Gen 3 owners please read! Camshaft Issue (Diesel)

[newmazdaowner]

I don't think my car is affected yet (or if it ever will be) but is certainly in the age range and VIN number range. I contacted Mazda UK about this stating my concerns and they're arranging for my car to go in for an assessment at my local garage. The full response from Mazda was:
"Thank you for the contact in relation to your Mazda6. Having read the information we note the concerns you may have over the reliability, I can assure you however that this concern raised put into perspective with the number of vehicles sold globally, has affected less than 2% of vehicles. Like with most components, no parts are infallible and we have a comprehensive warranty in place should there be a need to claim.

I am not sure where the information has come from that’s mentioned, time to time we issue repair guidance to our dealers to help to ensure the correct diagnosis and repair procedures are carried out, the information we have provided to our dealers is just that.

If there are any concerns with the running of your vehicle, your local dealer will be able to carry out an assessment to provide peace of mind. If the above suggestion meets with your approval, please provide your contact number and the name of your local Mazda dealer, we will do the rest for them to make contact".

Hi Andy,

What sort of milage has the car done now and what do you expect to do by the time the warranty ends? If you are a low milage user, like I am, then the problem could surface when the warranty ends - and that's the rub.

[andyh1981]

Hi newmazdaowner,
It's just approaching the 10,000 mark and I am now a low mileage driver. I would think optimistically up to 7,000 miles a year maybe 8,000 at most. So this time next year when I would have had the car for 2 years and it's original warranty ends I would say no more than 18,000 miles. Is there a mileage marker where problems tend to take on a serious nature or can it happen at anytime? Would the extended warranty cover the car from this failure should it occur?

[Chaos]

I had mine fail at 9000 miles. Speak to your dealer and they should know which batch of cars are affected.

[darlog1]

hi my vin ends in 8531
hopefully not in the range that are having issues as only picked it up on Saturday
any advice would be great

[newmazdaowner]

hi my vin ends in 8531
hopefully not in the range that are having issues as only picked it up on Saturday
any advice would be great

Advise that you start reading from the beginning of this thread - the VIN's affected are listed there, however, if your car is new - i.e. manufactured late 2014, then you will be way out of the VIN's affected. Mazda identified the camshaft problem and rectified it for any cars manufactured after the batch that had defective parts.

[newmazdaowner]

Hi newmazdaowner,
It's just approaching the 10,000 mark and I am now a low mileage driver. I would think optimistically up to 7,000 miles a year maybe 8,000 at most. So this time next year when I would have had the car for 2 years and it's original warranty ends I would say no more than 18,000 miles. Is there a mileage marker where problems tend to take on a serious nature or can it happen at anytime? Would the extended warranty cover the car from this failure should it occur?

With reference to what Chaos has said about his failing at 9,000 miles, it would seem that maybe you should take the car into your dealer to have it checked over. By doing that now - i.e. whilst still under warranty, there will be a record that you had shown concern about the camshaft problem and that they had cleared it of any signs of damage (if that is the case of course). If they do clear the car of damage, then get them to put that in writing for future use should the car fail outside of the warranty period.

The trouble it seems is that not all cars in the VIN affected range are showing signs of wear at the moment. Different driving conditions and the way that owners have driven the car, can effect wear and tear on the vital parts. What is certain though is that if the camshaft does start to shed metal the whole engine and turbos are effected and have to be replaced.

Am I wrong or did I read that Ross has said that there is a recall of cars within the VIN range?

[andyh1981]

I did contact Mazda UK about this and having it checked out. They got in touch with my local dealer but I was at work when they called so I called into the branch a couple of days later to see someone but they told me they will not look at the car unless there is a warning light on. Was told that there is no recall notice for this specific camshaft problem. I could have it looked at by the local dealer but it would be at my own cost. In short they weren't interested unless there is warranty work to be carried out in the event of failure or sypmtons of a fault.

[TonyFrench]

Hi newmazdaowner,
It's just approaching the 10,000 mark and I am now a low mileage driver. I would think optimistically up to 7,000 miles a year maybe 8,000 at most. So this time next year when I would have had the car for 2 years and it's original warranty ends I would say no more than 18,000 miles. Is there a mileage marker where problems tend to take on a serious nature or can it happen at anytime? Would the extended warranty cover the car from this failure should it occur?

I know it's not the main point but the vehicle has a 3 year/60k warranty right? So...... when you've had the car for two years it'll be three years old? Only if it was from new you had it there'll be another year to go.

[newmazdaowner]

Hi newmazdaowner,
It's just approaching the 10,000 mark and I am now a low mileage driver. I would think optimistically up to 7,000 miles a year maybe 8,000 at most. So this time next year when I would have had the car for 2 years and it's original warranty ends I would say no more than 18,000 miles. Is there a mileage marker where problems tend to take on a serious nature or can it happen at anytime? Would the extended warranty cover the car from this failure should it occur?

I know it's not the main point but the vehicle has a 3 year/60k warranty right? So...... when you've had the car for two years it'll be three years old? Only if it was from new you had it there'll be another year to go.

Hi Tony,

Some of the owners that had affected camshaft problems and got virtualy a new engine, secured for themselves a fourth year warranty on the engine and parts. Could be that is what was meant??

[mohawk]

I have not read the entire thread, but I leave information to potentially affected by this problem. The newsletter is AE027A (I failed to find it) but Mazda has checking protocol for this problem.
If you go ask your dealer and insist on this issue, several colleagues have suffered in their cars.