general problems of the 2008 Mazda MAZDA3

This vehicle has had 3 repeated major service repair attempts related to the tcm, pcm at light, check engine/transmission light trying to resolve this issue permanently. This vehicle was in motion and stationary on a city street when experiencing all of these problems. This vehicle has only approximately 68,000 miles. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed by Mazda or buy back this vehicle. No one should have to be faced with these kinds of concerns. These systemic issues has not been favorable in my view and will having a major determing effect in future car purchase. Brand loyalty. [blah, blah, blah. . . ] 4-3-2019 at 9:27am.

Aeveral recalls for 2008 Mazda3. . . . . However my VIN isnt assosiated with any and I have all the problema. Power steerings unit stripped2 or the 3 bolts holes ans fell down from cracked engine mounts slight rattling. . . . . Stationary and moving. Idle is at 500-1,000 rpms very odd feeling. Random body damage and entire of bottom engine rusty. . . . Paint rusts as well. Just bought the car on finance and really need some help.

Car was vibrating a lot when in gear and holding brakes replaced motor mounts and throttle body to fix issue. Also when slowing down and speeding back up the transmission grinds when down shifting. Feels like it is slipping and is not safe if you are driving on the highway or in the city and want to switch lanes and speed up I'm afraid one day I'm going to switch lanes hit the gas and the transmission will fail. The carmax I got the car from insists it is just a transmission "shutter" and it happens with certain cars. I will be getting a second opinion from an ase certified transmission shop. Dealership made me think it was brake pads at first I paid $300 to have perfectly good pads replaced with new ones to have the problem not fixed. I am extremely irritated with dealership trying to get around fixing the car. Other than those 2 problems the car is great.

The right font engine mount has broke. This was a recall on the 2006 model Mazda 3 but it appears that Mazda has continued to use the recalled pat o late modals of various models.

I parked my car on numerous occasions in the last few months where the transmission failed to engage in park. It required multiple tries to get the park indicator light on the dash to reflect that the car was safely engaged in park. Before I realized what was happening with the transmission. On at least 3 occasions I was unable to start my car at all when I returned from a brief stop. The problem with failing to start happened when the car was on a slight incline and I had engaged the parking brake. After jiggling the automatic transmission lever repeatedly, moving the steering wheel and applying the brake vigorously, I was eventually able to get the car to start. I'm not sure whether it was rocking of the vehicle from frustration or jiggling the gear selector that finally worked. The car has a new battery and has had all scheduled maintenance performed by my local Mazda dealer. When this happens, other electrical equipment functions but there is absolutely no response from the ignition system.

Overflow bottle cracked for no apparent reason causing problems with the engine costing more than 1500 worth of damages. The mechanic encourage that I report because he says this should not have happened and that Mazda is known for having this defect. It is a costly repair.

Passenger side motor mount inop after only 67,000 miles.

Passenger side top motor mount defective seen a lot of people mad about this they replace it goes bad 1 to 2 later.

The contact owned a 2008 Mazda Mazda3. While driving approximately 40 mph, the contact noticed smoke from under the hood. The contact stopped the vehicle on the shoulder of the road. The contact then opened the hood and noticed flames. The fire spread throughout the entire vehicle. The fire department reported to the scene. There was no report filed. The insurance provider had the vehicle towed to a collision center. The vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the fire was undetermined. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.

Engine mounts failed. Noticed vibration in the cabin when the car was in drive. There was no noticed vibration when the car was idling. When the engine was in drive, with the hood popped, the engine was noticeably pitching forward and returning to it's default position when the gas was released. I checked recalls and there were none shown, but there were many complaints about this on the internet. Local mechanic also stated that this is a known.

Sitting in parking lot, engine and a/c on, then tried to pull out, power steering failed; had to wait one hour for car to cool before the steering came back on. The power steering pump failed, needs to be flushed, common problem with the Mazda 3's apparently. At least it did not happen on the road.

Air conditioning compressor failure on 2008 Mazda 3.

Shortly after purchasing a 2008 Mazda3 I 2. 0l sedan, I began to feel a shake through the steering wheel and chassis while idling/driving. Dealer verified shake and per TSB due to an ongoing problem, replaced motor mounts. Car felt better but not completely free of engine shake and now appears to be getting worse. When the engine is started cold it shakes the entire car and when warm a suttle but noticeable shake is still felt though the steering wheel and chassis. After reading numerous posts on Mazda3 enthusiast websites, this appears to be a common and ongoing problem spanning several years.