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 failed. This made it nearly impossible to steer vehicle, making driving dangerous. This has happened on multiple occasions over the last few years.
I have been going back and forth to the dealer for my RX8's power steering failure while driving at various speeds. When it shut off twice of the many times, it pulled my car to the hard right and I almost ran off the road because of it. The dealership charged me the first time to replace the battery terminal because it was loosing power to the steering unit. Then multiple times later, hundreds more, they said that repairing the wiring harness connectors was recommended by their tech line and they said that may not be the last thing needed. First of all, the dealership, heritage Mazda of lutherville, md, seem to be working hard on this problem, but this truly is a traffic safety issue and its costing me hundreds in a shot in the dark to fix the problem. Can you please look into this safety matter, even mike with the service department added that it was definitely a safety issue that needed to be addressed. On the RX8 club website, there are numerous complaints about the same power steering failure. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
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 repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000. The current mileage was approximately 92,500.... updated 12/14/12 updated 12/19/2012
- New Freedom, PA, USA
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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.
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. Updated 09/26/12 updated 09/27/2012
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.
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.
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.
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's side door of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the steering wheel was detached from the steering column upon impact. The driver sustained severe injuries and suffered a crushed pelvis, shattered tail bone and a severed urethra. The contact stated that the side air bags did very little to protect the driver. The failure mileage was not available.
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 pursue 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.
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.
While driving the car, the power steering has repeatedly failed. The Mazda dealer said the probable cause was the steering control module, however they would not guarantee changing the part ( $1600 dollars parts and labor ) would fix the problem. This is a common defect in these cars. The car was purchased in October 2010.
First indications, the failure warning light upon starting. Used another car that day. Next day, no warning light, however, on the way home, the steering abruptly made a *full* turn to the right very quickly (going about 30mph on a dirt road). I was able to stop the car before it ran off the road - no failure warning light on the dash. Since then the failure light has appeared in increasing frequency to the point it is mostly on. When the warning light is on, the steering is essentially manual, but workable. The worst case is when it is off, and suddenly goes into a failure mode without* indication (I.e. the warning light stays off). It has happened a few times, even when at a full stop and the wheel turns by itself to the right. Pretty disconcerting. The full symptom description is that it becomes extremely easy to turn clockwise and more difficult to turn counter-clockwise. I'd rather it was in failure mode and hard to steer than indicating everything is fine and then suddenly decide it wants to go a different direction - always to the right in my case. Reviewing the other complaints here makes it seem like a flaw in the implementation or probably the selected part(s) Mazda used, but worse even, there are two different failure modes, one making it hard to steer, but at least consistent, and the other mode leaving the driver guessing as to what direction the car will travel and when it may decide to do that. I'm having it repaired and will retain the failed components. When it does indicate failure it remains that way until the engine is shut down. When it indicates everything is fine, it may fail anytime, but never indicates failure. I'm submitting this in hopes that something can be done to prevent a terrible accident for someone who has not yet experienced the problem. The first case for me was on a dirt road - if it was on a highway... ouch.
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- River Edge, NJ, USA