Well here it is, have a 04 Mazda Tribute, her car and is in love with this thing. Put brand new tires and allignment and noticed a noise in right rear which sounded like shock noise, jacked it up couple of times, couldn't find the problem, seemed to be staring at it. Found the problem was the upper shock tower mount inner fender rusted right off and was banging while driving up and down the road. This is same identicle model as Ford Escape which has tons of warranty recalls. Why is MAZDA not covering this when Ford is. I've asked for a lawyer to look into this, she just wants it fixed.

Great, just got a call about brake line broke and was in a accident because of this. I'm trying to be loyal to her and her brand of auto, but am now getting super p'd, need help to get this figured out or taken care of.

There are a lot of horrible stories all around the internet having to pay thousands of dollars to have their rusted wheel well panel replaced (always on rear right wheel on Ford Escapes and Mazda Tributes of these years). After a lot of search around, I found out that many folks suggest not to replace the panel but instead to install an auxiliary shock mount kit that is made specifically for this problem, wich I did.

Find a local shop that can install it for you or simply install it by yourself like I did. This problem is not that bad once you get the right solution, trust me! It took me 4-5 hours to install the kit and patch the hole and it costed me 180$ on ebay. Fitted at first try.

Why would people pay 4000$ for this?

Update from Dec 28, 2020: A quick update on the issue. So far so good with the passenger side using the reinforcement bracket. It's been holding pretty well for a few years now. But now the driver side is rusting as well, so I searched over the internet for the bracket that I had used on the other side. Found out an improved model with four bolting holes instead of two, and this one is rounded not square so you can fit it without cutting the fender, and it comes with a backplate for an even better fit on the frame. Took less than an hour to install. 95$ and got it on next day. Look here bssautoparts.com

rear right shock mount rusted

There are a lot of horrible stories all around the internet having to pay thousands of dollars to have their rusted wheel well panel replaced (always on rear right wheel on Ford Escapes and Mazda Tributes of these years). After a lot of search around, I found out that many folks suggest not to replace the panel but instead to install an auxiliary shock mount kit that is made specifically for this problem, wich I did.

Find a local shop that can install it for you or simply install it by yourself like I did. This problem is not that bad once you get the right solution, trust me! It took me 4-5 hours to install the kit and patch the hole and it costed me 180$ on ebay. Fitted at first try.

Why would people pay 4000$ for this?

Update from Dec 28, 2020: A quick update on the issue. So far so good with the passenger side using the reinforcement bracket. It's been holding pretty well for a few years now. But now the driver side is rusting as well, so I searched over the internet for the bracket that I had used on the other side. Found out an improved model with four bolting holes instead of two, and this one is rounded not square so you can fit it without cutting the fender, and it comes with a backplate for an even better fit on the frame. Took less than an hour to install. 95$ and got it on next day. Look here bssautoparts.com