I recently purchased this car with only 44,000 miles on it. I received the complete service record, and it had been maintained through the dealership and through a private garage and body shop on a regular basis and thoroughly inspected on every service and before I bought it. No mention had ever been made of rust in the front frame rails. I pulled the front wheels to clean up rust and all connections and found patches of rust on both frame rails between the sway bar bracket and strut brackets. I can punch a screwdriver through the rust on the driver's side. I looked inside holes and saw rust inside the frame rails. I found many online complaints concerning similar rust on nb models 1999-2005. This rust will weaken the frame rails and could cause them to break during a front end collision, thus compromising crumple zones. It will also compromise the brackets holding sway bars, struts, and other vital suspension components. This could cause a loss of steering control. The rust begins inside frame rails so can't be seen in early phases--until it appears on outside of rails. Seems clear that Mazda knows of these problems since it redesigned the frame in 2006 and sells repair parts that don't involve thin sandwiched sheets of metal with materials in between that hold moisture, road salt, and other contaminants. Numerous holes in the frame rails also seem to take in water and contaminants. Miatas are made to perform on curves and have stiff suspension, so a lot of stress comes on the frame and brackets. I am now afraid to drive my miata like a sports car since that will cause further frame cracking. From what I've seen online, repairs are complex and expensive. Don't know why this safety issue has not been the subject of investigations and recalls. The problems seem to result from poor quality frame materials and inadequate engineering design.

- Port Charlotte, FL, USA

Area of the front frame support rails (core support is official name) rusts from the inside out. The construction method is a sandwiched material with some sort of tarpaper in the middle which traps moisture which, in turn, hastens frame rusting. This is a common problem especially in the 1999 - 2005 years and usually not easily identified until the frame is completely rusted through. A google search of the issue returns numerous complaints. Once the frame rusts through it causes a real safety issue for the occupants.

- Loveland, OH, USA