2010 MAZDA MAZDASPEED3 Complaints

VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. UPON SITTING IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT, I HEARD A "POP" SOUND. THE SEAT NOW MOVES APPROXIMATELY 6 INCHES FORE AND AFT UPON BRAKING AND ACCELERATING.

AFTER GETTING INTO THE DRIVERS SEAT, I HEARD A LOUD POP AND DRIVERS SEAT BECAME VERY LOOSE. UPON INSPECTION, FRONT LEFT BRACKET FOR VERTICAL SEAT ADJUSTMENT WAS BROKEN IN HALF. LOOSE SEAT WOULD SHIFT DURING BRAKING AND ACCELERATION, AN UNCOMFORTABLE AND DANGEROUS SITUATION.

I HAVE A 2010 MAZDASPEED 3. AT ONLY 5 YEARS OLD THE CLEAR COAT IS ALREADY PEELING HORRIBLY ON THE HOOD AND NOW STARTING ON THE FENDERS AND TRIM GOING ALONG THE WINDSHIELD. I HAVE THE VELOCITY RED PAINT AND CANNOT BELIEVE THE CLEAR COAT IS PEELING THIS BADLY WITHIN ONLY 5 YEARS. VEHICLE IS KEPT UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS.

THE FRONT DRIVERS SEAT STARTED ROCKING BACK AND FORTH AFTER HEARING A LOUD CRACK SOUND. CLOSER INSPECTION OF THE SEAT IN THE CAR REVEALED THAT THE WELD ATTACHING THE ADJUST AND THE SEAT FAILED. CONTACT MAZDA AND THEY REFUSED TO FIX DESPITE NOTING IT IN A SERVICE BULLETIN TSB #09-049/10 TITLED "2010 MAZDA3 - RATTLE NOISE FROM BOTTOM OF DRIVER SEAT" 2010-11-08. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS IF DRIVING AT THE TIME.

DASHBOARD IS MELTING, THE GLARE FROM IT MAKES IT HARD TO SEE TRAFFIC UP AHEAD AND IS VERY DISTRACTING AT TIMES. DEALERSHIP SAID IT IS A COMON PROBLEM WITH MAZDA VEHICLES, USING VISORS TO COVER THE WINDSHIELD DOES NOT STOP THE MELTING. INSIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD IS EXTREMELY STREAKY DUE TO THE DASH MELTING AND OILS LEAVING RESIDUE ON THE WINDSHIELD.

DASHBOARD IS MELTING AND TURNING INTO A STICKY GOOEY MESS THAT VERY GLOSSY AND CREATING A LARGE AMOUNT OF REFLECTIVE GLARE. THE REFLECTIVE GLARE OFF THE DASHBOARD ONTO THE WINDSHIELD IS SO BRIGHT THAT IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SEE OUT OF THE WINDSHIELD ON BRIGHT OR SUNNY DAYS.

WHILE DRIVING UNDER TYPICAL CONDITIONS, NAVIGATING A TURN AT SPEED, A POPPING NOISE SOUNDED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BEGAN TO WOBBLE, SEEMINGLY PIVOTING AT A POINT IN THE BACK, RIGHT AREA OF THE SEAT. FURTHER INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE SEAT MOUNT BRACKET THAT SECURES THE SEAT TO THE FRAME OF THE VEHICLE HAD BROKEN AT THE WELD. SIMPLE ONLINE RESEARCH REVEALS THAT SEVERAL OTHER CONSUMERS HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR ISSUES.

MY DASHBOARD HAS BEEN MELTING NOW FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS. IT IS GETTING WORSE. I LIVE IN FLORIDA. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS DEFECT FROM MAZDA AND THEY REFUSE TO REPLACE. THE MELTING DASHBOARD CAUSES EXTREME GLARE ON SUNNY DAYS. ENOUGH TO AFFECT VISIBILITY OUT THE FRONT WINDSHIELD. SINCE IT IS LITERALLY COOKING I AM CONCERNED THAT THERE ARE HEALTH HAZARDS AND TOXINS ASSOCIATED WITH IT MELTING. THIS SITUATION IS HAZARDOUS AND A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ENFORCED ASAP.

I WAS IN THE VEHICLE ABOUT TO BACK OUT OF A PARKING SPOT WHEN I HEARD A POP AND THE SEAT SUDDENLY FELT LOOSE. THE SEAT ITSELF WILL ROCK BACK AND FORTH A FEW INCHES AND GENERALLY FEELS UNSTABLE. I LOOKED UNDER THE SEAT AND FOUND THAT ONE OF THE 4 SEAT MOUNTING BRACKETS (CONNECTS THE SEAT PORTION TO THE SEAT RAILS) HAD BROKEN IN HALF. THIS BRACKET HAS BEEN DISCOLORED BY HEAT FROM THE WELDING PROCESS (BLACK AT THE WELD FADING TO BLUE/GRAY AND THEN BACK TO THE BRONZE-TYPE COLOR OF THE PART). THE PART BROKE RIGHT WHERE THE COLOR FADES FROM BLUE/GRAY TO THE ORGINAL BRONZE COLOR. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS THAT THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM. I HAVE INCLUDED SEVERAL LINKS WITH OWNERS COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS EXACT SAME ISSUE. ONE DRIVER MENTIONS ALMOST COLLIDING WITH A WALL WHEN IT BROKE. I HAVE SPOKEN TO BOTH MAZDA AND MY LOCAL DEALER. BOTH REFUSE TO COVER THE REPAIR COSTS. MAZDA DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE AS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THE DEALER REPAIR WOULD BE AN OUT OF POCKET COST OF ~$1000. I WAS QUOTED 2.5 HOURS LABOR AND A PARTS COST OF $700 FOR THE SEAT AND FRAME. THE RESPONSES I RECEIVED FROM MAZDA AND THE DEALER WERE DISHEARTENING. OBVIOUSLY I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT A POTENTIAL $1000 REPAIR BILL TO FIX THE SEAT, AND THE BROKEN BRACKET AND WOBBLY SEAT REPRESENT A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. I'M HOPING THE FOLKS AT THE NHTSA CAN HELP ADVOCATE FOR THE CONSUMER AND CONVINCE MAZDA THAT THEY MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THIS RATHER SERIOUS MANUFACTURING DEFECT. REFERENCE LINKS: HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/MAZDA/MAZDA3/2010/ACCESSORIES-INTERIOR/BROKEN_SEAT_WELD.SHTML HTTP://WWW.REDDIT.COM/R/MAZDA/COMMENTS/2S51X8/MAZDA_3_2010_SEAT_WELD_BROKE/ HTTP://WWW.MAZDASPEEDFORUMS.ORG/FORUM/F436/DRIVER-SEAT-LOOSE-100964/ HTTP://WWW.TORONTOMAZDA3.CA/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?72586-MY-SEAT-BROKE HTTP://FORUM.MAZDA6CLUB.COM/MAZDASPEED6/209501-BROKEN-SEAT-FRAME.HTML

THE SEAT HEIGHT ADJUSTER IS OPERATED BY A LEVER ON THE SIDE OF THE SEAT. THE LEVER ROTATES A ROD WITH TWO BRACKETS (ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE SEAT) WHICH ARE WELDED TO THE BAR ON ONE END AND PINNED TO THE SEAT ADJUSTER BASE. THE BRACKET CRACKED AT THE BASE OF THE WELD ON THE OUTBOARD SIDE OF THE SEAT. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOP; HOWEVER, I HAD NOTICED SOME A RATTLE OR CREAKING SOUND FROM THE SEAT FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE FINAL FAILURE OCCURRED. THE SEAT IS NOT COMPLETELY LOOSE AT THE FRONT LEFT CORNER. THE SEAT HAS SIDE AIRBAGS. I AM CONCERNED THAT THEY WILL ACCIDENTALLY DEPLOY DUE TO THE EXCESSIVE SEAT MOVEMENT IN A PANIC BREAKING EVENT. MAZDA HAS CHANGED THE PART DESIGN, BUT THE REPAIR IS NOT COVERED UNDER A RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH A DEFECTIVE SEAT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THE ONLY REPAIR IS TO REPLACE THE SEAT ADJUSTER ASSEMBLY OR ENTIRE SEAT.