Mazda6 Sedan

cookie01

Thanks for the tips. I will see where the light comes on tonight on my way home. I know that there was a smell of burning breaks when I stopped in my garage. But I'm guessing it was only on a "little."

Still dang.

midwesttrader

I didn't think it was possible but things have gotten worse. Now I can't even search for 04 models and the rebate info is outdated too.

cubfan2

I remember being in your same shoes last July and having the same frustration with that website since I wanted to see what the different options did to the look of the car + availability and all...it was hard. I ended up calling 5 dealers within a 50 mile radius to find the stock I wanted...so my sympathies

thegreatvudini

Was off for a while. Welcome (me) back!
My 6s has over 1000 miles on it now. Still purrs like a (wild) cat.
Last time, I was posting re: the max volume anyone has put on the Bose. Well, the other day, I was listening to some classical music, and did put on max. For the record, it goes all the way up to 33, then the next level is "Max". The music didn't really do any damage, and I turned it back down right away.
After almost a month of ownership, I have a few wishes on the 6 (options not available):
1. HID
2. Rear head restraints
3. Memory seats
4. Tighter turn-in (as it is, it's unacceptable; my MPV has a better turn-in!)

These are not in any particular order. Anyone agrees?
vudini

dinu01

Not a 6 owner, but would like to see:

rear headrests
side blinkers
tighter turning circle - test drove a 6 and had to back up so I could park it. Annoying.

Dinu

ian2

I rented it a 10-foot truck the other day and sadly, it has a better turning radius than the 6. Parking and getting out of the underground garage is a chore everyday.

dinu01

When you have to compare it with a 10' truck, we know there's a problem.

Dinu

blueguydotcom

I rented it a 10-foot truck the other day and sadly, it has a better turning radius than the 6. Parking and getting out of the underground garage is a chore everyday.

Wow, that's funny as my bro-in-law drove a 6 last night and much to my sister's chagrin he said no to it even though they could have walked away with the loaded car for 21k. Why did he pass?

One thing he cited immediately, "It took forever to make a u-turn or park it." Mazda better fix that as I've read it in review too.

ashutoshsm

 Yeah - it can take some getting used to!

 I think its a direct result of the new front suspension design. If they can reduce the radius ONLY at the cost of losing some of the sweet goodnees that suspension offers - then I don't want any of it!

 Please let me keep my handling, I'll drive cautiously and make a few extra 3-point turns. SMALL price to pay for a car that feels and drives THAT well

aromas

To you fellow 6 owners you're not gonna like this news.Someone has already posted this warning on the problems board about this defect. This was first detected on another Mazda6 board. Apparently there is numerous rust spots occuring behind the rubber moldings of all 4 doors and the trunk, this is around the edges of the inside of the doors. You have to lift the molding up to see it.

Now I just took a flashlight and checked out my car and I have surface rust developing all around the doors as well as the trunk. Man am I pissed off. Some info I've read on the other board actually have bubbling as well. I will be calling my dealer tomorrow and find out what my options are. Not to mention I will be checking all the 6's on the lot to see if it's there as well.

ALL OWNERS PLEASE CHECK YOUR CAR. It will be easier to spot if you have a lighter color. Apparently there is no permanent fix for this and it can't even be agreed by dealers what the best course of action is to treat it. Several people have contacted the head office so if you call hopefully they won't give you the run around. Same goes with the dealers.

Everybody please post on this or the problems board whether this is happening to your car so we could gauge how widespread it is. From the info I've read so far it's happening to a high percentage of 6 owners who post on the internet.

If this problem is widespread Mazda is gonna be in some deep trouble.

cookie01

crap... if that's true, I'm in HUGE trouble (live in oregon...)

pzev

Is this NA Mazda6's or all Mazda6's including the Japanese ones?

mazdafun

Also, RWD vehicles can yield tighter turning circles than FWD ones, especially those with larger displacement engines, mostly because they don't have to pack as much stuff between the front wheels.

Saying that, I think the 6 requires more room than some comparably-sized FWD mid-size sedans.

kstu

All right, the 6 does not have a short turning radius, but it is not out of line for a mid-size car. At 41' (according to CR) it is 1' larger than Accord. It is equal to or less than that of such "trucks" as Avalon, Corvette, PT Cruiser, and every minivan and mid-size or larger SUV. Oh yes, it's shorter than all pickups too! I noticed the turning radius when I test drove the car, partly because it had been mentioned on this board. After 5000 miles, I can say that the turning radius has not been a problem to me. It's not as short as a sub-compact's, but then, the 6 is not a sub-compact!

mazda6s

Thanks for pointing out the facts. I was going to look it up but you beat me to it.

Too often people on these boards like to exaggerate small differences like this.

thegreatvudini

I noticed that it was rather wide too when test driving it almost a year ago! The salesman had the audacity to mention to me how tight it was(!).
I did some comparison at the time, and was (rightly so) amazed at the Merc C230-240 sedan (~35 feet) and the Saab 9-3, both of which I did seriously considered purchasing. The fact that I bought the 6 instead told me that turning radius was not a factor in my decision. I only wish it was tighter... and the rear head restraints would make the 6 a more "European" sedan, like the Camcord. ( I know that the European 6 does have them!)

vocus

I have to say that's one thing I didn't pay attention to when I drove the 3 '6 models (2 s models and one i). The Jetta I had at the time made very tight turns, and the PT that replaced it makes wider turns, but you just grow accustomed to it and make do.

kstu

Be careful when comparing turning radius numbers that they are measuring the same thing, and preferably are from the same source. Turning radius (actually diameter or circle) can be measured curb to curb or wall to wall. Curb to curb figures can be several feet shorter and are preferred by manufacturers looking to publicize a low number. Wall to wall is the standard CR uses, so their numbers are comparable for all vehicles. If I compared the curb to curb number for the 6 to others' wall to wall, the 6 would seem impressive, contrary to reality!

accord7

I don't own a 6 as of yet, but I had pretty much settled on buying one when the 04's came out. This rust issue really makes me wonder. I plan on owning my next car for 10 years, and if there is surface rust within a year then there's only big trouble ahead. What good is a great car with superb handling dynamics, great looks etc... if only to have it rust prematurely?

dinu01

I guess I'm not used to midsizes. Always had small cars (except the Maxima, which is not bad)

Dinu

buggywhip

aromas, it's absolutely tragic about the rust on your car. Inexcusable. My fwd GM sedan has similar rust--but it's endured almost 10 harsh winters!! Mazda shouldn't just offer to repaint or repair, it should give you a new vehicle. Keep us posted, b/c your revelation can break Mazda, big time.

aromas

Now I'm even more pissed after looking at it in the daytime, it actually looks WORSE.

The dealer has not heard anything but said it must be only SURFACE RUST???? I'm taking it there next week to have him check it out. A friend who owns a body shop just came by and said the only way to solve it is 4 new doors and a trunk so I wont' be expecting anything less from Mazda.In the meantime I'm still waiting for my cloth seats to be replaced.

If your car is blue, black or grey look closely. Basically just lift up the weatherstripping around the window door frames and check the seams.

Pictures posted on other boards shows it's actually visible without lifting the molding and it seems quite a few owners have it regardless of build date(mine is Jan 3/03).

aromas

From what I'm reading I would be shocked if nobody on this board finds rust(knock on wood).

I will be phoning Mazda Canada tomorrow and lodge a complaint and inform that many owners are having the same problem. Hopefully this will get them to do something sooner rather than later. Great now winter's coming, god knows how much this is going to spread in the next few months.

pzev

I've read some posts on other boards and it seems to be fairly widespread among NA cars. I can't tell yet if the built in Japan versions have the same problem, but the NA versions that have this problem seem to be pretty common, just some people have it worse than others, but most people are finding at least a little rust in the same spots.

I remember reading (I think it was here on Edmunds) about somebody finding what appeared to be rust spots on the bottom of the doors but it turned out to be rail dust. After using a clay bar it was gone. I don't see how this can be rail dust though.

If this turns out to be what it really is then I don't see how Mazda can buy back or replace the doors or whatever. Would cost too much money. They'll have to come up with an inexpensive fix or take some really bad PR from this.

Some people are finding the rust on 2004 models as well. I don't have a Mazda6 but I feel for you guys that have this problem. Hope it gets resolved soon.

buggywhip

Well, I hope aromas gets his prob fixed (for free). There's no such thing as harmless "surface rust" as opposed to other rust. Rust is rust. You can buy cheapo lawn furniture that won't rust in merely a year. Aromas has a right to expect that his car won't show visible rust for at least 6 yrs, if at all. Most automakers have super-long rust-thru warranties b/c rust just isn't an issue anymore---assuming the car was built correctly............I was seriously considering a 6. Not anymore, at least not for now.

cop414

All-
Took my 6 to the dealer last week to have the drivers seat bottom replaced. I found that a portion of one of the seams had come unraveled. My dealer said he would replace the whole cover-great, in my opinion.
The day comes to replace the seat and all goes well. I go out to the car and to my surprise the seat looks great, but the trim that covers the sill as well as the one that covers the pillar between the front and rear seats looked like someone had taken a crow bar to it. I went back in and the service mngr saw the look on my face and said-what's wrong. I asked him to come outside and I opened the door. All I said was-look. He said-oh, my, that's not right. Consider the parts ordered. Someone got an a** chewing I'm sure. I would bet that the "tech" thought-oh well, if he doesn't notice it once he leaves it not my problem. We both felt that he had a hard time putting the seat back in and had rested it on the plastic trim, causing the damage.
Just a note for any of you that have a seat taken out for any reason.
 
I also was able to duplicate a loud pitched squeal that was happening when I would make a slow left turn as I was braking. Service told me that MPV's have that same problem and that there is a kit to space the pads just a bit off of the rotors. They ordered the kit and will install when the trim panels come in. I'm not sure if there is a TSB for this, but if anyone is having the same problem they tell me it's an easy fix.

aromas-Sorry to hear about your rust, I immediately went to the garage to check mine, as I'm sure everyone else did. I found all to be okay. A bit thin on the paint in some of corners of the frame, but no rust all. I checked each door in four or five spots. I'm not sure where you mean on the trunk, as the trunk itself has no weather stripping. I looked under the trim panel and all seems fine there. I bought my 6 in April and now have 10K+, with only a few minor problems which have been taken care of by my dealer.

Anyone-My girlfriend is thinking about buying an 04 Tribute. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

aromas

My buddy(who owns a body shop)told me he thinks the rust problem stems from the fact that the door frames are possibly pieced together first and painted and clearcoated after(apparently with most cars it's the opposite) the fact which leads to key areas along the seams not being properly treated. He saw that the rust is "leaking" from the inside of the seam and all 4 doors are affected.

Now the really bad news, he said if the car was built that way then it is only a matter of time before rust appears and I'm actually lucky I discovered it now while still under warrenty. He figures the only way to permently fix this is a door replacement and any other methods are only stop gap measures and would be far from permenant.
Looks like somebody in Flatrock fell asleep during the training course and got the steps mixed up as Japanese models apparently have no problems.

For checking the trunk just look behind the rubber molding that outlines the trunk in the area closet to the back window. I've discovered a couple of nasty spots in there. Don't know why that area would be affected as well but it is.

There is a poll on the other board that shows out of 34 cars checked 26 of them have found rust spots around the door or trunk. That's 76% and downright scary. Just to reiterate you have to lift up the rubber molding with your fingers and check the seam behind it. It probably won't be visible unless you do that. Just want to make everybody is checking it correctly and it is alot harder to see on a darker car. My car is silver so it's very noticeable.

If this turns out to be a major problem there goes our resale value.

vocus

Anyone get the recall about the fog light sockets burning the inside of the bumper? I read about it in Consumer Reports today for the first time...

blueguydotcom

Not sure what the turning radius is on my current car, but I've found I just flip the wheel and slap the gas and the backend flips around tighter and faster than the tazmanian devil.

newcar31

I checked my car and I have the rust that aromas is talking about. After checking other forums, I am convinced that ALL Mazda6s have this issue. I'm going to have to drive this thing until the doors fall off (literally) because any resale value it had is pretty much gone after this. Now, I regret selling my Protege.

Paul---that recall is old.

glideslopes

I just looked behind the moldings on my 6s. I have no rust? My car was built in 5/03. I think it would be very interesting to see if this issue is more prevalent in cars shipped by rail from Flat Rock versus cars that were trucked. I know my car came from Flat Rock on a truck. I am in Upstate, NY.

Mark.

newcar31

What color is your car?

This issue has nothing to do with rail dust.

troyben

My 6i is red & I can't find any rust..yet. Built March 03.

newcar31

Red will hide it very well. I'll bet it's there, it's just really hard to see.

I had autobody classes in High School and I know enough to know that the rust is coming from the inside out. The rust appears to be leaking out of the door channel welds.

troyben

What's best way to detect it other than eyeballing it? I see someone suggested the alcohol with q-tip.

pzev

"I had autobody classes in High School and I know enough to know that the rust is coming from the inside out. The rust appears to be leaking out of the door channel welds."

That doesn't sound too good. Any idea what went wrong? Did they just completely miss a step when making these cars?

newcar31

I’m not sure if the q-tip method would work. The rust is seeping out of a channel and I don’t think you could get the q-tip in there.

When I saw it on my car, I felt sick. When I first heard about the issue, I though it was rail dust or surface rust on chipped or unpainted metal. It’s not. It appears that there is metal in the doorframe that was not treated properly for corrosion. You should not see this kind of rust on a car that has 4000 miles on it and hasn’t seen any winter (mine).

Mazda has a history of shooting themselves in the foot. I think they missed the foot this time and hit a leg. Possibly a main artery.

midwesttrader

This is just plain ridiculous. My 6 year old Altima that sits outside all the time doesn't have a speck of rust on it, yet brand new Mazda 04s hitting the lot do. First the RX-8 fiasco and now this.

From what I've read in another forum, Mazda may have known about this problem for some time. This can not be "fixed" after the fact. Who wants a crappy surface repair or mis-matched doors and trunk lids on brand new cars? Not to mention another hit on residual value.

What a huge disappointment. I'm ready to tell them that when my car comes in they can keep it!

Karen_S

Mazda Mania Chat
Tuesday nights - 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET.

newcar31

I'm more sad than I am angry. I don't know what could be done about this. I feel like my "baby" has a birth defect, and it's cancer.

vocus

So is there any way Mazda can fix this on the cars that are already built, short of repainting them? What are they planning to do about it?

I feel for everyone going through this mess. I could just imagine how I would feel with a brand new car with rust on it already...

darmc96

I suggest calling Mazda Corporate if you have the rust issue and going to see your dealership. The more complaints the better. There needs to be a RIGHT answer from Mazda not a patch up fix.

midwesttrader

Repainting will do no good. That would be like putting a bandaid on gangrene. Based on what I know, these cars are rusting from the inside out. Once that kind of process starts there's no turning it back.

vocus

Well I guess the only plausible thing they can do is to replace the panels that are rusting. That will cost them a whole bunch of money as well as bad publicity, and will cost owners resale value in a huge way. It looks like a not so good situation all the way around, for Mazda and its customers.

audia8q

lets not get hysterical before the ALL the facts are in concerning this possible issue. The internet has a way of blowing things WAY WAY off the track.....I had our techs check the 30 or so MZ6's in stock and nothing. Also, nothing reported from any of the MZ6's we have already sold.....I can confirm no rust here.

newcar31

Have you seen the pictures on the other Mazda6 threads? Have you seen the polls?

I understand the internet has a was of blowing things out of proportion, but there are quite a few pictures to back this up. Go take a look if you're skeptical. I was at first, until I saw it on MY car.

audia8q

regretfully I put zero value in any polls....since they all are a joke.....
but like I mentioned....we looked at over 30+ cars in our lot and nothing even close to rust.
 Don't get me wrong, I'm not syaing its not possible but more stories have been invented and promoted on the internet than the national enquirer. Something like this I want to see first hand, and we have sold a huge number of MZ6's...they are our best selling mazda....and not one person has even mentioned the concern to our two mazda stores.

Hopefully this isnt an issue and if it is I am sure mazda will step up to the plate and make the owners happy. I have seen mazda do things to satisfy customers that would put alot of high line mfg to shame..

I will be speaking to mazda today and I will ask some questions....any info I get will be passed along.

midwesttrader

Thanks. I think there are quite a few of us that need major reassurance right now that we aren't making a huge mistake.

newcar31

Please do pass along any info you get.

You can make up stories, but you can't make up pictures. Even if these pictures were doctored (why would they be?), it doesn't change the fact that my car is rusting. MY car.

If anyone in here knows me, they know that I am a Mazda fanatic and wouldn't want to taint Mazda's image. I am a 3 time Mazda owner. Now this....

rkf1976

After reading some of the "rust riot" posts, I checked my doors last night. Low and behold I saw what everyone has been talking about, (or so I thought). After taking a closer look, turned out it was just residual dirt and dust that had gotten trapped under the weather stripping after rain and car washes I guess.
No Rust! (my 6 is Black and assembled in Flatrock, MI - not sure when though, bought it in July)