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.