2004 Mazda Mazda3 Problems

FRONT WHEEL BEARING FAILS PREMATURELY. MY RIGHT FRONT WHEEL BEARING FAILED AT 58K MILES AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. MY LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING IS FAILING AT 68K MILES AND NEEDS REPLACING. MY MECHANIC STATED THAT THESE PARTS SHOULD LAST MUCH LONGER, AND THAT CONTINUED DRIVING WITH A BAD BEARING COULD LEAD TO WHEEL LOCKUP AND AN ACCIDENT. MANY OTHERS ARE COMPLAINING OF SIMILAR FAILURE ON INTERNET FORUMS. MAZDA WON'T REPAIR THIS FREE OF CHARGE SINCE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR

TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE , TOWED TO DEALER TO FIND OUT WHY BRAKES FAILED, IT WAS FOUND TO BE A LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID DUE TO A RUBBING OF THE BRAKE LINE ON ANOTHER PART OF THE CAR, IT WAS REPAIRED AND AT THE SAME TIME THE OTHER SIDE WAS INSPECTED AND FOUND TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, THE TECHNICIAN, SAID IT WAS A FACTORY DEFECT AND TOOK A PHOTO FOR US, AND WE CONTACTED MAZDA ABOUT THE PROBLEM WE HAVE HEARD BACK FROM THEM AS OF TODAY. *TR

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle and driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 04V468000 (Air Bags). The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA 3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT MAIN MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. AN UNKNOWN DEALER WAS CONTACTED, BUT COULD NOT ASSIST. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 128,680.

THE CAR RAN GREAT FOR THE END OF 2019. I BOUGHT IT USED AT 145,000 MILES. THEN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP. NOW ITS STUCK IN LIMP MODE.

NO PROBLEMS FROM CAR NO WARNING LIGHT. BIG BANG THEN ENGINE MAKING VERY LOUD KNOCKING NOISE...ON INTERSTATE... STILL CRANKS BUT NEEDS MOTOR...READ THAT LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEMS

THE LOCK RELEASE LEVER ON THE STEERING WHEEL GET LOOSE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND DOES NOT LOCKED IN PLACE. THIS CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AND SERIOUS INJURIES. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL TO GET THIS REPAIR.

POWER STEERING GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY. OFTEN STARTS WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL TO THE LEFT. THE POWER STEERING FAILURE LIGHT , OR SOMETIMES ALL WARNING LIGHTS, COME ON. THE STEERING WHEEL BECOMES EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN IN EITHER DIRECTION AND THE CAR IS DIFFICULT AND HAZARDOUS TO NAVIGATE TO A STOP. ELECTRONICS FLASH ON AND OFF (HEADLIGHTS, RADIO, ETC.). CAR SOMETIMES DIES. IF THE STEERING WHEEL IS NOT PERFECTLY STRAIGHT WHEN THE CAR DIES, IT IS LOCKED AND THE CAR CANNOT BE RESTARTED UNTIL SOMEONE CAN WRENCH THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED OFF AND ON FOR A YEAR. SINCE IT IS INTERMITTENT, MECHANICS ARE UNABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM.

1) DRIVING AT 60 MPH ON HIGHWAY, AT 4TH GEAR. 2) TRANSMISSION FAILED TO PUT POWER INTO THE WHEELS, CAUSING THE CAR TO DECELERATE RAPIDLY EVEN THOUGH RPM RISES WHEN THROTTLE IS PRESSED. ONLY 1ST AND 2ND GEARS ARE ABLE TO TRANSFER POWER FROM ENGINE TO WHEELS. 3) DEALER REFUSE TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION, EVEN THOUGH MALFUNCTIONING OF THIS PARTICULAR PART ARE APPARENT TO MANY OF THE OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE. *TR

AFTER LESS THAN 40,000 MILES THE CLUTCH IN MY 2004 MAZDA 3 FAILED COMPLETELY AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. THE REPAIR BILL COST ME $1,100. *TR

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda 3 equipped with Hankook Tires, Tire Line: Ventus S1 Noble2, Tire Size: 205/50/R17, DOT Number: N/A. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, a loud explosion was heard. The contact's wife alerted him that the rear driver's side tire had blown out. The contact's vehicle was then rear-ended by another vehicle, causing his vehicle to turn 360 degrees. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was not injured, but his wife suffered from neck pain. Medical attention was not received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's workplace and was not deemed totaled by the insurance company. A body shop repaired the vehicle. The tire manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to send in the faulty tire. The tire failure mileage was unknown. The vehicle failure mileage was 150,000.

BOUGHT 4 NEW TIRES ON 3/23/12. THREE OF THESE TIRES DEVELOPED BUBBLES AND HAD TO BE REPLACED.

This model car has a fuse box under the glove box known as a "passenger junction box" that has a faulty or defective relay soldered onto the circuit board. The relay is tied to lighting that includes the interior lights, exterior front parking lights, exterior rear tail lights, and the license plate light and is controlled by the left turn signal stalk (rotating switch). Based on my experience and many others (on the Mazda 3 forums), this relay has the tendency to fail and cause all of these lights tied to this relay to intermittently or permanently be disabled. There is no warning for this; the driver will only notice when driving at night that the interior illumination of the dashboard goes completely dark, which could cause disorientation and confusion as to whether or not the car is operable. Subsequently, the problem can be recreated by attempting to turn the lights on and off and there will be no response (and no clicking noise...it is audible when working and it switches on); the relay fails to operate and all the lights will not turn on. Driving at night without tail lights is extremely dangerous and I am surprised this has not caused serious injury from rear-ending incidents in nighttime or inclement weather situations. The serial/model number of junction box on my vehicle is BN8B-66730-C and many others on the forums have had the same issue with the same model, as well as other variations of the box. Some on the forums went as far as replacing the culprit relay (see attachment); however, at the risk of destroying the entire junction box and rendering the vehicle unusable. I finally ended up purchasing a replacement unit on eBay which corrected the issue so far and has made the lights reliable again.

There has been no accident- the vehicle is my mother in laws vehicle- my concern is while at work she has at times loaded our daughter into the vehicle- I inspected the vehicle one day while as an employee of Les Schwab- the driver cvc axle vibrates so bad from the boot being torn and having no lubrication- these axles power the vehicle forward and if not maintained can snap and cause damage- the wipers no longer work correctly- the tires are 2017 and old and weather cracked- potential to separate while driving or blow out on the heated pavement. upon inspection also found that the front shocks are blown out and bouncing in the mounts under the hood- causing the tires to not have the correct contact patch on the road thus decreasing traction and control- on top of all this the vehicle hasn't been registered since 2020 and has no insurance on the vehicle- again there has been no accident...yet- this is my concern- that if this vehicle continues to remain operational and on the road it not only puts the driver and occupants at risk but also other drivers- kids- teens and anyone that may be on the other end o the crash when the vehicle does snap the cvc axle or blow i out a tire

There has been no accident- the vehicle is my mother in laws vehicle- my concern is while at work she has at times loaded our daughter into the vehicle- I inspected the vehicle one day while as an employee of Les Schwab- the driver cvc axle vibrates so bad from the boot being torn and having no lubrication- these axles power the vehicle forward and if not maintained can snap and cause damage- the wipers no longer work correctly- the tires are 2017 and old and weather cracked- potential to separate while driving or blow out on the heated pavement. upon inspection also found that the front shocks are blown out and bouncing in the mounts under the hood- causing the tires to not have the correct contact patch on the road thus decreasing traction and control- on top of all this the vehicle hasn't been registered since 2020 and has no insurance on the vehicle- again there has been no accident...yet- this is my concern- that if this vehicle continues to remain operational and on the road it not only puts the driver and occupants at risk but also other drivers- kids- teens and anyone that may be on the other end o the crash when the vehicle does snap the cvc axle or blow i out a tire

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA 3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SEVERE CORROSION AND THE DOOR FRAME WAS STARTING TO DETACH FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED THAT PORTIONS OF THE VEHICLE COULD BE REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE CORROSION WAS IN AREAS THAT WERE BEYOND REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.

CLUTCH SLIPPING, HIGH RPMS, NOT RED LINING. TRANSMISSION EXPLODED CAUSING ENGINE FIRE AND BURNING MOTOR AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS.

I HAD MY MECHANIC WORKING ON REPLACING A BURNT OUT LICENSE PLATE LIGHT WHEN HE DISCOVERED THAT THE TAIL LIGHTS WERE NOT WORKING. HE TURNED THE LIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON, AND THE TAIL LIGHTS STARTED WORKING AGAIN, TURNED THE LIGHTS BACK OFF AND ON AGAIN, AND THE TAIL LIGHTS WERE BACK TO NOT WORKING AGAIN. HE IDENTIFIED THE FUSE BOX TO BE THE CAUSE OF THIS ISSUE, AS WHEN THE TAIL LIGHTS WERE OUT, HE WOULD HIT THE FUSE BOX WHICH WOULD THEN CAUSE THE LIGHTS TO COME BACK ON, AND HE DEMONSTRATED THIS FOR ME. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN TO ME AND AFTER ONLY A FEW MINUTES OF INTERNET RESEARCH I FOUND OTHERS WERE HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. I FEEL VERY FORTUNATE THAT I'VE NOT BEEN HIT FROM BEHIND. I'VE CALLED MAZDA AND THEY SAID THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF A KNOWN ISSUE AND THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THE PART, BUT I'VE ALSO LEARNED THAT THIS PART HAS BEEN REISSUED 6 TIMES. THIS MAKES ME THINK IT HAS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE, OTHERWISE WHY KEEP MODIFYING THE PART? *TR

CLUTCH SLIPPING, HIGH RPMS, NOT RED LINING. TRANSMISSION EXPLODED CAUSING ENGINE FIRE AND BURNING MOTOR AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS.

I HAVE CAR JM1BK12F64[XXXX], MAZDA 3, 2004, 2.0L. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE AXLE SHAFT OF MY CAR. I NEED TO KNOW IF THIS CAR HAS RECALLS OR WARRANTY. I BOUGHT THE CAR USED IN DEALER OF PUERTO RICO BUT IT WAS AN IMPORT FROM THE USA. *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITH EVAP LEAK CODE. SMALL LEAK AT FIRST THEN INCLUDED LARGE LEAK CODE LATER. ALSO BEGAN TO NOTICE STRONG GAS SMELL OUTSIDE VEHICLE AFTER FUELING. TURNED OUT THE FUEL PUMP RING THAT HOLDS DOWN AND SEALS FUEL PUMP TO FUEL TANK HAD CRACKED. OVER TIME THE SPLIT BECAME LARGER. WHEN TANK WAS FILLED, RAW FUEL WOULD LEAK OUT AROUND PUMP ON TOP OF TANK. WHICH ALSO HAPPENS TO BE RIGHT UNDER THE REAR SEAT WHERE ME KIDS SIT. REPLACEMENT WAS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE THE RING COULD NOT BE REMOVED FROM UNDER THE SEAT. IT REQUIRED DROPPING THE TANK TO REPAIR. MECHANIC FELT IT WAS A STRESS CRACK. THE FUEL PUMP HAD NEVER BEEN WORKED ON BEFORE. THE ORIGINAL RING WAS INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY.

THERE WAS A STRONG FUEL SMELL THAT WAS OCCURRING ON BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF MY CAR EVERY TIME I FILLED MY CAR UP. I TOOK TO MY THE MECHANIC AND IT WAS FOUND MY FUEL TANK WAS LEAKING IN 2 SPOTS. ONE WAS PART OF THE GAS TANK THAT VENTS THE FUMES - THAT SEAL WAS LEAKING AND THE OTHER WAS PART OF THE LOCKING RING THAT IS ON THE GAS TANK ITSELF WAS CRACKED.

AIR CONDITIONING IN MY 2004 MAZDA 3 IS VERY WEAK IF AT ALL. I HAVE HAD THE DEALER LOOK AT IT TWICE AND THERE WAS ONE RECALL FOR A/C ON THE VEHICLE, BUT THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. *NM

WEAK AIR CONDITIONING SINCE PURCHASE. IMPLEMENTED TSB 07-005/04 DIFFUSER PLATE #PART # BN8P-61-J6X ISSUE WAS NOT RESOLVED. WAS TOLD ISSUE WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION IN '04. TO DATE ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. *JB

FRONT WHEEL BEARING FAILS PREMATURELY. MY RIGHT FRONT WHEEL BEARING FAILED AT 58K MILES AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. MY LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING IS FAILING AT 68K MILES AND NEEDS REPLACING. MY MECHANIC STATED THAT THESE PARTS SHOULD LAST MUCH LONGER, AND THAT CONTINUED DRIVING WITH A BAD BEARING COULD LEAD TO WHEEL LOCKUP AND AN ACCIDENT. MANY OTHERS ARE COMPLAINING OF SIMILAR FAILURE ON INTERNET FORUMS. MAZDA WON'T REPAIR THIS FREE OF CHARGE SINCE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR

I BOUGHT A CAR RECENTLY, AND IT HAD SOME RUST ON BOTH REAR WHEEL WELLS IN THE SAME EXACT SPOTS. I HAVE A 2004 MAZDA 3I AND I TOOK IT TO ABOUT 4 BODY SHOPS TO HAVE IT WORKED ON. I GOT PRICES RANGING FROM 1000.00 DOLLARS TO 2500.00 DOLLARS TO FIX THE RUST. ALL OF THESE BODY SHOPS SAID THEY HAVE HAD AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON WITH THE SAME CAR AND THE SAME COMPLAINT AS I DID. MAZDA NEEDS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I CAN NOT AFFORD TO PAY 1000 DOLLARS TO GET MY CAR FIXED. MAZDA NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND FIX IT. *TR

SEAT BELT LIGHT COMES ON AND STAY FOR FEW DAYS THEN GO OFF AND BACK AGAIN

TRANSMISIN DAADA. *TR

There has been no accident- the vehicle is my mother in laws vehicle- my concern is while at work she has at times loaded our daughter into the vehicle- I inspected the vehicle one day while as an employee of Les Schwab- the driver cvc axle vibrates so bad from the boot being torn and having no lubrication- these axles power the vehicle forward and if not maintained can snap and cause damage- the wipers no longer work correctly- the tires are 2017 and old and weather cracked- potential to separate while driving or blow out on the heated pavement. upon inspection also found that the front shocks are blown out and bouncing in the mounts under the hood- causing the tires to not have the correct contact patch on the road thus decreasing traction and control- on top of all this the vehicle hasn't been registered since 2020 and has no insurance on the vehicle- again there has been no accident...yet- this is my concern- that if this vehicle continues to remain operational and on the road it not only puts the driver and occupants at risk but also other drivers- kids- teens and anyone that may be on the other end o the crash when the vehicle does snap the cvc axle or blow i out a tire

CAR VIBRATES IN THE FRONT AT ALL SPEEDS. HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP (D DAHLE MAZDA OF SALT LAKE CITY) THREE TIMES AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. FIRST THE AIR COMPRESSOR WAS REPLACED AND THEN THE ENGINE MOUNTS. THE DEALERSHIP EXPLAINED ON MY LAST VISIT THAT THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL WAS BENT. HOWEVER, WHEN I HAD THE WHEELS EXAMINED BY AN ALTERNATIVE AUTOMOTIVE SHOP, NO PROBLEM WITH THE WHEEL WAS NOTED. I ALSO ROTATED THE WHEEL IN QUESTION TO THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE AND THE VIBRATION OCCURRED IN THE SAME SPOT. *TR

THIS IS AN ON GOING PROBLEM, THE WIND SHIELD WHEN DRIVING INTO THE SUN HAS A GLITTERING EFFECT. NO MATTER HOW CLEAN IT ID. AS OF NOW WE HAVEN'T REPLACED IT. PLEASE CHECK INTO THIS AS IT'S HARD TO SEE. *TR

REPEATED FAILURES OF WINDSHIELD WIPER ARM DURING USE RESULTING IN TOTAL LOSS OF WIPER FUNCTION WHILE DRIVING, NEAR-INCIDENTS. *TR

REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPLACEMENT OF VEHICLE. *MR THE ENGINE AND POWER TRANSMISSION SHIFTED HARD FROM 3RD TO 4TH GEAR AND WHILE DOING SO THERE WAS SUBSEQUENT OVER -REV OF THE ENGINE AT ANY SPEED WHILE IN 4TH GEAR WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS DEPRESSED IN 4TH GEAR. THIS WOULD BECOME A NO-CONTROL SITUATION. *SC

DRIVER SIDE FRONT SEAT WOBBLES-ENTIRE ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED-DANGEROUS IF WELD HAD BROKEN WHILE ON FREEWAY-WHY ISN'T THIS A SAFETY RECALL-NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS FOR VARIOUS MODEL YEARS EVEN WHEN NEW-ARE SEATS REMOVED BY L0-JACK TECHS WHEN INSTALLING LO-JACK DEVICES?