway while driven by an inexperienced driver. Not sure about now but many owners earlier in 2010 were having to wait over 5 weeks to get a replacement pump due to a backorder issue. I can't believe that Mazda is not proactively doing a voluntary recall. Please investigate this serious problem and suggest to Mazda that replacing the faulty pumps under an extended warranty is good for safety and good for business.
Parked into parking space, when I put it in reverse to back up and drive away the power steering suddenly turned off and an orange caution light turned on my dash board, the power steering did not work during the drive home. After some research it seems that this a recurring problem with the Mazda 5.
The contact owns a 2008 Mazda 5. while driving 30 mph the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel locked. The contact was able to drive with difficulty to the emergency lane. The vehicle was turned off for 30 minutes. When the vehicle was restarted it functioned normally. The dealer stated that they would have to see the warning light illuminated before replacing any parts. The failure has occurred 3 times and no repairs have been made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 8000. The current mileage is 10,000. Updated 03/16/10 updated 07/12/10.
Power steering goes out sporadically. There have been three occasions so far in the past year that the power steering has went out on my Mazda 5. twice I was able to stop the car wait ten seconds and restart the car and it reset. Once it took two hours of sitting off before it reset itself.
Driving for 2 hours of a 4 hour drive, power steering went out on vehicle. I was stopped at a gas station and went to pull out when it happened. It had not happened before and 24 hours later it was working again. Mazda has taken my car for repair and has given me a rental car. However due to the frequency with which this has been happening to the Mazda 5 the parts (pump and pipe) are on back order and my car will not be repaired and returned for 15 weeks. If I were to take possession of my car I would have to sign a waiver that Mazda is not responsible for any accident if it is caused by the part failure.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Loveland, OH, USA