My 30th Sept 1999 1.8 MK2 SPORT is included in the recall
at least from 24 Nov 1018.I will call into my local dealership
tomorrow to get up to speed with what the recall is about.
Sincere thanks for bringing this service to the attention
of club members.
Kind Regards.
Ian.
My second line above should be 24 Nov 2018.
Have any embers from the Owners Club actually had their Mk4 catch fire?
As I understand it the issue is only relevant to the latest 2.0l model with i-ELOOP and i-start. The capacitor can apparently be over charged due to a software error.
It is worth looking at how both these systems work, well I found it all very clever,
Mike,
Would you mind sending me your VIN number of your NB by Private Message to check on another system.
eddie
Burton - my previous comment was meant as a joke, hence the reference “Before or after a bonnet system activation?”, considering what the replacement costs. E.G. - might be easier to set the car on fire, and claim for the cash, than pay out around £4K for repairs, assuming an individual policy may not cover anyone for that.
However, as Malc points out, it just needs a software download to rectify the glitch. Let’s hope the recall covers the cost of connection to Mazda diagnostics, as dealers usually charge £40 and over for that.
On the active bonnet issue, it seem odd tom me that Mazda did not appear to have resolved the issue of the front bumper being hit by road debris (plenty of that from bits falling off cars) by installing a heat sensor as part of the impact sensors - infra=red maybe? - to sense the object about to hit the bumper is living, not inert. Really should be at a higher level, to activate the bonnet if reading heat, but not at a lower level, as a dog for instance (except a big one) will not benefit from activation of the bonnet. - The car owner suffers the consequences.
Raises another issue - do big dogs (St Bernards for instance) have a habit of running in front of cars? - Seems unlikely to me anyway. In nearly sixty years of driving, I’ve hit two cats, but never a dog. As a family, we did once have a dog chase a cat, and the dog was run over by a double deck bus, entirely our fault - or my fathers - who let the dog off the lead while on a busy road. I was a kid at the time. Not a pleasant sight to see after, it burns a picture in your memory for the rest of your life. Cats? both dead I assume, one was on a back street in Derby, rows of terraced houses and no owner visible. The other was on Nottingham’s ring road, 40 limit. I checked the rear view mirror immediately, but no lifeless body laying behind me. One was in a company car, and the second when I had a van of my own. Cat’s aren’t licensed, but it doesn’t remove the sense of guilt after. I’m not proud of it.
I too was joking Gerry, if you re ember I was referring to -
MAZDA MX5 (15/05/2015 – 13/04/2017) RECALL:
On the subject vehicles the control logic which monitors the charging control program fails to divert the electrical power away from the capacitor when a fault is detected within the capacitor circuit. This can cause a short circuit inside the DC-DC converter and could cause the engine to stall or overheating of the DCDC converter itself which could cause a fire. The fault is accompanied by the “i-ELOOP” warning light being illuminated on the instrument cluster along with the “i-Stop” warning light flashing. The engine may in some circumstances stall and fail to restart. In extreme cases, the DC-DC converter could overheat and cause a fire.
I rang Stoneacre Mazda about the recall flagged up on mine ('98 NB). They can see that there is an impending recall, but have no further information on what it’s actually for. The lady I spoke to yesterday phoned me today to apologise that they had so far drawn a blank on any update.
A recall affecting 1998-05 cars will likely be either Takata airbags (more precisely, airbag inflators, produced missing a dessicant) or Takata seatbelt receivers. Takata is now in bankruptcy, as a result of this.
The propellant is ammonium nitrate, which is also the main component of a fertilizer bomb. Moisture makes it very unstable, hence susceptible to spontaneous ignition (at least 23 people have been killed by these bags). Takata was aware of the problem years ago, and covered it up (essentially, the airbag had a design flaw by using fertilizer bomb mix. They could not eliminate the risk by tightening up QC). This lead to criminal proceedings and a $1bn fine.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/takata-airbag-inflator-matter
Strong stuff.
Deaths were caused by the airbag sending out metal shrapnel, to the face and neck area. Injuries are not bruising. Police attending one accident thought at first the driver had been shot in the face, but it fact it was shrapnel injuries from the airbag. In another incident, the police were originally so convinced the victim had been stabbed to death, they had even identified suspects.
Basically every Japanese car (and some others) might be unsafe; this is not due to a randomly occurring QC issue, affecting just a few rogue batches.
Mazda UK are no doubt monitoring this forum; the OC has formal links with the company, enough for regular updates in STHT.
There has been a drip drip approach by Mazda and others, to issuing recalls; it might be that the complexity of Takata’s criminal actions is difficult for the car makers to comprehend, when QC data was falsified. Even though the recalls were announced several years ago, Mazda has issued at least 2 further Takata recalls this year. The car makers are not taking a precautionary approach to this.
I can’t think of anything else that would cover both Mk2 and Mk2.5, but not also bleed into Mk1s. RHD Mk1s never had passenger airbags, and most did not have steering wheel bags. Most MK2/2.5s shared an essentially identical braking system with late Mk1s (ABS differences aside).
Just checked Gov.uk and no outstanding recalls listed on my 05 1.8 NB but rather worrying stuff nevertheless. I really don’t want a face full of airbag shrapnel!
I’m affraid that we have no further info at the moment, SAZ is guessing here although there are ongoing issues with air bags on many vehicles and my 9 year old Subaru has just last week been the subject of an airbag recall and will have the airbag replaced this Thursday.
This is a screen grab of what a non Mazda dealer with access to te Mazda European Portal views when they look up a car subject to this particular recall. I can also advise that Mazda has recently advised dealers of a recall on certain 323 and 626 cars re a possible overheating issue on an electrical switch.
A3377H is an old warranty code for a fog light bulb holder issue.
https://testing-public.carmd.com/Tsb/Download/120488/SI111435
Same recall discussed back in January on MX5nutz:
https://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=369402
If we look at the start of the thread, Robin posted that particular issue re UK cars and if you look at the VIN numbers it covers my MK2, built end 1998 and sold to it’s first owner April 1999, it also covered older Mk2 cars but very few Mk2 cars had standard fit front fog lights apart from maybe some special editions. On the other hand, I believe some Mk2.5 cars had standard fitted front fog lights.
Both Robin’s information and the US recall note referred to by SAZ are dated 2003.
If this is the case and we are assuming something here, this would be a bit of a catch all as Mazda UK or US cannot or have not as yet been able to drill down in their records to find the front foglight equipped cars. The cars that Mazda US claim to require inspection with regards to the years built from November 2001 are in the very wide range of VIN numbers they quote but the years built quoted in the US would not have such a wide VIN number range going back to 1988.
I have all the service records for my car and the first service in 2000 was performed at a Mazda dealer but all the other service receipts after that were from independent garages and my car like virtually all Mk2 cars does not have front fog lights.
My car has, I assume not been back to a Mazda dealer for service since 2000 and has not been checked by a Mazda dealer for the possible issue regarding front foglights and that is possibly why it still has an open issue.
I have no reason to be concerned by a foglight problem - my Jan 1998 NB obviously doesn’t have them.
So the consensus is that might be a suspect airbag or ignition switch. Once I find out, I’ll post details here.
Eddie - my year 2000 issue technical data sheet (folded two sided) gave information about which models came with what. Fog lights were only on the 1.8L NBFL Sport, as also leather seats, and while heated side mirrors were indicated ( even in my wiring manual) they didn’t appear till 2003 IIRC. The sport also came with a powered aerial, heated glass rear screen and a standard six gear box. (reputed to be a Toyota box) The seats were also heated, which convinces me the recent surge in getting hold of second hand NBFL seats is down to many Sport models biting the dust in scrapyards.
More recent threads about fog lights (not ex Picasso) seems another offshoot from dead NBFL Sports. - I hope they all came of recalled cars, or that the buyers have checked there is evidence of the spring holding the reflector to the lamp body, - that was the reason for the recall - or there’ll be more front end fires eventually.
I go along with Saz’s air-bag-theory, it sounds the most likely, and worrying for existing owners.
Too much to hope that a recall affects the front chassis rails!
The only thing I thought about was maybe there was a Mazda fog light kit available for all those cars that also had the same issue and dealers had to check them.
I have no particular idea what it is but time will tell. No threads I can see on miata.net that there is an issue just flagged in the US.
With regard only to NBFL Sport fog lights, as fitted standard blob-chart in ours.
Out of the blue, perhaps 5/6 years back and after a few years of ownership our Mk2.5 delivered a very dangerous fault insofar if switched on in appropriate adverse conditions, they had the immediate effect of shutting off the engine.
The first time it happened, I had the presence of mind to dip the clutch, select neutral, pull into the dual carriage-way break-down lane, and switch in ignition off.
You may imagine not having PAS or power brakes somewhat focused the mind, and rendered SWMBO’s expression like a rabbit caught in headlamps.
Upon restarting, everything was normal, but I tested “the theory” by switching the fogs on again there and then. Sure enough, dead engine with engine warning light on.
At the time, due to the torrential rain & fog encountered, I attributed the issue to excess water messing the electrics up.
However, some days later, the car having had ample opportunity to dry out, and in perfect warm & sunny conditions, I tested them and the same thing happened.
I took the car to a local well respected auto-electric business, who were equally puzzled, but set about stripping, checking, and refitting the whole loom system.
They did not find any apparent loom, light unit, or bulb seating issues and were unable to pin point the exact cause.
It never happened again, although I do test them from time to time in case SWMBO presses what essentially would be the perfect kill switch.
On Friday I was surprised to receive a phone call from the lady at Stoneacre Mazda Doncaster, regarding the Mk2 recall my car was supposedly affected by.
They have done more research and now believe whatever it was flagged up for may have been initiated in error then withdrawn because it now shows no details.
Just checked my March 2000 registered mk2 on the GOV.UK check MOT history 'site.
Outstanding recall found:
‘There’s an outstanding manufacturer’s safety recall on MAZDA MX5 W947LAN. The vehicle has been recalled since at least 19 January 2019. Contact a MAZDA dealership to arrange for repairs’.
I’ll be taking mine in to my local Mazda dealer and see what they say…