2008 Mazda Mazda3 Electrical System Problems

AT LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY HARD SHIFTS AUTOMATICALLY FROM 5TH GEAR DOWN TO A HARSH 3RD GEAR. CANNOT GET AT LIGHT TO SHUT OFF, REPLACED SOLINOIDS, TCM, PCM AND STILL CANNOT LOCATE THE ISSUE. CAR WILL NOT GO PAST 3RD GEAR. CAR IS STILL UNDER 80K MILES.

A FEW YEARS AGO UPON WASHING MY CAR I NOTICED MY TAIL LIGHTS LOOKED A BIT ODD SO I TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AND REALIZED THEY HAD MELTED TO THE POINT THEY WERE DEFORMED AND AS A RESULT THE LIGHT EMITTED IS FAR LESS THAN WHEN IN TACT. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY REPLACED THEM UNDER WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH MY WARRANTY EXPIRED AND THEY ASSURED ME IT WAS A FLUKE ISSUE AND THAT IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. WELL LAST WEEKEND I GO TO PLACE GROCERIES IN MY TRUNK AND SAW THEY LOOKED MELTED AGAIN. AFTER A CLOSER LOOK THEY HAD INDEED MELTED AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME EVEN WORSE THAT BEFORE AND THEY EMIT EVEN LESS LIGHT THAN THE FIRST TIME AROUND. AFTER A LITTLE RESEARCH IT'S BECOME APPARENT THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD ISSUE FOR A MULTITUDE OF MAZDA MODELS. ONLINE FORUMS ARE FULL OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE BOTH ON THE MAZDA 3 AND A WIDE ARRAY OF DIFFERENT MAZDA MODELS. THE MAZDA, 5 AND EVEN THE CX9 ALL HAVE THIS VERY ISSUE AND ALMOST EVERYONE STATED THE LIGHT OUTPUT WAS VERY SUBDUED AND IN A FEW CASES NO LIGHT AT ALL OR THE HOUSING MELTED SO BADLY IT BROKE THE LIGHT COMPLETELY AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO CHANGE OUT THE BULB, AND RATHER, HAD TO PURCHASE BRAND NEW TAILLIGHTS. I JUST CALLED MAZDA USA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY TOLD ME THAT SINCE MY CAR IS SO FAR OUT OF WARRANTY THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO, SO I EXPLAINED IT'S NOT A COSMETIC OR AESTHETIC ISSUE, BUT A SAFETY ISSUE AND THOUGH THE REP AGREED IT WAS A WIDESPREAD ISSUE, EVEN AMONG CURRENT MODELS BEING SOLD, HE INSISTED THAT SINCE MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY IT'S NOT THEIR PROBLEM!!! HOW CAN SO MANY UNITS FROM SO MANY MODELS HAVE THIS SAME SAFETY ISSUE AND IT NOT HAVE BEEN RECALLED???!?!?!?!? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE AND EVENTUALLY IT WILL END IN CATASTROPHE AND HOPEFULLY IT'S NOT WITH ME! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF NECESSARY. I'D BE GLAD TO HELP. MAZDA SERVICE IS PRETTY TERRIBLE AS IT IS BUT THIS IS INSANE!

MY LEFT REAR TAIL RED TAIL LIGHT WENT OUT. I TRIED TO CHANGE IT BUT IT HAS MELTED TO THE WIRES AND THE LIGHT HOUSING. I AM UNABLE TO CHANGE IT. I AM AFRAID THIS MELTING IS A DANGEROUS ISSUE BECAUSE IT'S A POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARD. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER MAZDA OWNERS WITH THIS SAME ISSUE. OTHERS EVEN HAVE BOTH SIDES MELTING THE REAR LIGHTS. I CANNOT EVEN CHANGE THE BULB NOW. THIS CAN BE A DANGER BECAUSE I CANNOT USE MY LEFT TAIL LIGHT OR LEFT REAR SIGNAL. THIS COULD CAUSE SOMEONE TO CRASH INTO ME NOT KNOWING I AM SLOWING DOWN FOR A LEFT TURN.

TAIL/BRAKE LIGHT LENSES MELTED. ORIGINAL PARTS,REPLACED THE WHOLE TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY AND BULBS IN JUNE 2014 AND I NOTICED IN AUGUST 2014 THE TAIL LIGHT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WAS OUT. THE LENSES MELTED AGAIN, THE BULBS WERE 7443 .RESEARCHED ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THIS PROBLEM ON NUMEROUS POSTS MAINLY WITH THE MAZDA 3 HATCHBACK WHICH IS WHAT I HAVE. CALLED THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM. SOUNDS LIKE A FIRE HAZARD. HAVE YOU HAD ANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS? *TR

MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOPPED WORKING. AFTER A VISIT TO THE SHOP, I LEARNED THAT MY MICRO COMPUTER WAS NOT WORKING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS REPAIR COST $729. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH MAZDA 3S MADE AROUND 2008. MY CAR IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD WITH FAIRLY LOW MILEAGE, I BELIEVE THAT A DEFECTIVE PART CAUSED THE PROBLEM AND THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE EVALUATED FOR RECALL AND REIMBURSEMENT. THANK YOU. *TR

THE RED PLASTIC ON MY TAIL LIGHT HAS MELTED. I ASSUME THAT THIS COULD HAVE AT SOME POINT CREATED A FIRE OR SOME OTHER SAFETY HAZARD. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS VERY PROBLEM IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL CAR AND THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY MAZDA EVEN IF THE CAR IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND I BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND MOVE TO ACTION AGAINST MAZDA FOR THIS FLAW IN THEIR MANUFACTURING. WE ARE NOW HAVING TO REPLACE THIS PART AND IT WILL COST ABOUT $600.00. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH ON INTERSTATE 95 IN FORT LAUDERDAE, FL BOTH OF MY HEADLIGHTS FAILED. I WAS IN TOTAL DARKNESS AND THANK GOD I REMEMBERED MY DAD SAYING THAT YOUR HIGH BEAMS ARE A BACKUP SYSTEM. THIS WORKED. WE HAVE HAD THIS CAR IN FOR SERVICE 5 TIMES FOR LAMP FAILURES ON HEADLIGHTS ALWAYS AT NO COST? NOW BOTH FAILED AT ONCE, THE INTERNET IS FLOODED WITH WITH COMPLAINTS. IS MY CARE SAFE? I DO NOT TRUST THE DEALERS, THEY NEVER CHARGE ME FOR LAMP REPAIRS, ARE THEY HIDING SOMETHING? *TR

REAR TAIL LIGHTS ARE FACTORY EQUIPPED WITH FACTORY BULBS AND DEVELOPED MELTED HOLES ON THE REAR LENSES. *TR

UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION WHEN VEHICLE IS STANDING STILL (STOP SIGN, TRAFFIC SIGNAL) HAVE FOUND IT NECESSARY TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL UNTIL ENGINE REVS DOWN TO NORMAL RPMS, AND THEN PROCEED. THIS DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN VEHICLE IS IN MOTION (TOYOTA PRIUS). HAVE ELIMINATED "FLOOR MATS" OR FOOT SLIPPING ONTO GAS PEDAL. *TR

EVER SINCE I BROUGHT THIS CAR IM HAVING ISSUES WITH MY HEADLAMPS. I HAD REPLACED HEADLIGHT BULBS ATLEAST 15 TIMES. LAMPS WILL LAST ROUGHLY 3 TO 6 MONTHS AND THEN BURNOUT. I COMPLAINED MANY TIMES TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAVE NO ANSWER TO THE ROOT CAUSE OTHER THAN SIMPLY CHANGING THE BULBS. I SUSPECT THERE MIGHT BE AN ISSUE IN WIRING. MANY 2008 MAZDA 3 OWNERS ARE COMPLAINING SIMILAR ISSUES ON-LINE AND WEBSITES.