2003 MAZDA MAZDA6 Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MAZDA MAZDA6. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT BLUE SMOKE WAS EMITTING FROM THE TAIL PIPE AS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS WERE CLOGGED AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. ADDITIONALLY, THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE TIE ROD WAS LOOSE AND COULD FRACTURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 122,000. *TR

I HADN'T HAD THE CAR TOO LONG AND WAS TAKING OFF FROM A TRAFFIC LIGHT WHEN THE HARD SHIFT FIRST OCCURRED. I REALLY THOUGHT I'D BEEN HIT FROM BEHIND BY ANOTHER CAR, BUT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN TOO OFTEN FOR AWHILE, THEN IT STARTED HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY SO I TOOK IT IN. I TOOK IT TO MULTIPLE MAZDA DEALERS, WHERE I WOULD LEAVE IT OVERNIGHT FOR THEM TO TRY AND REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. THEY ALWAYS INSISTED THAT THEY COULD NOT SO I GAVE UP FOR AWHILE. IT GOT WORSE AND THEN I SAW A TSB ONLINE ABOUT THE ISSUE. THE SUPPOSED FIX IS TO FLASH THE COMPUTER CHIP. EVERY DEALER I CONTACTED ABOUT IT SAID THEY'D CHARGE AN HOUR LABOR TO DO THIS, AND MY PRIVATE MECHANIC COULDN'T DO IT AS IT'S SOME MAGICAL THING ONLY THE DEALERS CAN DO. ANYWAY I HAVE NOT HAD IT FLASHED YET, THE CAR IS COMING UP ON 147K AND THE PROBLEM IS NOW SO BAD THAT IT'S DANGEROUS. I WILL HAVE THE FLASH DONE IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS BUT I DON'T THINK IT WILL HELP. I ALSO HAD TO HAVE THE THROTTLE BODY REPLACED A YEAR AGO AS I WAS NEARLY HIT BY A BIG RIG WHEN THE CAR SHUT DOWN IN THE FAST LANE. SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS AND SIMILAR REALLY DANGEROUS PROBLEMS, THIS CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED YEARS AGO. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MAZDA MAZDA6. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE WAS A COMMON PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 110,000. UPDATED 4/1/13 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE SPRING FOR THE DOOR LOCK ACUTUATOR WOULD FAIL, TRAPPING OCCUPANTS IN THE VEHICLE. UPDATED 04/19/2013 *JS

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK. IT WAS COLD, AND AS I USUALLY DO, TURNED ON THE HEATED SEAT. ABOUT 20 MINUTES INTO MY DRIVE, I NOTICED THAT MY BACK WAS HEATING UP MORE THAN USUAL. MY BACK THEN STARTED TO BURN, SO I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE HEATED SEAT OFF. THEN I NOTICED A SMELL OF BURNED PLASTIC. AFTER I ARRIVED HOME, I GOT OUT OF MY CAR AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A BURN HOLE THROUGH MY LEATHER SEAT. I TOOK OFF MY JACKET AND NOTICED THAT IT HAD ALSO BURNED A HOLE THROUGH IT AS WELL. I CONTACTED MY DEALER AND TOOK IT IN ON JANUARY 21. THEY TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE THE WARRANTY WASN'T ANY GOOD, THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. ANY REPAIRS WOULD BE AT MY EXPENSE. I TOLD THEM THAT THEY REPLACED MY HEATED SEAT IN JANUARY OF '09 BECAUSE IT HAD STOPPED WORKING AND THEY CHARGED ME AROUND $500. FOUR YEARS LATER, IT MALFUNCTIONED AND THEY DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANY BLAME. I TOLD THE DEALER IT WAS A SAFETY ISSUE, NOT A WARRANTY ISSUE. I'VE EMAILED MAZDA'S WEBSITE BUT NO ONE IS RESPONDING. *TR

TRAVELING AT SPEEDS OF 30-60 MPH DURING ANY TYPE OF TRAFFIC (STOP AND GO, FREEWAY SPEEDS, ETC), MY 2003 MAZDA6 WILL SUDDENLY GO INTO A "SAFE OR LIMP" MODE CHARACTERIZED BY ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER WITH NO ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. THE RPMS DROP TO BETWEEN 1000 AND 1300 AND FLUCTUATE QUICKLY BETWEEN THE TWO NUMBERS. I HAVE HAD TO QUICKLY PRESS THE CLUTCH, TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON TO REGAIN NORMAL FUNCTION. WHEN TAKEN TO A MECHANIC, THE ROOT CAUSE WAS DETERMINED TO BE A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY. UPON MORE RESEARCH (INCLUDING THIS SITE), THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE AN UNCOMMON ISSUE FOR THIS MODEL OF MAZDA. *KB

THE VEHICLE ACCELERATION CUTS OFF AND THE DASH BOARD LIGHTS ARE ALL ON. YOU WILL HAVE TO SHUT OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT BACK ON BEFORE IT WILL WORK CORRECTLY. DEALER SAID THEIR DIAGNOSTIC DID NOT SHOW ANY THROTTLE SENSOR ERRORS BUT MY SCAN TOOL DID. *TR

CAR EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC (0-30 MPH) ON 9/4/11 AND 9/7/11. TACHOMETER NEEDLE WAS BOUNCING BETWEEN 1 AND 3. CAR ACCELERATED, AND RPMS INCREASED, WHILE ON A LEVEL SURFACE, WITHOUT THE GAS PEDAL APPLIED. CAR FOUGHT AGAINST MY EFFORTS TO SLOW DOWN BY BREAKING. CAR STABILIZED UPON REACHING 40 MPH. ON 9/7/11, THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM BY CLEANING THE THROTTLE BODY, BUT THE INTERVENTION FAILED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM AND IT RECURRED ON 9/7. THIS IS A SERIOUS COMPLAINT WITH A HIGH RISK OF INJURIES OR DEATH. MAZDA OWNER INTERNET MESSAGE BOARDS DESCRIBE THIS PROBLEM REPEATEDLY. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND MANDATE THAT MAZDA IDENTIFY AN IMMEDIATE CORRECTION TO THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM. *TR

TRAVELING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS IN CA ON THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY BRIDGE DURING EVENING TRAFFIC, MY 2003 MAZDA6 SUDDENLY WENT INTO "SAFE OR LIMP" MODE. THIS CAUSED ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER WITH NO ABILITY TO ACCELERATE, WHICH ALMOST CAUSED A MULTI VEHICLE ACCIDENT. WHEN TAKEN TO A MECHANIC, THE ROOT CAUSE WAS A CODE DTC P2135 FOR A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY. MAZDA ADMITS 3 (THREE) VERSIONS OF THEIR THROTTLE BODY FOR THAT VEHICLE DEFECTIVE WITH AUTOMATIC DISCARD IF THERE IS A MIL WITH DTC P2135(PER TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN NO. 01-016/06 ISSUED 05/18/2006 BY MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS), AND THROTTLE BODY MARKINGS "AA","AB","BA". MINE IS AN "AA". OBVIOUSLY MAZDA ADMITS THAT THESE ARE DEFECTIVE, BUT ONLY REPLACED THEM UNDER WARRANTY AND MY VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY ANY LONGER. THEY CALL THE NEW PART AN "UPGRADED VERSION". MY VEHICLE HAS DONE THIS (SAFE MODE) SEVERAL TIMES, SO NOW IT IS PARKED UNTIL I CAN GET IT FIXED (QUOTED PRICE FOR REPAIR IS $714 FROM MAZDA DEALER). THESE INCIDENTS CREATES AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND I FEEL VERY LUCKY THAT I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHEN THIS HAPPENED TO ME, AND LUCKILY NO ONE WAS INJURED, IT COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. I FEEL MAZDA HAS MADE A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ADMITTING THAT THIS PART IS DEFECTIVE AND IT CAN CAUSE DANGER AND POSSIBLY LOSS OF LIFE. MAZDA NEEDS TO BE FORCED TO MAKE A RECALL AND REPLACE THESE PARTS AT NO COST TO THE CONSUMER. DEFECTIVE PART - THROTTLE BODY WITH MARKINGS "AA", "AB", "BA" MINE IS "AA"

2003 MAZDA6 6.0 ATX - CAR SUDDENLY LOSES POWER WHILE ACCELERATING. THE ENGINE REVS BUT NO POWER TO WHEELS. I HAVE CONTACTED LOCAL DEALER WITHOUT ANY RESOLUTION TO WHY THIS IS OCCURRING. UPON A BRIEF INTERNET SEARCH I FIND THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. I HAVE NOTICED IT HAPPENS MORE OFTEN WITH AC UNIT ON. *TR

ON SEVERAL MODELS OF MAZDA 6'S MAZDA HAS ISSUED A TSB FOR THE PROBLEM WHICH IS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR. I HAVE READ THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS BY CONSUMERS. MAZDA HAS MADE A NEW PART YET NOT RECALLED THE OLD PART. WHEN THIS PART FAILS YOU LOSE ALL ACCELERATION POWER TO THE VEHICLE. THE WAY TO RESET THIS IS TO TURN OFF THE MOTOR AND TURN IT RIGHT BACK ON. I WAS DRIVING ON A TWO-LANE HIGHWAY CROSSED OVER THE BROKEN DOUBLE YELLOW LINE TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE WHEN THIS DEFECTIVE PART FAILED AND I LOST ALL ACCELERATION. THANKFULLY, I HAD JUST ENOUGH TIME TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW THE SAME CAR I WAS PASSING TO PASS ME AND I PULLED OFF THE ROADWAY. THE CAR WORKED FINE FOR THE REST OF THAT TRIP IT OCCURRED AGAIN ON THE FREEWAY IN THE FAST LANE. I CONTACTED MAZDA CORPORATE CUSTOMER CARE THEY ADVISED ME THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT HAD NOT ISSUED A RECALL AT THIS TIME.