Steering Problems of Mazda RX8 - part 2

Power steering jerks and shuts down while driving. Very dangerous. Also while setting still steering wheel did a complete 360.

See all problems of the 2004 Mazda RX8 🔎.

Steering was jerking and now power steering has stop.

See all problems of the 2005 Mazda RX8 🔎.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Mazda RX-8. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering assist would seize and cause the vehicle to veer abnormally to the left. The contact would have to move off the roadway and reset the power steering assist through the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised him that the battery terminal had failed. After replacing the battery terminal, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they then advised that they were inspecting the wiring harness being the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000. The current mileage was approximately 92,500. Kmj.

I jumped into my 2004 Mazda RX-8 after work started it up and went to drive and noticed it was really hard to turn and I looked and noticed that a light that was a steering wheel with an exclamation mark next to it so I drove it home not even a mile away and read about it online and found out it happens a lot. Probably going to take it to the dealer very very soon.

Power steering intermittently goes out. A search of the internet indicates that this is a known problem for Mazda yet there are no recalls to fix faulty engineering. The radiator overflow leaks onto the connectors for the electric power steering causing corrosion and sporadic connections.

Steering torque sensor that sometimes fails to properly register driver steering input, causing the system to remove electric power steering (eps) assistance.

On April 3,2012 at 10pm in buffalo NY. I was driving my 04 Rx8 around a bend at 35mph. I experienced a jerk/twitch in the power steering. The indicator light came on instantly I lost the steering sending me into the front of a steel divider of a train bridge. I was taken to ecmc by ambulance. I luckily only suffered minor injuries to my back neck ribs head and shoulder. I am not one to sue nor am I'm going to persue any legal action against Mazda. I will say my airbags did not deploy my car was considered totaled $10,000 in damage. I just thought anyone looking to buy an Rx8 should read on numerous sites that this malfunction is an extremely common problem that Mazda is aware about but still does not wish to post a TSB or a recall. Love the car but have lost faith in Mazda. Sincerely unhappy owner.

I am having an issue with power steering. It went out while I was driving and became very hard to steer. I pulled over, shut my car off, turned it back on and the power steering was back. Then later that day it went out again but this time it never came back on. I took it to Mazda and they told me it was the control module. They are wanting to charge me $1400 for a box half the size of a poptart box (couldn't think of anything else haha). I contacted corporate and they refuse to see this as a safety issue. I definitely think there needs to be a recall. I have read all over the internet and forums about other people with the same model and year having this same exact problem. If there is nothing done about this ASAP I guarantee there will be several accidents down the road. Please do something about this.

See all problems of the 2006 Mazda RX8 🔎.

Power steering went out. Comes & goes??.

As I turned on my car one time, the power steering just didn't come on. I then shut it off, and then turned it back on and it worked. After this happened several times the power steering ceased to turn on at all. It wasn't as if the motor for the electric steering was slowly going out; it was either night or day.

Car would loose its power steering, never on the highway.

First indications, the failure warning light upon starting. Used another car that day. Next day, no warning light, however, on the way home, the steering abruptly made a *full* turn to the right very quickly (going about 30mph on a dirt road). I was able to stop the car before it ran off the road - no failure warning light on the dash. Since then the failure light has appeared in increasing frequency to the point it is mostly on. When the warning light is on, the steering is essentially manual, but workable. The worst case is when it is off, and suddenly goes into a failure mode without * indication (I. E. The warning light stays off). It has happened a few times, even when at a full stop and the wheel turns by itself to the right. Pretty disconcerting. The full symptom description is that it becomes extremely easy to turn clockwise and more difficult to turn counter-clockwise. I'd rather it was in failure mode and hard to steer than indicating everything is fine and then suddenly decide it wants to go a different direction - always to the right in my case. Reviewing the other complaints here makes it seem like a flaw in the implementation or probably the selected part(s) Mazda used, but worse even, there are two different failure modes, one making it hard to steer, but at least consistent, and the other mode leaving the driver guessing as to what direction the car will travel and when it may decide to do that. I'm having it repaired and will retain the failed components. When it does indicate failure it remains that way until the engine is shut down. When it indicates everything is fine, it may fail anytime, but never indicates failure. I'm submitting this in hopes that something can be done to prevent a terrible accident for someone who has not yet experienced the problem. The first case for me was on a dirt road - if it was on a highway . . . Ouch.

I just got the car back from dealership they had to put new motor in at 67000 miles replaced motor and catalyist converter 3 colis and also told me they had to flush it out as it was flooded I drove less than 100 miles and power steering went out? now I dont know what the problem is and have to take it back less than a month later this is crazy!!!! cost me over 1100. 00 to get it back and drive 2 times and now broke again this car is a piece of crap should have done homework on it before buying.

Power steering issues, failing, electrical issues where coolant overflow is located not covered in warranty.

2005 RX-8 leaking oil cooler line faults breaks car veered off the road onto right side grass under heavy breaking due to suddenly slowing traffic. Normally, car breaks very well, linearly, and straight. After checking what caused this, I found the entire left underside sprayed with engine oil. Oil came from rusted engine cooler lines located right next to the front left wheel well. About a 10 second engine run showed a stream of oil spraying towards the tire through a crack in the rusted cooling line. Underbody, left front tire, and breaks were covered with oil. There was no collision only because the area where car was pulled off to the side had no obstacles. Lucky me! car is obviously not drivable as engine oil is visibly leaking and breaks are compromised with greasy oil residue. Apparently canada has a recall for these faulty cooling lines - RX-8 oil cooler hose special service program (ssp) 76 seems utterly appropriate as in an unlucky situation this could turn out fatal!.

Vehicle power steering intermittently decreases to the point of little or no power assist. Most common on starts after a long vehicle soak. Secondary concern is that the battery fails rapidly and repeatedly, and vehicle stalled in traffic en route to dealer to investigate poor power steering performance. Root cause reported as a failure of the electric power steering system in vehicle. Amperage request of power steering system is so great that can overwhelm electrical system, resulting in poor/no battery charging and believed cause of on-road stall. Per manufacturer service, only fix is replacement of entire power steering rack. Repair to be performed week of 5/20/11; old parts should be available.

The contact owns a 2005 Mazda Rx8. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the problem persisted. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

Electrically assisted power steering stopped working intermittently until it no longer works at all. This is a common problem with this model. I found this fact by joining the Rx8 club website. Multiple owners have reported this problem and it appears obvious that it is caused by poorly engineered/manufactured electrical connectors. Some owners have gone as far as replacing the wire harness only to have the problem recur. Making the problem worse is that the Mazda website has no mechanism to report the problem to the manufacturer. Currently the only time the power steering if functional is only for short periods after the care has been through a car wash and the undercarriage has become wet, and then it is only functional until the undercarriage dries out.

The power steering on the car started to reduce and become much more difficult to turn when just off of center. Turn further and it will regain its power back to center. It then will do it again when you start another attempt at turning. I am afraid that it may go out completely which I have heard has happened to other similar cars. This needs to be checked as it can be very serious as it can occur at any speeds and result in an accident. Thanks.

See all problems of the 2007 Mazda RX8 🔎.

Vehicle can turn left on its own with a faulty power steering rack and/or control module.

Loss of power steering. Restart engine ok. Happened twice again since then, same solution.

I don't even know where to begin with the problem I have had with my 2004 Mazda RX-8. I have owned it since September 2003 and it has had countless issues, parts replaced and failures. The incident I experienced last night put me over the edge and almost cost me my life. My RX-8, which was just at the dealer 2 weeks ago, had an engine malfunction while I was on a major highway in massachusetts. The speed of the vehicle went from approx 50mph to 10mph in a matter of a few seconds. Luckily I was able to make my way to the breakdown lane without injuring myself or anyone else; however, this is unacceptable. Every single part in my RX-8 has been replaced except for the engine mounts and engine. I have dished out thousands of dollars already and the vehicle only has 44,000 miles on it. Not only is this a safety hazard to those of us driving the vehicle, but it is also a safety hazard to those around us. Had the car behind me not been paying attention my vehicle could have caused a deadly car crash in the middle of rush hour on a major highway. I have contacted numerous dealerships, the bbb, and am now looking into a class action lawsuit. Mazda needs to be held accountable for their actions. Unfortunately because my car was purchased in 2003, bbb wouldn't have anything to do with the case, however I have 57 pages of detailed repairs that have been made to this vehicle since I owned it, which I am more than happy to send to you. Tons of people online have had similar issues; just from automotive. Com there are 30+ email addresses of individuals who have experienced problems similar to mine. Please help us get to the bottom of this faulty engine and make Mazda own up to their mistakes. People's lives are in danger and this is neither acceptable nor ethical. Ps- an employee of NHTSA has been contacted prior regarding this situation. Her name is cortney and her contact information is 1-888-327-4236 ext #: 1268. I received this from the automotive. Com forum.

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Rx8. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph and making a turn he experienced a failure with the power steering which made it difficult to turn the steering wheel. The failure occurred on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed him that the electric power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

Failure of power steering on 2004 Mazda RX-8. Power steering shuts down intermittently during driving. Steering then pulls to the right during driving and at a stop, the steering wheel will rotate on it's own. Dealer has repaired suspected short in wiring harness, cleaned harness ground connections, replaced a sensor in the power steering circuit. Car is currently back in the dealer shop waiting for a new harness "pigtail" to replace on the electrical steering harness. Contacted Mazda and they said since car is out of warranty, it's my problem--even though I consider the car unsafe for driving.

I bought my 2004 Mazda Rx8 from an authorized dealership in doral, FL with 53m miles on it, still under powertrain warranty & I purchased the extended warranty for 2 years. The car has been back to the dealership 8 times (that is averaging once a month) since purchase, back for various reasons including: engine light on, coolant light on, and the most important and dangerous-locked power steering! of the 8 times, 4 of those are for the power steering locking on me, either when I start the car, or while driving, it's random that it happens, when it 'feels like it'. I can't trust this car, and though the service dept at the dealership has attempted to repair it numerous times, the problem has not subsided. The times that I start the car and the power steering is not locked, while driving the wheel becomes very loose, then the car shakes, then the steering locks. I have been lucky and have gotten safely out of traffic, but the wheel is very hard to turn, especially when driving at low speeds. I'm officially filing a complaint b/c it seems to be a manufacturing problem, and I want this issue resolved. I would prefer to have Mazda buy back the car from me, since, at this point, I don't feel safe in my car, especially to drive long distances. But if Mazda can repair the problem for good, I'll be satisfied. Thank you.

Purchased used vehicle in April 2007, first incident 8/14/2007 engine stalled (engine internal failure) at 45,107 miles engine replaced by Mazda dealership. Second incident September 2007 power steering goes out (poor connection on engine room harness) connection fixed steering gear replaced; third incident October 2007, steering problem (steering shaft torque sensor malfunction) broken wire repaired--learned that the vehicle had been serviced 15 times prior to my purchase.