Catastrophic Failure - Mazda 6 Front Subframe

So i've had an interesting past few days...

Last Wednesday while driving home from work I was surprised to find that in order to keep the car going straight I had to keep the wheel turned to the left a fair bit.  It was enough that I would have noticed if it was like that on my drive into work.  I didn't recall hitting a pot hole or curb but clearly I must have whacked something.  The condition persisted on the highway and I also noticed the handling was vague to say the least.  I braked hard at one point and it caused the car to pull hard to the right.  Something was definitely up.  I experimented a little and the response to accelerating and braking was inconsistent at best and definitely suspect. 

After making it home I got distracted by the chaos of life and didn't think about the issue with the car until the next morning.  It didn't take long to realize no one had come by in the night and fixed it for me.  My first call when I got to work was to my mechanic.  An appointment was made for the car to be dropped off that evening and I went on with my day.  The drive to the garage was probably the most stressful drive of my life.  The car had gotten much worse.  I was convinced I had either badly bent or broken something in the front end.  It was now squealing when braking, almost like the brakes were locked up, some of the time and the same noise could be heard on some right turns.  Over bumps or uneven pavement I was becoming increasingly sure the two front tires were not in agreement as to which way they should be pointing.  It got to the point where around a mile from the garage I really didn't think I was going to make it.  The thought of paying for a tow for 1 mile encouraged me to keep going, white knuckles and all.  Thankfully I made it to the garage.

Fast forward to the next morning when I got a call from the garage "Hey Mark, you need to come see this".  Well that can't be good!  I arrived at the garage and my '09 Mazda 6 was up on the hoist.  This is a rust free car in, I would say, excellent condition with about 94k miles (150k kms) on it.  As I walked underneath I was impressed with how rust free it was underneath for a car here in the land of salted roads.  That is until I got to the front of the car.  The right side of the front subframe had completely rotted out...like I mean there was barely anything left to hold it all together.  Clearly I hadn't been imagining the frightening handling.  It was basically being held together by the steering rack!  It didn't take long to notice that directly above the rot is the drain for the A/C.  The water had been draining onto the front subframe, washing the oil coating off over time and allowing the salt and water to get in and completely rot it out!  I couldn't believe it...and I couldn't believe I had been driving on the highway in this car...with my kids.

My bad situation got worse.  It turns out the mechanic has a contact who bring used parts in from Japan and another who brings them in from the southern US.  Neither will deal in Mazda 6 front subframes as they're so frequently rotted out.  He then contacted the dealer where this a $2000 part (CDN) and is back ordered 6 weeks.  Further investigation revealed none of the dealers have actually been able to get the subframe in.  There just aren't any available.  One local dealer has had an order outstanding since last December!  There's a waiting list but to get on it you have to pay for the part in full and then hope it shows up at some point.

This has left me with an otherwise excellent condition car that I can't drive and I can't sell except for parts.  I've now had to find and buy another car, with no money available from the sale of this car when I had no intention of replacing the car for another year.

I haven't had much of a chance to look into this yet but there are definitely accounts of people losing control of their steering and crashing from this issue.  So far Mazda is denying responsibility.  Is anyone else familiar with this problem or know of anyone who got this covered under some kind of warranty?

I have seen this in some Hondas as well. Can you get under there and weld things together to get it back on the road untill the subframe can be found?

I would also be very interested to know if thus is also an issue with the 3s as my oldest daughter has one.

Mazda will deny responsibility untill someone gets killed. It is cheaper to do this.

found this

https://jalopnik.com/mazda-6s-may-face-recall-over-corrosion-related-steerin-1826570225

this is really scary. I was considering a 6 as it seemed to be a nice car for the $$$ but this puts a serious damper on things.

I wondered about welding it up as a temporary fix but I don't think there's enough good metal left in the area for me to feel confident in the repair.  I'll be having another look at it in the next couple fo days and make a decision then.  

It is (was?) a good car for the money but there's no way I could recommend it now.  

All of this could have been avoided by a rubber hose and a clamp installed on the drain directing the water to the ground rather than onto the subframe.  Ridiculous!

Thanks for the link!

Riley_88 said:

All of this could have been avoided by a rubber hose and a clamp installed on the drain directing the water to the ground rather than onto the subframe.  Ridiculous!

There has to be more to it than that, subframes get wet every time you drive through a puddle.

I've replaced a few of these as well.  Mazda still hasn't figured out rustproofing.

I don't buy the "A/C drain" rationale.  The trans blocks the left side from getting as much salt spray.  I've also never found a rusted out subframe on anything with an undertray.

And if it WAS the A/C, that doesn't explain how we never have a problem getting Southern subframes for any chassis, and I assume that they use the A/C there too.

Wow.  Well that's discouraging.  Glad you are OK.  Keep us informed on how this plays out.

Is this the generation of Mazda 6 that shares a chassis design with the Ford Fusion? 

Would a Fusion subframe be the same? 

In reply to John Welsh :

There are several Mazda and Ford vehicles built off the CD3 platform (look on Wiki), enough variation that I'd be surprised if mechanical parts are readily interchangeable. Doesn't hurt to look though, because the Fusion is closest in wheelbase and track width to the Mazda6.

6th gen accord had the same issue and ppl were blaming the ac drain. When I replaced the subframe, I noticed the lack of drain hole on the passenger side compared to the driver side. Debris filled the the top of the frame and rot ensued.

file a complaint https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Maybe it will help lead to a recall.

Lots of complaints about it on NHTSA's website.

It also looks like there's currently an open investigation into the matter

Sorry to hear about your problems, but thanks for the heads-up. My daughter has a 2010. I'll dive under it an take a look when she comes by for a cookout, tomorrow.

Sorry to hear that you are having this issue. I was recently reading about this on a few automotive news sites. It happens to basically all of the 2nd gen 6's. You know, the ones that look like this:

While Mazda seems to have solved its body corrosion issues with the 2nd Gen 3 and 6's, this subframe rot problem is troubling. I'll be taking a better look at my 3 next time I'm under there. 

Hopefully Mazda does the right thing and recalls these cars. I would 100% make a complaint to the appropriate government agency. 

Knurled. said:

I've replaced a few of these as well.  Mazda still hasn't figured out rustproofing.

 

I don't buy the "A/C drain" rationale.  The trans blocks the left side from getting as much salt spray.  I've also never found a rusted out subframe on anything with an undertray.

 

And if it WAS the A/C, that doesn't explain how we never have a problem getting Southern subframes for any chassis, and I assume that they use the A/C there too.

Also, I've seen rear subframes rot out on these just as bad as the front, and there isn't any A/C drain back there.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Devils advocate:

It’s a 10 year old car. Things rust, especially in certain climates. How long is a company supposed to guarantee things not to rust? It wasn’t too long ago that a car would be considered pretty near the end of its useful lifespan after 10 years. 

I want a Mazda5, but every time I see a Mazda + Rust post I get scared again.  There was a Speed6 for sale here recently that the rear quarters had almost dissolved away from.

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for someone who would like to manufacture after market subframes!

Saron81 said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Devils advocate:

It’s a 10 year old car. Things rust, especially in certain climates. How long is a company supposed to guarantee things not to rust? It wasn’t too long ago that a car would be considered pretty near the end of its useful lifespan after 10 years. 

Devil's devil advocate:

The suspension/subframes on my 2004 mazda6 are just fine. As for the passenger rear wheel well, that's another story.

Saron81 said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Devils advocate:

It’s a 10 year old car. Things rust, especially in certain climates. How long is a company supposed to guarantee things not to rust? It wasn’t too long ago that a car would be considered pretty near the end of its useful lifespan after 10 years. 

While I understand your point I also believe vehicle manufacturers can do better. Case in point, I've been looking at used pickups here in Michigan. When you look at 2000-2009 trucks you'll often find rotten rear bumpers ,crispy rear wheel wells, and rocker panels with holes. But if you look at Nissan Titans of the same vintage, they are noticeably better than any other manufacturer's truck. I don't know what the detail differences are, but it's something the others need to learn from and copy.

Saron81 said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Devils advocate:

It’s a 10 year old car. Things rust, especially in certain climates. How long is a company supposed to guarantee things not to rust? It wasn’t too long ago that a car would be considered pretty near the end of its useful lifespan after 10 years. 

I don't think it's really the rust that's the issue here. It's the fact that steering and braking can be compromised by the rust. And when it fails, it happens pretty suddenly. There's a more significant safety risk here than "just some rust". No way I'd be comfortable driving around in one of these after reading the number of very similar complaints on the NHTSA's site. People will just be driving and suddenly lose steering, or have a control arm break from the cross member.

Saron81 said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Devils advocate:

It’s a 10 year old car. Things rust, especially in certain climates. How long is a company supposed to guarantee things not to rust? It wasn’t too long ago that a car would be considered pretty near the end of its useful lifespan after 10 years. 

Weather Mazda has to pay or not it needs to be a recall and inspection.  This is a life safety issue.  It is not if some one is going to get hurt it is just a matter of time until some one gets hurt.  Mazda may be devoid of responsibility legally but it is going hurt there reputation.  Ultimately it is a design issue.  If the whole car just rusted then it would just be a bad car but when you have an otherwise immaculate car that a single major structural component rusts to the point of failure and when it fails you all but loose control of the car there is an issue and there is liability.

I remember folks that had wood pushed into their Chevette suspensions to keep the rot away.  

In reply to SVreX :

We can get good used ones that are inspected, blasted and painted for $200-300 or so.  That would be a tough number to beat for a new product.

dean1484 said:

Saron81 said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Devils advocate:

It’s a 10 year old car. Things rust, especially in certain climates. How long is a company supposed to guarantee things not to rust? It wasn’t too long ago that a car would be considered pretty near the end of its useful lifespan after 10 years. 

Weather Mazda has to pay or not it needs to be a recall and inspection.  This is a life safety issue.  It is not if some one is going to get hurt it is just a matter of time until some one gets hurt.  Mazda may be devoid of responsibility legally but it is going hurt there reputation.  Ultimately it is a design issue.  If the whole car just rusted then it would just be a bad car but when you have an otherwise immaculate car that a single major structural component rusts to the point of failure and when it fails you all but loose control of the car there is an issue and there is liability.

Well, maybe, but an '09 is already nine or ten years old.

What about all the Hondas, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, and Audis that blow the subframes apart?  Also, that rust did not happen in a month. Whoever has been maintaining the car dropped the ball if it got to the point of failure.  90% of the ones I replace are merely very rusty, not broken yet.