Control Arm Shears off on a 2023 CX-50 with 2k miles

[Colleen1028]

My 24 year old daughter purchased a brand new 2023 CX 50 from a Dallas dealership. With less than 2000 miles, she had just exited Interstate 35 when she skidded to an abrupt stop as her front passenger side wheel came loose from the vehicle and "folded out on itself". She contacted Mazda roadside assistance as obviously the vehicle could not be moved and needed to be towed. The tow truck driver stated that it was a good thing she was no longer on the highway and driving at highway speeds or she would probably have not been around to have been able to call. Also good that there were no other cars next to her at the time or there may have been serious or fatal injuries.

After 5 weeks of back and forth with the Collision Center and Mazda Corporate and getting no closer to having Mazda repair the vehicle, she opens a claim with her insurance. When the insurance adjuster goes to look at the vehicle in person, they deem this was caused by a manufacturing defect and state that Mazda is responsible. Mazda then proceeds to send my daughter an estimate for the repairs and is looking for her to pay. When she again contacts her insurance adjuster regarding this, the advice is to let insurance pay so she can get her vehicle back, insurance will legally go after Mazda to get their payout reimbursed but unfortunately, she will most likely be out of the deductible that she has to pay.


Overall, Mazda's handling of the control arm issue has been a complete disaster. The company has shown no regard for the safety of its customers,

 

[GTXT23]

My 24 year old daughter purchased a brand new 2023 CX 50 from a Dallas dealership. With less than 2000 miles, she had just exited Interstate 35 when she skidded to an abrupt stop as her front passenger side wheel came loose from the vehicle and "folded out on itself". She contacted Mazda roadside assistance as obviously the vehicle could not be moved and needed to be towed. The tow truck driver stated that it was a good thing she was no longer on the highway and driving at highway speeds or she would probably have not been around to have been able to call. Also good that there were no other cars next to her at the time or there may have been serious or fatal injuries.

After 5 weeks of back and forth with the Collision Center and Mazda Corporate and getting no closer to having Mazda repair the vehicle, she opens a claim with her insurance. When the insurance adjuster goes to look at the vehicle in person, they deem this was caused by a manufacturing defect and state that Mazda is responsible. Mazda then proceeds to send my daughter an estimate for the repairs and is looking for her to pay. When she again contacts her insurance adjuster regarding this, the advice is to let insurance pay so she can get her vehicle back, insurance will legally go after Mazda to get their payout reimbursed but unfortunately, she will most likely be out of the deductible that she has to pay.


Overall, Mazda's handling of the control arm issue has been a complete disaster. The company has shown no regard for the safety of its customers,

Its good that there were no injuries- but a tow truck drivers guess on what might have happened is random hersay - and not a professional opinion.
We have on rare occasion had other people suddenly join the forum to post an issue with their car and have not participated in any prior dialogues, making claims of mechanical issues with little or no history or incomplete data , again with zero prior participation here -

It begs the question why now ?
The issue I personally have with these types of posts , is that there is never enough information for anyone to make a definitive clear assessment of precisely what occurred ,who is responsible and a history of ownership experiences leading up to the mechanical failure. - We are Mazda enthusiasts who have owned Mazda's for decades and do enjoy the ownership experience. We are likely harder on Mazda than anyone else because many of us do our own maintainence and repair work . Yet we are scientific and fair backing up everything with facts. If not , were called on it by others.
That said , When a random post appears from someone who is not the owner speaking in hearsay for someone else who is , that had a specific experience , that again calls it's motive and legitimacy into question.

I believe that many things could have happened which are not mentioned, and in reality ,the conclusion made by the insurance adjustor was not accompanied by a detailed description of what exactly this person says occured and why it is a manufacturers defect ?
Questions I have are : What was the mileage on the vehicle when purchased ? Who drove it at the dealer prior to delivery ? Was it damaged at the dealer before delivery or is that possible ? Who else has driven the vehicle since your " daughter " took ownership ? Did the car get driven by any friends of your " daughters"..boyfriend , other ?
Was there ever anything that was damaged in a prior event that you may or may not be aware of ? Was the vehicle ever valet parked ? Was the vehicle ever bottomed out ? Was anything hit on the road ? Have the wheels ever had any alterations or been removed..that you are aware of ? Where the lug nuts properly torqued down , if so to what ft-lb ? Did you ever have a flat tire ? Has the vehicle ever hit a curb or impediment which could have damaged the K-member, rim, tie-rod(s) hub -bearing or suspension ?
Was the vehicle ever modified in any way that you are aware of ? Was any service ever done on this vehicle anywhere by anyone at anytime for any reason ? Where there any dash lights on indicating anything that might need attention , check engine , tpms , etc ? Was the tire properly inflated prior to the incident , if so what was the psi ?
You said you werent the owner , so is it possible you dont know everything that car has been thru in 2000 miles ? Is it possible your daughter loaned , or allowed someone else to drive that vehicle without her onboard at ANY time prior to the incident ?
If so , who and why ?
What was the exact mileage at the time of the incident ?

The only " evidence " is that the insurance adjustor said it was a manufacturers defect. What is the defect ? , .. Insurance companies regularly deny claims to see if will stick.
But claiming Mazda "has no regard for the safety of it's customers " is an unfounded conclusion which is slanderous.

There are a plethora of unanswered questions - but this is not a court of law , its an enthusiast forum...and certainly not yelp !
There are just to many unknows to attempt to try it as a case online particularly with something this rare and severe.
Its my hope you get it resolved, but please don't just appear here and bash Mazda with zero history and insufficient data. In my opinion its impossible to determine who's culpable here and don't want to either . If there is a defect in manufacturing , and documented evidence that demonstrates responsibility , I guarantee that everyone here would like to know and would appreciate seeing it. If there is a court ruling or admission of responsibility , that would be of interest as well. If theres a recall or TSB that would also be good information that can help others. But this story leaves me with more questions than answers.

 

[stickerbush]

I wonder what is the light brown goo near the end of the axle?

 

[edmaz]

...
Overall, Mazda's handling of the control arm issue has been a complete disaster. The company has shown no regard for the safety of its customers,

No question that this is a disturbing incident. However, you omitted the most important part of the story, which is the reason that Mazda gave for denying warranty coverage. It would be totally incomprehensible to me that they would deny coverage with no reason for the denial. Even if they didn't provide you with the reason, they certainly must have discussed it with the insurance company.

So you can give your rant credibility, by posting that key piece of information, especially if it's available from Mazda in print.

 

[stickerbush]

I wonder why Collision Center was involved, was there a collision? Body shops don't typically get involved in engine or drivetrain issues unless the issue is the result of a collision of some sort.

 

[Colleen1028]

Its good that there were no injuries- but a tow truck drivers guess on what might have happened is random hersay - and not a professional opinion.
We have on rare occasion had other people suddenly join the forum to post an issue with their car and have not participated in any prior dialogues, making claims of mechanical issues with little or no history or incomplete data , again with zero prior participation here -

It begs the question why now ?
The issue I personally have with these types of posts , is that there is never enough information for anyone to make a definitive clear assessment of precisely what occurred ,who is responsible and a history of ownership experiences leading up to the mechanical failure. - We are Mazda enthusiasts who have owned Mazda's for decades and do enjoy the ownership experience. We are likely harder on Mazda than anyone else because many of us do our own maintainence and repair work . Yet we are scientific and fair backing up everything with facts. If not , were called on it by others.
That said , When a random post appears from someone who is not the owner speaking in hearsay for someone else who is , that had a specific experience , that again calls it's motive and legitimacy into question.
I have seen no prior ownership experience posts by you or your daughter.
It appears you just created an account recently to post this occurance and bash Mazda.

I believe that many things could have happened which are not mentioned, and in reality ,the conclusion made by the insurance adjustor was not accompanied by a detailed description of what exactly this person says occured and why it is a manufacturers defect ?
Questions I have are : What was the mileage on the vehicle when purchased ? Who drove it at the dealer prior to delivery ? Was it damaged at the dealer before delivery or is that possible ? Who else has driven the vehicle since your " daughter " took ownership ? Did the car get driven by any friends of your " daughters"..boyfriend , other ?
Was there ever anything that was damaged in a prior event that you may or may not be aware of ? Was the vehicle ever valet parked ? Was the vehicle ever bottomed out ? Was anything hit on the road ? Have the wheels ever had any alterations or been removed..that you are aware of ? Where the lug nuts properly torqued down , if so to what ft-lb ? Did you ever have a flat tire ? Has the vehicle ever hit a curb or impediment which could have damaged the K-member, rim, tie-rod(s) hub -bearing or suspension ?
Was the vehicle ever modified in any way that you are aware of ? Was any service ever done on this vehicle anywhere by anyone at anytime for any reason ? Where there any dash lights on indicating anything that might need attention , check engine , tpms , etc ? Was the tire properly inflated prior to the incident , if so what was the psi ?
You said you werent the owner , so is it possible you dont know everything that car has been thru in 2000 miles ? Is it possible your daughter loaned , or allowed someone else to drive that vehicle without her onboard at ANY time prior to the incident ?
If so , who and why ?
What was the exact mileage at the time of the incident ?

The only " evidence " is that the insurance adjustor said it was a manufacturers defect. What is the defect ? , .. Insurance companies regularly deny claims to see if will stick.
But claiming Mazda "has no regard for the safety of it's customers " is an unfounded conclusion which is slanderous.

There are a plethora of unanswered questions - but this is not a court of law , its an enthusiast forum...and certainly not yelp !
There are just to many unknows to attempt to try it as a case online particularly with something this rare and severe.
Its my hope you get it resolved, but please don't just appear here and bash Mazda with zero history and insufficient data. In my opinion its impossible to determine who's culpable here and don't want to either . If there is a defect in manufacturing , and documented evidence that demonstrates responsibility , I guarantee that everyone here would like to know and would appreciate seeing it. If there is a court ruling or admission of responsibility , that would be of interest as well. If theres a recall or TSB that would also be good information that can help others. But this story leaves me with more questions than answers.

First, thank you for your message.

The car had 11 miles when delivered. Obviously, we have no way of knowing who did what, if anything, prior to delivery. We also have no way of knowing what, if anything, happened at the factory, transport to dealer, while at the dealers lot(s), prep at dealer or if anyone else drove the car prior to purchase by my daughter and delivery. There are many unknowns and questions with no answers that cannot be scientifically proven, after the incident. This would be true for all warranty issues, even ones that are clearly manufacturer defects, vehicle prep oversights or torque tolerances that are set incorrectly. Onboard computers resolve a number of questions but not all. The fact is no one knows. Millions of drivers, millions of vehicles who put their trust in the manufacturer that the product will perform as advertised and, if it does not, will be fixed by the company at limited or no expense to the customer. I will point out that there was no damage to tire, wheel or undercarriage prior to the incident and, no damage to the undercarriage, upon inspection, after the incident. This was confirmed by the adjuster. There was nothing in the roadway as confirmed by the pictures. We do know this. Ball joints do not fail at 2000 miles. Control arms do not disintegrate at 2000 miles. The force required to prove either of the last statements true would be exceptional which is why the components are manufactured to withstand extreme amount of force. However, to have either happen is obviously possible within the warranty period that should be remediated by the dealership. To be summarily dismissed is unacceptable and the dealership, as an extension of Mazda corporate, should diligently work to find the cause and correct the issue, which they have not.

The information provided by the dealership changes daily. Yesterday, the dealer requested authorization to have a Mazda "expert" assess at the vehicle to determine a cause - we were told this had already been competed multiple times and the "expert" came to the conclusion that driver error was to blame. How can Mazda come to that conclusion without data?

Today, we are at an impasse. Our only recourse is to tell our story of how a 2023, $45,000 Mazda product with 2000 miles and no known damage to the control arm suddenly disentregrates - thankfully at a speed where no one was injured. The dealer claims absolution. Insurance claims absolution. By extension, via the dealership, Mazda claims absolution. If there are other avenues that we can follow please provide. Thank you for any assistence.

 

[Colleen1028]

I wonder why Collision Center was involved, was there a collision? Body shops don't typically get involved in engine or drivetrain issues unless the issue is the result of a collision of some sort.

The Service department at the dealership stated that they would be unable to deal with this problem with the control arm and directed the vehicle to be transported to the Mazda Collision facility that was nearby. There is no body damage.....only the rim/tire due to the control arm giving way and the wheel falling off the vehicle

 

[yrwei52]

My 24 year old daughter purchased a brand new 2023 CX 50 from a Dallas dealership. With less than 2000 miles, she had just exited Interstate 35 when she skidded to an abrupt stop as her front passenger side wheel came loose from the vehicle and "folded out on itself". She contacted Mazda roadside assistance as obviously the vehicle could not be moved and needed to be towed. The tow truck driver stated that it was a good thing she was no longer on the highway and driving at highway speeds or she would probably have not been around to have been able to call. Also good that there were no other cars next to her at the time or there may have been serious or fatal injuries.

After 5 weeks of back and forth with the Collision Center and Mazda Corporate and getting no closer to having Mazda repair the vehicle, she opens a claim with her insurance. When the insurance adjuster goes to look at the vehicle in person, they deem this was caused by a manufacturing defect and state that Mazda is responsible. Mazda then proceeds to send my daughter an estimate for the repairs and is looking for her to pay. When she again contacts her insurance adjuster regarding this, the advice is to let insurance pay so she can get her vehicle back, insurance will legally go after Mazda to get their payout reimbursed but unfortunately, she will most likely be out of the deductible that she has to pay.


Overall, Mazda's handling of the control arm issue has been a complete disaster. The company has shown no regard for the safety of its customers,

Wow, sorry to see that and glad nobody got hurt. This picture is rare and usually happened on a very old vehicle with broken ball joint on lower control arm!

I wonder why didn’t the damaged CX-50 get towed to a Mazds dealer at the first place for warranty repair?

 

[Colleen1028]

No question that this is a disturbing incident. However, you omitted the most important part of the story, which is the reason that Mazda gave for denying warranty coverage. It would be totally incomprehensible to me that they would deny coverage with no reason for the denial. Even if they didn't provide you with the reason, they certainly must have discussed it with the insurance company.

So you can give your rant credibility, by posting that key piece of information, especially if it's available from Mazda in print.

The reason that they gave for denying warranty is that this could not have just happened and that she had to have hit something to have caused it. The question was posed to the Dept. Manager as to what could have she hit that would cause this to occur with no undercarriage or other body damage. She would have had to have hit something with such force to cause this that there would have been additional damages. Mazda was unable to come up with an answer other than this was caused by her and therefore would not qualify under their warranty. The insurance adjuster stated that there are tell tale signs that they look for during their inspection that will show if something had been hit and there is no evidence to show that there was. She has been told by the Department Manager that they too, feel it should be covered under warranty and even tried to put in a warranty ticket for her but their "higher up" would not approve it. There is much more to all this than can be put in a post......this is not a bashing of Maxda but it makes us question why Mazda does not want to warranty this.....my own opinion is that perhaps they see this as a recall and a can of worms they don't want to open......again, my opinion only....bottom line is she spent good money on brand new vehicle that left her stranded on the road after putting only 2000k on it and for "whatever" reason she has been given the run around from the facility that they'll fix under warranty, then they won't, then they will and then again they won't.....which is where she is now. Now going on 6 weeks later, she is no where closer to getting her vehicle back than when it was towed in. You can believe this or not but this is actually the story and what she's been living.....I would agree, if I were reading, I would be skeptical but knowing the absurdity of how this keeps unfolding baffles me all the more.

 

[yrwei52]

The Service department at the dealership stated that they would be unable to deal with this problem with the control arm and directed the vehicle to be transported to the Mazda Collision facility that was nearby. There is no body damage.....only the rim/tire due to the control arm giving way and the wheel falling off the vehicle

Since you are in Dallas area I wish your daughter’s CX-50 was towed to Town North Mazda at Richardson, one of the best car dealers I’ve been dealing with, but apparently it wasn’t. Any car dealer should have no problems to replace the damaged lower control arm and drive shaft assuming there’s no further damage inside of front differential in transaxle. Would you mind to tell us which Mazda dealer you and your daughter has been dealing with? I blame the whole issue on an incompetent Mazda dealer as they can easily to replace damaged suspension components under warranty on a vehicle with only 2,000 miles.

Mazda North American Operations usually have to to rely on their dealers checking and assessing the problems and damages, let the dealer make the repair under warranty. Has your Mazda dealer said anything about their opinion?

 

[yrwei52]

The reason that they gave for denying warranty is that this could not have just happened and that she had to have hit something to have caused it. The question was posed to the Dept. Manager as to what could have she hit that would cause this to occur with no undercarriage or other body damage. She would have had to have hit something with such force to cause this that there would have been additional damages. Mazda was unable to come up with an answer other than this was caused by her and therefore would not qualify under their warranty. The insurance adjuster stated that there are tell tale signs that they look for during their inspection that will show if something had been hit and there is no evidence to show that there was. She has been told by the Department Manager that they too, feel it should be covered under warranty and even tried to put in a warranty ticket for her but their "higher up" would not approve it. There is much more to all this than can be put in a post......this is not a bashing of Maxda but it makes us question why Mazda does not want to warranty this.....my own opinion is that perhaps they see this as a recall and a can of worms they don't want to open......again, my opinion only....bottom line is she spent good money on brand new vehicle that left her stranded on the road after putting only 2000k on it and for "whatever" reason she has been given the run around from the facility that they'll fix under warranty, then they won't, then they will and then again they won't.....which is where she is now. Now going on 6 weeks later, she is no where closer to getting her vehicle back than when it was towed in. You can believe this or not but this is actually the story and what she's been living.....I would agree, if I were reading, I would be skeptical but knowing the absurdity of how this keeps unfolding baffles me all the more.

I can feel you that either your Mazda dealer or MNAO is trying the best pushing away their responsibility of a broken ball joint on lower control arm. It’s too bad the CX-50 got towed to a bad Mazda dealer, and I simply don’t trust whatever the “Department Manager” said to you or your daughter. Go talk to General Manager or the owner of the dealership and see if they can help. Contact MNAO directly and escalate the case to higher management. If you know some lawyer he / she can represent your daughter to write a nice letter to the dealership and MNAO that would be the best.

Further, your daughter should report this incident at the NHTSA website as this’s a life-threatening safety concern. Report this incident to BBB should be helpful too.

Not sure what the deductible is on your daughter’s insurance. No matter as her insurance premium will go much higher if she uses the insurance to fix the car. I’d keep fighting this issue with MNAO, as I agree with you that there’s no way your daughter would hit something to break the ball joint of the lower control arm, without damaging anything else! Heck even the alloy wheel didn’t get bent a little!

 

[edmaz]

I can feel you that either your Mazda dealer or MNAO is trying the best pushing away their responsibility of a broken ball joint on lower control arm. It’s too bad the CX-50 got towed to a bad Mazda dealer, and I simply don’t trust whatever the “Department Manager” said to you or your daughter. Go talk to General Manager or the owner of the dealership and see if they can help. ....

You didn't interpret this correctly: "She has been told by the Department Manager that they too, feel it should be covered under warranty and even tried to put in a warranty ticket for her but their "higher up" would not approve it. There is much more to all this than can be put in a post...."

It's the upper management of the dealership who won't send in a warranty claim for the OP. And IMO that could be a result of someone at Corporate explaining whatever evidence might have been discovered which proved their driver error claim. And the statement: "There is much more to all this than can be put in a post" certainly kicks open all kinds of other doors. I believe it's a mistake to automatically take the OP's side on this, without knowing anything about what Mazda discovered when examining the damage.

 

[yrwei52]

You didn't interpret this correctly: "She has been told by the Department Manager that they too, feel it should be covered under warranty and even tried to put in a warranty ticket for her but their "higher up" would not approve it. There is much more to all this than can be put in a post...."

It's the upper management of the dealership who won't send in a warranty claim for the OP. And IMO that could be a result of someone at Corporate explaining whatever evidence might have been discovered which proved their driver error claim. And the statement: "There is much more to all this than can be put in a post" certainly kicks open all kinds of other doors. I believe it's a mistake to automatically take the OP's side on this, without knowing anything about what Mazda discovered when examining the damage.

My point is there’s no way a driver can do something or hit something to cause the catastrophic failure on the ball joint of the lower control arm without any other damages. Based on the pictures and my experience this’s obvious that the failure wasn’t caused by driver error but a defect of the ball joint. You’re a very knowledgeable person with plenty of mechanical experience, please tell me what is the scenario a driver can do to cause such incident? I know I couldn’t even if I try to do it on purpose.

As for what the “Department Manager” said, I said before I simply don’t believe it. The dealership simply doesn’t want to do any thing for her and came up an excuse passing the blame to the “higher up”.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I would be reporting to NHTSA

Probably wouldn’t hurt to let Mazda corporate know as well

Report a Safety Problem | NHTSA

File a complaint with NHTSA if you experienced a vehicle, tire, car seat or equipment safety problem that could be a safety defect.

www.nhtsa.gov

 

[edmaz]

... please tell me what is the scenario a driver can do to cause such incident? ...

I certainly cannot explain anything about this and wouldn't try to. But you need to keep in mind that this is strictly the OP's version of the story. We don't know if everything happened exactly the way it was posted here, and with no additional events omitted (such as; "There is much more to all this than can be put in a post"). And we know absolutely nothing about Mazda's side - only the OP's version of it.

In order to be objective, I'm attempting to look at this from Mazda's perspective and figure out how this story plays out that way. So let's assume for a moment that an expert from Mazda looked at the damage and found nothing to indicate there was any operator error, or some other undisclosed information. If that was the case, then why in the world would they deny warranty coverage on a virtually brand new vehicle, when they're fully aware that it would result in a firestorm. If they had no evidence of this being caused by any non-mechanical cause, then wouldn't they just VERY quickly do a warranty repair, and attempt to keep the whole thing as quite as possible?

That's where I'm coming from on this. Mazda has no history of unjustly denying warranty claims that I'm aware of, and I just can't imagine them doing that on such a high-profile, safety-related incident, as this one certainly is. I just cannot believe Mazda would deny the claim and say 'this must have been operator error', without having any evidence of that taking place. Sorry, but this story as related by the OP doesn't seem logical and is just not adding up for me. I've had my say on this, and as always, anyone else is free to disagree.

 

[ruthrj]

I’d report this to NHTSA, very unsettling to see this. I’m glad she’s ok!

 

[ruthrj]

As I said - Im very happy there was no injury / everthing else can be repaired / replaced - but the context and lack of factual data are what have me preplexed.
Its a new member whos submitting one post on a new account because theyre mad at Mazda or a Mazda dealer .... ?
yes which one as yrwei52 said ?
There is zero evidence , just a story , and the hersay from an unnamed unsurance adjustor.
As I also said .. i think everyone here wants solid credable data from a reputable source in order to make a determination on what actually occured ....and possibly more importantly when ?
I reserve judgment until theres much more data . Mazda qc on the production line has layer after layer of redundancy , ive seen it -so often things happen in shippment or at the dealer . Theres to many " what ifs "
I just dont think its fair to brand Mazda in a post as somehow not caring about owners safety ...

I don’t think there’s much else to say. A component failed, the wheel buckled in, and the car slid to a stop. An insurance claim was filed and the insurance company feels they have enough to pursue damages against the manufacturer.

Components aren’t as heavily scruntizned as you may think. If you get a lot of 100 or 1000 components there isn’t time to look at each and every one. You could inspect the first article, subject future lots to sampling inspection per AQL limits, and perform another FAI after a process or supplier changes. This could be the one in a million failure nobody wants to happen (casting defect not visible? Under paint? Microscopic defect?) but flew under the radar. Like you said too, who knows what happened after a vehicle left the factory.

With some Mazdas experiencing cylinder heads cracking and wheels buckling in (not the first report here, but certainly the lowest mileage), no manufacturer is perfect.

 

[GTXT23]

First, thank you for your message.

The car had 11 miles when delivered. Obviously, we have no way of knowing who did what, if anything, prior to delivery. We also have no way of knowing what, if anything, happened at the factory, transport to dealer, while at the dealers lot(s), prep at dealer or if anyone else drove the car prior to purchase by my daughter and delivery. There are many unknowns and questions with no answers that cannot be scientifically proven, after the incident. This would be true for all warranty issues, even ones that are clearly manufacturer defects, vehicle prep oversights or torque tolerances that are set incorrectly. Onboard computers resolve a number of questions but not all. The fact is no one knows. Millions of drivers, millions of vehicles who put their trust in the manufacturer that the product will perform as advertised and, if it does not, will be fixed by the company at limited or no expense to the customer. I will point out that there was no damage to tire, wheel or undercarriage prior to the incident and, no damage to the undercarriage, upon inspection, after the incident. This was confirmed by the adjuster. There was nothing in the roadway as confirmed by the pictures. We do know this. Ball joints do not fail at 2000 miles. Control arms do not disintegrate at 2000 miles. The force required to prove either of the last statements true would be exceptional which is why the components are manufactured to withstand extreme amount of force. However, to have either happen is obviously possible within the warranty period that should be remediated by the dealership. To be summarily dismissed is unacceptable and the dealership, as an extension of Mazda corporate, should diligently work to find the cause and correct the issue, which they have not.

The information provided by the dealership changes daily. Yesterday, the dealer requested authorization to have a Mazda "expert" assess at the vehicle to determine a cause - we were told this had already been competed multiple times and the "expert" came to the conclusion that driver error was to blame. How can Mazda come to that conclusion without data?

Today, we are at an impasse. Our only recourse is to tell our story of how a 2023, $45,000 Mazda product with 2000 miles and no known damage to the control arm suddenly disentregrates - thankfully at a speed where no one was injured. The dealer claims absolution. Insurance claims absolution. By extension, via the dealership, Mazda claims absolution. If there are other avenues that we can follow please provide. Thank you for any assistence.

The reason that they gave for denying warranty is that this could not have just happened and that she had to have hit something to have caused it. The question was posed to the Dept. Manager as to what could have she hit that would cause this to occur with no undercarriage or other body damage. She would have had to have hit something with such force to cause this that there would have been additional damages. Mazda was unable to come up with an answer other than this was caused by her and therefore would not qualify under their warranty. The insurance adjuster stated that there are tell tale signs that they look for during their inspection that will show if something had been hit and there is no evidence to show that there was. She has been told by the Department Manager that they too, feel it should be covered under warranty and even tried to put in a warranty ticket for her but their "higher up" would not approve it. There is much more to all this than can be put in a post......this is not a bashing of Maxda but it makes us question why Mazda does not want to warranty this.....my own opinion is that perhaps they see this as a recall and a can of worms they don't want to open......again, my opinion only....bottom line is she spent good money on brand new vehicle that left her stranded on the road after putting only 2000k on it and for "whatever" reason she has been given the run around from the facility that they'll fix under warranty, then they won't, then they will and then again they won't.....which is where she is now. Now going on 6 weeks later, she is no where closer to getting her vehicle back than when it was towed in. You can believe this or not but this is actually the story and what she's been living.....I would agree, if I were reading, I would be skeptical but knowing the absurdity of how this keeps unfolding baffles me all the more.

It easy to understand a fathers frustration over a situation such as this. Its an example of passing the buck meets life is not fair. Yikes - I was just put off by the final statement in your OP in which you condemn Mazda for not caring about the safety of its customers, and that you are not someone who has ever participated in this forum and come out guns blazing against Mazda...whoa , take a deep breath ... I think emotions are running high and unfortunately you may need to become a lawyer ,investigator and engineer all in one to get this solved. I can say from decades of experience Mazda ( corporation ) is historically very good about even borderline warranty issues. I have had things covered long after warranty --another story another day -- Be happy there are very knowledgeable people here who really are serious about their Mazdas and love the cars -- Yrwei52 who has responded has some real depth of knowledge and I think we may all be able to help on some level if you get the facts out there .I do hope its resolved quickly and you grow to love Mazdas in spite of what may possibly be some bad actors at a particular dealership -- Believe me I have had some bad experiences too-- There are good dealers too. Best-

 

[madar]

I worked at a dealership decades ago and one day a brand new truck from the factory came off the car carrier by accident from the top level. After many weeks in the body shop it was sold for new. Had extensive front end damage. Sometimes things happen at a dealer before the fact, maybe the dealer had an incident that would prove their fault, just speculating.

 

[GTXT23]

I worked at a dealership decades ago and one day a brand new truck from the factory came off the car carrier by accident from the top level. After many weeks in the body shop it was sold for new. Had extensive front end damage. Sometimes things happen at a dealer before the fact, maybe the dealer had an incident that would prove their fault, just speculating.

You aint whistling dixie ! -worked at multiple dealers in sales ( not just Mazda ) and its was commonplace for shipping / lot damage to be repaired w/o an work order and sold as new - Its to bad it happens, which is why when i buy a new car it must not have been PDI'd ( pre delivery inspection ) - thus not driven by salespeople and still has all shipping plastic / paint tape in / on it- usually 2-4 miles on ODO max ! - Im sad to say this , but a person can destroy a new car in one mile by being abusive and irresponsible - the stories I could tell - yowee - anyhow - Cavaet Emptor ( buyer beware ) if inspelled it right ?