2010 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

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.

WHILE DRIVING, I HEARD A SLIGHT POP FROM UNDER THE SEAT. UPON ROUNDING A CURVE, THE ENTIRE DRIVER SEAT ROCKED LOOSE 7 TO 8 INCHES SIDEWAYS. I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND CAREFULLY DRIVE BACK TO MY HOME. I DISCOVERED THAT INSTEAD OF BOLTS & LOCKNUTS, THE SEAT IS SECURED TO THE SEATFRAME RAILS WITH 4 PINS (APPROXIMATELY 12MM). THE PARTS ARE ONLY HELD TOGETHER WITH PRESS-ON THRUST WASHERS. THESE WASHERS HAD POPPED OFF. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING SLIGHTLY FASTER I COULD HAVE TOTALLY LOST CONTROL & CRASHED.UPDATED 07-16-15 *BF UPDATED 9/21/2015 *JS

WHILE I WAS ENTERING THE FREEWAY I FELT THE SEAT MOVED BACK I ALMOST GOT INTO ACCIDENT WHEN IT HAPPEN LUCKILY IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. I WENT TO A MAZDA DEALERSHIP AND ASKED THEM ABOUT THE SEAT THEY SAID ITS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY I HAVE TO PAY 800 PLUS LABOR TO FIX THE SEAT. THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPEN I WAS AT THE STOP LIGHT AND WHEN THE LIGHT TURN GREEN THE SEAT MOVED WAY BACK AND I COULDN'T REACH THE GAS AND THE CLUTCH PEDAL SO I STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND THERE WAS TRAFFIC COMING, ALMOST GOT INTO ACCIDENT AGAIN. SO NOW I HAVE TO HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL AND MOVE CLOSER TO THE STEERING WHEEL JUST TO REACH THE GAS ,BRAKE, AND CLUTCH PEDAL AND THAT'S NOT THE PROPER WAY TO SEAT FOR THE DRIVERS IF ANYONE GOT INTO ACCIDENT THAT CLOSE TO THE AIR THEY MIGHT SUFFOCATE IF THE AIR DEPLOY DURING AN ACCIDENT. PLEASE FIX THIS PROBLEM I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN THIS TO ANYONE. I HAVE PICTURES TO PROVE IT. *TR

I WAS TAKING A CLOVER-LEAF OFF-RAMP WHEN I HEARD A SNAP (OR POP) AND FELT MY SEAT ROCK BACK ABOUT 3 INCHES WITH MORE INCHES TO GO BACK. I TOOK MY 2010 MAZDASPEED 3 INTO MORRIE'S MINNETONKA MAZDA IN ORDER FOR THEM TO INSPECT THE PART THAT HAD BROKEN. THE WASHER CAME LOOSE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT RAIL ON THE LEFT SIDE. THE MECHANICS HAD REATTACHED THE WASHER, WHICH APPEARED TO BE A PRESSED-ON WASHER, AND WHEN TESTING THE SEAT BY ROCKING IN IT, THE WASHER FELL OFF AGAIN. THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE DEALERSHIP HAD GIVEN ME WAS TO PURCHASE A NEW DRIVER SEAT RAIL ASSEMBLY, WHICH COSTS $1080.00 + TAX/SS. I HAD DECLINED TO PURCHASE THIS PART, AS I DON'T BELIEVE THE SEAT RAIL ASSEMBLY IS WORTH THAT AMOUNT, PLUS I COULD HAVE PURCHASED A NICE SET OF AFTERMARKET SEATS LIKE BRANDS BRIDE OR SPARCO. AFTER POSTING TO A FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE CALLED "MAZDA COMMUNITY BLOG", MANY OTHER MEMBERS HAVE POSTED SIMILAR EXPERIENCES, AND HAVE PROVIDED MANY REFERENCES TO OTHER WEBSITES THAT HAVE CLOSE TO THE SAME ISSUE THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED. IT APPEARS TO BE MOSTLY RELATED TO THE 2010 MAZDASPEED 3 / 2010 MAZDA 3 YEARS OF WHEN THIS ISSUE HAS HAD OCCURRENCES. SOME OTHER SIMILAR ISSUES THAT OTHERS HAVE ALSO HAD ARE THE WELDS BREAKING ON THE SEATS, WHICH HAVE A SIMILAR EFFECT TO WHAT MY SEAT FELT LIKE. *JS

WE WERE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THE SEAT BRACKET THAT HOLDS THE DRIVER'S SEAT TO THE POSITION ADJUSTMENT FRAME SNAPPED, CAUSING THE SEAT TO TIP BACKWARDS. A COLLISION WAS NARROWLY AVOIDED. IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT THE SEAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN LIKELY TO STAY CONNECTED TO THE CAR. THE PART IN QUESTION IS A 1/4" OR 3/8" STEEL BRACKET THAT APPEARS TO HAVE BROKEN NEAR A FACTORY WELD. PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE. THE DEALER PERFORMED AN INVESTIGATION, BUT CONCLUDED THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW WHY IT HAD HAPPENED AND HAVE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. THERE APPEARS TO BE A PATTERN OF THIS ESTABLISHING ON THE NHTSA DATABASE AND ANECDOTALLY ON AUTOMOBILE ENTHUSIAST WEBSITES. THERE WAS NO EARLY INDICATION OF A PENDING FAILURE. WE ARE CONCERNED THE SAME MAY HAPPEN WITH THE PASSENGER SEAT OR AGAIN TO THE DRIVERS SEAT AFTER REPAIR. *TR

DRIVING WHEN SEAT MADE A LOUD POPPING SOUND AND BEGAN ROCKING WILDLY. UPON INVESTIGATION REALIZED THE WELD HAD BROKEN. THERE IS A TSB THAT APPLIES TO MY VIN NUMBER, BUT MAZDA WANTS $700 TO REPAIR THE SEAT. THERE ARE A LOT OF ONLINE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE. SHOULDN'T THIS BE A RECALL AS IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING FASTER I WOULD HAVE CRASHED. TSB #09-049/10 "2010 MAZDA3 - RATTLE NOISE FROM BOTTOM OF DRIVER SEAT" APPLIES TO VINS LOWER THAN [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MAZDA MAZDASPEED3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT FRACTURED FROM ONE SIDE OF THE FRAME RAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE SEAT FRAME WAS FRACTURED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO OFFERED TO COVER PARTIAL REPAIR EXPENSES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 51,835.