Are Mazda's rusting still a problem?

[88CRX]

Have they fixed the issues of body panels rusting through like they had on the old Protege's and 3's? Or is it still a problem in Calgary and similar climates?

[Maxx Mazda]

The original issue was twofold. Firstly, how they "folded" their panel seams after they were welded together led to numerous areas for moisture to sit and collect, with no way out. Add road salt, and your car has instant cancer. The second issue was their lack of good galvanization on some of their steels which led to rust forming inside of trunk lids, liftgates, etc.

From what I've seen on the Mazda forums I frequent, these issues have been resolved in their new generation of vehicles, so I'm sure you can rest easy were you to purchase one.

[JustinMCS]

With Mazda being known for their rust, I would stay away. Their vehicles in 09 still had issues, like wtf.

[guessboi]

The only Mazda I would consider buying is the new ND.

The rust is a major issue in AB especially if you are considering driving it in winter.

[xnvy]

If it's a 2nd gen Mazda 3 or older, I wouldn't buy it because of rust. A new Mazda will be fine, they sorted out the rustproofing midway through the 2nd gen of 3. The current 3 is a great car and the new MX-5 looks to be a great buy.

[codetrap]

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[xnvy]

You should be good. 2009 is the latest model year of Mazda 3 I've seen with rust. Haven't seen any forum posts with the later years.

[FullFledgedYYC]

Had a 2011 traded in at our dealer and it had rust issues on the trunk lid and rear quarter, 3's are absolute junk for build quality. My girlfriend's 2007 3 is horrid.

[J.M.]

My parents 2008 Mazda 3 is starting to rust on the quarters, passenger front door, roof and some parts around the windshield..

[Mitsu3000gt]

I should hope they fixed it, anything above the base models is grossly overpriced IMHO. You can buy a brand new Infiniti Q50 for almost the same price as a Mazda 3 GT with 2 option packages haha.

They had problems for so long though without fixing it that I would probably be too scared to buy one.

[got_mike33]

This thread popped up on torontomazda3 forum: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?79615-Gen3-Rust-already

Definitely a little concerning as I own a 2014 Mazda 3 (mine is a hatch though). Will be interesting to see what happens with this, I am definitely checking the spot welds I can on my car.

[OTown]

My 2007 was starting to rust on the b pillar, trunk near light, and hood. To be fair hood was due to a rockchip.

Love the mazdas, so much fun to drive. But Im not sure if ill ever buy another one due to these rust issues.

[cyra1ax]

Originally posted by got_mike33
This thread popped up on torontomazda3 forum: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?79615-Gen3-Rust-already

Definitely a little concerning as I own a 2014 Mazda 3 (mine is a hatch though). Will be interesting to see what happens with this, I am definitely checking the spot welds I can on my car.

I was tempted to buy a 2015 Mazda 3, and from my research(which included that thread) the third gens are only rusting if they meet the following criteria:
1) White
2) Sedan
3) GT trim

[revelations]

Originally posted by got_mike33
This thread popped up on torontomazda3 forum: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?79615-Gen3-Rust-already

Definitely a little concerning as I own a 2014 Mazda 3 (mine is a hatch though). Will be interesting to see what happens with this, I am definitely checking the spot welds I can on my car.

Calgary does not use nearly as much salt as Ont and Quebec do.

Mostly potassium chloride and rock.

[OTown]

Originally posted by OTown
My 2007 was starting to rust on the b pillar, trunk near light, and hood. To be fair hood was due to a rockchip.

Love the mazdas, so much fun to drive. But Im not sure if ill ever buy another one due to these rust issues.

Just gotta add to my post... it was ridden hard during ontario winters so that may explain it

[jwslam]

Originally posted by revelations
Calgary does not use nearly as much salt as Ont and Quebec do.

Mostly potassium chloride and rock.
Potassium Chloride by definition is a salt...

[heavyD]

Originally posted by got_mike33
This thread popped up on torontomazda3 forum: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?79615-Gen3-Rust-already

Definitely a little concerning as I own a 2014 Mazda 3 (mine is a hatch though). Will be interesting to see what happens with this, I am definitely checking the spot welds I can on my car.

Run away. Run far, far away. Looking at those pictures those are legitimate rust spots (a few were just surface) in less than a year which means it's likely going to get pretty bad before you are finished paying a standard loan. Looks like Mazda still doesn't have a handle on this as that's just terrible. Calgary is using a lot more salt on roads now which doesn't bode well for these cars.

Kind of a shame because I do like Mazdas. They always drive nice and sporty and the interiors are usually decent but I just can't get past the build quality and rust issues.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by cyra1ax


I was tempted to buy a 2015 Mazda 3, and from my research(which included that thread) the third gens are only rusting if they meet the following criteria:
1) White
2) Sedan
3) GT trim

How do you explain the pictures of the silver car rusting on the 2nd page of that thread? Paint has nothing to do with this and its likely the darker colors are simply hiding the initial stages of the rust better. Maybe the hatch is hiding things better but it appears the metal is crap or there is contamination in the spot weld process prior to painting as the issues are consistently around spot welds. Unless the hatch has different materials and welding process I would imagine it's a matter of time until they start rusting out. This is really bad for a new car. Really bad.

[heavyD]

LOL reading through the thread a lot of these guys are previous owners of Mazdas and they all claim rust issues with their old cars and they continue to buy Mazdas. IMO this is kind of those "fool me twice shame on me" lessons.

[Maxx Mazda]

Then there's me with a 13 year old Mazda without a single rust spot anywhere on the vehicle haha

[codetrap]

.

[BlueHaloGirl]

I'll have to join with Maxx Mazda in saying my 2008 Mazda 3 does not have a spot of rust on her.
I guess I got lucky and I baby it enough that I've avoided the nasty Mazda rust issue.

[OTown]

Originally posted by heavyD
LOL reading through the thread a lot of these guys are previous owners of Mazdas and they all claim rust issues with their old cars and they continue to buy Mazdas. IMO this is kind of those "fool me twice shame on me" lessons.

Its not really that clear cut though. Mazdas are reliable, sporty, fun to drive, have really good quality control and makes it an awesome car for the price. I never had a single thing go wrong on my mazda until i started seeing a bit of rust here and there but all in all i dont regret my decision whatsoever.

[revelations]

Originally posted by Maxx Mazda
Then there's me with a 13 year old Mazda without a single rust spot anywhere on the vehicle haha

Rinse/wash weekly in the winter?

[heavyD]

Originally posted by OTown


Its not really that clear cut though. Mazdas are reliable, sporty, fun to drive, have really good quality control and makes it an awesome car for the price. I never had a single thing go wrong on my mazda until i started seeing a bit of rust here and there but all in all i dont regret my decision whatsoever.

I've owned them in the past and I've always found they are great cars for the first three years of ownership then things start to go bad. IMO Mazdas never age well.

[FullFledgedYYC]

Originally posted by heavyD


I've owned them in the past and I've always found they are great cars for the first three years of ownership then things start to go bad. IMO Mazdas never age well.

100% agree. 3-4 years troubles start showing, by year 6-8 you are doing your 120,000km engine replacement service.

[NoPulp]

My old 04 Mazda3 2.3 hatch had zero rust. But it was orginally from Ontario and I suspect it had been repainted at one point. Was probably on it's 5th set of panels.

Are other mazdas bad for rust? I've only seen protégé and 3s having major issues.

[tch7]

My '06 3 is starting to show some rust on the rear wheel wells, but that's it. In my 9 years of ownership the only non-standard work I've had to do was replace the serpentine belt. Probably the least rusty and most reliable vehicle anybody in my family has ever had (mostly Toyotas, Hondas, and Fords). I treat it well, but don't totally baby it.

[Maxx Mazda]

Originally posted by revelations


Rinse/wash weekly in the winter?

Haha I should have clarified. Car has never seen a snowflake or raindrop for that matter. About 60K on a 15 year old car. It's a garage queen :poosie:

[suntan]

Originally posted by revelations


Calgary does not use nearly as much salt as Ont and Quebec do.

Mostly potassium chloride and rock. Apparently Calgary switched to NaCl a few years ago to save money (KCl is mega expensive). Dunno if it's true or not though - the city roads department is staffed with imbeciles so I've never been able to get a straight answer on this.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by suntan
Apparently Calgary switched to NaCl a few years ago to save money (KCl is mega expensive). Dunno if it's true or not though - the city roads department is staffed with imbeciles so I've never been able to get a straight answer on this.

I did notice more residue last few years during warmer -10 to 0c days.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Xtrema


I did notice more residue last few years during warmer -10 to 0c days.

You can see the residue even in spring/summer when it rains as it looks like dish soap near the curbs.

[Zhao Kan]

Originally posted by Maxx Mazda
The original issue was twofold. Firstly, how they "folded" their panel seams after they were welded together led to numerous areas for moisture to sit and collect, with no way out. Add road salt, and your car has instant cancer. The second issue was their lack of good galvanization on some of their steels which led to rust forming inside of trunk lids, liftgates, etc.

From what I've seen on the Mazda forums I frequent, these issues have been resolved in their new generation of vehicles, so I'm sure you can rest easy were you to purchase one.

Not sure where you guys are getting your information but the new mazda 3's have rust issues as well.

My brother-in-laws 2011 mazda 3 has inner and outer panel separation in the 1/4s that show it’s completely rotting out from the inside out, so they definitely didn't 'fix the problem' with a mid cycle correction on the 2nd gen's.

The new 3rd gens are likely going to be exactly the same, and according to the intertoobs, there are already cases of these things rotting out HARD. There is a thread on how they already have an issue with heavy corrosion starting on the spot welds all over the car, enough that it’s bubbling through the paint on 2015s… so if anything it looks like the new mazda 3’s potentially might be even worse for rust.

It’s like dodge rams: the new gen of ram will rust out exactly like the 3rd gen’s did (and they are), because the 3rd gens rust out exactly like the 2nd gens, which rusted out exactly like the first gens, which rusted out exactly like every dodge truck before that (lower doors, box sides above wheels, fenders by mud flaps, etc). Same thing with Honda civics. Go back over the 8? Generations of civics and you’ll see every one rusted the same in the 1/4s. The new civics are almost guaranteed to rust the same way. Manufacturers have a pretty good track record of not fixing design flaws for rust issues; IMO they might even want the design flaws for rust as a way to get people to retire the vehicle earlier then need be (otherwise it makes no sense why honda hasn't fixed their design flaw in 30 years of knowing about it)

[revelations]

Originally posted by Maxx Mazda


Haha I should have clarified. Car has never seen a snowflake or raindrop for that matter. About 60K on a 15 year old car. It's a garage queen :poosie:

Away with you and your summer car !!! :rofl:

[88CRX]

Is the problem evident in their CX SUV's?

Have no concern over their cars or 3's... which sounds like it has 100% not improved.

[guessboi]

My NC will be 10 years in Feb 2016.
Only 39k on it, haven't see rain or snow for the past 8 years.
Looks and feels brand new - no rust at all. :burnout:

[cancer man]

Worked on 2010 protege rusted rear quarters and trunk lid. Fiat all over.

[Maxx Mazda]

Originally posted by cancer man
Worked on 2010 protege rusted rear quarters and trunk lid. Fiat all over.

Considering they stopped building the Protege in 2003 this seems somewhat unlikely...

[04_dc5]

Originally posted by guessboi
My NC will be 10 years in Feb 2016.
Only 39k on it, haven't see rain or snow for the past 8 years.
Looks and feels brand new - no rust at all. :burnout:

The rust problem on older Miata's was due to the soft top drainage holes being clogged with water/moisture. Besides that I haven't seen any other body panels rusting as bad as the Mazda 3/newer Protege's.

[Kloubek]

Especially rare in the Protégé 5.....

[xnvy]

Originally posted by 04_dc5


The rust problem on older Miata's was due to the soft top drainage holes being clogged with water/moisture. Besides that I haven't seen any other body panels rusting as bad as the Mazda 3/newer Protege's. The Miata doesn't actually rust that bad except for the rear quarters and the rockers, but like you said, you can easily fix that if you're a responsible adult and clean the soft top drainage holes.66666