Mazda3 owners with corrosion issues; information here!

[ZoomZoom Girl]

As many of you know, from reading my thread here, http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...ad.php?t=25136 , I am currently dealing with very serious corrosion and blistering paint on my 2004 Mazda3 Sport GT. Pictures and a more detailed explanation of my specific issues are outlined below.

I have heard through responses to my posts from several other Canadians dealing with the same type of corrosion on their vehicles. In the vast majority of cases, their dealerships gave them the same response as I received, that Mazda Canada could not be held accountable (no "perforation" (i.e. hole through the body)) and therefore no compensation would be offered. To put this into perspective, I received estimates ranging from $1100 to fix just the rusted areas to $1800 to also address the blistering!

I am still awaiting the final word from my dealership as to Mazda Canada’s response to my complaint. Following that, I will be sending a registered letter to both Mazda Canada and to my dealership, along with all the pictures of my car (see here: http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/ Password is ZoomZoom).

I’d like to compile a list of other Mazda3 owners dealing with a similar situation in order to add weight to my argument that this is a recurring issue with these first generation models. If you would like to get involved in applying pressure to Mazda Canada to take responsibility for what is obviously a manufacturing defect, please sign up here. Or, if you would prefer, send me a PM.

If you have any before pictures of the corrosion/blistering, please email them to me! Once I get enough entries, I'll send these to get hardcopies made up, for submission to Mazda Canada.

Also note that I'd love to hear from ANY Mazda3 owners who have/had corrosion or blistering similar to what I outlined in my own case. If you had your case dealt with by your dealership under warranty, note that when you sign up. The whole idea is to send Mazda Canada an impressive (i.e. impossible to ignore) list of Mazda3s that have/had premature corrosion. I’ll get the ball rolling.

Name: Lynne M. Witty
City/province: Sudbury, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda3 Sport GT
Color: Winning Blue
Current Mileage: 109 000 km
Corrosion damage: as outlined in this post

To give you a bit of background, I took ownership of the brand new car on June 30, 2004, hand wash weekly in summer months, and go through a car wash at least once per week in winter months. Therefore, from an ownership perspective, I have done everything humanly possible to maintain the paint on my car.

In 2006 I began to have rusting at the bottom of my rear passenger doors, as seen here:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/driverreardoorlower1edit.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/passengerreardoorlower1edit.jpg

I did bring it to the attention of my local Mazda Service Manager (Mid City Mazda, Sudbury ON) and he stated that it was due to rock chips, not covered under the Mazda warranty.

Last year I began to notice very serious rusting around both rear wheel wells. This is how it looks today:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/driverrearwheelwell2original.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/passengerrearwheelwell1edit.jpg

When I dropped the car off last year for other servicing, before my 3 year/80 000 km new car warranty expired, I again mentioned to the Service Manager that I had a considerable amount of rusting and would it be covered under warranty? He said that he would “look into it” but never got back to me.

Last month I happened to be visiting my sister in Southern Ontario. There one of her friends, who works at a luxury car dealership, looked at the rusting on my car and noted “your paint is blistering all over”. I was shocked and upon closer examination, did find extensive paint blistering. It looks like this:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/driverdoor2edit.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/driverfrontquarterpaneloriginal.jpg

The very next day, Tuesday May 14/2008, I brought my car to my dealership and had the Service Manager come out to look at all the rusting/blistering. His very first question was “what is the mileage?” (108 000 km at the time) He then proceeded to inform me that all the damage was due to rock chips, understandable with that high mileage.

If you look closely at the blistering, several areas show zero impact points. Also, I have rust between both rear bumper seams, seen here:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/driverrearbumperseam1edit.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/Mazda3%20rust/passengerrearquarterpanel1edit.jpg

Therefore, at least that corrosion on my car can NOT be blamed on rock chips and high mileage.

Note that I am NOT bashing the Mazda3 or Mazda Canada by pursuing this action. I do love my car in all other respects, with the very notable exception of the faulty paint/body panels. The core purpose of this thread and the list which I will send to Mazda Canada is to let them know that it is a very common issue and that their loyal customers deserve to be compensated for this manufacturing defect.

Thank you!

Lynne

[midnightfxgt]

Hey Everyone,

Lynne is hoping to gather some info here, and present it to Mazda Canada, and is looking for your help. If you have had an issue with corrosion on your mazda3, please provide the following:

Name:
City/province:
Year of car:
Model:
Color:
Current Mileage:
Corrosion damage:


Lets keep this ontopic, and stear clear of any bashing or flaming of Mazda, or the Member posting her experience.

Thanks
John

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hey Everyone,

Lynne is hoping to gather some info here, and present it to Mazda Canada, and is looking for your help. If you have had an issue with corrosion on your mazda3, please provide the following:

Name:
City/province:
Year of car:
Model:
Color:
Current Mileage:
Corrosion damage:


Lets keep this ontopic, and stear clear of any bashing or flaming of Mazda, or the Member posting her experience.

Thanks
John


Thanks John! You're fast. For those of you interested in joining up, you can post in this thread of PM me. Whatever you're most comfortable with is fine by me...

Lynne

[masterballer]

The first picture, is it rust on the side of the rear door? If so i have one that looks EXACTLY the same as that ... but thats the only place i have rust.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Yes. It is the driver-side rear passenger door, lower trim....

[--StayFly--]

Year of car: 2004
Model: GS
Color: Sand Mica
Current Mileage: 106,000km
Corrosion damage: wheel well and all along the side of the car i dont know what that part is called at the bottom and the rear part where the bumper meets

[ZoomZoom Girl]

To all who post here, you can PM me whatever information you are not comfortable posting for "public viewing". I do need all the fields of data (your name, city/province, etc.) since I'm sure Mazda Canada will require hard proof of ownership.

Also, if anyone has good pictures of the damage to their vehicles, please PM or email them to me ok? Visual proof is great, solid evidence...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Year of car:
Model: GS
Color: Sand Mica
Current Mileage: 106,000km
Corrosion damage: wheel well and all along the side of the car i dont know what that part is called at the bottom and the rear part where the bumper meets

What DO you call that bottom part? Are they the side sills? If you look at my first 2 pictures, that's what I am refering to. Not sure if that's the area on your car, Stayfly, that has corrosion? I'm calling the rear part where the bumper meets the "rear bumper seam"....

[--StayFly--]

What DO you call that bottom part? Are they the side sills? If you look at my first 2 pictures, that's what I am refering to. Not sure if that's the area on your car, Stayfly, that has corrosion? I'm calling the rear part where the bumper meets the "rear bumper seam"....

ya the rear bumper seam .........its not the side sills it more under the car.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

ya the rear bumper seam .........its not the side sills it more under the car.

I'll have to try to find schematics of the Mazda3 to figure out the proper term for that part then. I did think that the side sills were more on the outside, and below the actual part we're talking about. Googling now...

[--StayFly--]

here a pic where i have rust

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm242/iiiStayFly/2.jpg

[--StayFly--]

li try and get a better picture

[ZoomZoom Girl]

here a pic where i have rust

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm242/iiiStayFly/2.jpg

That's great! Well, I mean awful, but great that you have a picture showing where your damage is. That is exactly where my rust patches are too...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

li try and get a better picture

Yes, if you can get pictures of the actual rust on your car, that would be very useful. I'd strongly recommend the same to anyone else here dealing with this problem. Get your hands on a digital camera and take ALOT of pictures! Nothing like visual proof. Oh and, FYI, you can email your pictures to Costco and they'll be ready by the next day for 15 cents/shot. Good quality too...

[malam]

I do not have any rust that I can see so far, however, I am interested in knowing if any of the cars having these paint problems had any type of rust treatment after buying the car. It will be helpful to know if any of the rust proof methods are worth buying or if they are really marketing only.
Thanks.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Name: Dave Thomas
City/province: Mississauga
Year of car: 2004
Model: GT
Color: White
Current Mileage: 118 xxx
Corrosion damage:
Both rear wheel well lips from side skirt to bumper
Passenger side out rear quarter panel at bumper seem
Rocker seam/pinch weld (thats what Stay Fly has circled)

Additional:
Fixed, privately, May 2008
http://www.havokproductions.ca/3/rust1.jpg
http://www.havokproductions.ca/3/rust2.jpg

Good luck Lynne

[b]

Name: B
City/province: Burlington, ON
Year of car: 2004
Model: Sport GT
Color: Black Mica
Current Mileage: 107583 km
Corrosion damage: Front of hood by grille, Botom of doors where the gfx comes to an end by back door, lots of rust where the back bumper connects at the wheel well (both sides)

[x_o_k_x]

wow! thats alot of rust on 04! I had a little tiny dot on my O4gt with 80k in the rear drivers side were it meets bumper, thats it
I got electronic rust proof module..I'll see how that works on my 08.5gt

[ZoomZoom Girl]

My corrosion may be due to a defect in the sheet metal itself. Any method of rustproofing would not have helped, if this is indeed the case...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Name: Dave Thomas
City/province: Mississauga
Year of car: 2004
Model: GT
Color: White
Current Mileage: 118 xxx
Corrosion damage:
Both rear wheel well lips from side skirt to bumper
Passenger side out rear quarter panel at bumper seem
Rocker seam/pinch weld (thats what Stay Fly has circled)

Additional:
Fixed, privately, May 2008
http://www.havokproductions.ca/3/rust1.jpg
http://www.havokproductions.ca/3/rust2.jpg

Good luck Lynne


Bonus! Pictures. Added to the list...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

6 entries so far....slowly but surely. The more entries, the more Mazda Canada will be forced to take this issue seriously so please get your entries in and remember that you can PM me to do so privately.

[g_g]

Name: Gareth Baleta
City/province:Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: 3 Sport GT
Color: Orange
Current Mileage: 147k
Corrosion damage: Bottom rear doors. I noticed the issue early, and it hasnt progressed because i covered the area with 3M stonegaurd.
I also had rust along the rear wheel well most prodominant where the bumber meets the fender. This was already fixed without any hassle by Burlington Mazda.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Name: Gareth Baleta
City/province:Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: 3 Sport GT
Color: Orange
Current Mileage: 147k
Corrosion damage: Bottom rear doors. I noticed the issue early, and it hasnt progressed because i covered the area with 3M stonegaurd.
I also had rust along the rear wheel well most prodominant where the bumber meets the fender. This was already fixed without any hassle by Burlington Mazda.

Did you have this fixed before or after the 3 year/80,000 km new car warranty expired?

[carTun3]

Name: Julian R
City/province: Mississauga, Ontario
Year of car: 2005
Model: Mazda3 Sport GT
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 93000 km
Corrosion damage: Both rear wheel fenders and where bumper meets the fender; Bottom of driver-side rear passenger door; Spots of blistering on driver-side rear passenger door (noticed them after removing door mouldings)

I'll e-mail you the pictures sometime today or tomorrow

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Name: Julian R
City/province: Mississauga, Ontario
Year of car: 2005
Model: Mazda3 Sport GT
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 93000 km
Corrosion damage: Both rear wheel fenders and where bumper meets the fender; Bottom of driver-side rear passenger door; Spots of blistering on driver-side rear passenger door (noticed them after removing door mouldings)

I'll e-mail you the pictures sometime today or tomorrow

Thanks. You're #8. That's a good point...anyone who does send me your name for submission to Mazda Canada, please try to send me pictures ok? Having visual proof to go along with the entries will be very helpful...

[g_g]

Did you have this fixed before or after the 3 year/80,000 km new car warranty expired?

It was fixed in March 2008. My mileage was around 143k maybe.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

It was fixed in March 2008. My mileage was around 143k maybe.

You got it fixed under warranty with 143,000 km on it? Wow, that will be just the second Mazda3 owner I come across (other is in Quebec) with that kind of mileage who had Mazda Canada agree to cover the repair...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

One thing...remember that I need ALL entries filled to send this to Mazda Canada. If you don't want to post your full name publicly, send it to me via PM ok? I also need the city entries...

[g_g]

[QUOTE=g_g;304344]It was fixed in March 2008. My mileage was around 143k maybe.[/QUOTE}

You got it fixed under warranty with 143,000 km on it? Wow, that will be just the second Mazda3 owner I come across (other is in Quebect) with that kind of mileage who had their dealerships agree to cover the repair...

That is correct! I will get pics asap.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Wow! Your experience may help me with my own case since I'm "only" at 109,000 km and will hit 4 years at the end of this month...

[g_g]

Wow! Your experience may help me with my own case since I'm "only" at 109,000 km and will hit 4 years at the end of this month...

it is to my understanding that there is a 5 year warranty on paint on our mazdas. I went in thinking this, i expected a battle, but nothing was argued. They took pictures and sent me to the body shop. It took 2 days and im thouroughly impressed with the work. Based on my experience, I am suprised at how little effort they have put in to resolve your issues. It is FAR more severe than mine....I would be calling Mazda Canada personally if it were me. I even have the work order that i am more than happy to send to you...PM me if youde like it :)

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Needless to say, PM sent!

[txyu]

Name: Tim
City/province: Sudbury, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda3 GT Sedan
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 106 000 km
Corrosion damage: as outlined in this post

Just for comparison to Lynn's...I didn't get mine rust proofed...just regular washing and waxing.
Where the bumper meets:
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/8619/dsc01697pc1.th.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01697pc1.jpg)

Trunk brake light:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6721/dsc01699om1.th.jpg (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01699om1.jpg)

Looking from the rear, left tail light:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6366/dsc01701mv5.th.jpg (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01701mv5.jpg)

Left and Right rear wheel wells:
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/692/dsc01702tj0.th.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01702tj0.jpg)

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3879/dsc01705ca2.th.jpg (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01705ca2.jpg)

Blistering on front passenger door:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3622/dsc01704be6.th.jpg (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01704be6.jpg)

Possible blistering on inside front passenger door:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9784/dsc01707ve1.th.jpg (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01707ve1.jpg)

[Mazda3X2]

Name: Barry A.
City/province: Frankford, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda3 Sport GT
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 55,000 km
Corrosion damage: Bottom rear corner under read doors, both sides.

No pictures yet. I just touched them up.

[mazda lover]

[QUOTE=g_g;304344]It was fixed in March 2008. My mileage was around 143k maybe.[/QUOTE}

You got it fixed under warranty with 143,000 km on it? Wow, that will be just the second Mazda3 owner I come across (other is in Quebect) with that kind of mileage who had their dealerships agree to cover the repair...

its not the dealership that agrees to fix the paint under warranty
it has to come from Mazda Canada to OK it, but I am sure everyone knows that
You might get some response from the Mazda3forum as some have the same problem even though most are U.S. cars, grab the photos
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=107859.0
I also sent photos to Car Help Canada and asked them nicely to stop recommending the M3

[KenYork]

I'm at 95k I know I have some spots but I gotta inspect my car to find other spots.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Thanks Tim! Great shots...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

[QUOTE=ZoomZoom Girl;304351]

its not the dealership that agrees to fix the paint under warranty
it has to come from Mazda Canada to OK it, but I am sure everyone knows that
You might get some response from the Mazda3forum as some have the same problem even though most are U.S. cars, grab the photos
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=107859.0
I also sent photos to Car Help Canada and asked them nicely to stop recommending the M3

Good point! I'll edit my entry since you're absolutely correct. What I meant is that my dealership contacted Mazda Canada on my behalf and will get back to me with their decision. Since this is a warranty issue, Mazda Canada does get the final say in what service the dealership can offer to their customers...

[txyu]

Was missing some information for Lynn's records so here you go as requested! :D

Name: Tim Yu
City/province: Sudbury, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda3 GT Sedan
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 106 000 km
Corrosion damage: as outlined in post #32

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Thanks Tim. Entry edited...

Lynne

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Update: 10 entries thus far from this forum. If you or anyone you know has corrosion and/or blistering on your Mazda3, please sign up here! The more names, the more pressure on Mazda Canada to acknowledge that this is a serious issue and that we should be compensated. Also note that all cars whose owners signed up, so far, are 2004 and 2005 models...

[leems]

Name: Aleem Rana
City/province: Scar., Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: GT/GFX
Color: Velocity Red
Current Mileage: 132 xxx
Corrosion damage:
Both Rear wheel wells lips from side skirt to bumper, & underneath side skirt
Window pillar, passenger side.

Will email or post pics this wknd, and will go through car to find more.

[hoodlum]

Update: 10 entries thus far from this forum. If you or anyone you know has corrosion and/or blistering on your Mazda3, please sign up here! The more names, the more pressure on Mazda Canada to acknowledge that this is a serious issue and that we should be compensated. Also note that all cars whose owners signed up, so far, are 2004 and 2005 models...

Just curious what the breakdown is between GT and non-GT owners. I am wondering if the larger tires and side sills would make any difference.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

So far all people who have replies have GTs, with two exceptions(Sedan GS) and all are 2004 and 2005 model years....

[chinsterr]

Name: A. Chin
City/province: Markham, ON
Year of car: 2005
Model: Mazda3 GT (Sedan)
Color: Arctic White
Current Mileage: 82000 km
Corrosion damage: Front of hood by grille, spots on the roof, rear wheel wheels, passenger side window pillar

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Happened upon the Mazda3quebec.com site and I'm reading about rust issues there. HOLY COW!!! I don't know if there just happen to be more Mazda3 owners in that province (possible...Quebecois love their compact cars!) or if just alot of Mazda3 owners are on that forum but wow, it's very startling. People have had entire doors replaced, multiple times! The exact same spots are at issue, namely the rear bumper seams, the rear wheel wells, and the bottom trim on the doors. Alot of them also complaint of paint blistering.

I'm not a member over there or I would let them know to join the list. As I said, ALOT of them have the exact same issues with their vehicles as seen on mine. Perhaps that is why their dealerships are alot more understanding in covering the cost of repairs...

Is anyone here a member is Mazda3quebec.com? If yes, could you please PM me? I'm being lazy by not signing up myself. I'm actually Franco-Ontarian so can understand their posts just fine, but trying to formulate a response in French using their terminology (half English/half French slang) might be difficult. Thanks...

Lynne

[Gods Son]

I have to check my car but I dont recall seeing any spots rusting. I really wanted to say that I wish you all well in your fight against Mazda and now that there is a group of you someone suggested earlier you go to Silverman Helps.

I really suggest you go that route as involving the media is usually the best way to get action done. I love the 3 but I think we're slowly seeing that Mazda had to cut corners to offer so many features at the price point the car was offered at.

Once again I wish you all the best of luck!!

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Quebec cars are known for rusting actually, not sure why.

[Fuel90]

Name: Mark Armstrong
City/province: Kitchener Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: 3 gs
Color: Tit grey
Current Mileage: 126000 (initially appeared aroudn 80K or so)
Corrosion damage: the spot between rear bumper + rear fender both sides. As well as the spot between front bumper + fender both sides. Also the entire wheel well. Inner door seams are now begining to rust as well as door jamb from inside out. Dealer warrantied the rear 1/4 panels and fixed it for me probably 4 times now... there is no stopping it though!

[mazda lover]

If I was thinking of buying M3 and did my homework by searching for foums to get an insight of what owners are having problems with their cars I don't think I would have the M3 on my list...the defect list just keeps getting longer. In the next 12 to 18 months I will be giving up my car but in the mean time I will search forums for the car(s) I am interested in and for sure it will be a model thats at least in its third year, no 1-2 anymore for me...
and it won't be a Mazda

[aylkoo]

Hey GODS SON, those are my favorite JORDANS!!!

Getting a rust spot on my rear door pillar ... is that covered under warranty? I'm at 82,000km right now.

[mazda lover]

Hey GODS SON, those are my favorite JORDANS!!!

Getting a rust spot on my rear door pillar ... is that covered under warranty? I'm at 82,000km right now.

Not Gods son but I don't think so...
ask the dealer and see what they say

[ZoomZoom Girl]

If I was thinking of buying M3 and did my homework by searching for foums to get an insight of what owners are having problems with their cars I don't think I would have the M3 on my list...the defect list just keeps getting longer. In the next 12 to 18 months I will be giving up my car but in the mean time I will search forums for the car(s) I am interested in and for sure it will be a model thats at least in its third year, no 1-2 anymore for me...
and it won't be a Mazda

+1 I went against alot of advice not to buy a brand new model, but heard so many good things about the Mazda3 (and fell in love at first sight) so I went ahead anyways. BIG mistake! To be fair, I think that all manufacturers have issues with first generation models. I agree that by the 2nd generation (coming out soon, so I hear), most major issues should be worked out. So far all entries I've received are 2004-2005 so by 2006 (i.e. 3rd model year of the first generation Mazda3) they seem to have worked it out. Well either that or THEIR rust will only show up in a year or two...

Whether or not I get another Mazda will be purely dependent upon how they treat my case. So far I'm definitely not impressed with the "oh, you have high mileage so it's all due to rock chips" stance at my dealership. If, in the end, I do get my repair cost covered by Mazda Canada, that will go a long way in improving my overall impression of the brand...

[Dave_The_BMXER]

If I found this thread I wouldn't have my 3 either. I searched a lot regarding corrosion too. As I mentioned somewhere before thats the reason I did not get a protege 5.

I wonder if its only 2004/05 models affected because they are the oldest? Or if they changed the paint/panel treatment.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Name: Mark Armstrong
City/province: Kitchener Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: 3 gs
Color: Tit grey
Current Mileage: 126000 (initially appeared aroudn 80K or so)
Corrosion damage: the spot between rear bumper + rear fender both sides. As well as the spot between front bumper + fender both sides. Also the entire wheel well. Inner door seams are now begining to rust as well as door jamb from inside out. Dealer warrantied the rear 1/4 panels and fixed it for me probably 4 times now... there is no stopping it though!

Is your car a sedan or sport model? Thanks...

Yeah, I'm seriously reconsidering my approach to getting my rust fixed after reading entries over at Mazda Quebec. General concensus is that the rust comes back with a vengence unless entire doors/panels are replaced! I'm starting to think that the best approach is to get the problem fixed within the 5 year warranty then trade in the vehicle fast, before the problem recurs!

[ZoomZoom Girl]

If I found this thread I wouldn't have my 3 either. I searched a lot regarding corrosion too. As I mentioned somewhere before thats the reason I did not get a protege 5.

I wonder if its only 2004/05 models affected because they are the oldest? Or if they changed the paint/panel treatment.

Exactly what I'm wondering. The lower trim on my rear doors started to rust pretty quick (just over 1 year, I'd estimate) but the rest started around 3 years after I had the car. Not to sound alarmist, but my belief from reading up on every Canadian Mazda3 forum I could find, it that ALL 2004 and at least early 2005s are affected. I also now believe that it is an issue with the sheet metal and that no fix, short of replacing entire sections/doors, will stop the rust from recurring. So, if my 2004 took 3 years to show major rust, the 2005s should also be starting and IF the later models are impacted, they won't show damage until next year.

For those later owners, I really do hope that Mazda Canada did treat their sheet metal with rustproofing. For the rest of us, I fear that our best approach is to get the paint fixed just before the 5 year warranty expires (provided Mazda Canada agrees to cover the cost that is) then trade in the cars. That rust is coming back with a vengence and we'll have to pay for any subsequent (very expensive) repairs....

[mazda lover]

Was shopping to day and when I returned to my car there was a M3 a few spots away from me. I decided to look the car over. It appeared to be a 2004 or 2005 sport and the colour was blue. I noticed on the passenger side a small rust spot between the rear bumper and fender seam also on the driver side wheel well lip there was rust an area about 6 inches long. Didn't spend too much time as I didn't want to appear I was up to no good...

[ho_yeah]

Name: Jim
City/province: Markham, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda3 GS Sedan
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 90100 km
Corrosion damage: rear wheel well - both side. the area where the bumper and the body meets

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm80/ho_yeah_2008/P6080002.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm80/ho_yeah_2008/P6080003.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm80/ho_yeah_2008/P6080004.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm80/ho_yeah_2008/P6080006.jpg

[roge]

Is your car a sedan or sport model? Thanks...

Yeah, I'm seriously reconsidering my approach to getting my rust fixed after reading entries over at Mazda Quebec. General concensus is that the rust comes back with a vengence unless entire doors/panels are replaced! I'm starting to think that the best approach is to get the problem fixed within the 5 year warranty then trade in the vehicle fast, before the problem recurs!

hi there,

it's roge from mazda3quebec. Yes the rust will come back for sure. After many inquiries at various dealers and paint shop, the unofficial reason for the rust is that Mazda and basically any Japanses manufacturers were forced to use a environmentally friendly paint by the Japanese gov't. This paint does not offer the same type of protection as the older paint. The Quebec Honda Civic club is also reporting tons of corrosion issues with mostly 2006 Civics.

Anyways that's the common excuse. Mazda dealers in Quebec seems to be very willing to fix any corrosion issues, but only before the 5 yr warranty expires.

[mazda lover]

hi there,

it's roge from mazda3quebec. Yes the rust will come back for sure. After many inquiries at various dealers and paint shop, the unofficial reason for the rust is that Mazda and basically any Japanses manufacturers were forced to use a environmentally friendly paint by the Japanese gov't. This paint does not offer the same type of protection as the older paint. The Quebec Honda Civic club is also reporting tons of corrosion issues with mostly 2006 Civics.

Anyways that's the common excuse. Mazda dealers in Quebec seems to be very willing to fix any corrosion issues, but only before the 5 yr warranty expires.

I used to work for BASF and while there I remember them working on what is called Water-Bourne Base Auto Paint to replace the oil base type,
here is an article about it
http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/?page=modern_paint

no mention of rust so I think the excuse about the Japanese gov't just doesn't cut it, it may be true but the paint might not be the problem. These water-bourne base paints have been around for over 20 years. The domestic use it and I don't hear or see a rust problem after 3 or 4 years on their cars..But I could be wrong
Also saying the only way to cure rust is by cutting out the panel or replacing it is not necessary, here is a product that I think auto body shops should use or something similar. its called POR-15
http://www.por15.com/
I belong to vintage car clubs (avatar) and many who restore use this product. Bottom line with our cars its what is underneath the paint that is the problem, metal not properly prepared, cleaned, primed etc.
GM had a problem with their certain coloured paint peeling(late 1980s) and you know why, the primer was the problem.
So keep bringing on the excuses Mazda or tell the truth
Maybe someone can find out who supplies Mazda with their paint.
The Civic is made here in Canada so I think the paint is manufactured,( N.A.) and supplied locally.
Some info about BASF
http://www.basf.com/basf-canada/ecx_overview_e.shtm

[ZoomZoom Girl]

I used to work for BASF and while there I remember them working on what is called Water-Bourne Base Auto Paint to replace the oil base type,
here is an article about it
http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/?page=modern_paint

no mention of rust so I think the excuse about the Japanese gov't just doesn't cut it, it may be true but the paint might not be the problem. These water-bourne base paints have been around for over 20 years. The domestic use it and I don't hear or see a rust problem after 3 or 4 years on their cars..But I could be wrong
Also saying the only way to cure rust is by cutting out the panel or replacing it is not necessary, here is a product that I think auto body shops should use or something similar. its called POR-15
http://www.por15.com/
I belong to vintage car clubs (avatar) and many who restore use this product. Bottom line with our cars its what is underneath the paint that is the problem, metal not properly prepared, cleaned, primed etc.
GM had a problem with their certain coloured paint peeling(late 1980s) and you know why, the primer was the problem.
So keep bringing on the excuses Mazda or tell the truth
Maybe someone can find out who supplies Mazda with their paint.
The Civic is made here in Canada so I think the paint is manufactured,( N.A.) and supplied locally.
Some info about BASF
http://www.basf.com/basf-canada/ecx_overview_e.shtm


Another mention of a product to treat the existing sheet metal to prevent future recurrence of corrosion! There may be hope after all. So, what would the shop do....sandblast away the existing rust, treat the underlying sheet metal with the compound you mention, then prime/paint/clear coat? I really have no idea but am curious....

[mazda lover]

Another mention of a product to treat the existing sheet metal to prevent future recurrence of corrosion! There may be hope after all. So, what would the shop do....sandblast away the existing rust, treat the underlying sheet metal with the compound you mention, then prime/paint/clear coat? I really have no idea but am curious....

I think the best approach would be to ask a very good large auto body repair shop how they would handle rust, but your process sounds about right.
For those who have had the work repeated might have been other areas other than the area where the original work was done. New spots of rust...
Fix one spot and a new one begins later. Example clean and treat the whole wheel well lip not just the affected area..

[ZoomZoom Girl]

I think the best approach would be to ask a very good large auto body repair shop how they would handle rust, but your process sounds about right.
For those who have had the work repeated might have been other areas other than the area where the original work was done. New spots of rust...
Fix one spot and a new one begins later. Example clean and treat the whole wheel well lip not just the affected area..

Well I went to the three largest body shops in Sudbury for quotes. All would refinish the entire panels/doors, which I found odd at first (remember, I'm a novice!) but which I now understand. They'd want to get all of the corrosion in the entire panel, not just what is visually apparent.

From what I read on other forums, people are having the exact same areas re-rust within short order. I don't know how the original repairs were done, just that alot of recurrence of rust is being reported. Perhaps the shops did not follow the more thorough procedure of doing entire sections, treating with anti-rust compound? I don't know. Maybe I should just get it done this year and hope for the best. You can be sure that I'll be grilling the shop before I agree to anything as to their exact procedure to ensure that some kind of anti-rust treatment is done before refinishing...

[mazda lover]

Well I went to the three largest body shops in Sudbury for quotes. All would refinish the entire panels/doors, which I found odd at first (remember, I'm a novice!) but which I now understand. They'd want to get all of the corrosion in the entire panel, not just what is visually apparent.

From what I read on other forums, people are having the exact same areas re-rust within short order. I don't know how the original repairs were done, just that alot of recurrence of rust is being reported. Perhaps the shops did not follow the more thorough procedure of doing entire sections, treating with anti-rust compound? I don't know. Maybe I should just get it done this year and hope for the best. You can be sure that I'll be grilling the shop before I agree to anything as to their exact procedure to ensure that some kind of anti-rust treatment is done before refinishing...


and hopfully they will do what they tell you they will do...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Not listening, not listening......

[mazda lover]

Not listening, not listening......

sorry...lol didn't mean to depress you even more. I am bit of a pessimist, I have a trust no one attitude

[ZoomZoom Girl]

sorry...lol didn't mean to depress you even more. I am bit of a pessimist, I have a trust no one attitude

Well, remember that this is my first car and I'm having a rocky road, thus far. Ignorance is bliss! I'll be more of a pessimist on my next car purchase, I promise!

[mazda lover]

hi there,

it's roge from mazda3quebec. Yes the rust will come back for sure. After many inquiries at various dealers and paint shop, the unofficial reason for the rust is that Mazda and basically any Japanses manufacturers were forced to use a environmentally friendly paint by the Japanese gov't. This paint does not offer the same type of protection as the older paint. The Quebec Honda Civic club is also reporting tons of corrosion issues with mostly 2006 Civics.

Anyways that's the common excuse. Mazda dealers in Quebec seems to be very willing to fix any corrosion issues, but only before the 5 yr warranty expires.

using environmently friendly paint is going in the right direction.
If Mazda has been using the same paint since 2004 it is only a matter of time that the 2006 to 2008.5 will show rust, or is this just confined to the 2004-5?
Time will tell so keep an eye on your car...

[KenYork]

City/province: Mississauga/Toronto
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda 3 GS sedan
Color: Titanium Grey (29Y)
Current Mileage: 95,XXX
Corrosion damage: rear wheel well lips, blistering rear driver side.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Where is your car's paint blistering exactly?

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Update: Hit the half-way mark in exactly 1 week! I want to send Mazda Canada a minimum of 50 names and just got entry #25, provided that two of my other entries send me their full names. Getting there so if anyone here is on the fence about participating, just do it! You have nothing to lose and (perhaps) everything to gain.....

[Shotta-KB]

This rust issues being reported, are they only with the 1st generation Mz 3s? I have an 07 4Dr GT but got it rustproofed before driving it off the lot at time of purchase, so far no issues with rust.

I do however have a buddy with a 04 Mz 3 4Dr and he is having the same battle with Mazda Canada... :bang

Can someone confirm if this only occurs with 2004 1st Generations as it would appear so based on these threads.:flaming

[MajesticBlueNTO]

This rust issues being reported, are they only with the 1st generation Mz 3s? I have an 07 4Dr GT but got it rustproofed before driving it off the lot at time of purchase, so far no issues with rust.

I do however have a buddy with a 04 Mz 3 4Dr and he is having the same battle with Mazda Canada... :bang

Can someone confirm if this only occurs with 2004 1st Generations as it would appear so based on these threads.:flaming

the 3 is still in its 1st Generation. it just happens that Model Year 2004 was the first year of the 1st generation. the 2nd generation of the 3 isn't due until MY2010 (someone correct me if i'm wrong).

the fact that it is happening predominantly to 2004 models is because some of them are almost 5 years old (there were some built and sold in late 2003). only time will tell whether the 06 and 07 models are affected much the same as the 04/05 models.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

This rust issues being reported, are they only with the 1st generation Mz 3s? I have an 07 4Dr GT but got it rustproofed before driving it off the lot at time of purchase, so far no issues with rust.

I do however have a buddy with a 04 Mz 3 4Dr and he is having the same battle with Mazda Canada... :bang

Can someone confirm if this only occurs with 2004 1st Generations as it would appear so based on these threads.:flaming

Well, ALL of the 2004-2008 Mazda3s are technically "first generation". A new generation is due next year (or so I believe). So far my list only includes 2004-2005 years. That doesn't necessarily mean that the more recent years are "safe", just that they aren't showing rust yet. Whether or not they will experience the same type of corrosion we really won't know until X number of years. All you can do is watch out for the problem areas and deal with any issues ASAP.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

the 3 is still in its 1st Generation. it just happens that Model Year 2004 was the first year of the 1st generation. the 2nd generation of the 3 isn't due until MY2010 (someone correct me if i'm wrong).

the fact that it is happening predominantly to 2004 models is because some of them are almost 5 years old (there were some built and sold in late 2003). only time will tell whether the 06 and 07 models are affected much the same as the 04/05 models.

Should have read your post before bothering to reply! What he says....

[daib10]

Name: Philip Hui
City/province: Markham, Ontario
Year of car: 2005
Model: 3 gt
Color: Ralley White
Current Mileage: 126000 (initially appeared aroudn 50K)
Corrosion damage: the spot between rear bumper + rear fender both sides.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Thanks for participating! Is yours a Sport or Sedan? If you have any pictures, please send them my way...

Lynne

[Axelaspeed]

i have rust on mine, its on the drivers side rear, under the wheel well where it meets the bumper, i noticed it because the paint is flaking ever so slightly so i went to look what was going on and u can see signs of rust the very beginning stages, i went to the dealer they took a picture of it, now im just waiting on the answer, because my car is 2004, so it should be under warranty - warranty for rust is 5 years unlimited miles

[ZoomZoom Girl]

ATTENTION:
I will not be taking any more submission past next Friday (June 20). If you're on the fence or for some other reason postponing sending me your entry, DO IT NOW. Even if you have had your corrosion repaired either under warranty or privately, you should add your name.

One of the goals of the list is to show Mazda Canada that ALOT of these first generation Mazda3s are rusting/bubbling in the same spots. Also, if you did have your repairs done under warranty, that supports another goal. With the same type of damage, some people get their work done without hassle under warranty, some are told "not eligible for coverage under warranty". That is very unfair and totally unreasonable as Mazda Canada makes the final decision in all of these cases. If you did have your work done under warranty, sending me a copy of your repair invoice will help to support this goal.

Lastly, if you do send me an entry, having visual proof is a BIG bonus. Take clear pictures that show your rust/bubbling and send them my way. I will add those to your entry to support your statements of corrosion damage.

Thanks and send in those entries! One week left...

[DumpInfo]

Name: Diego L.
City/province: Whitby, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: 3 GT Sport (Hatch)
Color: Sunlight Silver Mica
Current Mileage: 82k
Corrosion damage: Entire wheel well on both sides.
Bumper and body meets (same idea as txyu post)
Bottom rear corner under read doors, both sides.
No warranty. Will post pics this weekend.

[Mazda3X2]

I just had my 2 areas fixed at a local shop for $100. These were the spots behind and underneath the rear doors where stones had chipped the paint away. I ordered the small 3M film pieces that came on later models and am affixing them to (hopefully) prevent further chipping in this area. I have 3/4 on now and am waiting for the 4th to come in. Once it does I will post the P/N's here.

[KCinToronto]

Name: Kevin Connolly
City/province: Whitby, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda 3 GS sedan
Color: Grey
Current Mileage: 159,000 - 160,000
Corrosion damage: The spot between rear bumper + rear fender both sides. I had one side touched up and can't see it now. The other side is just starting to bubble. There is also a bubble on both sides of the black trim near the side back windows.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Great! #29... I think it's safe to say we'll hit the 30 mark by this Friday...

Lynne

[ZoomZoom Girl]

To all those who joined the list, I need to get the email address where you can best be reached. The package goes out next week and I've given Mazda Canada 10 business days to reply. Once I get a response, I'll forward it to all parties. Please PM your email so I can let you know the results as soon as they come in...

Lynne

[ZoomZoom Girl]

One more thing. I'm discovering that a few participants on my list have not yet approached their dealerships in regards to their corrosion. If you're one of these, get your car in ASAP! I can pretty much guarantee that Mazda Canada's first question to me, once they get our package, will be "why didn't these owners bring this up with their local dealership"? If you look at your warranty book, that is step #1 in trying to get a warranty issue resolved. It that doesn't pan out, that's where you have the option of addressing Mazda Canada directly.

So, if you haven't gone to your dealership, get in there, have the Service Manager actually come outside to LOOK at the car, and ask what they can do for you. You may be surprised! Quite a few people do have their repairs completely covered.

Let me know what your dealership has to say when you go in ok? Regardless of what they say, your entry on the list is still invaluable! The purpose is to show Mazda Canada that corrosion on first generation Mazda3s is very common so the bigger our list, the more we drive home that point. The other goal is to get everyone on that list compensated for their repair costs so if you had yours covered under warranty, that supports this cause (especially if you can provide me with the repair invoice)...

Lynne

[megaxyu]

Name: Mike T
City/province: Thornhill, Ontario
Year of car: 2004
Model: Mazda3 Sport
Color: Titanium Grey
Current Mileage: 110000 km
Corrosion damage: Rear passenger wheel fender on the bottom - pain chipping, blisters and rust.

[Jeff]

I am really late to joining this.

I have a Mazda3 Sport GT and I am experiencing the identical problems to what you are describing with the rust at the bottom of the rear doors and rust/blistering at the seam of the rear quarter panels.

I called Mazda Canada just earlier this week to complain about the problem, hoping that they would be cooperative with me in resolving it. Yeah right. The customer relations guy I was speaking with basically told tough luck. He said that some cars just rust and that it is not a paint problem or MAzda problem at all.

I have also tried dealing with Krown Rust Control as they to they too supposedly have a warranty that covers against rust. I have had my car treated by them every fall since 2005, but they too do not want to step up and take any responsibility for the rust that is occurring on my car. Although I was upset that Krown was not willing to do anything to help me out, I found it very interested that the guy I was speaking with knew exactly where the rust was occurring on my car as soon as I told him the make of the car. He didn’t even need me to explain the problem. He told me that several Mazda 3 owners had already called him complaining about the exact same problems.

Please add me to your list as am glad to help those that are experiencing the same headaches I am, and Mazda Canada needs to step up and keep their customers happy, because I know I certainly won’t be getting another Mazda even though I do like just about every thong else about the car.

Please let me know that you have received this message and added me to your list as the next time I am in talking to my dealer I may mention to them how many other people I am aware of that are experience the same problems.

Name: Jeff Capling
City/Province: Barrie, Ontario
Year of Car: 2004
Model: Mazda# Sport GT
Color: Winning Blue
Current Mileage: 74 500 km
Corrosion Damage: bottom of rear doors (both sides), seam of rear quarter panel (just behind wheel well)

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hey Jeff. I did indeed get your message and have added you and Mike to my list. That will give us a total of 32 participants, if I can get the name of one other person and the make of car of another. Hope you can check here today as I'll be sending you a bunch of PMs to get you up to speed. Moving fast to wrap this up as I am coordinating efforts with the APA...

Lynne

[laksman91]

i got plenty, my brake covers are covered with rust

[laksman91]

P.S.
Its an '05 Mazda3, with only 48xxx km.

I got a few one the body as well

[mazda lover]

i got plenty, my brake covers are covered with rust


what do you mean by brake covers? do you mean the caliper? if so thats normal

[ZoomZoom Girl]

List now "officially" closed at 33 members. Our package went out on Saturday, just ahead of the APA's President's letter which is going out today. Their idea. Got to love those lawyer minds! Very devious.

Anyhow, I am still missing email addresses for 11 members. You know who you are but I'll PM you, just as a friendly reminder! With 33 people to keep updated, it is just so much easier for me to have a group email set up so I only have to send a single message....

I'm also still accepting any updates/dealership information, and pictures from the 33. Just in case Mazda Canada asks me for more data once they get the letter, I want to have everything set. So if you have not taken pictures, get those done and sent to me. If you have not been to a dealership in regards to your corrosion, do so ASAP! And of course keep me updated on any developments....

Lynne

[laksman91]

what do you mean by brake covers? do you mean the caliper? if so thats normal

oh yea i think so..

[ZoomZoom Girl]

UPDATE:

Myself and 2 other members of our group of 34 just got offers for 100% coverage of all our corrosion repair bills! Woohoo.....our efforts obviously had some kind of effect considering Mazda Canada just got the package yesterday! For those who have not had any luck yet, get in touch with your dealerships ASAP. You never know!

[mazda lover]

UPDATE:

Myself and 2 other members of our group of 34 just got offers for 100% coverage of all our corrosion repair bills! Woohoo.....our efforts obviously had some kind of effect considering Mazda Canada just got the package yesterday! For those who have not had any luck yet, get in touch with your dealerships ASAP. You never know!


WOW that is good news, Good job, no no GREAT job ZOOM ZOOM

so they are going to repaint the whole car?
Good to see Mazda stepping up to the plate..:bana:bana2:

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Well myself, the Manager of the dealership and the Service Manager will look over my car in detail so I can point out all the corrosion. They'll take pictures but have already told me that they'll cover the repair bill 100% since I'm such a good customer :) Wait until they find out that they do need to repaint most of my car! I already have my list of questions ready since I want to ensure that everything possible (short of replacing entire panels) is done to avoid future recurrence of the rust.

The parts of my car without any corrosion are: roof (but maybe I saw a couple of bubbles just starting at the front???? need a ladder), front hood (but paint seems to be bubbling up underneath the 3M at the grooves by the bottom of the front bumper..how is that possible? Isn't it plastic???), and front quarter panel (but haven't looked at it this week yet). So yeah, MAJOR paint job. We'll see what they say after it hits them that they have that kind of repair ahead of them and a VERY fussy customer!

Lynne

[Flagrum_3]

Well good for you Lynn! All that effort paid off....Hoping others get the same treatment though!

Anyways post some pics once its all said and done.


_3


.

[mazda lover]

Well myself, the Manager of the dealership and the Service Manager will look over my car in detail so I can point out all the corrosion. They'll take pictures but have already told me that they'll cover the repair bill 100% since I'm such a good customer :) Wait until they find out that they do need to repaint most of my car! I already have my list of questions ready since I want to ensure that everything possible (short of replacing entire panels) is done to avoid future recurrence of the rust.

The parts of my car without any corrosion are: roof (but maybe I saw a couple of bubbles just starting at the front???? need a ladder), front hood (but paint seems to be bubbling up underneath the 3M at the grooves by the bottom of the front bumper..how is that possible? Isn't it plastic???), and front quarter panel (but haven't looked at it this week yet). So yeah, MAJOR paint job. We'll see what they say after it hits them that they have that kind of repair ahead of them and a VERY fussy customer!

Lynne

Having a list of questions is a good idea as it will show them you are no pushover and an informed owner. I would think they will farm it out, or, do they have their own body shop? Spot painting would be out of the question, I would think.
Good luck and thanks for your efforts, we all owe you big time...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Well good for you Lynn! All that effort paid off....Hoping others get the same treatment though!

Anyways post some pics once its all said and done.


_3


.

Oh yes, you can believe I'll be taking pictures of every inch of the job! I'm seriously concerned about rust recurrence so want to ensure that they do their best to prevent this. Two others in our group also got calls yesterday for 100% coverage, 1 day after Mazda Canada got our package! Not sure if they received the APA letter yet, but in any event OUR letter certainly had an effect....

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Having a list of questions is a good idea as it will show them you are no pushover and an informed owner. I would think they will farm it out, or, do they have their own body shop? Spot painting would be out of the question, I would think.
Good luck and thanks for your efforts, we all owe you big time...

Well, I'm still determined to get all 34 of us 100% covered so the battle certainly isn't over from my end! I'm much more confident knowing that the APA is backing us on this all the way. You can thank me when your own job gets full coverage :)

Oh, they'll for sure be doing entire panels and not spot fixes! They do not have their own body shop so sublet the work to Crosstown Chevrolet in Sudbury. I'll be asking if I can go to a shop of my own choosing though. I have no opinion on Crosstown but did go for an estimate at a Carstar and really liked how I was treated there....

[bbc20000]

I just bought used 2004 Mazda 3 Orange GT. I did not notice but the car has paint pilling off in the back close to the will. Previous owner used touch up paint to hide it. The car is really nice and this is not very visible but it is there. I guess i will have to take this up with Mazda. the car has only 85k and is covered by the 5 year warranty. if they refuse to fix it because they say I bought it from used car dealership or something like that then i will take mazda to arbitration. the car was taken care of. it is in perfect condition inside and the rest of the car looks fine. just in the back close to the wheels and where the spoiler is that is where rust shows. this is clear manufacturer defect. i've seen many mazda with this issue. always in the back. weird.

[Go_Habs_Go]

I just bought used 2004 Mazda 3 Orange GT. I did not notice but the car has paint pilling off in the back close to the will. Previous owner used touch up paint to hide it. The car is really nice and this is not very visible but it is there. I guess i will have to take this up with Mazda. the car has only 85k and is covered by the 5 year warranty. if they refuse to fix it because they say I bought it from used car dealership or something like that then i will take mazda to arbitration. the car was taken care of. it is in perfect condition inside and the rest of the car looks fine. just in the back close to the wheels and where the spoiler is that is where rust shows. this is clear manufacturer defect. i've seen many mazda with this issue. always in the back. weird.


Too bad to hear about the peeling paint and rust on your car!! Hope that the Mazda dealer will do something about it for you.

Let us know how it goes!!!

[argos]

Does anyone here have rust spots even AFTER getting it rust proofed at places like Krown?

[mazda lover]

Does anyone here have rust spots even AFTER getting it rust proofed at places like Krown?


any rust proofing will NOT protect the car from surface rust. The rust spots on the surface is either a factory defect, bubbling and peeling or the result of a stone chip. Krown or Rust Check protect from the inside out, in fender, door, panels etc. Also your wiring the brake lines and gas tank and lines. Call both places and ask them if they warrant surface rust or will their product protect the car from surface rust and report back to us...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=332267#post332267

See that thread for pictures of my car after the repair job...

Lynne

[MAZDA Kitten]

I emailed Mazda last week advising them of my rust issues (both passenger and driver side are forming rust bubbles) and they havent replied yet.
I dont know what to do? Escalate this to the BBB?

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Call Mazda Canada at: 1-800-263-4680 and ask to speak to Talvia or Natalie. Reference the "Lynne Witty Mazda3 group paint complaint" and say that you are another owner dealing with the same issues. They'll set you up at your dealership for an assessment of your car.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Girl you are awesome! Thank you so much!!!

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hope it works out for you. Mazda Canada begin phoning/emailing all my group members last Thursday so I think that they've finalized their response to these claims. The APA has been in regular contact with them and were told that Mazda Canada would sort this out by the end of August. We'll see!

[Go_Habs_Go]

Hope it works out well for you Mazda Kitten!!

Please keep us updated about how Mazda handles this issue. Let's hope they stand by their product and fix the early corrosion that some 3's are suffering from. Mazda has sold a ton of 3's in Canada and I'm sure they would like to continue doing that. Keeping existing customers happy is one way to ensure they will get repeat business.

Otherwise people will just go buy a car from another manufacturer!

[mazda lover]

Hope it works out for you. Mazda Canada begin phoning/emailing all my group members last Thursday so I think that they've finalized their response to these claims. The APA has been in regular contact with them and were told that Mazda Canada would sort this out by the end of August. We'll see!

Got the phone call but no email...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

No emails sent to my group members who supplied a phone number....

[Go_Habs_Go]

well at least Mazda Canada is getting around to contacting the people on the list!!

Hope it works out well for all of you...keep us posted on the situation, the more people that know the better.

[Go_Habs_Go]

Hey ZoomZoomGirl and Mazda Kitten, any updates on your respective situations with your cars?

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hey ZoomZoomGirl and Mazda Kitten, any updates on your respective situations with your cars?

Well all of my paint/corrosion repairs are now complete and the body shop fixed the sills they badly damaged. I also received a replacement warranty booklet from my dealership. Funny (pathetic) thing is they tried to give it to me with NO data in it! Needless to say, in the end I got a proper copy of the booklet they lost 3 months ago.

Update - I went in Thursday of last week to sign the papers on a brand new car. Agonizing wait since I put my pre-order/refundable deposit down on July 18 (day I found out Mazda Canada was NOT going to cover my bubbling repairs. This changed after the fact but I was totally fed up that day). Have my VIN and was told delivery is this week. Anyhow, all the paperwork is done, got the trade-in value for my Mazda3, so by this time next week I will be DONE with Mazda. Sad thing is that it is more due to the crappy dealership service and their underhanded handling of my paint/corrosion case than it is due to my no longer loving my Mazda3! I just have zero faith at this point that any recurring rust will receive coverage by Mazda Canada/my dealership. Considering the cost of paint repairs, I don't want to chance it...

[Go_Habs_Go]

I just have zero faith at this point that any recurring rust will receive coverage by Mazda Canada/my dealership. Considering the cost of paint repairs, I don't want to chance it...

I totally understand...after going through an experience like that it must not exactly leave a good taste in one's mouth.

good luck with the new car :)

[MAZDA Kitten]

Hey ZoomZoomGirl and Mazda Kitten, any updates on your respective situations with your cars?

Just got off the phone with them because they havent been replying to my emails; they will contact my dealership to set up an appointment and go from there

ughhhhh

just a side thought; I kinda feel bad to all the people I recommended this car to (and couple of my co-workers have actually bought one based on my feedback) but anyways ... my boyfriends 91 Jetta has less rust than my 4 year old car. I want a new car too!!

Lynne... what did you end up getting!?

[06Touring3]

why would you feel bad for recommending the car? you didn't give them your recommendation knowing this was going to be the case. and you don't know for sure they will have the same problem. and if they do, not your problem anyway ;) lol

and besides...rust isn't specific to JUST mazda 3's...*cough* honda civic wheel wells!! *cough*

[MAZDA Kitten]

So good news ... yayyyyy

Mazda Canada called the service manager at my dealer and he checked out my car. His words "Wow. Thats bad..." he approved the work and I drop off my car on Monday for three days.

Thanks to everyone especially ZoomZoom Girl!!!!

[Go_Habs_Go]

So good news ... yayyyyy

Mazda Canada called the service manager at my dealer and he checked out my car. His words "Wow. Thats bad..." he approved the work and I drop off my car on Monday for three days.

Thanks to everyone especially ZoomZoom Girl!!!!

Hey that's great Mazda Kitten!! Glad to hear that Mazda Canada is approving the work on your car.

Good luck and I hope it goes smoothly for ya! :)

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Just got off the phone with them because they havent been replying to my emails; they will contact my dealership to set up an appointment and go from there

ughhhhh

just a side thought; I kinda feel bad to all the people I recommended this car to (and couple of my co-workers have actually bought one based on my feedback) but anyways ... my boyfriends 91 Jetta has less rust than my 4 year old car. I want a new car too!!

Lynne... what did you end up getting!?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/My%20new%202009%20Honda%20Fit%20Sport/DSC00262.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/My%20new%202009%20Honda%20Fit%20Sport/DSC00243.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/My%20new%202009%20Honda%20Fit%20Sport/DSC00254.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/My%20new%202009%20Honda%20Fit%20Sport/DSC00255.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/My%20new%202009%20Honda%20Fit%20Sport/DSC00266.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/Bengalgirl/My%20new%202009%20Honda%20Fit%20Sport/DSC00241.jpg

Needless to say, after the past 4 months of drama, I was looking for tops in long-term reliability and also extremely fuel efficient. Then, of course, I wanted some bling bling. So I got a 2009 Honda Fit Sport A/T, color Orange Revolution. The above is my actual car which arrived at my dealership this AM. I don't take owernship until next Wednesday since they have to tint and install a bunch of accessories...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

So good news ... yayyyyy

Mazda Canada called the service manager at my dealer and he checked out my car. His words "Wow. Thats bad..." he approved the work and I drop off my car on Monday for three days.

Thanks to everyone especially ZoomZoom Girl!!!!

WOO (freaken) HOO!!!! Congrats!

[TheProfessor]

Zoom Zoom Girl, nice car! I think we should start a club of former Mazda owners who went to Honda (or in my case, back to Honda)!

[Stylus_MZ3]

So good news ... yayyyyy

Mazda Canada called the service manager at my dealer and he checked out my car. His words "Wow. Thats bad..." he approved the work and I drop off my car on Monday for three days.

Thanks to everyone especially ZoomZoom Girl!!!!

Same here!!! dropping my MZ3 off to Ontario Mazda on Monday
+ making sure they take off all the rust that they might
have not seen. Also going over to the shop to keep a follow up
on the repairs.

[Go_Habs_Go]

Needless to say, after the past 4 months of drama, I was looking for tops in long-term reliability and also extremely fuel efficient. Then, of course, I wanted some bling bling. So I got a 2009 Honda Fit Sport A/T, color Orange Revolution. The above is my actual car which arrived at my dealership this AM. I don't take owernship until next Wednesday since they have to tint and install a bunch of accessories...

sweet! congrats on the Honda Fit. I'm sure it will "fit" your needs well, ha ha ha ha. ok couldn't resist. :chuckle

seriously though...not a bad choice for a vehicle!

[KenYork]

Same here!!! dropping my MZ3 off to Ontario Mazda on Monday
+ making sure they take off all the rust that they might
have not seen. Also going over to the shop to keep a follow up
on the repairs.

That means they'll send the car to Agincourt Mazda for repairs. Check your car carefully when you get it back. I'm sending my car back this week for further work.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Zoom Zoom Girl, nice car! I think we should start a club of former Mazda owners who went to Honda (or in my case, back to Honda)!

Well I still have no reservations recommending the Mazda3 to anyone. Though it did take considerable effort, I don't even have anything against Mazda as a whole. I think it fair to say that ANY car manufacturer will give you a hard time in a paint claim ($$$). What really drove me to get rid of my Mazda3 (well, in T-3 days) is my Mazda DEALERSHIP. They were extremely underhanded.

On top of the paint issue, they lost my warranty booklet 3 MONTHS ago. I had to push and push, then finally contact the Head of Mazda Canada Customer Service to get a new booklet. Then the local Service Manager has the nerve to hand it to me EMPTY! He just looked at me like I was being totally unreasonable when I went back in, asking politely to get the data put in the booklet.

So, without reservation, I would strongly recommend that every Mazda owner stay far away from Mid City Mazda in Sudbury. The car itself is great, but your dealership has alot to do with how you view the brand as a whole! Since I'm in Sudbury with no other nearby competitors, I'd be stuck getting my car serviced at Mid City. After how I was treated in the past few months, I won't be setting foot in there ever again!

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Same here!!! dropping my MZ3 off to Ontario Mazda on Monday
+ making sure they take off all the rust that they might
have not seen. Also going over to the shop to keep a follow up
on the repairs.

Excellent news for you too! Very good idea to keep an eye on the repairs and be sure to check over your car thoroughly when you get it back...

[ZoomZoom Girl]

sweet! congrats on the Honda Fit. I'm sure it will "fit" your needs well, ha ha ha ha. ok couldn't resist. :chuckle

seriously though...not a bad choice for a vehicle!

Thanks! Long wait (2.5 months) but at least that gave me time to get all the paint repairs done to my car and be very sure of my choice. Just went through Consumer Reports, selected the hatchbacks with the best fuel economy and best reliability/owner satisfation, and ended up with 2 choices: Nissan Versa SL with CVT and Honda Fit Sport with 5 speed automatic transmission (Toyota Yaris too ugly for consideration...my opinion!). Had to wait a while to actually see a Fit, but once I did the choice was made...

[sas]

Sorry for my English and grammar errors, but hope my post will do
life more easy for someone.
I was fighting with corrosion on my old M323 and even repainted some places
on it. After stripping old paint I know true causes of this. It actual for all cars
, except Porshe which made with carbon (humor).Excluding cases real painting
faults , problem is inside the body - it is driver (again humor).
Now seriously. All we know as sweating windows in cold weather,same picture
on metal inside car. This condenced water flowing down in places where it could
to stick. Now rusting process started.(first stage)
Process aggregated after you switch off car, water freezing and do that place wider,
next time water will go father.Result off inner corrosion not seen until you could
see yellow color on bright paint(second stage).Since time you could to see bubble.
Next time bare rust.
C:\Documents and Settings\ss\My Documents\My Pictures\new-1.bmp
When you see yellow color , usually it rusted water in primer layer. It appearing here
thru pinholes in metal.

C:\Documents and Settings\ss\My Documents\My Pictures\mazdaplaces.bmp

I can’t to recommend to ZoomZoom Girl something(too neglected case, probably it will be
vain spending money).On my old M323 I filled all inner places by Dinitrol ML (it has low
viscosity and could to soak rust).On my new M3 I filled all by Tectyl ML.(More thick .)
This materials create protecting layer on metal and fill places which could be occupied
by water.
I did all myself. But, exist many services which specialized on this work. Internet also has large amount of info.(try to search rust proofing or rust protection. )
On bottom also are weak places but it another song.

[mazda lover]

Sorry for my English and grammar errors, but hope my post will do
life more easy for someone.
I was fighting with corrosion on my old M323 and even repainted some places
on it. After stripping old paint I know true causes of this. It actual for all cars
, except Porshe which made with carbon (humor).Excluding cases real painting
faults , problem is inside the body - it is driver (again humor).
Now seriously. All we know as sweating windows in cold weather,same picture
on metal inside car. This condenced water flowing down in places where it could
to stick. Now rusting process started.(first stage)
Process aggregated after you switch off car, water freezing and do that place wider,
next time water will go father.Result off inner corrosion not seen until you could
see yellow color on bright paint(second stage).Since time you could to see bubble.
Next time bare rust.
C:\Documents and Settings\ss\My Documents\My Pictures\new-1.bmp
When you see yellow color , usually it rusted water in primer layer. It appearing here
thru pinholes in metal.

C:\Documents and Settings\ss\My Documents\My Pictures\mazdaplaces.bmp

I can’t to recommend to ZoomZoom Girl something(too neglected case, probably it will be
vain spending money).On my old M323 I filled all inner places by Dinitrol ML (it has low
viscosity and could to soak rust).On my new M3 I filled all by Tectyl ML.(More thick .)
This materials create protecting layer on metal and fill places which could be occupied
by water.
I did all myself. But, exist many services which specialized on this work. Internet also has large amount of info.(try to search rust proofing or rust protection. )
On bottom also are weak places but it another song.

where did you buy the Dinitrol ML and Tectyl ML from
Thanks

[kevcol74]

The rust will not just start from water, inside or outside the car. The cars are litteraly dunked through a vat of sealer, filling all crevases and joints. What makes them rust is when that sealer is compromised. If you allow salt to remain on your car, it will eventually penetrate that sealer, and start the cancer. Be it inside the door, or outside where there are body panels that will hold the salt or other sealer compromising materials.
Petrol materials will help reduse the possibility, or slow an already started process, no doubt. But plain and simple water will not start the rust. If the sealer was no properly applied in the factory, then rust can start more easily. When recalls and TSB start happening, then the Manufacturer has admitted to their shortcomings there.
Maintain your car, wash it regularily through the "salt months", especially an undercar spray, and you will have rust free days for years to come. How do you think cars out of texas and suthern states stay rsut free for years? It does rain there too doesn't it?

Just my 2 cents.... now to fix that rust on my 3.... previous owner, honest!!! :bang

[MajesticBlueNTO]

The rust will not just start from water, inside or outside the car. The cars are litteraly dunked through a vat of sealer, filling all crevases and joints. What makes them rust is when that sealer is compromised. If you allow salt to remain on your car, it will eventually penetrate that sealer, and start the cancer. Be it inside the door, or outside where there are body panels that will hold the salt or other sealer compromising materials.
Petrol materials will help reduse the possibility, or slow an already started process, no doubt. But plain and simple water will not start the rust. If the sealer was no properly applied in the factory, then rust can start more easily. When recalls and TSB start happening, then the Manufacturer has admitted to their shortcomings there.
Maintain your car, wash it regularily through the "salt months", especially an undercar spray, and you will have rust free days for years to come. How do you think cars out of texas and suthern states stay rsut free for years? It does rain there too doesn't it?

Just my 2 cents.... now to fix that rust on my 3.... previous owner, honest!!! :bang

rust (iron oxide) is caused by both salt AND water. the water is the catalyst to the oxidation of the metal.

as such, the amount of "salt" in the moisture content of the air also determines if your car rusts (not just the application of road salt during winter).

in keeping with your texas and southern states example, warm regions of the USA that are near the ocean do indeed rust because of the salt in the moisture of the air (where the rain also has a higher salt content).

throw a pound of salt on the car and, with no water, there is no formation of rust.

what penetrates into cracks and bare metal (i.e. a stone chip that's down to metal, poorly treated metal, etc) is water combined with salt. what makes it worse in the winter is the freeze/thaw cycles (similar to the roads). the salt water creeps into cracks and fills any void...it then expands as it freezes (water is the only thing that expands as it freezes) causing more cracks for the salt water to seep into when it thaws.

this is why cars slathered in salt don't rust in -20C weather...the water isn't fluid enough to facilitate the oxidation process...it is during the melting period that rust will being.

we're on the same page..just that rust cannot happen without both salt AND water :)

[kevcol74]

Majestic, we are definitely on the same page, you just got deeper into it! lol
And I agree with the "coastal southern states", the slat just in the air will kill them in those areas. I work in Corpus Christi, Texas sometimes, and I won't bother looking for any classic cars there, but I will drive 3 hours to San Antonio, good clean ones there!

[sas]

Sorry! I live in Europe, even here, it selling not every shop
and not full lineup
I just wondering that Canada - powerful industrial country,
has so narrow assortment in stock. Haven’t seen Krown and
Waxoyl – probably it is the same. Krown give 1 year warranty
same as Dinitrol ML. But for new cars recommended
more thick Dinitrol with 3 years warranty.
Main here - not drying (fully) wax with high penetrating
properties, strong rust inhibitors and normal smell.
By the way in another topic ZoomZoom wrote - car was been
cured by Krown. May be it was applied on wet surface.
Only so I could to explain bubbles on center of doors and
such damages on 4 years old car.
To last posts I could to add. Rust is chemical and electrical process
where participating three elements – metal, oxygen and water.
Salt in water give free ions for electrical process. For that in
waxes are inhibitors.
By wax we isolating metal from another components.
The same do automotive companies. Phosphate coating and painting.
Zink give both side protection chemical and electrical.
On rusted car problem is to isolate metal really.

[bbc20000]

my rust problems were fixed. i went to Mississauga Mazda and they helped me out with Mazda. Mazda Canada paid for all repairs. looks nice now.
however, i've been told by the body shop guy that the rust will come back sooner or later. once is there it is there and it will be back.
where can i get 3m tape to put around the wheels.

by the way I highly recommend Mississauga Mazda. ultra nice people.

[iheartmazda3]

i have an 04 with rust around the drivers side wheel well and i have a blister on the roof of my car,,,
Sarah Corbeil
North Bay ON
39978 km's mazda 3 2004
and i brought my car to the dealership to see what they could do about it and since im over my four years of warranty they said they couldnt do anything about it

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hey Sarah. You should read through this thread. I stopped compiling names for my group back in July but that effort served its purpose. Mazda Canada HAS issued AWA (after warranty assistance) for the rust to the rear panels. There's no question about it, you should be covered regardless of mileage. I gave Mazda Kitten a phone number to call Mazda Canada directly. Try that route and let us know how things pan out for you...

[d_source]

Hey Sarah. You should read through this thread. I stopped compiling names for my group back in July but that effort served its purpose. Mazda Canada HAS issued AWA (after warranty assistance) for the rust to the rear panels. There's no question about it, you should be covered regardless of mileage. I gave Mazda Kitten a phone number to call Mazda Canada directly. Try that route and let us know how things pan out for you...


Call Mazda Canada at: 1-800-263-4680 and ask to speak to Talvia or Natalie. Reference the "Lynne Witty Mazda3 group paint complaint" and say that you are another owner dealing with the same issues. They'll set you up at your dealership for an assessment of your car.

Hi Lynne,
I am a few months late on this (to join your petition) as i just noticed how severe the rust problem has been getting on my 2004 Mazda 3 sedan. I am under 100k (just barely) and still within the 5yr warranty. I have rustproofed the car since before the first winter hit and every year since (but not through Mazda).
What steps should i take at this point to have this fixed? Should i call my dealership first, bring it in to them to assess, call Mazda Canada first?

BTW, thanks a million for all the work you put into this. What a great feat you've accomplished on behalf of all Mazda 3 owners. You've saved us a lot of trouble.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Call Mazda Canada at: 1-800-263-4680 and ask to speak to Talvia or Natalie. Reference the "Lynne Witty Mazda3 group paint complaint" and say that you are another owner dealing with the same issues. They'll set you up at your dealership for an assessment of your car.

[Go_Habs_Go]

the saga continues!! yet another victim of corrosion...scary to see! :-(

Hope Mazda deals with you in a fair manner d_source. Let us know how it goes.

[d_source]

Call Mazda Canada at: 1-800-263-4680 and ask to speak to Talvia or Natalie. Reference the "Lynne Witty Mazda3 group paint complaint" and say that you are another owner dealing with the same issues. They'll set you up at your dealership for an assessment of your car.

Thanks.


the saga continues!! yet another victim of corrosion...scary to see! :-(

Hope Mazda deals with you in a fair manner d_source. Let us know how it goes.

Will do.

[d_source]

So i called Mazda Canada and they quickly called me back and said that they were going to make an assessment appt with a dealership near me. The dealership called me right away and i have an appt tomorrow afternoon, which is great.
Now i am a little concerned b/c my rust issues arent as bad as some of the pics that i have seen in this thread. And to make matters worse, last week i was at Mazda getting my oil changed and they told me how i can clean the rust off the inside of my wheel wells (with rubbing alcohol) and so i did it and also tried to get all spots i saw around the car. So obviously my car is not going to look as bad this week as it did last week.
What is the minimum that Mazda Canada will cover? I still have obvious bubbling in spots which cant be removed by cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol but obviously if i didnt clean off the spots it would have looked much worse.

Attached is a pic of how it looked last week. tomorrow i'll post a pic of how it looks after its been cleaned.
BTW, my aluminum rims are bubbling too. :S
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0884.jpg

[mazda lover]

So i called Mazda Canada and they quickly called me back and said that they were going to make an assessment appt with a dealership near me. The dealership called me right away and i have an appt tomorrow afternoon, which is great.
Now i am a little concerned b/c my rust issues arent as bad as some of the pics that i have seen in this thread. And to make matters worse, last week i was at Mazda getting my oil changed and they told me how i can clean the rust off the inside of my wheel wells (with rubbing alcohol) and so i did it and also tried to get all spots i saw around the car. So obviously my car is not going to look as bad this week as it did last week.
What is the minimum that Mazda Canada will cover? I still have obvious bubbling in spots which cant be removed by cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol but obviously if i didnt clean off the spots it would have looked much worse.

Attached is a pic of how it looked last week. tomorrow i'll post a pic of how it looks after its been cleaned.
BTW, my aluminum rims are bubbling too. :S
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0884.jpg


As for the rims if the bubbling is at the center hub get the dealer to look at them, I had the same problem and Mazda changed all 4 of them under warranty. Cleaning the rust with rubbing alcohol only removes the stain not the rust.

[d_source]

What do you think my chances are of getting these fixed under warranty? Anything i can do to help the decision go in my favour? I scanned the whole car yesterday and i couldn't see anywhere else (beyond the areas below) but are there any other areas that i may want to look at?

Here is what the area looks like after i cleaned it. Still bubbling and obvious signs of rust:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0902.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0885.jpg

Bubbling on rims (all 4 are like this):
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0898.jpg

More bubbling:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0897.jpg

Thanks.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Welcome to the rust club.

This is the email I received thanks to Zoom Zoom girls work. My rust has already been repaired although some bubbling has been coming back, but much more minor than yours so I have not gone back as of yet but plan to make an appointment soon. But try contacting the number below.




"
It has been brought to our attention that you have some unresolved rust related concerns with your Mazda vehicle. We recommend having your vehicle inspected at an authorized Mazda dealership at your earliest convenience to determine the cause and correction required. At that point the dealer personnel can also determine if the repair would be eligible for warranty coverage.



We would be pleased to assist you with arranging an appointment at a Mazda dealer of your choice. You may contact us by telephone at 1-800-263-4680 Monday to Friday during business hours.



Sincerely,



MAZDA CANADA INC.
"

Oopps all this info has already been posted.

[Go_Habs_Go]

What do you think my chances are of getting these fixed under warranty? Anything i can do to help the decision go in my favour? I scanned the whole car yesterday and i couldn't see anywhere else (beyond the areas below) but are there any other areas that i may want to look at?



Hey d, while your rust may not be as bad as some of the other owners here, it still is RUST. And no way should a car have that kind of rust on it after 4 or 5 years!! So I wouldn't worry about you not having 'enough' rust to justify getting it repaired by Mazda. Be diplomatic but firm. Make sure they understand that you are not pleased with the rust that is forming on your car and that you expect this to be repaired. Tell them that you have done your best to maintain the car but that this was beyond your control. Especially the bubbling that is occuring...that is going to get much worse very quickly. And that type of bubbling is not caused by rock chips or poor maintenance on the vehicle.

As for other potential rust spots, check the bottom of all your doors, the edges of your trunk and around the rear brake light in the back of the trunk.

Good luck and remember to be firm about getting it fixed! :)

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hmm....sorry, didn't get a message in my email box informing me there were new posts here! Definitely that rust in your rear wheel wells is bad and should be covered under Mazda's AWA (after warranty assistance), issued for that exact area. There is no disputing that your paint damage is covered by AWA.

As stated, be diplomatic but firm though I believe, from others' ever increasing input, that Mazda is giving owners less and less of a hassle with repairing those areas. FYI, my own car looked pretty much the same in the rear wheel wells and rear bumper seams and mine was covered. Really, you should have NO issues with this at all...

[Go_Habs_Go]

Hey Lynne, glad to see you're still checking in on us once in a while! :)

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hey Lynne, glad to see you're still checking in on us once in a while! :)

Well, I usually rely on my email to let me know when messages have been posted in either of my two "corrosion" threads here, but for some reason it didn't. I just happened to be checking over here for input on WeatherTech Floor Liners and saw new posts. Odd.

Anyhow, seems that most people are getting at least their rear panel rust looked after by Mazda Canada, so that's progress! After my 3 month ordeal, wouldn't want any other Mazda3 owner to go through the same type of lengthy delay...

[mazda lover]

What do you think my chances are of getting these fixed under warranty? Anything i can do to help the decision go in my favour? I scanned the whole car yesterday and i couldn't see anywhere else (beyond the areas below) but are there any other areas that i may want to look at?

Here is what the area looks like after i cleaned it. Still bubbling and obvious signs of rust:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0902.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0885.jpg

Bubbling on rims (all 4 are like this):
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0898.jpg

More bubbling:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/IMG_0897.jpg

Thanks.

What year is your car?
I have an 05 and I had Mazda replace my rims as they were bubbling and paint peeling like yours are, get them replaced under warranty

[d_source]

Mazda_Lover - My mazda3 is a 2004.

Thanks Lynne & GO_HABS_GO.

Here's my update - I had the assessment done about 10 days ago. He took all the pics necessary and actually found some spots that i didnt notice where there was corrosion occuring (on the black sills along the door frame). I called my contact at the dealership today to see what's going on and he told me that he hasnt heard back from Mazda Canada yet. So really no news to pass on ATM. When i hear something i will post.

[Go_Habs_Go]

thanks for the update d_source. At least the assessment was done...hopefully Mazda Canada will move a bit faster on a resolution for you!!

Keep us posted...

[Zoomin]

Hi,

I have a 2003 P5 and had rust in 2005r that was repaired by the dealer. While I love the car, I am experiencing the recurring corrosion issues in the rear wheel/fender area and am considering to replace it with a 2009 Mazda3.

Someone mentioned in the forum about Mazda's Three Layer Wet Paint System as being the cause for the premature rust. Does anyone know if Mazda has addressed this nasty issue in 2008/09 Mazda3s?

[mazda lover]

Hi,

I have a 2003 P5 and had rust in 2005r that was repaired by the dealer. While I love the car, I am experiencing the recurring corrosion issues in the rear wheel/fender area and am considering to replace it with a 2009 Mazda3.

Someone mentioned in the forum about Mazda's Three Layer Wet Paint System as being the cause for the premature rust. Does anyone know if Mazda has addressed this nasty issue in 2008/09 Mazda3s?

not sure if the paint is the problem but it could be the preparation of the panels before painting, cheap steel from China is what I heard but that could have been someones un-researched opinion not mine..

[d_source]

So here's an update on what's going on for my corrosion issues:

-They called yesterday and confirmed that mazda Canada will in fact pay for all issues that were submitted, which are the wheel wells, all 4 rims, and black trim around the doors. So that's the great news! They said they will need to keep the car for 10-12 business days but what i don't like is that they wont pay for a car rental or give me anything to drive while they have my car for 3 weeks. Luckily next week i'll be on vacation, so that's one week down, and then I'm on my own for the other 2.
Another thing is that we missed one spot on the trunk at the rear light which is starting to have issues as well but they wont fix that b/c that wasn't in the original assessment. So what I'll need to do is go through this whole process again next spring (before June b/c that's when my 5 yrs are up) and hope that they fix it and any other areas that appear.

Thanks to all in this forum for helping out and getting this done. I must admit that the customer service so far at Mazda Canada was excellent, but that's all b/c of the work that was done through you all.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Great news! Odd that they wouldn't alter the assessment to also cover the new rust spots, but at least your major areas of paint damage will be addressed. I did ask Mazda Canada's Director of Customer Service about loaner cars and he said that is up to individual dealerships. They don't have a written "policy" to ensure customers have transportation while their cars are being repaired under warranty. I think this is even written in the warranty section of the owner's manual. Anyhow, I was fortunate that I did get a free loaner for the 2 weeks my repairs took. Sorry to hear that you have to figure something out on your own. Let us know how the repairs look once all the work is done...



So here's an update on what's going on for my corrosion issues:

-They called yesterday and confirmed that mazda Canada will in fact pay for all issues that were submitted, which are the wheel wells, all 4 rims, and black trim around the doors. So that's the great news! They said they will need to keep the car for 10-12 business days but what i don't like is that they wont pay for a car rental or give me anything to drive while they have my car for 3 weeks. Luckily next week i'll be on vacation, so that's one week down, and then I'm on my own for the other 2.
Another thing is that we missed one spot on the trunk at the rear light which is starting to have issues as well but they wont fix that b/c that wasn't in the original assessment. So what I'll need to do is go through this whole process again next spring (before June b/c that's when my 5 yrs are up) and hope that they fix it and any other areas that appear.

Thanks to all in this forum for helping out and getting this done. I must admit that the customer service so far at Mazda Canada was excellent, but that's all b/c of the work that was done through you all.

[b]

Lynne, I had pics taken of my car last week. It sounds like it will be covered and it goes in the 2nd week of december. I'll post pics as it gets to that stage. Thanks for everything you've done for everyone!

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Lynne, I had pics taken of my car last week. It sounds like it will be covered and it goes in the 2nd week of december. I'll post pics as it gets to that stage. Thanks for everything you've done for everyone!

Good for you! That leaves just 4 from our original group who have not had their repairs covered yet....

[Thrizzl3]

i took my car into airport mazda for rust on the window/door frame. they said they would replace the door but i would have to pay $400 to repaint it to match the original colour. shouldn't the warranty cover all costs?
pics from the window/door frame
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/guranteed_justice/IMG00116.jpg
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/guranteed_justice/IMG00114.jpg

[kevcol74]

i took my car into airport mazda for rust on the window/door frame. they said they would replace the door but i would have to pay $400 to repaint it to match the original colour. shouldn't the warranty cover all costs?


Yes it should!

[Go_Habs_Go]

i took my car into airport mazda for rust on the window/door frame. they said they would replace the door but i would have to pay $400 to repaint it to match the original colour. shouldn't the warranty cover all costs?


I would agree with kevcol and think that the cost of painting the door should be included in the warranty.

Maybe Lynne can chip in on this...

[Thrizzl3]

how long is the corrosion warranty on the mazda 3?

[Go_Habs_Go]

how long is the corrosion warranty on the mazda 3?

I believe it's 5 years unlimited km's on rust perforation.

[jessicasmith4]

But doesn't that warrenty only apply to the first owner of the mazda? I'm the second owner of my car and I'm pretty sure that Mazda won't cover anything for me. My Mazda definitly has some rusting, and the top coat is starting to peel away. Any suggestions?

[ZoomZoom Girl]

To all those with corrosion/paint issues, Mazda Canada covered myself and my group members (-4 still pending) under "AWA" (after warranty assistance) which means that the 3 year warranty was extended due to "extenuating circumstances". It doesn't fall under the 5 year perforation warranty since, by their definition, perforation is a HOLE through both sides of the metal. In other words, you could stick something through the hole. The 3 year paint warranty is more comprehensive (check your warranty manual for specifics).

Second owners are still covered. The original warranty can be transfered to a new owner (see back of warranty booklet).

Lastly, that paint damage absolutely SHOULD be covered! You shouldn't have to pay a cent. Call the 1-800 I posted somewhere in this thread and ask to speak to Talvia or Nathalie, citing the Lynne Witty corrosion case. It's ridiculous to have you pay a cent for that level of bubbling damage so don't accept this claim!

[Thrizzl3]

so I go to clarify with Airport Mazda about if the paint should be covered by warranty. They tell me no because i would have to pay for the "blending" of the paint to match the original colour. seriously $400 to match my body colour paint:loco i can go to homedepot and fool around with paint and still get the same matching colour for more than half this price. i am going to contact mazda canada about this rubbish that i am being told because when i bought the car it didn't appear to have any rust on it. As soon as i drive it off then all of a sudden RUST!! :complain

[d_source]

Hi all,
Here's my update (sorry it took so long but i couldn't get any pcitures b/c of how dirty the car was b/c of the weather).

So Mazda Canada and Prima Mazda did a great job in getting the repairs done. It took very little effort on my part. Put in the claim with Natalie at Mazda Canada who immediately set me up with an appt to have it looked at with Prima Mazda. They took the pics and it took about 2 weeks for the repairs to get approved and we set a date to have it brought in. At that point i noticed another spot on the trunk where there was an issue as well. They said that we would have to do it later b/c this spot was missed the first time. Spoke with Natalie again and she said she would try to get it in. I dropped off my car and then went on vacation for a week. The week i got back the car was ready on the thursday (8 business days instead of 10-15) and they managed to push through the trunk repairs as well. Prima Mazda even detailed the car, cleaned it out inside and out so i actually felt like i jumped into a brand new vehicle. Overall i was VERY satisfied with the job of all the parties involved, Mazda Canada, Prima Mazda and especially Lynne b/c without her efforts none of this would have been possible. So a big thank you! Below are the pics (Please note that any brown spots are dirt and not rust as its been a mess out here since the day i picked the car up). Come summer i will have another look at the car to make sure these issues haven't returned. Here's a link to the before pics: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=350027&postcount=145

And after:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed1.jpg

All four rims had issues in ctr around the Mazda symbol so they were all refinished:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed2.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed3.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed4.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed5.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed6.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed7.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed8.jpg

[yanky.ng]

hi mam..
name--ajay
2004 mazda 3 sedan
102000km...
i'm sending you the pics but i bought it second hand from a dealer..but did not buy any warranty so i don't know if my repairs would be covered by mazda...i just paid the car price +gst+pst+admin fee
http://s716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/yanky_brar/

thank you
Ajay

[Go_Habs_Go]

hey d_source, glad to hear that you got your car back and that you are happy with the repairs.

I would take it through a car wash on a warmer day and once the dirt is off then really check all the spots you had fixed to make sure they did a good job and that none of the rust is coming back.

Congrats!!

[Madrigal]

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm wondering whether eurothane can rust?

I have a new Mazda 2008.5 Sport. I chipped the side of the rear fender (it's really cheesy and flimsy plastic) and called a bodyshop to ask about repairs. He says it's made of eurothane, and they can repair it for about $500. He claims it's a lot of work taking it off and matching the colour (Arctic white, though he didn't ask). He also said an entirely new fender costs $500, but $900 for the full replacement job.

Did previous Mazda 3s have metal bumpers (I mean fenders)? If not, does eurothane rust?

Does anyone have any suggestions re a reliable and reasonable body shop? Or know of any 2008 scrapped Arctic white Sport 3s with intact rear ends?

[Madrigal]

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm wondering whether eurothane can rust?

I have a new Mazda 2008.5 Sport. I chipped the side of the rear fender (it's really cheesy and flimsy plastic) and called a bodyshop to ask about repairs. He says it's made of eurothane, and they can repair it for about $500. He claims it's a lot of work taking it off and matching the colour (Arctic white, though he didn't ask). He also said an entirely new fender costs $500, but $900 for the full replacement job.

Did previous Mazda 3s have metal bumpers (I mean fenders)? If not, does eurothane rust?

Does anyone have any suggestions re a reliable and reasonable body shop? Or know of any 2008 scrapped Arctic white Sport 3s with intact rear ends?


______________

Sorry, when I said "fender" I meant "bumper".

Immigrant, but I should know by now.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Weird my fenders are metal..

[igzy]

I think Madrigal is talking about bumper covers and they are made of urethane...

If it's just a chip on bumper cover, I would just get some primer/filler and a touch up paint tube and do it myself...

If you can post a photo of it so we could see the extent and location of the damage...

[Madrigal]

Thanks for this response. I'll post a picture as soon as I can, and would welcome further advice.

Is the (metal?) bumper covered by urethane? Were the previous complaints about erosion the result of water leaking through the urthane coating to the metal?

My rear bumper curls around the side like wrap-around sunglasses. At the side there is no metal, just urethane, with nothing underneath. I barely knicked it (near the side reflector) and it cracked, chipping out an ugly three inch piece near the right rear wheel and bouncing out the side reflector.

Thanks again, please let me know what you think after I post the picture.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

hi mam..
name--ajay
2004 mazda 3 sedan
102000km...
i'm sending you the pics but i bought it second hand from a dealer..but did not buy any warranty so i don't know if my repairs would be covered by mazda...i just paid the car price +gst+pst+admin fee
http://s716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/yanky_brar/

thank you
Ajay

Oh I stopped compiling names last July! The whole purpose was to get an initial group effort organized to spur Mazda Canada into action. Overall, I think that has been achieved. The onus is now on individual owners to contact Mazda Canada directly (see 1-800 number provided above) and get the ball rolling for their own cases. So far from experiences outlined here, seems that most are getting a positive result. Good luck!

[Go_Habs_Go]

Thanks for this response. I'll post a picture as soon as I can, and would welcome further advice.

Is the (metal?) bumper covered by urethane? Were the previous complaints about erosion the result of water leaking through the urthane coating to the metal?

My rear bumper curls around the side like wrap-around sunglasses. At the side there is no metal, just urethane, with nothing underneath. I barely knicked it (near the side reflector) and it cracked, chipping out an ugly three inch piece near the right rear wheel and bouncing out the side reflector.

Thanks again, please let me know what you think after I post the picture.

:TJ

Hi Madrigal,

Since the issue with your car is not rust related it would probably be a good idea for you to start a new thread so as to not hijack this one!! :)

Simply start a new thread in the same section of the forum that this thread is in ("Problems with the Mazda3) and then you can post your pictures there and get our feedback.

Thanks!

[Madrigal]

:TJ

Hi Madrigal,

Since the issue with your car is not rust related it would probably be a good idea for you to start a new thread so as to not hijack this one!! :)

Simply start a new thread in the same section of the forum that this thread is in ("Problems with the Mazda3) and then you can post your pictures there and get our feedback.

Thanks!

I will re-post soon in a new thread, as you suggest.

Apologies for the hijacking, but I would point out that I also had -- and still have -- rust-related questions.

[daib10]

Thank you ZOOMZOOM Girl to encourage members to activitly bring up this issue to Mazda dealers and also Mazda Canada. I am one of the successful story. On Jan 31, 2009 I brought my car to Avante Mazda at Richmondhill, the service manager took a look at my car (My car is rusting between the rear quarter and the rear bumper) and in no doubt he told me that this rusting situation is definitely covered under the Warranty. But the next thing he told me was, due to the new Mazda policy they can no longer fix any vehicle under the warranty claim which was not purchased from them. I was shocked and first I thought it was just an excuse of not fixing my car !!!

To make the long story short, I brought my car back to where I purchased (Ajax Mazda), the service manager - Jeff, there took some pictures of the rusting situation and also the KM on my car, he asked me to have the car stay with them for 3 days and they will fix it and cover under the warranty. Thing went a lot smoother than what I anticipate. I got my car back yesterday, althought the finished work is not the best in town, but you know what, it is at least fixed! THANK YOU AJAX MAZDA.

[mazda lover]

Thank you ZOOMZOOM Girl to encourage members to activitly bring up this issue to Mazda dealers and also Mazda Canada. I am one of the successful story. On Jan 31, 2009 I brought my car to Avante Mazda at Richmondhill, the service manager took a look at my car (My car is rusting between the rear quarter and the rear bumper) and in no doubt he told me that this rusting situation is definitely covered under the Warranty. But the next thing he told me was, due to the new Mazda policy they can no longer fix any vehicle under the warranty claim which was not purchased from them. I was shocked and first I thought it was just an excuse of not fixing my car !!!

To make the long story short, I brought my car back to where I purchased (Ajax Mazda), the service manager - Jeff, there took some pictures of the rusting situation and also the KM on my car, he asked me to have the car stay with them for 3 days and they will fix it and cover under the warranty. Thing went a lot smoother than what I anticipate. I got my car back yesterday, althought the finished work is not the best in town, but you know what, it is at least fixed! THANK YOU AJAX MAZDA.

The dealer not wanting to do the repairs because you didn't buy the car from them and is a new Mazda policy I feel is a load of BS. What about the owner who might have bought a car in Ottawa and a few years later moved to Toronto for what ever reason now has to go back to the dealer in Ottawa to have it fixed. Or how about someone from Winnipeg?
YA RIGHT

[kevcol74]

The dealer not wanting to do the repairs because you didn't buy the car from them and is a new Mazda policy I feel is a load of BS. What about the owner who might have bought a car in Ottawa and a few years later moved to Toronto for what ever reason now has to go back to the dealer in Ottawa to have it fixed. Or how about someone from Winnipeg?
YA RIGHT


That is BS, mine came from Ottawa, owner moved to Toronto where I bought it off him. I took it to my local dealership in Waterloo. They had no problem helping me out and taking care of everything! And that was just recently (Jan 09). But, they can't do anything about the wheel corrosion or the wipers being rusty, Mazda Canada won't approve that. So I contacted Mazda Canada directly, but have gotten no response in 3 weeks and counting.

[mazdas3sporte]

That is BS, mine came from Ottawa, owner moved to Toronto where I bought it off him. I took it to my local dealership in Waterloo. They had no problem helping me out and taking care of everything! And that was just recently (Jan 09). But, they can't do anything about the wheel corrosion or the wipers being rusty, Mazda Canada won't approve that. So I contacted Mazda Canada directly, but have gotten no response in 3 weeks and counting.

I have contacted Mazda Canada 4 times for another issue, they will not follow up unless you keep on calling them, make sure u write down the persons name u spoke too and the date, if u have to call 5 times a day do that because otherwise u wont get anywhere, u can also ask to talk to their supervisor which gets things moving

[mazda lover]

That is BS, mine came from Ottawa, owner moved to Toronto where I bought it off him. I took it to my local dealership in Waterloo. They had no problem helping me out and taking care of everything! And that was just recently (Jan 09). But, they can't do anything about the wheel corrosion or the wipers being rusty, Mazda Canada won't approve that. So I contacted Mazda Canada directly, but have gotten no response in 3 weeks and counting.

Mazda replaced my wheels that was showing corrosion at the center hub only after the car was 2 years old...Thanks Mazda...isn't the rusty wipers under a TSB? I could be wrong

[Dave_The_BMXER]

I contacted Mazda yesterday as mine is slowly coming back in the lower archs (not the quarter above the bumper thank god) but I have been putting grease in that gap to keep the salt/water from reacting and starting rust. Seems to be working ok.

Will let you guys know what the dealer says once I have an appointment.

[megaxyu]

I tried calling Mazda Canada

The issue is that I am over the 5 years mark and am told there is nothing that could be done.

Does anyone know if there is anything i could do ?

[Dave_The_BMXER]

What year is your car? I had pictures of my car taken today and an estimate (1200) sent off to Mazda Canada.

[mazdabetty]

I contacted Mazda yesterday as mine is slowly coming back in the lower archs (not the quarter above the bumper thank god) but I have been putting grease in that gap to keep the salt/water from reacting and starting rust. Seems to be working ok.

Will let you guys know what the dealer says once I have an appointment.

Did you get it fixed under warranty already? I'm scared mine's gonna come back too... I'm noticing more rust spots in strange areas just under the front doors, I'm not sure if they'll cover me again after getting it done once already...

[Yashiro]

Yaaa so i got my rust fixed for free as well my mazda 3 is 04 and about 100,000km most of the rust build up was in the wheel wells and a bit on the door but they told me that they would just replace the door insted of just repairing the rust it was very little but you cant say no to a new door i also asked them how much it would have cost me if i had to pay and it was about $2500 and i didnt have to do too much complaning either it was done at Airport mazda on rexdale in etobicoke amazing customer service so you havent got yours done yet go get it done don't except no for an answer good luck

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Did you get it fixed under warranty already? I'm scared mine's gonna come back too... I'm noticing more rust spots in strange areas just under the front doors, I'm not sure if they'll cover me again after getting it done once already...

How long did it take for yours to come back?

And no to it being a previous warranty repair.

[Yashiro]

It was in there for a about a week and a half but i would have gotten it back sooner if they didnt do the door but why rush it right its freeeeeeeeeeeee

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Oh I meant for the rust to come back for mazdabetty

[eman124]

I have a 05 mazda 3,
My rear fender paint is peeling off
I tried going to my dealership, they said there is nothing that they can do
I tried calling Mazda Canada customer relation, they also said the same thing because my car is out of warranty already.

is there anything else that i can do????

[wikdslo]

I have a 05 mazda 3,
My rear fender paint is peeling off
I tried going to my dealership, they said there is nothing that they can do
I tried calling Mazda Canada customer relation, they also said the same thing because my car is out of warranty already.

is there anything else that i can do????

I would go to a different dealer.

I went to Agincourt Mazda and they were willing to try for me on my 04.
Unfortunately, they said my rear quarters had been repainted at some point and since it was no longer Mazda's original paint they couldn't help.

Oh well, I knew about the issue when I bought the car, didn't expect I'd have a chance to get it fixed, but thought I'd take the shot.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Approved. With an 04. Goes in Thursday.

[fini]

I also have these circlular looking things.. is this normal or is it the beginning of rusting out from behind?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/fini/IMG_08841.jpg

I saw that my paint peeled off at the rear fender seam and it was starting to yellow. I painted over it but if I pull out the bumper seam i can still see the rust marks.. wonder if that will be an issue if i ask to have it fixed.

[sas]

I also have these circlular looking things..
This is the point welding. Here are connecting inner and outer fenders.
Bubbles are small in diameter and are looking as surface rust.
I think the rust starts between sheets, paint cracking and then rusting.

[Bai]

Worried about this, looks like the pattern of the rust is in same area. Fini what yr is your car? Anyone 2007+ model has rust? It's obvious the rust started inside because of the metal starts to bubble.

[fini]

Worried about this, looks like the pattern of the rust is in same area. Fini what yr is your car? Anyone 2007+ model has rust? It's obvious the rust started inside because of the metal starts to bubble.

my car is an 07' bought in october '06.
i chalked up my rust at the rear fender seam to a poor repair job since that was where i was hit.. i had no idea this was a common problem at that part of the car. because the other side is mint.

so in my case its either:
1. poor repair job (can i do anything about this? it was from dealer's bodyshop)
2. the common rust issue...

[aris]

my car is an 07' bought in october '06.
i chalked up my rust at the rear fender seam to a poor repair job since that was where i was hit.. i had no idea this was a common problem at that part of the car. because the other side is mint.

so in my case its either:
1. poor repair job (can i do anything about this? it was from dealer's bodyshop)
2. the common rust issue...

Just take it back to the dealer that it got fixed at and talk to them and see what they will do for you..my $.02

[bonus]

I've also noticed these spots and was going to give up b/c I have one of the first 04 Mazda3s... I've called Mazda canada, but so far no response on this....

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Go to the dealer

[dingo]

Has anyone been successful in getting their rust issue fixed with a Mazda3 older than 5 five years. Mine is at 5 years 3 months, 91000 km typical rust areas behind rear wheels where bumper meets metal panel. Taken to Weber Mazda Edmonton, they took pictures and submitted them to Mazda canada. DENIED.
Will call and pester Mazda a few more times, dig up as much info as possible then start my hate campaign against Mazda if thats what it takes.

[aris]

Has anyone been successful in getting their rust issue fixed with a Mazda3 older than 5 five years. Mine is at 5 years 3 months, 91000 km typical rust areas behind rear wheels where bumper meets metal panel. Taken to Weber Mazda Edmonton, they took pictures and submitted them to Mazda canada. DENIED.
Will call and pester Mazda a few more times, dig up as much info as possible then start my hate campaign against Mazda if thats what it takes.

THat sucks that they are doing this to you considering it's barley over 5 years old..but in the manual it says 5 years unlimmited km is covered for rust repairs...you should have went 3 months ago.

[seelsy]

try calling around, my brother had an issue with rust on his volkswagen and it took him till the 5th dealership till he found a nice person who would back date his fix to get it put through the warranty. May be a stretch but it still might work.

[Reaper]

even if Mazda fixes ur rust spots they do a crappy job at it..those spots will reappear in no time..I got mine done once and it was there again after 1 winter..then I had it done at my friend's body shop and so far so good..I mean car dealerships forget customer service once that car is out of their door..they are beginning to take the traits of the 2nd hand shyster dealers!

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Has anyone been successful in getting their rust issue fixed with a Mazda3 older than 5 five years. Mine is at 5 years 3 months, 91000 km typical rust areas behind rear wheels where bumper meets metal panel. Taken to Weber Mazda Edmonton, they took pictures and submitted them to Mazda canada. DENIED.
Will call and pester Mazda a few more times, dig up as much info as possible then start my hate campaign against Mazda if thats what it takes.

Got mine fixed and I have more km than you and mine is an 04.



even if Mazda fixes ur rust spots they do a crappy job at it..those spots will reappear in no time..I got mine done once and it was there again after 1 winter..then I had it done at my friend's body shop and so far so good..I mean car dealerships forget customer service once that car is out of their door..they are beginning to take the traits of the 2nd hand shyster dealers!


Mine got repaired at a Honda bodyshop surprisingly enough.

[Thrizzl3]

ok i took my car into airport mazda for some rust photos and now they are being sent to mazda for a decision on whether to go ahead with the body work. i hope they approve it as i do not want to drive around in a car with a whole bunch of rust spots on it. they said i have to wait a week before i get a decision from mazda so lets hope its worth it.

[rsquared]

even if Mazda fixes ur rust spots they do a crappy job at it..those spots will reappear in no time..I got mine done once and it was there again after 1 winter..then I had it done at my friend's body shop and so far so good..I mean car dealerships forget customer service once that car is out of their door..they are beginning to take the traits of the 2nd hand shyster dealers!

I'm in the same boat. The dealership fixed my rust problems just before winter, and now the rust has reappeared. Did you try going back to the dealer who fixed it and got denied? Or did you just decide to bring it to another place?

[KenYork]

I'm in the same boat. The dealership fixed my rust problems just before winter, and now the rust has reappeared. Did you try going back to the dealer who fixed it and got denied? Or did you just decide to bring it to another place?

I had mine done before the winter.. the rust is starting to reappear too.

[Bean]

I had Flipdady of MoT have a look at my car an hour or so ago and he saw the rust too. :(

Sigh.. this is a evergrowing list of people now it seems and it even affects 2007 models like mine.

[d_source]

Hi everyone,
Back in December i had my car fixed of the rust. Now we're in May and it all looks like its coming back already in all the same spots they supposedly fixed. The orange colour is evident but bubbling has not begun to occur yet, but i'm sure its just a matter of time. I plan to call Mazda Canada today to inform them and to see what we can do. I was happy with the job the dealership (who sends it out to an autobody) did at first, but now i'm very disappointed that i have to go through this whole process again in less than 6 months. My 5 years is up in June so i need to get a move on this, if 5 years is the limit. My car is an 04 BTW. I'll keep you all posted on what happens this time.


Hi all,
Here's my update (sorry it took so long but i couldn't get any pcitures b/c of how dirty the car was b/c of the weather).

So Mazda Canada and Prima Mazda did a great job in getting the repairs done. It took very little effort on my part. Put in the claim with Natalie at Mazda Canada who immediately set me up with an appt to have it looked at with Prima Mazda. They took the pics and it took about 2 weeks for the repairs to get approved and we set a date to have it brought in. At that point i noticed another spot on the trunk where there was an issue as well. They said that we would have to do it later b/c this spot was missed the first time. Spoke with Natalie again and she said she would try to get it in. I dropped off my car and then went on vacation for a week. The week i got back the car was ready on the thursday (8 business days instead of 10-15) and they managed to push through the trunk repairs as well. Prima Mazda even detailed the car, cleaned it out inside and out so i actually felt like i jumped into a brand new vehicle. Overall i was VERY satisfied with the job of all the parties involved, Mazda Canada, Prima Mazda and especially Lynne b/c without her efforts none of this would have been possible. So a big thank you! Below are the pics (Please note that any brown spots are dirt and not rust as its been a mess out here since the day i picked the car up). Come summer i will have another look at the car to make sure these issues haven't returned. Here's a link to the before pics: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=350027&postcount=145

And after:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed1.jpg

All four rims had issues in ctr around the Mazda symbol so they were all refinished:
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed2.jpg
http://pics.ifrankm.com/car/fixed3.jpg

[Pheonixcoro]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 2004 M3S GT. I purchased it used in November 2008.

I too have had rust. Mine was on the inside lip of the rear wheel wells and where the rear panel meets the bumper. There was also a bit on the bottom rear edge of the rear door frame.

I have to say I am very thankful to Lynne and all the others that paved the way for the warranty repairs

I went to Westowne Mazda and dealt with Joella in Service. She had Phil from 427 auto collision come by and take pictures. They were submitted and a week later I had the okay from Mazda Canada to get the work done. The estimate was about $1000. At the time my car had 91K and the 5yrs is up in August.

It took a week for the work to be done. They did a fantastic job, but I am a bit worried that a lot of you guys that have had the repairs now have it coming back. Here is hoping mine holds up.

[bonus]

I've also noticed these spots and was going to give up b/c I have one of the first 04 Mazda3s... I've called Mazda canada, but so far no response on this....
Just an update on this - Brought the car to Gyro Mazda for a service on May 7th and although they told me that they *Highly* doubted anything would be done, they did take pictures and sent to MCanada for review... Haven't heard anything yet...
Still crossing my fingers!

[Bean]

If your car has rust issues, does Mazda at least give you a courtesy car? I cannot be without one as I live in Newmarket and deal with Mazda of Toronto.

[mazdabetty]

Just an update on this - Brought the car to Gyro Mazda for a service on May 7th and although they told me that they *Highly* doubted anything would be done, they did take pictures and sent to MCanada for review... Haven't heard anything yet...
Still crossing my fingers!

That drives me crazy, I hate how some dealerships are all, "welll I dunnnoooooo wait and seeeee", trying to make it look like they're gonna do you a favor or something... it is stated clearly in our warranty, they HAVE to cover it if it's within guidelines, there should be no questions asked and no beating around the bush like this. Ridiculous!!!! It's no skin off the dealer's backs, pretty sure it's mazda canada who has to pick up the bill... :complain


If your car has rust issues, does Mazda at least give you a courtesy car? I cannot be without one as I live in Newmarket and deal with Mazda of Toronto.

nnnnnnnnope. I was given a rental, but only because when I got it back they missed one side of the car (ugh don't even ask, I have no idea how that happened lol!) But then again maybe if they feel like being really nice and if you're coming from a fair distance...

[Bean]

Well, that sucks :flaming

The crappy quality of which WE have to pay for? NOT

[Bean]

I finally got some pics of the Rustbucket today. Sorry, I know it is not alot of rust, but 2 yo cars should not be rusting in the first place.

http://i43.tinypic.com/14sf91i.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/34rubdt.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/24mu97c.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/2dj1jrp.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/x5uy54.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/11rrfuv.jpg

:flaming

[Thrizzl3]

so i go into mazda about my rust issues to see if mazda would approve it..final decision...DECLINED! So i'm like why?? Their reasons where that because my car was from Quebec it is an out of province vehicle so they will not cover that. 2nd reason is that the car had previous paint work done to it yet i was not informed about this...watever. 3rd reason they said is because i am the second owner..ok so i bought the car used so after it is sold used the corrosion warranty is VOID..cmon gimme a break. I am going to call mazda canada tomorrow for a more legit explaination on why I am not being covered by a warranty that is still in effect. I have never heard so much b/s in my life. :flaming

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Which dealership?

I'm the second owner of my car. How did they notice the previous paint work?

[Bean]

so i go into mazda about my rust issues to see if mazda would approve it..final decision...DECLINED! So i'm like why?? Their reasons where that because my car was from Quebec it is an out of province vehicle so they will not cover that. 2nd reason is that the car had previous paint work done to it yet i was not informed about this...watever. 3rd reason they said is because i am the second owner..ok so i bought the car used so after it is sold used the corrosion warranty is VOID..cmon gimme a break. I am going to call mazda canada tomorrow for a more legit explaination on why I am not being covered by a warranty that is still in effect. I have never heard so much b/s in my life. :flaming


That is absolutely unacceptable. :(

What a bunch of jerks, They will find anyway not to do it for you :flaming

[Thrizzl3]

Which dealership?

I'm the second owner of my car. How did they notice the previous paint work?

Mazda said they have a history of my car and the report said that there had been some paint correction done to it. I had it checked by Airport Mazda.


That is absolutely unacceptable. :(

What a bunch of jerks, They will find anyway not to do it for you :flaming

Can't believe over a small paint correction they refuse to work on my car.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Was the paint correction done at a dealer?

[Thrizzl3]

they didn't say anything on where it was done..they just said that paint correction was done to it..

[kevcol74]

Thats BS Phil, the place that did mine under warranty pointed out the car has previous work done, but that didn't stop them from doing it themselves. (Forbes Mazda in Waterloo FTR) In fact, when I sold the car, the buyers got a Carfax (I told them carproof, they didn't listen), and it showed a $4000 repair having been done to my car. I was unaware, and the previous owner insisted it was accident free. (he was the original owner) Go to another dealer....

[Thrizzl3]

So what about if they said my car was from a different province and they would not cover it..

[mazdabetty]

Whatttt definitely go to another dealer. Mine came from montreal and they had no problem fixing it for me. They're totally jerkin you around.:complain

[Thrizzl3]

I called mazda canada and they said that I am covered until December 2009..they will contact Airport Mazda to see whether or not my car can be worked on..im crossing my fingers hoping they say ok we will do it

[cwp_sedan]

I called mazda canada and they said that I am covered until December 2009..they will contact Airport Mazda to see whether or not my car can be worked on..im crossing my fingers hoping they say ok we will do it

SWEET!! There is still hope. Hopefully they cover it man.

[Thrizzl3]

SWEET!! There is still hope. Hopefully they cover it man.

BOOOOYAHKASHHA!! the dealer just called me and said they are scheduling an appointment to take care of this rust crap! :)

[cwp_sedan]

BOOOOYAHKASHHA!! the dealer just called me and said they are scheduling an appointment to take care of this rust crap! :)

That's awesome Phil! :bana2

[mEtH]

SWEET! Glad to hear you will have your rust issues fixed.
Now you can tell those guys to find somewhere else to put their empty Tim's cups :chuckle

[WLS ZMZM]

always amazing how the tune changes once head office gets involved....

[aris]

Good for you Phil....but maybe after you get this fixed you should change dealers since they were jerking you around...i would change..my $.02

[d_source]

So i took my car back to the dealer and told him about the rust and how it came back within 5 months of it being fixed the first time. With absolutely no problems they said they would fix it again. Which is fine with me, but he also told me that Mazda Canada says that they need to fix the rust as many time as needed until my 5yr warranty is up. My 5yr is up at the end of June 2009, so really this is the last time i'll be taking it in under warranty. So the problem that i see is that they just arent fixing it well enough and am i going to see the rust begin to reoccur again in 5 more months? He said that all the body shop does is sands down the rusting areas, and repaints. WTF is that? Is that what everyone else is getting done? Please let me know if i need to add a complaint to Mazda Canada? And for the people who have had their rust fixed, have you seen signs of it returning?

Thanks.


Hi everyone,
Back in December i had my car fixed of the rust. Now we're in May and it all looks like its coming back already in all the same spots they supposedly fixed. The orange colour is evident but bubbling has not begun to occur yet, but i'm sure its just a matter of time. I plan to call Mazda Canada today to inform them and to see what we can do. I was happy with the job the dealership (who sends it out to an autobody) did at first, but now i'm very disappointed that i have to go through this whole process again in less than 6 months. My 5 years is up in June so i need to get a move on this, if 5 years is the limit. My car is an 04 BTW. I'll keep you all posted on what happens this time.

[mazdabetty]

Well yeah.... they aren't replacing panels or anything... although one or two people have mentioned that they have but I really don't believe mazda canada would cover that....

Mine is actually beginning to rust around the edges of the rear wheel wells again, I don't even think they sanded mine.... pretty disappointed. But I'm almost positive I've heard somewhere that the paint jobs have lifetime warranties? Could anyone confirm whether that is correct or not? :\

[Thrizzl3]

i doubt it would come with life time warranty..since they said its a 5 yr/unlimited and then thats it..:flaming

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Some have said its lifetime on the repair... I was told I have 1 year warranty from the body shop (oakville honda) so if it comes back in 1 year I go back then I assume the 1 year warranty starts again and so on and so forth.

[sauga_kid]

Car is going in today to get the rust forming around the 3rd brake light done as well as some by the lower skirt and the wiper arms.

So here's my story. I had to bring it to Ontario Mazda, reluctantly, since I bought the car there and that's where my rustproofing warranty is with. I was informed that it would take 4-6 weeks to get the approval from Mazda Canada. I take a half day off of work to bring my vehicle in for the assessment. I wait patiently as I see they are short stafffed and an hour goes by meanwhile being told someone will be right with me. Finally, I say that an hour has passed since my apointement and they then proceed to tell me that the bodyshop they deal with who does the assessment forgot about the appointment. Forgot? Really? So she proceeds to tell me that they'll take a few photos themselves and send them into Mazda Canada. Good idea except the digital camera they have had to be one of the first digital cameras ever produced. She goes on to tell me that the photo quality is poor and asks if we can reschedule the appointment. Instead of wasting any more time then I already have, I say "how about I take some photos and send them to you." She agrees and I think, "Great, why didn't we do this in the first place?" I express my displeasure in the way the situation was handled, there was no acknowledgement of my wasted time and compensation came in the form of a "Sorry, I assure you this not how we run our business." Very hard to believe with the track record they hold.

Week 7 rolls around, no word and so I call in and surprisingly the service manager dealing with my case says "I was just about to call you." Really? What a conincidence. She says Mazda Canada has approved the works so she's going in today. They estimate it to be a three-four day job so hopefully everything goes smoothly.

[Thrizzl3]

Car is going in today to get the rust forming around the 3rd brake light done as well as some by the lower skirt and the wiper arms.

So here's my story. I had to bring it to Ontario Mazda, reluctantly, since I bought the car there and that's where my rustproofing warranty is with. I was informed that it would take 4-6 weeks to get the approval from Mazda Canada. I take a half day off of work to bring my vehicle in for the assessment. I wait patiently as I see they are short stafffed and an hour goes by meanwhile being told someone will be right with me. Finally, I say that an hour has passed since my apointement and they then proceed to tell me that the bodyshop they deal with who does the assessment forgot about the appointment. Forgot? Really? So she proceeds to tell me that they'll take a few photos themselves and send them into Mazda Canada. Good idea except the digital camera they have had to be one of the first digital cameras ever produced. She goes on to tell me that the photo quality is poor and asks if we can reschedule the appointment. Instead of wasting any more time then I already have, I say "how about I take some photos and send them to you." She agrees and I think, "Great, why didn't we do this in the first place?" I express my displeasure in the way the situation was handled, there was no acknowledgement of my wasted time and compensation came in the form of a "Sorry, I assure you this not how we run our business." Very hard to believe with the track record they hold.

Week 7 rolls around, no word and so I call in and surprisingly the service manager dealing with my case says "I was just about to call you." Really? What a conincidence. She says Mazda Canada has approved the works so she's going in today. They estimate it to be a three-four day job so hopefully everything goes smoothly.

Did they have a rep come from the head office come and look at your car and decide whether or not the rust will be taken care of?

[d_source]

No. Someone from the dealership took pics the first time and sent off to Mazda Canada and they approved the work to be done. This second time i think they just called Mazda Canada without sending any pics or going through the paperwork again and said the rust has returned and Mazda Canada said just fix it. Should a rep come and see the work once its complete? Has a rep come to see the work done after completion on other vehicles?
I need to check if the work being done is under warranty from the actual body shop or through the dealership b/c no one mentioned that to me, but i think they should give you at least a year from when they fix it. Otherwise they can just mask it this time around enough to last a month and if it reoccurs in July they can just tell me I'm sh1t out of luck! and that's not fair.


Did they have a rep come from the head office come and look at your car and decide whether or not the rust will be taken care of?

[Thrizzl3]

well i have an appointment on june 19 for the rep to look at my car..

[aris]

So i took my car back to the dealer and told him about the rust and how it came back within 5 months of it being fixed the first time. With absolutely no problems they said they would fix it again. Which is fine with me, but he also told me that Mazda Canada says that they need to fix the rust as many time as needed until my 5yr warranty is up. My 5yr is up at the end of June 2009, so really this is the last time i'll be taking it in under warranty. So the problem that i see is that they just arent fixing it well enough and am i going to see the rust begin to reoccur again in 5 more months? He said that all the body shop does is sands down the rusting areas, and repaints. WTF is that? Is that what everyone else is getting done? Please let me know if i need to add a complaint to Mazda Canada? And for the people who have had their rust fixed, have you seen signs of it returning?

Thanks.


If the body shop they took it to preped it right the rust should not come back..who ever fixed your car might have did a half ass job..cause realy it shouldn't come back.

[mazda lover]

What a day for spotting M3s with rust. Stopped at a stop light beside a M3, I noticed the car had rust at the rear quarter. I rolled my widow down and asked the driver what year his car was, he said 05, I told him he should get it fixed by Mazda free. Told him to join this forum for more info, it was a titanium gray colour like mine. Suggested he check the wheel wells, It was a long light.
Was at a strip plaza to pick something up, when I left there was a blue M3 and it appeared to be rusted and paint peeling above the rear wheel well. Stopped to have a closer look. The inner wheel wells was completed rusted from the front to the back. Even had holes. This was on both sides, had the typical rust at the rear quarters also. Passenger door at the lower edge had rust and paint peeling. I left a note on the windshield, wiper arms also rusty and said you should take it into the dealer to have it repaired on Mazda's money. I also wrote he should join us here for more info..
Maybe I should keep flyers in my car and put them on windshields on cars I see parked at malls, parking lots etc warning the owners of the rust issue.
By the way the blue car looked like it was abused, not washed in years. But shouldn't look as bad as it did,

[mazdabetty]

That was nice of you.... we really should spread the word. When inquiring with a local dealership in Ottawa about rusty wiper arms, I was informed by the manager that this is covered under a TSB in the US only.

Even he said the fact that Mazda is trying to cover their butts and not send a courtesy letter to owners is just wrong (although expensive, so understandable in one way), but they're hardly owning up to their goof.

I think it's a great idea to keep flyers handy to give to mazda3 owners in parking lots who have visible signs of rust! TM3 unite!!!!! TESTIFY!!!!!!! :chuckle


PS: Too bad Silverman is no longer on City TV.... Would be nice to actually get some media coverage on this growing issue, and on TM3...

[mazda lover]

That was nice of you.... we really should spread the word. When inquiring with a local dealership in Ottawa about rusty wiper arms, I was informed by the manager that this is covered under a TSB in the US only.

Even he said the fact that Mazda is trying to cover their butts and not send a courtesy letter to owners is just wrong (although expensive, so understandable in one way), but they're hardly owning up to their goof.

I think it's a great idea to keep flyers handy to give to mazda3 owners in parking lots who have visible signs of rust! TM3 unite!!!!! TESTIFY!!!!!!! :chuckle

Thank you for your positive post and support.
I would leave flyers even if the car showed no signs of rust yet but also as a heads up to keep an eye on the car in those bad areas.

[d_source]

Is the appt before or after the rust work was done?


well i have an appointment on june 19 for the rep to look at my car..

[d_source]

That's what i think too. So i guess i should call Mazda Canada and see if i can get someone to confirm the job was done right this time?


If the body shop they took it to preped it right the rust should not come back..how ever fixed your might have did a half ass job..cause realy it shouldn't come back.

[Thrizzl3]

Is the appt before or after the rust work was done?

before.

[d_source]

before.
How come before? Did the rep need to assess the work that needed to be done before? Kind of like why we took and sent off pictures?

[sauga_kid]

Did they have a rep come from the head office come and look at your car and decide whether or not the rust will be taken care of?

No, I took my own pictures and sent in to Ontario Mazda. They then sent them off to Mazda Canada and they made the decision based on the photos.