2008 Mazda 3I. Steering column shuddered violently when brakes were applied at high speeds (60 mph).

- Beverly Hills, CA, USA

Power steering on 2008 Mazda 3 went out and indicator light came on. Fluid level is good and vehicle has 33,000 miles (original owner). Fortunately I was driving low speed and close to home as it was almost impossible to steer. Started the vehicle today and the problem is gone. Noted significant number of similar complaints so I want to ensure NHTSA knows about it. Will be taking to the dealer next.

- Sterling, VA, USA

The power steering keeps going out on my 2008 Mazda-3. when it goes out the little dashboard indicator light comes on, and its nearly impossible to steer my car. It tends to happen when im driving above 60 mph for some reason. It is very scary when it happens and could easily cause a wreck. My car is barely 2 years old and it definitely should not be having problems like that. I believe this is a manufacturer defect and nothing I did to it. Furthermore, when I took my Mazda into the local dealership they not only seemed to know exactly what I was talking about (as if they've seen this problem more than once) but they told me that there is no 'official' recall as of yet. Then they told me the power steering pump was cost me $800-900 to fix. I really cant afford to pay that outrageous amount of money to have it repaired and shouldn't have to! I am 26 years old & bought that car under the assumption of getting many good years out of it with no problems. Its been a great car and I really like (with the exception of its recent power steering problem as formentioned). Please help!

- Topeka, KS, USA

My 2008 Mazda 3 was idling in the parking lot on two separate occasions and when I went to back out my power steering light comes on and I'm unable to steer my car. I am afraid this is going to happen while I'm driving, and cause someone to get killed. My power steering fluid is above the max line and everything seems to be alright. After turning my car on and off several times it eventually starts working correctly.

- Pikeville, KY, USA

Loss of power steering during the stop and go traffic, when the incident happened the vehicle was moving hardly, required excessive force. Turned off the engine for few minutes to cool down, after few minutes power steering started working again, steering kit replaced by Mazda dealer.

- Islip, NY, USA

I drive a 2008 Mazda 3. on three different occasions the power steering has gone out. Today was the most recent, the second time was about 3 months ago, and the first time was another 3-4 months before the second time. The last two times I was parked, started the engine, tried to drive and realized the power steering was out. With great physical effort I was able to repark the car, stop the engine, and after about 10-20 minutes the power steering began working when the engine was started again. The first time the power steering went out while I was driving. Luckily I wasn't driving in a lot of traffic and was able to pull into a nearby business. It took great physical effort to turn the car and I think it's very possible that I would not have been able to steer the car and find a safe spot to park if I had been in lots of traffic or driving on the highway. This could be very dangerous and result in crashes. I was lucky that all three times I was either driving slow or parked.

- Austin, TX, USA

Power steering failed while driving, third time in a week this has occurred. Has yet to be fixed.

- Rochester, WA, USA

I own a 2008, Mazda 3. it has about 34,000 miles. I was in rush hour traffic on route 75 just outside of cincinnati when all of the sudden my power steering went out. I could barely turn the steering wheel and four lanes of traffic were directed off an exit because of an accident closing the highway..this was extremely difficult with no power steering. I got off the highway and turned off my car, preparing to call a tow truck. When I started the car again the steering worked. I don't understand and am not sure what to do. I commute an hour to work everyday. I am afraid to drive my car.

- Beavercreek, OH, USA

The power steering went out on our Mazda 3 while driving down a busy road. It happened unexpectedly and severely enough that my husband had difficulty controlling the car and had to pull over. All fluids were full and we have regular maintenance done on the car. Called our Mazda service department and they tried to charge us but said we barely slipped in under the warranty timeline so the part was covered. Now we find out there is a potential recall looming for this issue. This could have been a disastrous situation and Mazda's handling of it was sub-par to say the least. They gave us a loaner and are fixing the car at no charge but their position when we had the car towed to them was that we should be paying for the repair. They took no ownership of the problem at first and never bothered to mention this was a persistent problem they were seeing, especially in the '08 Mazda 3.

- Portland, OR, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda, Mazda3. The contact stated that the vehicle was on in the park position for a few minutes; however, when the contact attempted to drive, the steering wheel was very stiff and the power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was shut off for approximately 30 minutes and after she turned it back on, it began to function normally. The failure has since recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed by the dealer. The failure mileage was 37,700 and the current mileage was 37,746.

- Appomattox, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda Mazda3. While driving at approximately 10 to 30 mph, the power steering failed and vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact was able to correct the power steering by making unknown repairs under the hood. The failure recurred within one week. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure and current mileages were 37,000.

- Appomattox, VA, USA

I have a 2008 Mazda3. Once when we were in Florida and again this week, the power steering failed. Both times the weather was extremely hot. My husband put approx. 1 ounce of power steering fluid into the power steering receptacle and both times the problem was corrected. When in Florida we took the car to furman Mazda in tampa and they said there was no code in the car and if it happened again to bring it back. This week it happened again and again my husband put about 1 ounce of power steering fluid in the car and it was corrected. We called ray price Mazda in stroudsburg, pa. Where we purchased the car and they told us to bring the car in and they gave us a rental car to use until the power steering pump and lines are replaced. They told us that there is a problem with the power steering pump and also the lines are not big enough. We were fortunate both times to be able to park and stop the vehicle without incident. I believe this is a real safety issue if it would have happened when we were somewhere where we couldn't safely get off of the highway. Thank you.

- Dingmans Ferry, PA, USA

When placing my Mazda into reverse on 3 separate occasions, the power steering has failed and the steering wheel has totally locked. I am not able to steer the car at all. When I have turned the car engine off and restarted the car, the power steering will reactivate. I took the car into the dealership and they told me that there was "no problem" and charged me $42 for the "checkup". within 2 days, the incident recurred twice. The car is now back at the dealership for repair. A staff member told me that there was a "technical bulletin" out about this problem and I searched the internet and found this website. This is a major defect in this car obviously based on the number of complaints I evidenced on-line.

- Painesville, OH, USA

TL- the contact owns a 2008 Mazda 3. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65mph the power steering warning light illuminated and she lost all power steering function. The vehicle was driven home and when she restarted the vehicle the light was off and the power steering functioned normally. The failure recurred yesterday on the highway in heavy traffic. The vehicle was dropped off at a Mazda dealer for repairs. They stated the vehicle was not under warranty and the repairs would be done at the owners expense. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000. The current mileage is approximately 38,000.

- Philmont , NY, USA

Hot day, vehicle was running for 20-30 minutes without moving. Power steering stopped working. Was advised to turn it off then on for ten minutes, worked fine.

- Hamilton, 00, USA

We were driving the car in the usual manner when the power steering went out making the car very difficult to steer. This only happened once but was very scary and potentially dangerous. The car returned to normal once it was shut off and then re-started sometime later.

- Medford, OR, USA

While sitting in traffic on a hot summer day I went to change lanes to grab a coming exit, in the middle of my lane change the car became extremely hard to turn, to the point that I almost hit the center median. Once I was going straight I looked at my dash and the power steering light was on. I pulled over I turned the car off an on and my power steering came on. The next day I went to the Mazda dealer and they quickly recognized the problem and put in a new power steering pump. The fact that the Mazda dealer was aware that this type of problem was possible on my car but did not tell me led to me almost being in an accident.

- Medford, NY, USA

I was driving my 2008 Mazda3 in heavy traffic on a 90 degree day and the power steering failed. We heard a thump, like running over a pavement reflector, then 20 seconds later the power steering light came on. I had to use two hands to pull it off the highway. After a restart, the light went off and the power steering came back.

- Dublin, CA, USA

Hi - I saw in a news story that you opened up an investigation into Mazda3 power steering. This is a problem I've had a couple of times over the last couple of months. I have a 2008 Mazda3 purchased new in early April 2008. Basically, the power steering has gone out twice on me - the vehicle is still fully functional and the warning light does go on, but it just requires a lot of muscle to turn on the car. Both times, it was on a warm day (I live in Chicago) and toward the end of a relatively long commute (1 hour 15 minutes+) of mostly stop and go traffic, so I wondered if it may be heat-related but that could also be coincidence. The first time, I drove it the remaining mile or so and was able to park it. After restarting the car, power steering still didn't work. When I came later (either a few hours or the next day), it was fine. Second time was similar, I was able to take better mental notes of what might have triggered it - this time, it went out shortly after I cut the wheel all the way to one side when the car was practically stationary. Again, hard to tell if that was what triggered the problem or if it was sheer coincidence... this time, though, I pulled over and turned the car off for just a couple of minutes and when I restarted it, it was fine. Not sure what else you might need to know... I am up-to-date on my servicing and the first instance occurred about a week and a half after service at Mazda (a week in which I hadn't really driven the car since we were on vacation with our other car). I have not yet contacted Mazda about the problem, I was just going to ask them to take a look at it next time I brought it in.

- Chicago, IL, USA

My daughter was driving our 2008 Mazda 3 home from vacation. She was in New York city when the power steering failed. She stopped car. Re-started apprx 30 minutes later it was ok. The power steering failed again while still in New York. She was also having problems with all the electrical components. She could not steer car and had to stop in the hov bus lane. She was alone in the car with her newborn baby. This car only has 38000, less then 3 years old, always maintained at 3000 intervals. We had to pay over 600 to have fixed and were told there was nothing wrong with electrical. Some components failed after having it back for 2 days, returned to dealer and had to pay almost 200 to have repaired. We are out over 800 for a problem that should not have happened. In addition we had an extended warranty that covered almost nothing.

- Southold, NY, USA