BMW Z4 And Mazda3 Face NHTSA Scrutiny Over Power Steering Failures

We’ve been hearing a lot of stories regarding Toyota’s safety issues recently. Well, not anymore as the 2007-2009 Mazda3 and 2003-2005 BMW Z4 have joined in with the same problem too!

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating the complaints made on the loss of power steering assist for these vehicles. Apparently, steering issues seemed to be the root cause for three Mazda3 crashes and a BMW accident. Although these cases we unrelated, they still occurred due to the loss of steering assist, leading to the increased effort needed in turning the steering wheel.

Mazda uses an electro-hydraulic assist system and if any contaminants got into the pump, it may cause it to interfere with the system, thus reducing the ease of turning the steering. The Z4 on the other hand, uses an electric power steering system that’s been seen to incur problems during high speed and/or temperatures.

Apparently, Mazda had issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) back in 2009 to try and address the issue, but the TSB was sent out to dealers to correct the issue when a car comes in for service, but a full recall was not issued instead.