MS3 Loose Stabilizer Bar Nut - Clunks from the rear

[whitey4311]

Check my thread I made. Both my rear right came loose at first 1k miles then my front right came loose this week at 20k miles. Fuckers tried to say I did something to it or I drive it too hard, lol. I asked him just how hard I would have to drive to back nuts off the car. Damn idiots!

 

[invertedcharlie]

stabilizer bar nut

Just checked my car, everything is tight, nothing loose, no noise.. 34000 highway miles and still kicking, just bought new set of tires Advance Sport..Yokohama. Potenza too expensive...

 

[k2white]

clunking noise

I too have had this clunking from day one and have had 3 dealers look at it and tell me there is nothing wrong, its on the right rear of the vehicle. The bolt is tight as I can tell. Sorry to hear others have problems too but glad at the same time that its not all in my head!

 

[whitey4311]

Be sure to also put something in the hatch or lift the hatch floor cover and put a towel over the styro foam that holds the jack handle. If not it will jump around and make a similar sound.

 

[stevekt]

I heard the clunk a few days ago. Luckily I already had an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation. The service person seemed to be familiar with the problem as she pretty much finished my sentence for me when I described it.

 

[gamedev]

I have not seen anyone on this thread identified as owning a 2008 MS3 with this problem. If you own a 2008 and have experienced this problem, please speak up, it would be interesting to know if it was confined to 2007 models so we could start looking for any differences. If it happens to my 2008, I will put a jam nut on those exposed threads. They should be protected anyway!
-enganear

'08 MS3 (not 08.5), 4k miles

Just looked. Left ARB nut is missing, right is loose. Damn...

 

[RajputSmurf]

2008 5k miles. Started hearing it a few weeks ago and then read Road &Track Long Term Test MS3 had the issue and had it checked today at 5k service. They just said they tightened both but didn't say how far gone they were. Sounds like a regular and recurring issue. Have to keep an eye/ear on it.

 

[black_ninja23]

Good thing I found this thread!

WTF?!?!

Good thing I found this thread because I've been hearing this "clunk" noise for the past 5000 miles! But only over bumps, I brought it up to the dealership at about 7000 miles, but they said they could find anything. Well lo and behold look at what i got now! After reading this thread I had a better understanding of what to look for and how to explain it to the dealership. So I decide to go outside and take a look under......

So it's freakin 4th of july and I have to wait til tomorrow to get this thing fixed! They better not give me sh!t, actually I should give them sh!t for not picking this up when I first started complaining about it!

 

[Munnugles]

WTF?!?!

Good thing I found this thread because I've been hearing this "clunk" noise for the past 5000 miles! But only over bumps, I brought it up to the dealership at about 7000 miles, but they said they could find anything. Well lo and behold look at what i got now! After reading this thread I had a better understanding of what to look for and how to explain it to the dealership. So I decide to go outside and take a look under......

So it's freakin 4th of july and I have to wait til tomorrow to get this thing fixed! They better not give me sh!t, actually I should give them sh!t for not picking this up when I first started complaining about it!

wow thats totally off... how could the dealer not catch that!!??!! i would say go to another dealer if they cant see that piece was fully off...

i started getting a clunking.. not sure if its from the rear though but it only happens in first and second when i slightly press the gas and let go of it... but im also using cobb rear sway... i got to check to see if maybe something fell off or what not...

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

2008.5 MS3

Build Date 2/08, purchased 4/08, currently 1443 miles with no loose ARB bolts. I'll report my findings in the future, but those things weren't able to be moved whatsoever.

 

[black_ninja23]

brought the car in today. The dealership had to order a new sway bar and the part that the bolt connects to (not sre of the name). But it'll be there til they get the parts for it. So now I'm stuck with a Mazda6. I wonder what kind of effect this will have on my handling.

 

[Satracing]

Loose sway bar nut

I have a '08 MS3 and the left side nut loosened up twice until I put locktight on it. It was only the left side and I have noticed most have been on the left.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

This is really a safety issue and should be at the very least a TSB, if not a recall. I mean if that stabilizer bar breaks loose during a highspeed turn, it could upset the car enough for you to lose control of it and kill yourself. Come on Mazda. I think everyone finding this prob should be reporting this on the NHTSA site and calling Mazda headquarters.

 

[black_ninja23]

I've sent an email to Mazda North America Operations via the Mazda websites. I've left my info with them. I'm hoping for a response from them sometime this week. What is the NHTSA? I definitely think this is a major safety issue that needs to be either a TSB or a recall. Is anyone up for putting something together to get Mazda's attention to this? Others may have this same problem and not even know it...think about the safety of others guys.
I think we should start something official like scanning our service receipts and sending them over to MNAO. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Rotus8]

Actually, I don't think it is a safety issue. Clunks never hurt anyone. If the nut falls off and the link disengages from the ARB, your car will handle funny, mostly understeer. Understeer is the way most cars are set up anyway.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Actually, I don't think it is a safety issue. Clunks never hurt anyone. If the nut falls off and the link disengages from the ARB, your car will handle funny, mostly understeer. Understeer is the way most cars are set up anyway.

That's a bold statement. That's like saying "my steering wheel is loose, but it's okay, it's always felt a little loose".

The point isn't so much a "clunk" inconvenience. It's the fact that that clunk resulted in your car's suspension actually falling apart in a dangerous and destructive manner. Something that's hardly considered "normal". The dash creak poses no imminent threat to our driving safety. A swaybar link falling off poses a threat to the handling characteristics of a performance vehicle. Remember the Ford GT suspension recall??

 

[Rotus8]

That's a bold statement. That's like saying "my steering wheel is loose, but it's okay, it's always felt a little loose".

The point isn't so much a "clunk" inconvenience. It's the fact that that clunk resulted in your car's suspension actually falling apart in a dangerous and destructive manner. Something that's hardly considered "normal". The dash creak poses no imminent threat to our driving safety. A swaybar link falling off poses a threat to the handling characteristics of a performance vehicle. Remember the Ford GT suspension recall??

I didn't say it was normal, and it is nothing like a loose steering wheel. I also think there should be a "voluntary recall". I don't think there will be a NHTSA mandated recall because this not something that will cause a crash.

If you are driving so close to the limit that this will make a difference that will put you in the weeds, you should be aware of what your car feels like without an ARB. You also should be doing it on a race track.

 

[bacarl]

I've heard a bit of a clunk lately, so I was perusing this tread and wanted to add my $0.02...

I didn't say it was normal, and it is nothing like a loose steering wheel. I also think there should be a "voluntary recall". I don't think there will be a NHTSA mandated recall because this not something that will cause a crash.

If you are driving so close to the limit that this will make a difference that will put you in the weeds, you should be aware of what your car feels like without an ARB. You also should be doing it on a race track.

Rotus is right. Mandated recalls are very expensive for manufacturers, so they're avoided like the plague . Only safety-related issues require an actual recall. It's true that "suspension parts are falling off the car" but a sta-bar only enhances handling, it doesn't make or break the car in a corner, or driving down the road.

Is this ford's fault? It seems like something that Ford would have go wrong on it. A Japaneese company would never be so careless, would they?

Just had to quote this from a few pages back. This issue is anything but Ford's fault. I'm sure you have absolutely no idea how Ford runs its manufacturing operations. In reality, every single joint that has a torque specification is automatically verified before a vehicle can leave that particular assembly station. So if this sta-bar joint didn't achieve the proper torque from its electronic nut-runner in-station, it would sound bells and whistles and the sky would fall, until the issue was resolved. I don't know how things are run in Hiroshima where our cars are assembled, but Ford doesn't ship cars with loose fasteners. End of story.

 

[AutoXRacer]

I guess you guys missed my thread... (lol2)
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3883316#post3883316

 

[jawindle]

I have a 2005 Mazda3 with a similar noise. Has anyone had this problem with an '05?