2011 MAZDA MAZDA6 Complaints

Bought. A 2011 Mazda 6, and took it to a Mazda dealer for an inspection. They found the rear sub frame ie rear cradle to be extremely rusted out, the shocks on both side are detached, and the springs look like they may push through at any point and do more damage. The car is unsafe to drive and the dealer estimated a repair cost or $4322.99 to fix.

The rear cross member/subframe is completely rusted in two and the rear lower forward control arm is detached from cross member/subframe on both sides. There is currently an active recall for the front cross member due to accelerated corrosion from road salt but I’m not aware of any inclusion of the rear frame or suspension components tied in with this recall. It definitely needs added to it as this is VERY dangerous, possibly even more so than the front. Rest of the actual car body is fine, except for a little bit of surface rust. Please add this to the current corrosion recall! Car is registered in WV and is available for inspection anytime and I will be attaching pictures and I also have a video but it won’t let me post it on here.

Turning onto a road, heard a loud thud from the front passenger corner. Car steering became highly erratic. Parked the car, noticed the front passenger wheel was crooked. Took it to the nearest shop and they said the crossmember was rusted completely through and snapped, causing the control arm to lose control. Found out there is a recall for the car model and year for this exact issue, but my car wasn't covered by it, so I did not receive notification of it, but it clearly affects this VIN as well.

Noticed the left rear tire suddenly had a lot of negative camber and there were now clunking sounds while driving. Inspection showed that the rear crossmember is severely rusted with holes, cracks, and delamination. The left toe link mount is completely separated, the coil spring stoppers are detached and loose inside the springs, and the right coil spring has the top coil broken off. The front body connection of the rear crossmember is barely connected. The level of corrosion on the rest of the car is drastically less than the rear crossmember. Currently deciding whether and how to repair. (Pennsylvania)

I purchased a used vehicle in NH from a private seller "as is", repaired tires and brakes, passed MA state inspection and dropped the car off to address the recall, which I had researched via a VIN number search. The dealership informed me that the body had corroded beyond repair, and they cannot perform the required repair for the recall. While the dealership has been helpful, this looks like a major underlying manufacturing flaw for a vehicle at 115K built in 2011.

Rear K frame is completely rusted out. You investigated the front frame rust issues on these cars which resulted in a Mazda recall. However, the rear frame with the same structure weaknesses was left out. As a result Mazda is refusing to fix or replace thousands of vehicles. Mazda forums are full of drivers with this same exact issue. If these frames start to fail while being driven I see the potential for injuries or loss of life.

When Mazda recalled the front frame they should’ve fixed the rear frame too I believe that this should have been recalled because there is the same problem all over the internet with this model. When my 16 year old daughter was going down the road @ 60mph and the rear subframe broke - bent the exhaust and then the tire rubbed the wheel well smoked like crazy and thought is was on fire & it then had blow out on the highway. Had to have it towed as putting the spare on would have done no good .

During Virginia State Vehicle Safety Inspection in January 2023, the inspector noted a problem with severe rust in the rear Cross-Member (part 28-800A). The rear Cross-Member is severely rusted and crumbling at fastening and stress points. The driver side (left side) of the cross-member that secures the top of the (left) coil spring is so deteriorated that the left stopper (28-111B) became unattached from the top of the mount and is freely floating inside the coil spring, causing visible damage to the coil spring when the stopper (made of steel with rubber on bottom) and the coil spring come in contact. The same problem is occuring on the passenger side (right) of the rear crossmember as the upper mount is severely rusted and crumbling. If the Cross-Member mounts collapse or the Coil Springs break while the vehicle is moving, the driver would have extreme difficulty maintaining safe control of the vehicle.

I heard that the mazda 6 was recalled for a front end suspension issue with rust.My mazda 6 had a problem with rust on the rear crossmember.It rusted out and came apart. I noticed the car was leaning to one side,had it checked out and the crossmember was rusted and broke. I am in the process of buying another car.Mechanic told me not to drive it very far.If the car was recalled because of rust on front suspension of car it probably has same issue on back suspension.

The front sub frame was recalled due to SEVERE rot and corrosion. It was replaced at the dealers cost. The issue is the rear subframe has the exact same, if not worse rot and corrosion. I called the dealer and no recall is issued. Thousands of people are having the same issue