Power steering failure on Mazda5 (TSB: 06-002/09)

[SGT_OKINAWA]

I started getting a belt whine only 1 week ago - 33,000 miles. Less CCA when attempting to start the car, believed it was the alternator since the whine is low in the body and is loudest below the bumper. Was told poor CCA was dying battery not alt failing to charge batt. & whine is normal. So why is it "normal" after 4 years of silence???

BTW it is REALLY LOUD!

Sounds like it is 'starting to fail' but don't worry YOU'LL know when it goes then take it in. I know it sucks but cars are NOT simple as a TV or DVD player and work 100% all the time and don't wear out, they do wear out, there are millions of cars on the road and not all will be perfect.

That and we can't help diagnose an item over the internet (fight)

peace!(rei)

 

[skyhawk]

I started getting a belt whine only 1 week ago - 33,000 miles. Less CCA when attempting to start the car, believed it was the alternator since the whine is low in the body and is loudest below the bumper. Was told poor CCA was dying battery not alt failing to charge batt. & whine is normal. So why is it "normal" after 4 years of silence???

BTW it is REALLY LOUD!

I suppose one way to troubleshoot it is to find out suspect parts.
They will first want to replace the battery. If problem persists
then it is not the battery. and they will move on to the next suspect parts.

 

[thaxman]

OK, so who else has this "normal" whine from the belt area? Is it from the power steering pump or the alternator?

 

[AO928]

Been a while since I've posted here. I've had the PS go out on me twice. First time it took several minutes fro it to cool down. The second time was resolved with a quick re-start. Both times happened in the neighborhood.

2008 Touring - occured at about 21k miles. Now have 25k. Will see the dealer soon.

 

[annod44]

Anybody ever had this effect any other components of the car? My 2005-3 problems started like a power steering failure, light came on steering was hard while making left turns, freaked out turned car off and on and nothing for a week then warning lights came on again while driving, but interior lights and radio cut out, again pulling over and stopping took care of the problem, another day I went to start and nothing, no interior light, no anti-theft light blinking, then after about 10 minutes it came back to life, everything was fine for over a week then the warning lights and it just died (for about 1/2 hour according to the clock) Friday it had the warning lights come on, pulled over and stopped 4 times in 10km. Went to take it to the service centre today but it was dead. No comming back to life this time. Had it towed to my service centre thinking it was the alternator. They just called to say it is working perfectly.

 

[Zakley]

OK, so who else has this "normal" whine from the belt area? Is it from the power steering pump or the alternator?

I am. I have a 2006 3s and as I was driving across the country last week, I noticed the noise. At times it got REALLY loud as you mentioned. And really the only reason I noticed was because, as you also said, the car is basically silent. Unfortunately, it is intermittent and although it can be heard, when not acting up, it's not anything like when it starts to wail.

I took it to Pep boys and they said it was the power steering but I had to bring it to a dealership. I took it to a dealership in NJ who agreed, but they said it'd take a few days to get the part so I decided to drive a bit further to CT (home) and go to a local dealership. I went the next day and they said the noise was normal. Normal??!! Gah. So I'll be bringing it a different dealership tomorrow and hopefully they help me out or else I'm going to have to drive 90 mins to NJ and get it fixed.

 

[M5Gonz]

Is this a problem with the 04/07 and 08/09?

 

[coolmazda5]

^^ Not sure if I follow, but here are the details of the cars affected (reply 34 of this thread):

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4692826&postcount=34

 

[maz51]

Did anyone have the same problem like I did yesterday??

My ps stering warning light appeared and my stearing won't turn!

My 2008 Madza5 just had this problem several times in a day at 8000 miles. I had to turn off the car and let it cool down for approx. 30 minutes then the power steering light would disappear. I brought it in to the dealer and they refused to replace any part unless the light is on.

 

[newcarguy]

Power Steering TBS is not covered by Powertrain Warranty

Just call Mazda USA and they said that a person buying a used 2008 Madza5
that passed the 36000 is out of luck. Not sure how we can raise awareness of this issue
with all the problems Toyota is having, I am surprise Mazda seemed uncaring a person's(family) plight.
Hopefully, more serious incidents do not occur before they change their minds.

 

[maz51]

Every mazda5 owner that experienced loss of power steering should file a safety complaint to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ or (888) 327-4236. Hopefully that will pressure Mazda to issue a recall on affected vehicles.

 

[thaxman]

OK, so who else has this "normal" whine from the belt area? Is it from the power steering pump or the alternator?

Confirmation that the "belt whine" is a failing PS pump. Going in for warranty work this week before utter & total failure. Funny, have NOT had any overheat failures like others have reported. Is it possible, it begins with a whine that is ignored for too long?

 

[Rockin03mp5]

hmm. mine wines a lot, and is pretty loud when steering at slow speeds.

 

[coolmazda5]

Mine have this "Ford Explorer" steering type whine, the 06 a little bit louder than the 08, especially when standing still and turning. No issues... so far (boom03)

 

[mars local]

Made my 3 an appointment with the dealer for thursday at 8am. The woman from service said they were aware of the issue and actually had a 5 in the shop this morning with the same problem.

Could not tell me the status on parts ordering so I will keep you guys posted on how long they expect it to take. They also said they are not going to keep my car while the parts are on order. Either its not THAT critical of an issue or they just dont care. Either way, if something tragic happens to me and the car before the parts come in, you all have my permission to press charges.

-Dave

 

[Stamperman]

One of the tricks I learned on the Volvo forums (those guys like ot keep their cars for a long time!) was to put a magnet in the PS reservoir. Typicall you hang it with wire from the dipstick built into the cap. I haven't checked the 5 to see if that can be done or not.

If contamination if the culpret in killing these pumps then a magnet to catch the metal chunks may help prolong the pump life or prevent the issue in the first place.

 

[Bob*5]

My Turn

It started yesterday. My wife was talking to some friends and let our 2009 Mazda 5 idle. When she went to leave the steering wheel icon was lit and she did not have any power steering. She drove about a mile to home and then called me to look at it. I checked and indeed the power steering was not working. Since I had just gotten home from work I shut off the car and went inside to change. When I came back out I checked the fluid (Full) and the belt (Looked fine) and then started the car to see what was going on. I didn't see the steering wheel icon so I tried it and the power steering was back. What the....? Thankfully I checked on this forum and found out what was going on. A new pump is on the way. Thanks to all who contribute to these forums, they are great!

Bob

 

[thaxman]

Hey Bob, now that you have gotten your tech help, you are under contractual obligation to stick around and dole out some advice!

Glad we all can help each other like this!

 

[skyhawk]

Thankfully I checked on this forum and found out what was going on. A new pump is on the way. Thanks to all who contribute to these forums, they are great!
Bob

It helps to know how this electric power steering pump operates.

From the technical guide, it appears the faster we turn the
steering wheel, the more current is fed to the motor and
the harder it operates. Speed is also taken into consideration.
So at 0km/hr, the age-proven teaching of avoiding steering while stationary
also applies. i.e. move a little then steer to reduce the stress on the system.

I will be keeping this in mind. i.e. gentle on the steering
wheel while doing parking maneuvers.

==========================
Operation
Power Assist Mechanism Operation
• According to the steering action of the driver, the steering angle sensor detects the steering speed, and then noutputs a steering speed signal to the EHPAS control module. The EHPAS control module uses the steering speed signal, vehicle speed signal, and other vehicle conditions, to determine the proper motor speed.
• Based on the motor speed determined by the EHPAS control module, the current from the motor drive circuit to the EHPAS motor is controlled to within the target current amount and the oil pump operates accordingly.
• The hydraulic pressure created by the oil pump is used to assist the shaft to turn axially. Due to this, the steering operation load on the driver is reduced
=============

 

[straw10]

This just happened to me today in the middle of a traffic jam...PS Fluid was quite low. I filled when I got home and it seemed to fix...will monitor closely as I have 34500 miles on the car right now...