NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Preliminary Evaluation PE07-015: FAILURE OF ENGINE/TRANSMISSION MOUNT

Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE07-015 on March 13, 2007 and closed it on July 13, 2007. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2007 Mazda MAZDASPEED3 for it and links recall 07V-295 to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number: PE07-015 (also written PE07015)
Investigation type: Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
Status: Closed July 13, 2007
Opened: March 13, 2007
Closed: July 13, 2007
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer: Mazda Motor Corp.
Components: Engine and Engine Cooling — Engine — Gasoline; Power Train — Manual Transmission
Recall linked by NHTSA: 07V-295: ENGINE MOUNT, reported July 10, 2007
Vehicles and equipment: 2007 Mazda MAZDASPEED3

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-015.

ON JULY 2, 2007 MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO NHTSA REGARDING THE LEFT HAND SIDE (LHS) ENGINE MOUNT BOLTS IN APPROXIMATELY 5,700 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2007 MAZDASPEED3 VEHICLES BUILT FROM JUNE 26, 2006 THROUGH MAY 19, 2007 (MAZDA RECALL 4607F, NHTSA RECALL 07V-295).

ACCORDING TO MAZDA, THE LHS ENGINE MOUNT COULD LOOSEN UNDER REPEATED LOADS PRODUCED DURING RAPID ACCELERATIONS.LOOSE BOLTS COULD PULL OUT OR BREAK, ALLOWING THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION TO DROP ON THE LEFT SIDE.WHEN THE ENGINE DROPS, THE DRIVESHAFT MAY BECOME DETACHED AND DISABLE THE VEHICLE.MAZDA WILL REPLACE THE LHS ENGINE MOUNT BOLTS IN THE RECALLED VEHICLES.IN ADDITION, THE LHS ENGINE MOUNT RUBBER AND BRACKET WILL BE INSPECTED AND REPLACED IF NECESSARY.MAZDA STATED IN ITS LETTER THAT IT CONTINUES TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NO UNREASONABLE RISK OF ACCIDENT OR INJURY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONDITION, CITING THE LACK OF ACCIDENTS AND CONTENDING THAT MOST OF THE REPORTED INCIDENTS WERE IDENTIFIED BY OPERATORS BEFORE THERE WAS ANY EFFECT ON VEHICLE OPERATION. ODI DISAGREES WITH MAZDA.ALTHOUGH ONLY ABOUT HALF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES HAD ENTERED SERVICE BY THE CUTOFF DATE OF THE FAILURE DATA SUBMITTED BY MAZDA, ODI'S ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINT AND WARRANTY CLAIM DATA IDENTIFIED A TOTAL OF 36 SUBJECT VEHICLES WITH REPAIRS FOR LOOSE OR BROKEN LHS MOUNTING BOLTS.ODI VERIFIED 17 INCIDENTS OF BOLT FRACTURE RESULTING IN THE ENGINE DROPPING IN THESE VEHICLES, INCLUDING AT LEAST 10 THAT RESULTED IN VEHICLE DISABLEMENT.ALL OF THE BOLT FRACTURES OCCURRED IN THE FIRST 7 MONTHS OF VEHICLE SERVICE, WITH 8 FAILING WITHIN 4 MONTHS.THESE FAILURES RESULT IN A RELATIVELY HIGH FAILURE RATE WHEN COMPARED WITH OTHER ODI INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING DEFECT CONDITIONS WITH SIMILAR SAFETY CONSEQUENCES THAT RESULTED IN SAFETY RECALLS, PARTICULARLY WHEN CONSIDERING THE VERY SHORT SERVICE LIFE OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLE POPULATION. ODI INTERVIEWED OWNERS TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE LHS BOLT DEFECT.MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THOSE INTERVIEWED WHO EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE FALL INCIDENT INDICATED THE EVENT DISABLED THE VEHICLE, SOME BEING STRANDED IN THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.AT LEAST THREE-QUARTERS OF THESE INCIDENTS OCCURRED WHEN THE DRIVER WAS ATTEMPTING TO INCREASE SPEED, RESULTING IN A SUDDEN CHANGE IN ACCELERATION.EACH OF THESE DRIVERS EXPRESSED SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVENT, INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING STRUCK BY TRAILING OR CROSSING TRAFFIC.IN ONE INCIDENT THE VEHICLE VEERED TO THE LEFT ACROSS ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANES AFTER THE LHS MOUNT BOLT BROKE, STOPPING IN THE ROADWAY AFTER STRIKING A CURB. BASED ON THIS INFORMATION, ODI STRONGLY DISAGREES WITH MAZDA'S CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SAFETY RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEFECT IN THE LHS ENGINE MOUNT BOLTS.THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN CLOSED BASED ON MAZDA'S RECALL.ODI WILL MONITOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MAZDA'S CAMPAIGN REMEDY AND TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED.

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-015. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.

Mazda

Mazda MAZDASPEED3
- 2007

All Mazda recalls

What an NHTSA investigation is

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.

An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Mazda VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Sources

NHTSA's investigation record for PE07-015

Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.