NHTSA Complaint #10146887 — 2004 MAZDA MAZDA3

I AM WRITING YOU TO SEEK YOUR ASSISTANCE IN REVIEWING A COMPLAINT THAT I FILED WITH MAZDA, BUT HAVE YET SEEN NO RESOLUTION. ON DECEMBER 27, 2005 - THE OIL FILTER HOUSING CARTRIDGE ON MY 2004 MAZDA3 BASICALLY FRACTURED AND ALL OF THE OIL WAS RUN OUT OF THE CAR, AND THEN THE ENGINE SEIZED. MY CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 54,000 MILES, AND 5 OIL CHANGES, ALL WITH SYNTHETIC OIL. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO TOM BUSH MAZDA, WHERE THEY VOLUNTEERED TO DO SOME RESEARCH TO SEE IF THEY COULD DETERMINE THE CAUSE, AND THEN PERHAPS ASK MAZDA FOR "GOODWILL" ON THE CAR ITSELF. ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 3RD, I WENT INTO THE MAZDA DEALER, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE "OIL FILTER HOUSING CARTRIDGE" HAD BEEN CRACKED BY FAULTY WORKMANSHIP AT ONE OF THE OIL CHANGE LOCATIONS THAT HAD CHANGED THE OIL. UPON DOING FURTHER RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT MAZDA CHANGED THE DESIGN OF THE ENGINE TO NO LONGER USE THE PLASTIC CARTRIDGE HOUSING, BUT WENT TO A CANISTER FILTER, AND ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN TO ALL OF THEIR LOCATIONS THAT SEVERE DAMAGE COULD RESULT IF THE PROPER TOOL WAS NOT USED TO REMOVE THE CARTRIDGE. THEY NO LONGER USE THIS DESIGN. THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS VIA WEB SEARCH OF SIMILAR FAILURES OCCURRING TO THIS FAULTY DESIGN FEATURE. IT IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BY THE FACT THAT I HAD THE OIL CHANGED AT TOM BUSH MAZDA PRIOR TO THE RELEASE OF THEIR SERVICE BULLETIN - IT ADDS MORE CONFUSION TO WHO MAY BE CULPABLE FOR THE PROBLEM. I AM TRYING TO BE RATIONAL ABOUT THE ISSUE, AND AM FINDING THAT MAZDA WILL NOT DESCRIBE THE CHANGE IN DESIGN OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY IN THE DEFECT OF THE PRODUCT/DESIGN. THE OIL LOSS IN QUESTION WAS CATASTROPHIC - NOT A MINOR LEAK, THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE ENGINE EMPTIED IN 30 OR LESS SECONDS. I HAVE CONTACTED THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, MICHAEL VON BALSOM, AT 904-731-4010, AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RETURN PHONE CALLS, HAVE REQUESTED AN ESTIMATE OF REPAIRS FROM TOM BUSH MAZDA FROM PAM BUSBY, AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN ESTIMATE. *NM