Power Steering failure!

W

Wishmaster

Member
:
07 Galaxy Gray AT Mazda5 GT
Hello everyone,

Power Steering just up and failed this weekend. Couldn't find any leaks or anything visually suspicious... not that I even know what to look for, thought maybe I'd find a broken belt or something. PS light is on. It's an '07 auto GT with 115,000 kms.

Anyway it's at the shop now... just waiting to hear what the prognosis is. Just thought I'd run this by the forum in hopes that some of you more experienced members may have some advice / expected costs / questions to ask - when I hear back.

Thanks!
 
Ok update from the dealership.... All in, including taxes.... Wait for it... Just over $1800 ******* dollars!!! What they are saying is... it's the power steering control module that has gone. This module is the brain of the power steering system and is basically a part of the whole power steering assembly and can not be separately replaced... so the whole shebang needs to be replaced.

This just seems crazy to me... I'm going to pick it up tomorrow morning to get a second opinion elsewhere. ****.
 
Last edited:
Holy crap!!!
(omg)
I remember see somewhere that there was a recall or TSB about the power steering. You might want to check to see if you 5 falls under that.
 
Update:

They looked into the TSB (it's the power steering failure TSB 06-002/09). However, not only does my VIN fall outside of the TSB, but it's a different problem altogether. The TSB was for an issue with the coating inside the high pressure lines flaking off and clogging up the screen, which then caused the pump to burn out. My issue is with the specific electronic control module. They are saying, mechanically, everything is in fine working order. Which is why it's so frustrating... a stupid little electronic part that can't be replaced separately fails and you have to replace the whole thing... bad engineering if you ask me.

I do trust my dealership (Open Road Mazda in Port Moody, BC, Canada), they've done good honest and open work for me in the past. And in talking with them about this issue.... knowing how expensive this is to fix, they have gone down numerous routes in hopes of finding any other issue that may be causing this issue... they spent almost a whole day on it. They even tried to push it through the TSB, but were denied do to the VIN. Right now they are searching through the network of local second-hand part suppliers to see if they can find something rebuilt or from a crashed vehicle.

Hopefully they can find an alternative part...
 
Thought as much... as with anything mechanical or electronic, if you know what you're doing and have the time you could probably dig into this a bit more and DIY the issue.

However... for me... wish I could... I'm fairly handy and learn quickly, but with two 20 month olds, me working full time and my wife working part time... and this is the car she uses to commute to work + it's the car we use to move the kids around (they and their seats don't fit in our '92 civic hatch ;-))... Sooo, I'm at the mercy of my mechanic on this one due to time constraints... but,

UPDATE:
The dealership has found a used part! One of the wreckers has a 2008 with 61,000 kms coming in today that they can harvest the part from. The cost of the used part is $550 vs. $1350 for a new part.. saving me $800!! Although with labour and taxes it'll still run me just under a grand... that's much better than the original price of $1870.

So I've given them the go ahead... hopefully this power steering control module lasts longer than 115,000 kms! Well there you go... something else to scare the s*** out of Mazda 5 owners wondering what might happen next!

Just to recap - it's an "07 with 115,000 kms on it. My VIN is outside of the Power Steering TSB (it was a different issue anyway). There was no warning. Drove around, parked in the driveway and everything was working just fine. Two hours later as I was backing out of the driveway, and it just went, no weird noises, just straight to heavy steering and the PS dash light came on. My dealership says that this is not all that common but they do see maybe 3 of these a year across the Mazda range (they are a smaller dealership).
 
Last edited:
Final update:
Work has been done, and everything seems to be working well. And actually, after asking me, they decided to install the power steering TSB kit as well at wholesale cost for the part and no extra labour. The kit basically consists of the new piping to the power steering system... the argument was if we're changing out the PS system probably should also change out the high pressure lines leading to the system and ensure you don't end up with a pre-mature failure with those. Seems they were starting to look a little rusty. I though it was probably a prudent decision was was only around $100.

There was a strange issue though. When I dropped it off, my alignment was just fine and I had a straight on-centre steering wheel. When I picked it up, the steering wheel was cocked to the left?? I brought it right back and told them about it... and we got into a bit of an argument... they said to change out the PS system they don't touch anything that would effect alignment or cause the steering wheel to be off center. The jist of my argument was that I didn't care what they thought they did or didn't touch, the fact was I brought in a car with an on-centre steering wheel and when I picked it up, it was significantly off, and you just finished working on the steering system. To me, it seemed quite obvious and stands to reason that something they did caused this.

Eventually they agreed to check over their work and if that didn't fix the problem, they'd send it out for an alignment. So eventually, it did need to to go out for an alignment... couple things were just out of spec, they put them back and now all is good. What-ever they did, at least I got a free alignment out of the deal.

And so ends the saga of the failed power steering, The End.
 
Last edited:
How does swapping out the steering rack not affect alignment?

At any rate, glad you got it taken care of!
 
I wish I was surprised by this debacle, but I'm not. I have a bad feeling that when I do finally have a problem, I'm going to have a stroke.

I'm glad to hear it's resolved, but man, that is a lot of money for a used fix for something so small. I agree that the engineering is a joke if Mazda enabled this to happen and be so costly. Again, not really surprised.
 
That's why we spent the extra $$$ for the extended warranty. We are still making payments on ours, and the last thing we need is a hit like that. As much as we love ours, it will be sold with about 1 year/50,000km of the transferrable extended warranty remaining. At this stage, I can't see buying a new car without it - at least for the duration of the financing.
 
J.P. said:
That's why we spent the extra $$$ for the extended warranty. We are still making payments on ours, and the last thing we need is a hit like that. As much as we love ours, it will be sold with about 1 year/50,000km of the transferrable extended warranty remaining. At this stage, I can't see buying a new car without it - at least for the duration of the financing.
Click to expand...

Well, these might be two different situations. In general, if you need an extended warranty to afford something, most financial advisors will tell you that you can't afford it. That's because the probability of using the full cost of an extended warranty is very low and in effect you are paying more. The reason my reaction would be of such shock isn't the cost necessarily, it's the cost of something so small for such a stupid reason. If the transmission blows up when it's out of warranty, I'll buy another one. It won't be fun, but I won't be shocked. Half the cost of a new transmission to fix some electrical junk in the steering is a load of sh*t and I will definitely be furious with Mazda. One is just fate and part of life. One can be blamed on Mazda engineering. As an engineer, I see the OP's circumstance as shameful and disgraceful of Mazda. I'll have a stroke being pissed off at Mazda, not out of fear over finances.
 
Not really... Extended warranties are not that expensive, and just like any insurance policy (which is what they are - mechanical insurance), there is no guanantee that you will use it in the time you own the car. Some extended warranties are now paying owners back if they never make a claim before they expire. It added little to our monthly payments (total cost of the $0 deductable warranty was half of the OP's repair - before deciding to go with used parts), and covers roadside assistance & rentals. Given that this is the car to haul my wife and kids, I think its money well spent. I just like to keep the surprises to a minimum while we are making payments on it. It allows me to feed my D.D. WRX, and weekend toy 323 GTX - I use a lot of premium fuel and R-comp rubber at the track on weekends.(lol2)

As far as an engineering blunder... I find it hilarious how engineers throw their degree out there as if something they designed could NEVER make it to market with a potential to fail. It often boils down to things that have nothing to do with the engineering, rather some legal B.S. that decides that certain components MUST be replaced as a unit (and that goes for Mazda and the others). Bottom line - the consumer ends up paying the price. ABS units, automatic climate controls, DBW throttles, ECM, variable valve timing... vehicles are full of expensive bits that can fail, and nickle and dime you to death.
 
J.P. said:
Not really... Extended warranties are not that expensive, and just like any insurance policy (which is what they are - mechanical insurance), there is no guanantee that you will use it in the time you own the car. Some extended warranties are now paying owners back if they never make a claim before they expire. It added little to our monthly payments (total cost of the $0 deductable warranty was half of the OP's repair - before deciding to go with used parts), and covers roadside assistance & rentals. Given that this is the car to haul my wife and kids, I think its money well spent. I just like to keep the surprises to a minimum while we are making payments on it. It allows me to feed my D.D. WRX, and weekend toy 323 GTX - I use a lot of premium fuel and R-comp rubber at the track on weekends.(lol2)

As far as an engineering blunder... I find it hilarious how engineers throw their degree out there as if something they designed could NEVER make it to market with a potential to fail. It often boils down to things that have nothing to do with the engineering, rather some legal B.S. that decides that certain components MUST be replaced as a unit (and that goes for Mazda and the others). Bottom line - the consumer ends up paying the price. ABS units, automatic climate controls, DBW throttles, ECM, variable valve timing... vehicles are full of expensive bits that can fail, and nickle and dime you to death.
Click to expand...

You're not understanding what I'm saying, on either of my points.

Extended warranties are considered wasted money. Period. If you buy junk that requires it, you do enjoy the free parts and labor, but you burn all kinds of money on your time spent dealing with it. Ten hours blown on the issue completely negates a $1,000 repair under warranty for me. If I have to start using my warranty over and over, which is what an extended warranty is for in the long run, then my 5 will get dumped because my time is money. I would suggest if you want to buy new cars that you can't afford to fix when the warranty expires that you sell them before the warranty expires.

As far as engineering goes, you didn't read or comprehend what I was saying, and it's degrees, not degree. I'm not saying the engineers are idiots if the parts fail. I'm saying the engineers are idiots if they integrate so many components that you have a catastrophic failure of multiple systems that add of to a major cost just for a minor part failure. If you work on your own cars, you see this all the time. It started in the early '80s with GM cars and continues today. Not all car companies are as bad as others. It boils down to the supervision of engineering. Someone at Mazda never asked the question about what happens if a small electrical part fails. When the answer came back, "replace the entire damn steering system", the supervisor would have said, "you're crazy, go back to the drawing board and do this right". Maybe the bean counters run Mazda. I don't know. But I can tell you that the engineering department failed on that one. We're Mazda's clients and we deserve better.
 
Last edited:
Yawn...

I think there is only one poster on here that doesn't always read, or comprehend other peoples posts... Put your * ruler away degree(s) boy. I am guessing you figure you are the only one on here with multiple degrees.

Bottom line is my Mazda 5 at that age and milage (6 years/115,000 km) would have been covered 100%. Plus they would have picked the car up, and put my wife in a rental. The warranty would have paid for itself and then some in 1 claim - period. Waste of money - simply your opinion. Don't get your feathers ruffled so easily when someone does not agree with you.

BTW - I don't know how you take me writing "hit", and morph it into rants about living beyond ones means. Buying a Mazda 5 was hardly a new car that I can't afford to fix. I just like to fix the costs of the kid hauler as long as it being financed. We could have bought ours cash outright, but the low financing rate vs. the cash incentive made it the better option. I am making more with my money invested - thanks.

I have owned and driven Mazdas for over 25 years, and am well aware of what they do well, and don't do well. The reality is that a lot of the new technology has flaws that become apparent after the factory warranty term expires. Is it wrong? Sure. Could they do better? Yes. Has Mazdas partnership with other manufacturers over the years hurt quality? Sometimes. Would it stop me from buying another one? No - at least not yet. Do any of your points about how the car "should" have been designed & repaired vs. how the car "was" designed & repaired help the OP or the cost of the repair? No.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@ J.P. (and Robo) you are taking this way too personal and way too off topic -curb yourself. Feel free to continue via PM or email but keep it off the forum.
 
Silentnoise713 said:
@ J.P. (and Robo) you are taking this way too personal and way too off topic -curb yourself. Feel free to continue via PM or email but keep it off the forum.
Click to expand...

Bann me if you feel that way mod. My original post was on topic. And work on your "unbiased moderator" skills... penis is not a curse word. Scan up and you will find one - not posted by me.
 
Last edited:
J.P. said:
Bann me if you feel that way mod. My original post was on topic. And work on your "unbiased moderator" skills... penis is not a curse word. Scan up and you will find one - not posted by me.
Click to expand...
Really?.. For the record, my issue is not the word itself but the context it was used and the sidebar spat you two got going on. Sent you PM.
 
Yep it was very annoying, and I was shocked that Mazda would design a control module that could not be replaced on its own. I also think that it probably could have been. Had I had the time to take it to a regular mechanic vs the dealership, they may have been willing to dig into the system more and actually fix or replace that specific part. I find that dealerships often seem to have some sort of policy (written or not) regarding digging into detailed part work on something like this or engines or transmissions. Often their only solution is to replace the entire system. However, not knowing if that was possible and how long and therefore expensive it may have been to dig into the system... the used part was a perfect compromise.

Regarding the extended warranty debate. I bought the car used, (and talking about wastes of money, don't get me stated on buying a brand new car!). It did have some warranty left, which expired at 100,000 kms. My opinion on the matter is that, for me, there are better options than buying an extended warranty.

Instead, what I do, and what I recommend everyone do, is take that money that you'd spend on the warranty and put it into a short term investment contributed to monthly. You need much less of an investment to attain the same level of protection by the time your normal warranty has ended. I've been buying used cars for years, but also contributing to this fund for years as well. You earn interest on your money and if you don't use it or only use a small portion... It's your money. For me, there was more than enough to cover this repair, I could have paid for a rental, but they gave me a car (which usually happenes when you're spending this much). The amount I spent was basically all interest earned, so rather than giving an insurance company money, then arguing with them over whether or not this is covered or how much is covered, I used free money and was able to make decisions quickly. Anyway, that's my two cents on the matter, thanks for your input guys and I just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else!!
 
Last edited:
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
Turning Steering Wheel Reboots Head Unit
Replies
19
Views
3K
huesmann
H
S
Use Power Steering Fluid or ATF in power steering pump?
Replies
0
Views
1K
ShinoBino
S
H
Heater core overheating, panels are hot!
Replies
11
Views
3K
hleboklop
H

Latest posts

Back