Premature Power Steering System Failues in Late Model Mazdas
 

I pulled this from something I just posted on the Mazda 3 forum:

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I have a 1999 Protege 1.8L FP engine with manual transmission with 95,000 kms. odometer reading. I have the workshop manual for the year 2000 model of the same car, and which is also applicable to mine.
In the section covering the Power Steering System of this car is the following caution, which is repeated a number of times in this document.

"Caution:
If the steering wheel is kept in the fully turned position for more than 6 seconds, the fluid temperature will rise excessively and adversely affect the oil pump."

Similarly, in the section covering pressure test of the fluid pumping system requiring that the delivery outlet of the pump be connected to a pressure gauge:

"Caution:
If the valve is left closed for more than 5 seconds, the fluid temperature will rise excessively and adversly affect the oil pump."

Both manuals specify the use of hydraulic fluid ATF M-III or equivalent i.e. trademark Dexron II.

Neither in my owner's manual nor my shop manual is there a requirement to flush and replace the fluid. The procedures contained are related to fluid level, draining, bleeding and refilling, steering function inspection, pressure testing, steering wheel force, and leak testing.

Out of curiosity, I took a rubber bulb medicine drop dispenser and sucked some fluid into it for a look. The fluid was clear and a very pale tan color. There was no telltale smell typical of cooked fluid. My car has no history of steering related issues, nor has the system ever been flushed or bled.

So what is very bad for pumps is overheated fluid caused usually by excessive load on the system resulting in the pump running stalled. This to say the external load exceeds the pump's capacity to deliver, resulting in an almost constant volume of fluid being recirculated repeatedly within the pump itself, absorbing in the process almost all the energy delivered by the pump drive belt. The result is a rapid temperature rise which causes cooking of the fluid, and cooked ATF M-III is a destroyer of hydraulic systems.

Why these early failures? The evidence on this forum suggests it may be more common than anticipated; here are some factors which contribute to high loading;

The unavoidable:
Bigger engines/ beefier drive train: i.e. more weight on the front suspension.
Bigger wheels/ tires: i.e. bigger tire/road "footprint".
Bigger vehicle: i.e. requires more steering lock-to-lock low speed manoevering
when parking/ navigating in confined space.
Other bigger vehicles: more frequent need for tight low speed manoevering.

The avoidable:
Low tire pressures
Special big footprint/ supergrip tires
Turning the steering wheel at all while the vehicle is not in motion.
Applying hard full lock steering.
(This one is easy to avoid. When doing tight navigation, turn off all fans and entertainment devices; pull that bluetooth or MP3 thing out of your ear; you will now be able to hear the typical muffled distress scream of a stalled hydraulic pump. Back the wheel off just a bit and it will unstall. Once clear of obstructions turn on anything you want.)

Preventive action/ Damage control:
Check your steering fluid reservoir for more than just the level; take out the filler and filter assembly; the contents should not smell acrid or unpleasant; the color should be a clear, pinkish or very light tan. If it stinks and/or has the color of pancake syrup or darker, you've got problems. Get rid of it just as fast as you can.

Preferably you should go to a Mazda dealer; get a full report/ copy of the work order etc. etc. stating the problem, observations, and corrective action, even if your car is outside warranty. That might be handy if this problem turns out to be widespread.
If that's not practical, and you're handy; drain and flush your system thoroughly, and do a check once a week to see that there is no deterioration or loss of the fluid.
As a last resort, go to a dollar store and buy one of those turkey baster things. With the engine off, suck out as much fluid from the reservoir as you can. Refill it with new fluid, use the car for a day or two, then repeat the process until the fluid condtion improves. (You should still get the system completely drained, flushed and refilled ASAP.

Warning: Be scrupulously clean when doing this work; a minute amount of foreign stuff can do bigtime damage to hydraulic systems. Be careful not to get fluid on the paint finish; it's a real paint stripper. If you do spill some, soak it up and wash it off right away.

The proper procedure is suck as much fluid out as possible refill. With car running turn steering wheel lock to lock 5 or 6 times. The repeat first step. Use at least 1 court or ATF is system.

is that 1 quart of ATF in system?????????
a little clarification please

I wonder if this has anything to do with an NTSB investigation into the Mazda 3 and BMW's Z4 power steering failures. I know that the they are currently only looking at the 3, I wonder if this may turn up design flaws in other models as well.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/201007...w-7318940.html

Hi to everyone Mazda actually have a slight problem with Mazda 5 Power steering failing all you have to do is take your vehicle to a dealer and they will put it right for you , if its out of warrenty then you will have to pay.

Have to pay? Not so, at least not here in North America. A Mazda3 or Mazda5 could have a million miles on it and Mazda will still fix the power steering system for free.

That link is dead, I will be asking my local dealership about this ASAP thanks for the heads up people.:eek:

My car was done at the dealership last April, I really have to acquaint my self under that hood!

I have not found anything on when to change the power steering fluid on my Mazda 6 2006 V6. I recently had it changed. I believe every 4-5 years this should be changed. I put in Synthetic Redline D4 Auto transmission fluid: Red Line Synthetic Oil - Automatic Transmission Fluids - D4 ATF .
It only takes 1 quart so please go synthetic!

This must be a stupid question, but who cares; I want to know.

We are supposed to put ATF in the power steering reservoir? What is in the bottles at the stores labeled "Power Steering Fluid"?

Update: I did a google search and, although there are some skeptics, it's a common practice. I can't check my owners manual because it's in Texas with the car but I'll be checking it the next time it comes home.

2006 Mazda6 Steering Lock
 

I own 2006 Mazda6 and have around 104K miles on it. About 10 days back (04/03/2014) my car had its first steering lock. I was driving it around 35-40 mph. I could barely turn it to right, very tight though. Once I restarted the car, it was unlocked. Now this morning (04/14/14) while driving at around 35-40 mph, I heard a loud thud, which at first I thought I hit something on the car but I didn't see anything in the rearview mirror. Immediately after the noise, the steering wheel was locked. This time pulling to the right was harder than the first incident, almost non-movable. Restart the vehicle and steering is unlocked. I have read about Mazda4 problems. I have also reported this at NTSB website and I am going to call the dealer.

I have a 2006 Mazda 6 and changed my power steering fluid at 30,000 miles. You've gone 104,000 miles without changing it!!!!
Have you ever changed your brake fluid, coolant, tranny fluid?

There is no such thing as real lifetime fluid or never ever have to change the fluid! Lifetime fluid is bogus as this may only be achievable under IDEAL conditions all the time (weather, driving like a grandma, not driving real short trips)!

Good Luck.! :rolleyes:

You assumed that I have never changed the oil. I consistently change all the fluids including P/S on regular basis, had first one around 30K and second around 80K. Took the car to mechanic for service and he said it didn't take much of P/S fluid even though I thought its low. I'll check the grounding wires, which several have reported fixed the problem.

Yes i did assume, and made an ass out of u and me!
Grounding wires is weird.
All background service info needs to be included in original post for a proper answer. Please remember this in future. Any mods should also be listed: check my signature out-----it helps the people who are responding.
Maybe he put wrong fluid in?

Power steering failure - A possible fix?
 

So I bought a second hand Mazda 3 (2013) for my missus early 2020 and everything was ok for about 6 months. One day the PS shut off whilst driving and we had to pull off to the side of the road and consult the owner manual as to what the dash light meant. There was a specific entry as to PS failure and that the remedy was to turn off the car and then turn it back on. We did this and the failure light went off and the steering was all good again. About a month later it happened again with increasing failures occuring continuously over a few months. There were no fault codes observed by my OBD reader. Eventually the PS refused to reset and I did a bit of fault finding. Fluid ok, Hydraulic Ram ok, All inspectable parts ok, Wiring continuity ok. After being frustrated with it and searching online forums, I was convinced that i was going to have to cough up a fair bit of dough to have a dealership fix the problem. I decided that I would change the fluid first and pull the pump out to inspect it thoroughly. It was at this point (having the front end and headlight off, and cleaning and inspecting all the connections, that I noticed some slight discoloration to one of the electrodes in the master power plug on the wiring loom which connects to the PS pump. I shone a bright light in and saw some evidence of arcing and also noticed that the wiring loom assembler had failed to seat one of the electrodes correctly. The white locking piece within the plug had been pushed into place correctly, however the electrode was not fully seated in position, and the small locking tab which would otherwise lock it into position was now preventing it from seating properly. This meant that over time arcing was taking place between the electrode and the opposite contact in the PS pump which reduced the capability of current to pass through the connection resulting in the more frequent failures that we were experiencing. I fully disassembled the plug, cleaned it and reassembled it correctly and the problem now seems to have resolved. I hope that this is an easy fix for some of you having the same issue. Cheers

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.maz...4207564ee3.jpg

Clarification please
 

What do you mean by turn steering wheel lock? I want to avoid the $100 dealer charges for draining the power steering fluid. Fluid is extra.