Washington, D.C. – October 26, 2016 – The lift gate of Mazda vehicles are beginning to drop unexpectedly, according to a memo released by the National Highway Traffic Administration. The result is usually not pretty for anyone involved. The individual working with the car is likely to be injured when the lift gate of a vehicle drops unexpectedly toward him or her. In a variety of vehicles, Mazda found that the struts of the lift gate may corrode over time, which is likely responsible for the gate dropping. The company is recalling Mazda3 and Mazdaspeed3s made between 2010 and 2013, Mazda5s from October 26, 2010 to June 22, 2015, CX-3 vehicles from June 1, 2015, to December 26, 2015, and CX-5s from December 15, 2011, to December 26, 2015.
The Defect
Although professionals are still working to find out the exact causes of such a problem in the lift gates, researchers believe that insufficient corrosion protective coating was applied in the first place. There are plenty of things that can cause corrosion to those parts. If materials like that are exposed to water that contains road salt, the compound can cause corrosion. If that is the case, the mechanisms holding the lift gates up will not be able to do their job properly. That is when issues like unexpected drops occur.
Timeline Of Mazda’s Response
Unlike other recall processes, Mazda has taken a relatively straightforward approach to this issue. Some manufacturers might let this kind of issue drag on for years, but in less than that long, Mazda is taking steps to fixing the problem. Here is a rough timeline for the actions by Mazda:
- January 2016: Mazda was notified that there was an investigation on the corrosion of parts that prevent lift gates from falling unexpectedly.
- March 2016: Mazda received information saying that salt water may be responsible for penetrating the gap between the outer tube and the end cap. Combined with temperature changes, corrosion can occur.
- April – August, 2016: An internal investigation was launched by leaders at Mazda. Although no broken parts were found, the outer tubes of some returned parts were confirmed to be corroded. Mazda then conducted an anti-corrosion evaluation. The results were that the anti-corrosion performances by certain vehicles were not up to par.
- August 30, 2016: There still isn’t enough evidence from global markets to cause Mazda manufacturers to panic. But Mazda professionals acknowledge that lift gates may fall or break off vehicles in the future if steps aren’t taken to prevent it. In an effort to get out ahead of any future problems, Mazda issued a recall.
The Solution
Mazda is doing their best to help people who have encountered this problem. In fact, Mazda dealers replace lift gates and their components free of charge. Mazda is planning on sending interim letters to car owners starting on November 1, 2016 and plan on sending secondary letters as parts become available. That’s the bad news – parts are currently unavailable. If you have any questions in the meantime, reach out to the Mazda customer service center at 1-800-222-5500.
