Mazda Expands Recall for Power Steering Problem to 500,000 Cars

Mazda is expanding its recall of Mazda 3s and Mazda 5s to Europe and Asia. Shown is a 2009 Mazda 3.

Mazda’s problem with steering on some of its most popular models could affect about 500,000 vehicles worldwide, according to Tamara Mlynarczyk, a company spokeswoman.

On Monday, Mazda told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the recall would affect about 215,000 of its 2007–9 Mazda 3 and Mazda 5s in the United States.

But the recall will also cover vehicles in Asia and Europe.

The federal safety agency said the problem was a loss of power assist which reduced “the driver’s ability to steer the vehicle as typically expected” and increased the chance of a crash.

Mazda, however, told the agency that while it was willing to conduct a recall, it believed that the loss of power steering posed “no unreasonable safety risk.”

The recall comes about a year after Mazda started fixing vehicles in Japan for the same problem. But Mazda told the American safety agency that since the “occurrence rate was low” in the United States it issued only a technical service bulletin to dealers telling them how to fix the problem.

Under federal regulations, an automaker that finds a safety problem must inform the highway traffic safety administration within five days or face penalties.

Mazda says the problem is that rust can form inside a high-pressure pipe in the power steering system and allow particles to enter the motorized power steering pump, causing it to shut down to prevent the pump from overheating.