Photo: Florin Profir
No fewer than 187,798 units of the Mazda3, that’s how many are being recalled from the 2016, 2017, and 2018 model years in the United States. According to Mazda, the windshield wipers may become inoperative “due to a defective relay that disrupts electrical power to the wiper motor.”
Even though there’ve been no reports of accidents due to the defect, that’s a considerable recall. The most numerous cars are those from the 2016 model year, totaling 106,756 units. Looking at the bigger picture, Mazda knew about the problem since November 2015.
That’s when the first field report was received by the Japanese automaker, prompting an internal investigation. Fast-forward to February 2016, and Mazda determined “the failure was due to contamination and metal deposits occurring during the manufacturing process of the relay.”
Even with the improvement of the manufacturing process, Mazda discovered “small amounts of silicon” at the contact point. A few investigations later, “Mazda could not confirm that the reduced failure trend would continue.” This gets us to April 2019 when the Quality Audit Committee decided to conduct a “proactive field action” on the Mazda3.
Even automakers who are known for build quality and reliability can get it wrong, but three years of investigation without identifying the root cause of the problem is uncanny. Mazda’s turn for the worse is aggravated by the all-new Mazda3, which features a torsion-beam rear axle instead of independent rear suspension in order to save costs wherever possible.
Owners of the affected cars will be notified to bring their 3s in for repairs on or before June 3rd, 2019. What about the fix? Mazda instructed dealerships to “replace the Front Body Control Module (F-BCM) with a modified one” at no charge to the customer.
If you happen to own a Mazda3 from those model years, don’t forget that “Mazda recommends the usage of the MCVP loaner vehicle when available.” In case of unavailability, dealerships are recommended to use the local rental facility to offer a rental car while your car is being repaired.
Even though there’ve been no reports of accidents due to the defect, that’s a considerable recall. The most numerous cars are those from the 2016 model year, totaling 106,756 units. Looking at the bigger picture, Mazda knew about the problem since November 2015.
That’s when the first field report was received by the Japanese automaker, prompting an internal investigation. Fast-forward to February 2016, and Mazda determined “the failure was due to contamination and metal deposits occurring during the manufacturing process of the relay.”
Even with the improvement of the manufacturing process, Mazda discovered “small amounts of silicon” at the contact point. A few investigations later, “Mazda could not confirm that the reduced failure trend would continue.” This gets us to April 2019 when the Quality Audit Committee decided to conduct a “proactive field action” on the Mazda3.
Even automakers who are known for build quality and reliability can get it wrong, but three years of investigation without identifying the root cause of the problem is uncanny. Mazda’s turn for the worse is aggravated by the all-new Mazda3, which features a torsion-beam rear axle instead of independent rear suspension in order to save costs wherever possible.
Owners of the affected cars will be notified to bring their 3s in for repairs on or before June 3rd, 2019. What about the fix? Mazda instructed dealerships to “replace the Front Body Control Module (F-BCM) with a modified one” at no charge to the customer.
If you happen to own a Mazda3 from those model years, don’t forget that “Mazda recommends the usage of the MCVP loaner vehicle when available.” In case of unavailability, dealerships are recommended to use the local rental facility to offer a rental car while your car is being repaired.
Google News