Vehicle: 2008 Mazda3 5 door semi-automatic after idling for approximately 15 mins. There was a complete loss of power steering. I restarted the vehicle and changed gears with no effect. I drove the vehicle home without power steering. The next day the power steering returned with further incident.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

1. while the car was stopped for more than 5 minutes the engine was running including the air conditioner 2. loss of power steering 3. stopped the car and waited for a while and then restarted this has happened twice in the past 2 months.

- Ridgewood, NJ, USA

While driving my '08 Mazda3 5-door, 2.3L on the I80/94 expressway in stop and go construction traffic, I lost power steering. Idiot light came on. Was able to steer car home; just no power steering. Per owner's manual restarted car and problem was gone. Power steering has not been a problem since. Happened with about 36,000 miles on car.

- Hammond, IN, USA

2008 Mazda 3 5 door, approximately 39,000 miles. Driving on interstate in heavy traffic at ~10 mph. Heard a clunk-like noise and the power steering warning light came on. Realized I had lost power steering. Pulled into a service station, checked fluid and belts. Nothing looked to be wrong from the outside. After 20 minutes or so, re-started car and power steering had been restored. No similar problem since.

- Arlington, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda, Mazda 3. while driving 70 mph, the power steering locked and she was able to use extreme force to turn the steering wheel onto the emegency lane. The vehicle was turned off and when it was restarted, it began to function normally. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure; however, the power steering fluid was replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 28,000.

- Thompson State, TN, USA

My car is a Mazda 3 sedan 2008 model under warranty. The power steering failed 3 times now randomly while the car is in motion. The power steering indicator lights up and the steering feels very heavy when the problem occur. The problem goes on and off. My service advisor told me he cannot fix the problem because during that time I was in the dealership, the problem is not happening. I told him, why wait for the problem to occur before you fix it. This is a safety concern and should be dealt soon.

- Pikesville, MD, USA

Failed power steering for 2008 Mazda 3: I had no indication that there was a problem until it was to late. I was stuck in traffic and near my Mazda dealer when the power steering went out. Unable to turn steering wheel at idle, but able to steer as the car speeds up--but had to put much effort into it. I bought the car brand new. I was unaware of any recalls for this particular problem. Car is still in the shop for part replacement. Despite part replacement, I'm sure there will be more steering problems in the future. This is major safety issue.

- Belfair, WA, USA

I was driving out of the parking lot and my steering wheel was extremely hard to move. I was able to pull over and check the steering fluid and there wasn't a leak. I was scared as the car was very hard to steer and it could have been worse if that happened in the highway or high speed road.

- Portland, ME, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda 3. the contact stated when taking the vehicle to the dealer for its routine 3,000 mile maintenance, the dealer advised that the power steering module was exhibiting failure. The dealer stated the power steering failure was a common occurrence and would be replaced at their expense. The contact was unaware of the exact repairs being made to the vehicle. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage and current mileages were 32,000.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

I drive a Mazda 3 2008, 5 door with power steering. The power steering suddenly went off as I was turning from a busy street left into a parking lot. I was able to control the car and parked. The owner's manual said to turn off the engine wait and restart. If light stayed on call dealer. After 10 mins the indicator light stayed off. I was able to drive the car home without further incident. I am taking the car to the dealer. I went online Mazda users websites, jdpower, about automobile, etc. And discovered that this is a persistent (back to 2008) to current( 5/27/10) problem. When does such a problem rise tot the level of a recall? this is a dangerous condition!

- Birmingham, MI, USA

Normal freeway driving to an off ramp, to slow traffic to power steering failure while in traffic. High effort necessary to exit car to nearby restaurant. After approximately 1.5 hours power steering was again fully operational. Drove car to dealer, code 1099, replaced bp4L-32-410 pipe, bbm4-32-68Z body, 4 ea gaskets 9956-21-400 and fluid.

- Loveland, OH, USA

We bought our Mazda 3 in August of 2008. We live in ct and my son goes to college in ri. He has the car with him. He has complained numerous times that he has no power steering. Just recently the power steering was lost on I-95 when he was exiting. This is a very dangerous situation and it seems Mazda is aware of it but has not ordered a recall.

- Northford, CT, USA

Loss of power steering: (2 times) -- on two different occasions I had lost the power steering in my 2008 Mazda 3. the first time was during the summer of 2009. After the car was idling for about 10 minutes, I went to drive off and there was no power steering. I turned the car off and checked the belts. Everything seemed fine. I then started the car and the steering was working like normal. The second time was in April of 2010. I was in stop and go traffic for a little while. After the traffic cleared I was getting up to speed and steering became very difficult to steer. I pulled over, shut the car off and restarted a few minutes later. Steering was back to normal. I brought my car into the dealership for scheduled oil change a few days later and told them about my steering incident. They looked at the power steering components and noticed an 'issue.' The dealer kept the car a few days for the new power steering component part to come in. They replaced the part and gave me a loaner vehicle free of charge.

- New Bedford, MA, USA

Power steering failure while driving resulting in extreme difficulty to steer out of the way of oncoming traffic to get onto the shoulder. Mazda is replacing the power steering pump, covered under warranty, as the car has only 26,000 miles on it.

- Laurel, MD, USA

2008 Mazda 3, I was simply parked and restarted my car and the power steering failed. My car has less than 4000 miles on it. I did an internet search and found many many other people have had the same problem, all with "new" cars (less than 12000 miles). I was told the power steering pump failed, and there is a "national backorder" in their words. If there is so many places ordering power steering pumps, id think a recall should be ordered before someone gets hurt.

- Staten Island, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mazda 3. while driving approximately 5 mph, the contact noticed that the power steering light illuminated and the steering wheel locked. When the failure occurred the contact had to use extreme force to turn the wheel. The vehicle was taken to a service center where she was informed that the failure was in the power steering mechanism. The contact called the dealer and was told that they could not offer her any assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired when the complaint was filed. The current and failure mileages were approximately 48,000.

- Locust Grove , VA, USA

We own a 2008 Mazda 3S, purchased in summer, 2008. It currently has 43,000 miles. Recently, I was driving in heavy traffic and the power steering failed. I had to drive the rest of the way home with no power steering. The next morning, the car was fine, but the following day, the ps failed again. I contacted the dealer, who knew exactly what the problem was, even without inspecting my car. We were told the power steering pump, electric charger, and all lines would need to be replaced at a cost of $950. We researched this problem online and discovered that Mazda issued a tsb about this. As we looked further, we discovered that this has been an ongoing issue for this car, with numerous complaints as early as may, 2009. Several people were without their cars for months because the parts were back-ordered. Some people stated that their dealer told them there was a backup of 600 orders for this problem. This is certainly a safety issue, as accidents could occur easily with sudden failure of power steering. I feel fortunate that I did not have an accident, and I cannot believe that there has not been a recall for this problem. Because of Mazda's lack of ownership of this issue, I have to pay to repair something that is clearly a manufacturer defect. I am confident that, if you look into this issue, you will find numerous repairs and people who were placed in unsafe situations because they had no idea that this problem could happen. Thank you for your consideration.

- Parkville, MD, USA

Was driving in heavy traffic going about 5 to 10 miles per hour at each braking interval. Was ready to move again and heard a funny plastic click noise from the front. Thought something was wrong with the latch to steering wheel or had run over something on the road. Went to turn the well to make sure nothing was there and steering wheel began to stiffen extremely. After a few seconds a warning light came up in the dashboard that was of a steering wheel and a exclamation mark. Was able to brake and roughly turn the wheel to pull to the left median out of traffic. Went to glove box and pulled out vehicle manual and looked up the warning indicator that lit. It tells you to pull over and park safely and to turn the vehicle completely off to see if the warning will go out or stay on. I turned my vehicle off and gave it a few seconds and turned it back on. It went out and the power steering was restored. I called the dealership and was told they have recently heard of this issue and to bring it in sometime this week if possible. I told them I would bring it in that morning. I took it to them and when waiting to sign papers and turn over my keys was told another customer in front of me was having the same issue with their vehicle. The dealership says the repairs are at no cost to me and they offered to give me a rental car during repairs. One day to have repair kit done.

- Waldorf, MD, USA

1) stopped for fuel. Turned car off. Everything had been operating fine up to this point. 2) turned car on after refueling. Power steering light came on immediately and power steering was inoperative. Tried turning car off and back on two or three times to no avail. After approximately 1 hour of driving without power steering, stopped again for lunch. Turned car off. 3) after lunch, turned car on. Power steering seemed to be once again operating properly. This is the second time I have had this issue since the car was purchased new in 8/2008.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

Power steering was cutting out at random times. Dealer has replaced power steering pump motor.

- Slidell, LA, USA