Power Steering Failure in 08 Mazda3
 

I have a new 2008 Mazda3 2.3L, maybe only 11,500 miles on it, and the power steering failed. They say I need a new ps pump, but that part is on back order. The car is practically new I don't understand how this can happen. Is anyone else having a problem like this? It's been almost a couple weeks now without my car. I don't think this is right, do you think I should ask them about paying half my car payment for this month? Or is that not really possible.

Withholding due payments is a breach of contract on your part; it's not a smart move.

If being without transport for the duration of the delay is a serious impediment to getting to work, medical appointments etc., you can demand a courtesy vehicle, have the dealer supply you with a loaner, or whatever.
Reasonableness is the key; if you have the slightest suspicion of being "jerked around", make sure you have a written record of all offers and counteroffers, and check your local consumer protection laws.
If you're not happy with the dealer, contact Mazda head office, but let him know beforehand you are going to do it.
You didn't say how long the delay is, but given the number of Mazda 3s around, I would say anything more than 3 working days unreasonable.
Be polite, be informed, be firm.

I won't call and ask about that then, but I did call the Corporate Offices and asked them if they knew of anything that was going on with this situation, and possibly when the pump could be shipped, but they said they have no idea. The guy at the dealer has no idea when the part will be shipped either seeing how its on back order. I've been without my car now for 10 days and still nothing.

OLDENG,

I did call the main corporate office today about the car, they said the power steering pump should be in towards the end of may/early june, so they said they are going to compensate me for my car payment for this month.

Are you having the car serviced at the same dealership where the purchase was made? If that is the case, the dealer should have offered your a loaner for a warranty repair like this one.

Yes I did bring it back to the same dealership where I purchased it. They did give me a loaner car. I also did call the main corporate office to let them know the situation about all of this and how unhappy I was, and they offered to compensate me for my payment for this month when I get my car back.

Sounds as if you finally got what you were entitled to right from the get-go.
It still seems odd that the delay in getting a replacement pump is so long. You should ask for a copy of the service report too, because the pump failure could have been secondary to some other gremlin in the power steering system which might or might not raise its ugly head again in the future. That way you have your best chance of having any future steering problems covered at no cost, even if your warranty period had technically expired.
Another thing worth doing is to see if you can find a Mazda corp. or Mazda forum site where technical service bulletins (TSB's), recall notices, etc. are systematically posted.

I forgot to mention I did ask them about why it is taking so long, the woman on the phone told me some of the suppliers are going out of business, and they are in the process of getting new suppliers. Not sure if I should believe 100% that is the cause of the delay, but who knows...

i'm having the same problem w/my mazda 3. the dealership has had my car since april 17th, and they just called today to say that the parts are still on backorder and it will be at least 3 more weeks before i can get my car back. if i do get it back at that point, i will have been w/out it for almost 6 weeks.

i have a question, and maybe someone(s) here can offer some advice: a week prior to the power steering failing in my car, i took it in for an oil change on 4/11/09. they told me the power steering fluid was black and needed to be flushed. i paid $170.00 for them to flush it, and then 6 days later the power steering failed.

am i within my rights to ask the dealership to refund me the money i paid on having the power steering fluid flushed? i mean, if was black due to a faulty part i do not think i should be responsible for paying for the service. but perhaps i'm wrong? i've tried bringing this up twice now while on the phone when they call to update me, and they keep insisting that the power steering flush just routine maintenance and has nothing to do with the problem that now has kept my car from me for weeks.

Check your owners manual maintenance section. If it calls for power steering flush at around the mileage your car was at, then it was routine maintenance. I highly doubt that you will find this is the case. It MAY be called for at 60,000 but not 12,000. IF e flui was black and needed replacement that early it was a defective pump/rack etc. They should give you your money back for selling an un necessary service and failure to diagnose the problem correctly.

Yeah, I'm at 19K miles on my 08 Mazda3, and my power steering pump just failed. The dealership basically said that this was the first case, and so it was very uncommon. But, seems like it might not be that uncommon reading this post. They gave me a new 2009 to drive, so I'm not really complaining, less depreciation on my car I guess. It'll be about a month before I get another pump, which does sound quite ridiculous to wait for a part. If my car wasn't under warranty and I wasn't getting a free car to drive, I'd be pissed for sure.

So, in reply to Shang, Hell yeah you should get them to pay for the power steering flush. If they didn't, I'd be making phone calls to corporate. There's something wrong with that part, and it's still under warranty, so you should definitely get a refund. I don't know much about cars, but power steering flushes on a practically new car is not routine.

power steering
 

Try Calling the main corporate office. The number can be found on mazdausa.com. I called them after I brought my car in to the dealer. You get a lot farther by calling them. As in my case, they are going to compensate me some how since I am making a car payment and do not have my car.

This is a quote from the Manual

read that also...
 

when the problem first happened with my car, I read the manual and saw that as well. In my case, my power steering fluid was full, i actually had more in there then maybe I should. (the dealer were the peopel who filled it too). I even checked for any leaks. It was strictly just the pump because everything else looked fine.

Re: Premature Failure of Late Model Mazda Power Steering.

Disclaimer: This information is provided in good faith and is for general use by Mazda owners or users subscribed to this forum only.
It does not, nor is it intended to imply that Mazda Corporation, its suppliers, agents or concessionaires are in any way responsible for any vice, deficiency, or neglect. This post may not be used for any purpose or by persons other than as is stated above.

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.

Tell your wife that if she wrecks the power steering it could set you back $$$$$ bucks
(you fill in the number), then ask her what she would have done with that money if she hadn't wasted it by trashing the servo pump!

The turkey baster fluid exchange is a good idea. You won't get all the old fluid out but you will get most of it out over time. Each time you remove and old fluid and replace with new you are restoring the additive package of the fluid. I have changed out the fluid on my 07 Altima at about 32,000 miles and also changed over to synthetic fluid which can handle the high heat of the hydraulic system. I also did the same with my 02 camry which now has 110,000 on it. When the Mazda gets a few more miles on it I will be changing it out also.

2008 Mazda 3S
 

So I was just about to start a new thread when I ran into this. I have a 2008 Mazda 3s with about 32,800 miles on it. I pulled in to a parking spot today, shut off the car realized the store was closed, jumped back in started up my car and the yellow steering wheel light on my dash with the exclamation point lite up. My power steering when. I could barely turn the wheel. I waited 10 minutes, started the car back up and the same thing happened. I called Mazda Roadside assistance and they sent a tow. When they showed up an hr later I started it up to show them and it worked. The tow truck driver showed me the pump which I could not find since I thought it was connected to the main belt. Our pumps our now. There is a little canister and it is a little electric motor that spins and produces pressure and that is what delivers the power to steer the car. It seems so underpowered and no one believe me that my power steering pump was electric and now power by the belt. I am unhappy with this design and do not like it. Seems it has caused more problems for people. I am demanding they replace this part anyways if it died once, it will die again and I don't want it happening while I am driving with my wife in the car on a side street and it causes me to crash. Did anyone else realize it was a little electric motor that powers our steering?

Does anyone else think I am being unreasonable about asking them to inspect the unit thoroughly and asking them to replace it? Any input is appreciated.

Brandon

My wife has been without her 08 Mazda 3 for three weeks now with a failed power steering pump. The service adviser told me that the pump and ps lines were on national back order two weeks ago so there would be some delay for the fix. Last week he told me that he believes that the pumps would start shipping next week to dealers for replacement. He also stated that the reason this is happening is because Mazda used cheep ps lines that are rusting from the inside out and because the weather is beginning to get warmer the rust is flaking out of the line and going into the pump causing it to fail. Her car only had 8000 miles.

I am wondering if I need to start worrying about mine, since it seems that all the P/S pump problems are on 08's.
I do know that I don't ever go to full lock on the steering, it might get bumped, but never held.

Hmmm, it will be interesting to see how the limited run of 2009 models do next spring.

2008 Mazda 3S
 

Its odd that mine failed and then worked again, maybe there were the rust particles in the line and then after sitting for a while they settled? But after hearing about all these issues it is making me worried. I don't want it to happen again.

2008 Mazda 3S
 

So it is not necessarily these pumps being electronic and cheap? Its more or less the lines? I don't know if that makes me feel any better! lol

I recently got my car back, a 2008 mazda 3. It was in the shop for 2 weeks exactly. They had to replace the power steering pump, the electic charger, and all the lines. My dealer was one of the first ones in the country to get these pumps. They placed it early enough to get it expedited here. Sucked for those couple weeks, but its running fine now.

and to add to the fact, a few other people were waiting at my dealer as well for this part, all 08 models.

I had steering pump problems in my Mazda 6 - 2005. Now have a 2008.5 Mazda 3s Touring (mostly my son drives it). Is this a model-wide common problem?

Go to the General Tech part of this Mazda Forum and you will see a "sticky" posted by Virgin1 which is a post I made a while ago; it is entitled
https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon4.gif Premature Power Steering System Failures in Late Model Mazdas
This will give you some background on this issue and some tips on causes and avoidance. I notice some people have been told recently that the cause is rust in the hydraulic lines; I don't think this is the case, because the fluid contains inhibitors which prevent this, and, unlike brake fluid which has a high affinity for water, the power steering fluid is an automatic transmission fluid (ATF M-III or similar)which does not mix with water at all.
ATF hydraulic fluid has a Jekyll and Hyde personality though, because it is very good within its operating temperature range, but becomes highly "toxic" to hydraulic system parts when overheated, furthermore the transition temperature is only around the boiling point of water.
There are high-temp rated fluids on the market, but I would caution against their use unless such use is specifically approved by the vehicle manufacturer; they could be incompatible with the components in the power steering system, or with any residual fluid in the system, and if used without Mazda's blessing, this could seriously weaken your position should a warranty issue arise.

Power Steering Pump
 

So let me ask you all this. Did it just die and then not work again? Or did it die and work again after an hour of resting? Here is my situation, let me know if it is similar to any of yours please so I know what to do next.

I don't know if this is the same problem, but it sounds similar. A week ago it was hot and I had my AC on full blast, shut the car off got out for maybe a minute, got back in and after it started the power steering was not working and I had the steering wheel logo with the exclamation (!) point lite up on the dash (it was yellow). I shut the car off tried it again and the same thing. I waited 10 minutes started it back up and the lite was still on and it would not work. So I called Mazda roadside assistance and it was about 50 minutes until a tow truck came so I started the car to get it on the flat bed and it was fine. So I brought it to the dealership 2 days later (on a monday) and the said it produced no codes and they can't do anything. So I was upset, but figured it was a fluke. Then yesterday (a little over a week) it was hot out and I had the AC blasting and I had my car washed and vacuumed and after they bring the car out it was shut off, I got back in it started to drive and realized it was hard to turn. The power steering not working again and the lite appeared on the dash again. I was so close to home I just drove it home hoping no one would pull out in from of me because the handling is horrible without the power steering. So I got it home, called Mazda Corporate after I called the dealership and the said there is nothing they can do unless they see it broken ( I knew by the time it was towed there it would work) and Mazda Corporate said the same thing. They can't fix it unless they verify. I even went as far to say will you fix it after it causes me to crash? But as I knew it would happen I went out 45 minutes later and started it up and it was fine. So I don't know what to do except if it happens again and I try to drive the car to the dealership. But after my long story, yes expect it to get worse.

The power steering pump is not connected to the belt. It is a little canister and there is a little motor in it there spins that creates pressure in the lines that allows for the power assisting. I did research and saw that mazda used cheap hoses and they they corrode and rust and when it gets really hot it flakes and they float into the electric motor in the pump and cause it to jam and after a while the float back out. But let me tell you this is no fun and I have no confidence in my car at the moment as far as reliability is concerned.

PS Problems
 

Just so you all know I have been with out my car for 3 weeks now when I called my dealer it said it might be WEEKS before he even gets the part. As I read this this seems to be a bigger problem then I originally thought. I would say if you have an 08 Mazda and have had power steering problems I would not hold off on taking it in.

what happened to me...
 

When my power steering went out, I was on the turnpike here in jersey, i had the AC on mid-level, was caught in a bunch of traffic it was stop and go for 1 1/2 hours. When i was getting off the exit ramp of the highway is when the steering went out completely. It was hard as hell to turn seeing how i was on the ramp, going maybe 5mph trying to make the whole turn to get off. I drove it to my grandparents house which was 5 min from there, let the car sit there for 3-4 hours, and when I came back the light was off. I was able to get it back to my house, which was about 40 minutes away because the light stayed off, and the next morning i took it into the mazda dealer because I didn't trust it. They replaced the pump, charger, and lines. I was without the car for 2 weeks, they told me my dealer was one of the first in the coutry to get the pumps in.

I dont understand why they wouldn't fix your car if they couldn't see the problem. When i brought my car into mazda to get it checked out for this, my PS light wasn't on. I told them what needed to happen and its all good now.

and1bball87...Where are you from? What dealership did you go to? I am very upset I need to basically "drive" it there for them to see the issue because by the time I get it towed there it resets itself some how. I guess I need to be more persistent. Any other info would be greatly appreciated. Did your dealership mention this is a consistent problem? Thanks for all of your help!

mrspike...im in new jersey. I take it to the Maple Shade Mazda dealer in Maple Shade new jersey. There were about 4 other people he said waiting at the dealer for the same parts as me. As soon as the parts came though, they made it priority to get these new pumps in first thing in the morning before other things needed to be worked on. The part came in at 8am, the car was ready to be picked up by 10am. This dealership is phenomenal with their customer service. They hooked me up with a loaner car the morning i called and brought in the car. They called to give me updates on the car as to when the part would be in, and they called me to let me know the part was in too.

I wish they would do that for me...They still just say "we need to see that it is truly broken so we don't get a fine". I even said even if it means it causes me to crash it first?

My wife is still without her 08 MZ3 with 8000 miles. The car has been in the shop since April 24th and now we are being told that it could be the first of July before we could see the car again. The dealer does have the ps pump there and ready to put on the vehicle but they are now waiting on replacement lines to come directly from Mazda. They did not use any lines from the shop or ones that they could get from other dealers as they said that they would still be defective lines. Our service adviser told us that the lines that Mazda is making to send out now are the replacement lines for this problem. At this point I don't know whats going on but I am coming up on my third car payment without a car to show for it and it is starting to get real annoying. Mazda did give us a 6 to drive in the meantime but compared to a 3 it kinda feels like a boat.

Frostuzy,

Let me ask you this. Did it just die on you or was it starting to go like in my situation? Thank you for your insight. Is the power steering considered a 3yr/36k warranty, or is it considered part of the 5yr/60k powertrain warranty?

In my case it went out in the afternoon so we drove it to the dealer when it was acting up. When we pulled into the service kiosk I left the car running so the adviser saw the ps light was on and actually sat in the car and tried turning the wheel. We turned the car off and went in to do the paperwork and 10 min later the car was fine. They kept the car anyway but it did go out on them the next day so they kept it. We have the three year warranty on ours and everything has been covered so far. The big thing that I am chuffed about right now is I just drove by to see the car today and it is just trashed. It has been sitting outside this whole time so it is dirty as sin with the rotors all rusted up and a couple of nice big door dings from being in the service lot. I am going to give Mazda call next week and see if we can start working out a deal for the payment now. I am getting tired of paying for a car I can't drive.

call corporate mazda, tell them you're not paying for a practically new car that you can't drive because its a problem that THEIR having with their vehicles. Tell them it isn't fair. I did that and they offered to compensate me if I made my car payment. Luckily I didn't make my car payment before I got my car back so they didnt compensate me. I was expecting a longer delay like you. but try that...

I had the exact same thing happen to my 2008 Mazda Hatchback back in April. At the time I had about 11,000 miles on it. I was making a legal U-turn when the wheel just jammed and got real stiff.

I took it back to the dealership where they had it for almost 1 month because there were several cars having power steering failure too and parts were back ordered. They said that there was a contamination in the fluid lines and the pump and much of the power steering system had to be replaced.

Luckily it was under warranty and it didn't cost me a dime.

Galpin Mazda in Los Angeles (where i bought it) didn't charge me for the rental either.