2014 Mazda MAZDA3

My gear box was popping out of gear at highway speeds into neutral. The service provider informed me the transmission in the car was bad, adding that it the bad transmission caused excessive wear on the clutch-and-flywheel assembly. It later came to my attention that there is an ongoing class action lawsuit in the state of California, represented by Cafferty Clobis Meriwether & Spengel regarding defectively-engineered transmissions of 5- and 6-speed Mazda 3s manufactured between 2010-2015. I had the clutch, flywheel, and transmission all replaced. I cannot be certain that the new OEM transmission part was re-engineered to correct for the original engineering defect and I am greatly concerned that the issues will repeat themselves soon, putting my family and me at risk. I am attaching a letter I sent to Mazda regarding this concern.

AROUND 68,000 MILES, I BEGAN TO HEAR A SUBTLE WHINING NOISE COMING FROM MY 2014 MAZDA MAZDA3. I WAS UNSURE WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM AND ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TIRES. AS TIME PASSED, THE NOISE BECAME LOUDER, EVENTUALLY TO THE POINT WHERE I FELT I NEEDED TO GET IT CHECKED OUT. A MECHANIC TOLD ME IT WAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION BECAUSE THE SOUND WAS EMITTING THERE. HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT THERE WAS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN POSTED BY MAZDA THAT DESCRIBED THE EXACT ISSUE, AND THAT'S WHAT HE'S SURE IT IS. I GOT A SECOND OPINION FROM ANOTHER MECHANIC AND HE EXPLAINED THE SAME THING. THE COST TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION WITH A REMANUFACTURED MODEL IS SOMEWHERE IN THE BALLPARK OF $2,000 - $3,500. THE SECOND MECHANIC I WENT TO SHOWED ME THE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN. AFTER THE DESCRIPTION, THE BULLETIN STATES, "THIS IS CAUSED BY A DAMAGED BEARING IN THE TRANSAXLE DUE TO IMPROPER CONFIGURATION OF THE TRANSAXLE CASE." THIS WOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY; UNFORTUNATELY, THE ISSUE IS KNOWN ONLY TO HAPPEN RIGHT AROUND 65,000 + MILES, AFTER THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED. BECAUSE THE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN STATES THE ISSUE IS "DUE TO IMPROPER CONFIGURATION", TELLS ME THAT IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. IT ONLY HAPPENED BECAUSE OF A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. AFTER TAKING MY CAR TO THE MAZDA SERVICE CENTER, AND BEING TOLD THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, AS WELL AS SPEAKING WITH MAZDA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND EXPLAINING THE SITUATION, MAZDA WAS UNWILLING TO HELP BECAUSE MY VEHICLE IS NO LONGER IN WARRANTY. I BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE THIS ISSUE WAS DUE TO 'IMPROPER CONFIGURATION' MAZDA SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL. THE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TO REFERENCE FOR THIS COMPLAINT IS BULLETIN NO: 05-005/15 OR NHTSA TSB # 10105626.

MY DAUGHTER'S 2014 MAZDA3 TRANSAXLE WAS MAKING A WHINING NOISE. UPON DOING AN INTERNET SEARCH, WE DISCOVERED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) THAT ADDRESSED THIS SITUATION. THE TSB #'S ARE 05-008/16, 05-005/15 AND 05-004/14, AND MENTIONED A BEARING IN THE TRANSAXLE WILL BE DAMAGED DUE TO AN IMPROPER CONFIGURATION OF THE TRANSAXLE CASE. IN OTHER WORDS THE TRANSAXLE CASE WAS MANUFACTURED INCORRECTLY AND THE TRANSMISSION CANNOT BE REBUILT. WE VISITED SEVERAL MAZDA DEALERS WHOM VERIFY THE TSB ADDRESSED THE SITUATION. MAZDA WOULD NOT COVER THE $5,000 COST TO REPLACE THE TRANSAXLE EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW AT THE TIME THE CAR WAS PURCHASED OF THE IMPENDING PROBLEM, AND THAT IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE TRANSAXLE WOULD EVENTUALLY FAIL, MOST LIKELY ONCE OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD, WHICH IS JUST WHAT HAPPENED. THE TRANSAXLE FAILED AT 70,000 MILES, 10,000 MILES OVER THE 60,000 MILE WARRANTY, BUT IT WAS WELL WITHIN THE 5 YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD. WE DISCUSSED THE ISSUE WITH AT LEAST A DOZEN LOCAL TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOPS FOR ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE. ADDITIONALLY WE ALSO SUBMITTED AN AUTO COMPLAINT FORM TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (BBB), AND SPOKE WITH THE STATE OF WISCONSIN CONSUMER PROTECTOR DEPARTMENT, ALONG WITH THE LEMON LAW AUTO AREA. WE CONTACTED MAZDA USA'S 800# AND THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED TRYING TO OBTAIN A MORE FAVORABLE RESOLUTION. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SERVICE MANAGER AND MAZDA ZONE REPRESENTATIVE, MAZDA USA PRESENTED US WITH A FINAL OFFER OF $2,500 FOR A RE-MANUFACTURED TRANS-AXLE. WITH NO OTHER AVENUE AVAILABLE, WE DECIDED TO HAVE THE REPAIR DONE AT A FINAL COST OF $2,572. WE FEEL MAZDA SHOULD HAVE ISSUED A RECALL NOTICE TO FIX THIS SITUATION BACK IN EARLY 2014. THEY KNEW WHICH CARS MANUFACTURED WOULD HAVE THE PROBLEM AND AT WHAT POINT IN TIME THE TRANS-AXLES WOULD FAIL. WE ARE ALL VERY DISSATISFIED WITH MAZDA USA.

AS I WAS TURNING INTO A PARKING SPOT TO PARK MY CAR, THE CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AND RAN INTO A CONCRETE WALL. I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THIS CAR'S PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING WHEN I TOOK MY CAR IN TO GET FIXED AFTER THE SAFETY RECALL IN JANUARY '16. AS I REALIZED THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING - AND PUSHING ON THE BRAKE WOULD NOT STOP IT - I LIFTED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE CRASH ULTIMATELY STOPPED THE CAR - NOT THE BRAKE OR EMERGENCY BRAKE, AND THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED. LESS CONCERNED ABOUT THE DAMAGE TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE CAR, AND MORE CONCERNED THAT I HAD ZERO CONTROL OVER THE CAR AND ANY ABILITY TO STOP IT.

HARSH VIBRATION IN CABIN SIMILAR TO AN ENGINE MISFIRE OCCURS RANDOMLY NEAR IDLE OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER IGNITION. THE DEALERSHIP AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF THIS CONCERN AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN REPRODUCING OR ISOLATING SOURCE OF THE VIBRATION. VIDEO DOCUMENTATION OF THE FAILURE DURING ITS OCCURRENCE HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO BOTH PARTIES AND HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO THE SENIOR REGIONAL ENGINEER FOR ANALYSIS. CURRENT OWNER HAS AN OPEN VEHICLE REPURCHASE CLAIM UNDER LEMON LAW WITH THE MANUFACTURER PENDING INVESTIGATION OF FAULT. *TR

I INITIALLY HAD ISSUE GETTING INTO AND OUT OF THE 3RD AND 4TH GEAR (MANUAL TRANSMISSION CAR). I COULD FEEL GEARS GRINDING DURING SHIFTING (WITH THE CLUTCH FULLY DEPRESSED). THE DEALER REPLACED THE THIRD GEAR. AFTER THE FIX, THE CAR NOW HAS DIFFICULTY GETTING INTO AND OUT OF GEAR 2 AND 3. THIS PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT BUT IS MORE NOTICEABLE AFTER THE INITIAL START-UP OF THE CAR, ESPECIALLY IF THE WEATHER IS COLD (50F OR COLDER). WITH THE CLUTCH FULLY PRESSED, I CAN STILL FEEL THE GEAR ROTATING AND GRINDING DURING SHIFTING. WHEN THE CAR IS COLD, A LOT OF FORCE IS NEEDED TO SHIFT THE CAR INTO 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. THE SHIFTING ISSUE IS LESS NOTICEABLE WHEN ONCE THE CAR HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR 20MINS. *TR