NHTSA Complaint #10368689 — 2003 MAZDA PROTEGE

MY SON BOUGHT A 2003 MAZDA PROTEGE 5, BACK IN LATE JULY 2010. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, ON AUGUST 3RD, 2010 IN FACT, HE KNOWING OF AN OPEN RECALL, HAD THE CAR SERVICED AT THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP. APPARENTLY THEY PERFORMED PART A OF RECALL 3005C AND DID A COMPRESSION CHECK AND SLAPPED A "RECALL COMPLETED" STICKER UNDER THE HOOD. COME LATE AUGUST, MY SON TAKES THE CAR AWAY TO SCHOOL. ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2010, HE CALLS COMPLAINING OF A "'LOUD ENGINE NOISE". 2 DAYS LATER, WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A NEARBY PERFORMANCE SHOP. THEY INVESTIGATED AND NOTICED THE RECALL 3005C STICKER UNDER THE HOOD. KNOWING THIS, THE PERFORMANCE SHOP RECOMMENDED WE TAKE THE CAR TO THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP NEARBY MY SONS' SCHOOL. THIS SECOND DEALERSHIP VERIFIED WITH A BORESCOPE THAT THERE WAS DAMAGE IN CYLINDERS 1 AND 3. AFTER MUCH DISAGREEMENT, THIS SECOND MAZDA DEALERSHIP EVENTUALLY OPENED THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AND FOUND 7 OF THE 8 SCREWS AND ALL 4 BUTTERFLY VALVES LAYING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE INTAKE. THE SECOND DEALERSHIP THEN REPLACED THE INTAKE MANIFOLD BUT UPON STARTING THE ENGINE FOUND THAT THE ENGINE NOISE STILL EXISTS. NOW THEY CLAIM THE ENGINE NOISE IS DUE TO "ENGINE BEARING FAILURE" AND NOT RELATED TO THE 3005C RECALL. AFTER FORCING THE ISSUE WITH MAZDA THEY CLAIMED NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE CAN BE OFFERED. I WAS THEN FORCED TO TOW THE CAR BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE SHOP. THERE THEY REMOVED THE CYLINDER HEAD AND FOUND THE MISSING SCREW EMBEDDED IN THE TOP OF CYLINDER #2. BEARING FAILURE HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED BY ANYONE YET. I MAINTAIN THAT THE SCREW BEING EMBEDDED IN CYLINDER #2 PLUS OTHER METAL FILINGS RELATED TO THE 3005C RECALL, MUST HAVE CAUSED THE ALLEGED "BEARING FAILURE". MAZDA CLAIMS THE SO CALLED "BEARING FAILURE" MUST HAVE EXISTED PREVIOUSLY. APPARENTLY, THEY THINK I WAS DRIVING THE CAR AROUND WITH THE BEARING PROBLEM. LOOKS LIKE LEGAL ACTION WILL BE THE NEXT STEP. ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED HAD THE FIRST MAZDA DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE INTAKE MANIFOLD IN THE FIRST PLACE. *TR