Sway bar end links not covered under warrenty?!

[mzdspd05]

Hey all,
I bought my 2003.5 MSProtege in the summer of 2007, and have since experienced many of the issues that appear to be inherent in the Speeds.

Mazda is willing to cover all my issues under my Mazda Added Protection Plan (extended MAP warrenty), but they have made it very clear that they will not warrenty my front and rear sway bar end links, which I'm told need replacing. They say the end links are part of the ball joints, and therefore are not covered under warrenty. This isn't a correct statement; is it?

As this appears to be a common problem; my question to everyone is, what is your experience with your sway bar end links, and have you been able to have them replaced on warrenty, or were you declined like me? If this was warrantied, where are you located in North America, and how many kms/miles were on your Speed at the time?

I am very disappointed in Mazda Canada for refusing to replace end links on a Speed that only has 35,000kms on it! I am located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

If you could please let me know your experiences, I would be very appreciative.

Thank you.

 

[ilessthan3pink]

End links are absolutely 100% not part of the ball joints. They should cover them.

 

[Stormtrooper77]

Your endlinks need replacing after only 35000Km's!? Hmm, weird. Personally, I haven't had any experience in getting them fixed under warranty. I can tell you that they are a MAJOR pain to replace if you do not have the right tools. Basically you have to grind them off because of the cheap ass hex bolt that Mazda puts on. What happens is that when you try and remove them you will strip them, guaranteed.

There is a member on here (bagman1) who sells OEM Mazda parts at a decent price. I bought mine there and replaced them myself. Saves you a tonne of cash as opposed to getting Mazda to do it.

Also, another Winnipeg member on here (evolv) is I think in the process of developing some endlinks for our cars. I haven't seen him on the forum lately so maybe he's busy.

Hope this helps.

 

[mzdspd05]

Thanks for the prompt replies guys.
Yes, it seems very strange to me that they would need to be replaced at all four corners after only 35,000KMs, and even more strange that their replacement wouldn't be covered under my MAP extended warrenty.

Do any other members have experience with this issue?

Thanks again.

 

[Stormtrooper77]

Actually, you should check to see what the extended warranty covers (btw you should never buy this) because you are actually out of your 3yr/80000km regular warranty.

 

[mzdspd05]

Actually, you should check to see what the extended warranty covers (btw you should never buy this) because you are actually out of your 3yr/80000km regular warranty.

Their website specifies the following:
"SUSPENSION: Upper and lower arms, spindles, stabilizer bars, coil springs, leaf springs, torsion bar springs, toe control hub, wheel hubs bearings and seals."

If anything I would think that the end links fall under stabilizer bars, rather than ball joints, as Mazda Canada indicated.

As for the MAP extended warrenty, that transferred to me from the original owner.

 

[Mook]

they arent expensive, and easy to replace, just do it yourself
I just replaced one of mine today

 

[Stormtrooper77]

Their website specifies the following:
"SUSPENSION: Upper and lower arms, spindles, stabilizer bars, coil springs, leaf springs, torsion bar springs, toe control hub, wheel hubs bearings and seals."

If anything I would think that the end links fall under stabilizer bars, rather than ball joints, as Mazda Canada indicated.

As for the MAP extended warrenty, that transferred to me from the original owner.

Yes, but you no longer have regular warranty which is why you should check to see what is actually covered in the extended. From what I hear from other car companies is that most extended warranties only cover drivetrain and engine.

 

[jville]

Napa auto parts list them for 50.63 (cost 26.89) and calls for .6 of and hr. at my shop rate @65.00hr is 39.00 labor.

 

[mzdspd05]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate it.

I'm going to take a better look at the end links, and determine whether they actually need replacing or not. If they do, I'm thinking that I should get some 'beefier' aftermarket ones, so that I dont keep having to replace the OEM ones that seem prone to failing.

Stormtrooper, my MAP extended warrenty covers what I listed above. I reviewed my MAP contract/agreement the other day.

 

[Stormtrooper77]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate it.

I'm going to take a better look at the end links, and determine whether they actually need replacing or not. If they do, I'm thinking that I should get some 'beefier' aftermarket ones, so that I dont keep having to replace the OEM ones that seem prone to failing.

Stormtrooper, my MAP extended warrenty covers what I listed above. I reviewed my MAP contract/agreement the other day.

If your endlinks are not making any noises while driving and also don't make noise when you physically try and move them, then they should be okay. I really don't recall them being prone to failing but if you do replace them with beefier ones you'll notice that odd noises will start appearing. Search the forum for endlinks and you'll find all that you need.