NHTSA Complaint #715380 — 1993 MAZDA RX-7

ON 11/16/99 I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 40 MPH AND MY ENGINE CUT OUT. I DROVE THE CAR TO CLASSIC MOTOR CARS. THEY CONTACTED ME TO LET ME KNOW THAT MY CAR HAD LOST COMPRESSION AND THAT THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I CONTACTED MAZDA CUSTOMER RELATIONS TO DETERMINE WHAT RECALLS HAD BEEN APPLIED TO MY CAR. THEY CONFIRMED THAT MAZDA RECALL #60504 AND #65609 HAD BEEN APPLIED. I ASKED ABOUT MAZDA RECALL #54407 AND [XXX] STATED THAT I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THAT RECALL BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER, MY CAR DID NOT NEED THE RECALL. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION HE IDENTIFIED THE VIN #JM1FD33**P0200001 THROUGH JM1FD33**R0302076 SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF THAT RECALL. SINCE MY VIN #[XXX] FALLS WITHIN THAT RANGE, I ASKED WHY MY CAR SHOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE THE RECALL. HE SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW. IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS A COMPUTER PROBLEM. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND HAD THE RECALL WORK DONE. IN SPECIFIC, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS RECALL WORK PREVENTS THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT FROM CATCHING FIRE. SINCE MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL, IN ERROR, I WOULD SUSPECT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED, THAT WERE NOT. THIS NEGLIGENCE IS A POTENTIAL THREAT TO ME, MY FAMILY AND MY PROPERTY. ALSO, I BELIEVE THAT SINCE MY CAR WASN'T IDENTIFIED TO HAVE THE RECALL WORK DONE, THAT THIS CONTRIBUTED TO THE DETERIORATION OF THE APEX SEALS IN MY ENGINE. ANY ENGINE SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN 49,800 MILES. UPON CONTACTING MAZDA, THE DM HAS AGREED TO OFFER $1,000 TOWARDS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ENGINE, BUT THEY DO NOT FEEL THAT THIS IS A DEFECT. I FEEL THAT SINCE WE ARE NOT IDENTIFIED IN THEIR COMPUTER AS RECALL CANDIDATES, AND SINCE WE WERE NOT NOTIFIED TO HAVE THE RECALL WORK DONE, AND SINCE WE DID NOT HAVE THE RECALL WORK DONE, THE APEX SEALS HAVE DETERIORATED AS A RESULT OF THE HEAT GENERATED INSIDE THE ENGINE THAT CAUSES FIRES IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WITHOUT WARNING. I WOULD LIKE FOR YOUR AGENCY TO ASSIST ME BY CONFIRMING THIS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT