Anyone had problems with wheel nuts going rusty on their MK3? Second time for us, Mazda replaced 5 last time but now 5 more are not good. She’s kept washed and salt free. 
 mine have just started doing the same… out of warranty though!
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 A couple of mine are starting to go, & I’ve only had the car since last September…nothing too serious more like staining, should I get them replaced?
The wheels are kept as clean as possible, & I’ve treated  'em in just the same way as I did my old Clio’s which I had for over  6 years & looked as good as new when I traded it in.
Get it back asap, we were told that it’s a known problem by main dealer ie “a bad batch” but they would only replace the “dud” ones not the whole set so now having to go back AGAIN. Not good enough, really want whole set replaced.
 Hi,
I’ve got the car booked in to have the nuts inspected by the dealership a week next Friday, speaking to the chap in the service dept’ I learned that the official Mazda policy is: if the garage can clean the rust off the customer is liable for the expense…but if they polish the nut’s & cannot get rid of the rust spots then Mazda will cover them on the warranty.
Apparently, I was the second person to have reported the problem this week & that in the other case the dealership had tried to get Mazda to cover the bill  under the warranty & they (Mazda) had refused to do so, as the garage had managed to polish the rust off. That car was a couple of months younger than mine & had only done 1,400 miles…any way the guy I spoke to (from the garage) wasn’t very happy about the situation & has made an note in his monthly problems report to Mazda, I think it helped when I told him that others on this forum were also experiencing this problem too, as he noted this info’ down too.Â
Took her in this morning, as was just passing, and service manager said that Mazda will not replace under warranty as it’s the customer’s problem not cleaning properly. However, he then came and had a look and agreed it was not a case of not cleaning properly (she’s immaculate and well loved) and changed the five rusty ones straight away hopping to get Mazda to pay. He said that he had changed 20 in the last month but even after phone calls and e mails with photos Mazda had only agreed to pay for 9. All credit to service manager.
it’s worth mentioning which dealer this is so it can go on file for the local owners
 Good thinking, it was Donalds at Bury St Edmunds.
 I keep mine in as clean as possible in this weather, I know it’s been unusually bad weather & the car is used daily…but surely, with good cleaning (I wash it once a week & apply polish once a month) they should stay rust free for more than the 5 months I’ve had the car.
Hopefully my dealership (Donald’s of Peterborough) will be able to sort it out…but if I experience the “Not our problem mate” attitude from Mazda it will certainly take the shine of the MX-5 ownership for me…
on my old mk1, i just sprayed the nuts gloss black. respray them every 12 mionths, no probs.    
Yes, and the car’s only 6 months old and done less than 7000 miles!
I emailed the dealer with some photos required by the Mazda Warranty department and they’re not happy and want to see some more photos. I guess they want some soft focus or more complimentary lighting?
Luckily the dealer (Edwards in Kempsey) are really good and are replacing the nuts FoC and will take it up with Mazda themselves.
So I’m currently rather disappointed with Mazda - but glad I bought the car from a great dealer who understands good customer service.
 OMG they are bad, thank goodness your dealer was as good as ours and took the problem on. The nuts should have been stainless steel, penny pinching by Mazda such a shame on such a wonderful car.
Perhaps we should start a new thread of the Mk3’s shortcomings…
Rusty wheel nuts
Rusty stone guards on the brakes
Poor quality powdercoat on the suspension leading to rust
Seatbelts don’t retract
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 What car, make and model have you got then?
 Result!
Donalds of Pterborough replaced all the my rusty nuts for free yesterday, their parts manager was happy that I’d given him “another string in his bow” to complain to Mazda about the problem.Â
Now that I’ve got nice shinny nuts again is thier any way to stop it happening again? Should I keep 'em covered in Vaseline or something to prevent the rust reappearing…or would they go rusty again what ever I did?Â
Was a niggle of mine ref the seat belts on the MK3 I’ve just got a 3.5 and it’s been sorted.
No consolation to MK3 owners I know but obviously Mazda must be listening.Â
BTW I had the same rusting on wheel nuts on mine and Edwards changed no problem.
All credit to Donalds, good dealership as is ours in Bury St Edmunds. Our Service Manager, Shaun, who is a biker, has recommended to spray the nuts with Scotliner FS365 it’s an anti corrosion spray but need to keep it away from the brake discs. Need to do it evey time after a wash. Hope this helps.Â
Happy days! I’ve had all the wheel nuts replaced this week. The world is once again correct and in order.
Another thumbs up for Edwards in Kempsey.
 I have a MK 3.5 which is only 4 months old and has only done 3200 miles, I wash it every week and am very fussy about cleaning and removing salt etc. I was horrified to find rusty wheel nuts on both back wheels whilst cleaning them yesterday. This really should not be happening on such a wonderful, top of the range car.
 By comparison my 3 year old Honda Accord has done 80,000 plus miles, the wheel nuts have been on and off several times during servicing and tyre changing and there is no sign of any rust.