general problems of the 2008 Mazda MAZDA3

One two separate occasions over an approximate 3 month period the gas cap could not be unscrewed and remained affixed to the vehicle. I believe that this is a dangerous situation for the potential to be unable to refuel the vehicle and run out of gas while driving or in an unsafe location. Both times I took it to the dealer and they confirmed that they have had "many" Mazda 3 owners bring their cars in with the same problem. A search of the internet confirmed that this is a common problem.

After my first gas fuel fill-up the check engine light came on. I checked the fuel cap but was unable to remove the fuel cap. After trying for 15 minutes, it finally came off. After putting the cap back on and driving a while, the light went off. The car only had 500 miles. I took the car back to the dealer. The dealer examined the cap and said there was no problem. We were able to place and remove the cap with no problem. On my next 2 fill-ups the same thing happened. I bought a stand replacement cap and have had no problems after 6,200 miles. I believe the oem cap has a design flaw. The replacement's latching tabs have a different shape and it works.

Fuel cap on car got stuck and took ten minutes to remove. The same thing happened next time car needed refueling. Again, had to try for around 10 minutes before cap could be removed and we're not even sure what we did to make it come off. This is not acceptable. . . . . There will come a time when the cap breaks or we just can't get it off and will end up stranded with no gas. Obviously a design fault.

Fghfgh.