MAZDA ranked lowest in Customer Satisfaction
 

Ive owned 2 mazdas and so far no issues, same as my family members.. I wonder what the people are complaining about.

Rust for one. 5 year old cars shouldn't have rusted rear quarter panels.

^ yeah i get that, working at mazda, i've seen people come back with rust.. you figured living by the ocean they would know that by now, and put on thicker paint on their cars... the mazda 6 is built in the states along side the fusion and that `car never rusts.. ( i have one )

my fuel filler area has rust. I'm going to take care of it this or next week (along with major repaint of the whole car)

where is the exact area at the quarter panel? do u have a picture of it ? I sorta know where you're talking about I checked but didn't see any rust (phew), but I wanna be sure I'm looking at the right place.

in Australia (ASH8, talking to u LOL) Mazda is rated top of the line.

Why is it bad in USA?

biggest reason (my Opinion) : MNAO and it's dealership network.

For example --- me. New York City area. all 5 dealerships in the Metro Area are GARBAGE. they're looking for every possible way to rip people off. Well It's not just a Mazda NY thing, it happens to almost all NY dealership, and I say Almost because I have yet to visit all auto dealerships in NY (lol), but the ones I've been to, they all suck. Mazda, BMW, Hyundai, Ford, etc. there you go, so many unhappy customer.

in NJ is a totally different story, they are more willing to work with you, I mean they're still dealerships they want money, that's the point of business, I'm not blaming them. but at the same time you can make the money you want as long as you don't treat every customer like a fool. the biggest problem in NY is that they all act like "Hmm, you don't buy? 10 thousand other fools would, suck it bitch"

Even service, NY is totally garbage, I've been to all the NYC dealership to try to get my 8 fix for whatever reason, all of them wants me to pay them cash, if I refuse they would say the car is fine and send me off. one of them actually want to try to void my warranty, I was like ok, go ahead and try, that's the way you treat your customer ? no wonder your sorry ass went out of business (they really did)

in one of the dealership in NJ, they actually do diagnostic and fix my car, even for issues I never noticed(whole engine harness, ECU connectors, throttle body, etc)

thumbs up to them.

After they did my Engine(again, didn't bug me at all, but they probably know I'm an oil change freak so they never bother with the oil change receipt crap)

Mazda sent me a survey in mail, I wrote a whole page of how good this dealership was and how suck ass the other one in the "city" did ...

funny thing is that I thought the dealership would never see what I wrote, I was wrong; the next time I walk into that nj dealership they told me like hey, you're the guy who said we're the best and "Blank" dealership sucks. I was shocked and like yea I did, I was just being honest. that's all.

on the other hand, I hope that dealership in NY saw what I wrote so they know how shitty their service are. but too bad, I would NEVER go back there. their Mazda division in the building is getting smaller and smaller, I wonder why. haha

if MNAO is smart, they should say something about or do something about the crappy dealership network they have in NY. NY is such a big city and it effects the rating by a significant margin (I think)

^ thank god one of my good friends owns the mazda dealer near me.

I Had a Mazda 323 in college. I ran that car into the ground (beach, partys, accidents). It just came back for more. That was part of my decision to buy an RX8. I've had my 8 for 7 years, still love it.

whose ranking is this?

79 points?! That's a D- :(

Know how you feel. I've hd my 8 for 7 years, 204,000 kilometers later its all original, still going strong and still bringing a smilel to my face every time I drive.

Mazda need to step up a bit in quality too.

both my tail lights were replaced 3 times, EACH side.
Starter, brake pads twice, Engine, Engine Harness, throttle body, and a shit load of other things.

although some of the stuff is NICE to be replaced, like Brake pad and Engine, but if possible I rather not have to spend couple hours everytime it needs to be fix.

notice : even Hyundai is higher rated than Mazda, and how long have Mazda been making cars again ? :(

Pretty sure when a "survey" has a category called "all others" it shows a lack of quantitative data.

Do a search within The Truth About Cars (TTAC.com) for "Mazda rust" about the issue. Every Protoge around here is rusting as are about 1/2 the pre-smiley Mazda3's. They do not stand up to road salt and dings on the paint grow to bubbles quickly (unlike my 13 year old, entirely Michigan driven Toyota). My 8 is fine so far, but it's never been driven winters and only seldom in rain.

My local Mazda dealer also does Buick, GMC, Volvo too. Most of their business is with the Buick/GMC brand. I suspect there are very few stand-alone Mazda only operations in North America. Most dealer fortunes are not tied to the success of Mazda and it shows.

I've got rust starting on one rear quarter panel in front of the tire. I've had the car since new, 7 yrs. now.

did u fix it ?

Same here. Just noticed it this past spring when doing the big cleaning after winter.

Fixed ;)

NYC is not NY and is a very small area of the entire state coming from what you would call an original "upstate" person or rather central NY'ker to the rest. There are way more dealers around the rest of the state although I can't vouch for them since I live in CT currently, just clarifying to avoid confusion for the readers :D:

No, I've been under-employed for quite awhile. It is too optional to fix atm. To many other priorities.
It still looks OK at 10 ft. Up close you can see bubbling and the fenderwell lip is wavey. It will be fixed someday, I hope.

When I look at other people's Mazda rust spots closely, it seems to me that the Japan-built Mazdas are using a layered steel sheet. Salt water gets between layers and wicks. It's the kind of rusting I've not seen in other cars for at least a decade. (My 1977/78 RX-4 rusted like this, my 1999 Solara does not). Once it gets going, the only way to completely stop it is to cut out the affected area, which will be much larger than it first appears, and patch. Sanding off the rust will just expose the edges of more layers and the wicking then continues at a faster pace. Another place 8s seem to rust is around the through holes in the trunk lid for the spoiler bolts.

I have no opinion on the study, but I can say that my 2005 Mazda3 had ridiculous rust issues. None of my Fords have ever rusted like that bitch did. I loved the car (until the engine self-destructed on my way home work, and I literally shed tears when I sold it to a salvage yard for $2,000), but the amount of rust on that thing was completely unacceptable, and I know others with Mazda3s who had similar rust issues in similar places. Both rear doors had big holes rusted through the B-pillar sections (the passenger side went much sooner). The rear wheel wells started rusting shockingly quickly. It was disheartening, especially since I took such fantastic care of the car and waxed it like crazy, etc. That was my favorite daily driver I had ever owned. With the mods I had made to it, it was crazy fun to drive, sounded fantastic, had greatly reduced understeer, and got good gas mileage. People complimented me on it constantly, and many people, even old school V8 hot-rodders, complimented me on the sound, some saying they couldn't believe it was a 4-cylinder engine in the car. I still miss that car, even though I am loving my new 2012 Focus Titanium hatchback. :(

I've owned a few Mazdas and aside from the occasional carburetor issue on my old '86 Mazda B2000, that was the most reliable mazda I've ever owned.

Mazda 626 had all kinds of transmission issues

RX8 - transmission failed in under 30,000, sunroof was replaced within 10,000 miles for loud clanking, brake pads squealed like crazy when I first bought it, also replaced (twice), and ignition coils are prone to early failure.

Now, do I still love my RX-8? Absolutely! But I can see how if your 'average' owner had the issues I listed above, they'd probably hate the vehicle and give it tons of low scores on a customer satisfaction survey.

quality of cars? satisfied.
service/dealer? deserve to be in the bottom.

:evil_laug:evil_laug:evil_laug

Yes..well where do we start...

You are correct IMO.

Sorry, I don't particularly like how MNAO goes about their business and I blame them for Mazda's lot in NA.

THERE IS no one else to blame.
1. Sole stand alone Dealerships ONLY..NO other brands, you avoid brand confusion at a retail level and you achieve a more loyal workforce (staff) including techs as they ONLY work on one brand...not 3 or 4.
2. It is far easier to "work" with customers than against them..much easier.

And WHY does Mazda perform so badly in Satisfaction Surveys in the US..see my 1 and 2 and Squeaky Brakes are not a fault...now how? does the Dealer "Service Department" handle this is another matter.

RUST....look Mazda's and every other brand had this as an issue 30 years ago.
When the consumer demands lighter cars the metal is thinner and lighter.
Mazda's process of corrosion resistance is the same as any other maker, Steel is sourced from the same companies, etc, etc.

No, every other brand does not have this issue.
In the past 14 years I've owned Mazdas, Pontiacs, BMW, Mercedes, Fords, Mitsubishis, and Toyotas.

Guess which one of those has more rust then any other....

Oh, and I live in Sunny SOCAL where it hardly EVER rains so if My 626 and B2000 had rust.

jussayin' :dunno:

Rust...

I don't care what car you own...

If you get stones that hit the metal panels at high speed, it WILL chip off the paint and IF the stone is a sharp one it will go through to the steel and expose it to air, once that happens rust will start to form immediately (withing 24 HRS)....bubbles or spiders of rust start and is visual after 12 mths.

Industrial fallout is another issue, particularly Diesel engined trucks without latest particulate filters, they spew out HOT particulates which land on your car and burn into top clear coat, degradation starts.

Unless you are anal at paintwork and touch up these marks and chips (wheel arch in particular rust WILL start)...

Now having said all that...Mazda's paint is CRAP..like most mainstream, it looks "nice" where you see it, but by heck you can't get it any thinner.

IF Mazda put more PAINT on their cars corrosion would not be as bad as the paint would resist these small stones and consequent damage...

Even a Ferrari 458 only has 5 litres of paint (just over a gallon).

do some googling, and get back...EVERY Brand has corrosion issue.

jussayin' :dunno:

As for Salt on roads..thank Gd we don't have to do that here...salt and metal will corrode no matter how thick or thin the metal is...you want light more efficient cars then you get thinner light sheet metal.

Back to surveys....considering ALL of them are done at or under 3 years, rust should not be an issue...(but then again you see 2010 BMW owners complaining of RUST on their wheel rotor hubs...OH NO!!..)

How can Australia and UK and Germany get #1 Customer Satisfaction and the US does so badly?..

It REALLY should be the other way around as the US gets it easy..

Almost 1 in 9 new cars sales in Australia is a new Mazda.
Only 2 in 100 new car sales in USA is a new Mazda.

Slack Distribution and Slack Dealers...have given Mazda a slack and cheap image there.

Mazda & rust?

this sounds new to me....:scratchhe

i have a 20 years old mx-5 that stationed for a couple of year in oper air into a container terminal by the sea that have 0% rust, never treated or painted....

i agree with Ash with poor painting of Mazdas, instead

Yeah Jackson...I feel for you..Rust and Leaks is a Bastard...

I am trying to find exactly WHERE you are talking mate..

It is the Front Windscreen area, just checking EPC and I cant see where it would leak..there are these two pin stud things (see pics)..

Do you think the painted plastic Roof Rail Mouldings are leaking somewhere at the front or front clips??
See first pic

As we know it is where the one piece side panels join into the roof..it should not leak, you have got me concerned...report back after panel shop and see if you can share some pics?.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1313834574

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1313834597

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1313834597

Where is this NJ dealer located? I need to know.

What the hell is this rust stuff you guys are speaking of? I that the stuff I see on my rotor faces after it rains and dries up?

I don't have enough fingers to count how many Mazda dealers go out of business and/or personnel (service manager) replacement. :bigok: ....maybe that's a good thing eventually all the good dealerships will last?

Wayne Mazda. They treated me well so i treat them well.

sad thing is that they didn't have the color of Mazda3 that I want, otherwise I would of bought it there.

no man, REAL rust.

stop by the bodyshop today the guy there rest assured me that it's just windshield leak. well, NY gonna rain tonight and tomorrow so car is back into garage. will try to get it fix next week along with complete body work.

yep. funny thing is they probably dunno why they're getting less and less customer.

if I have the money and be able to start my own dealership, jezze, Im sure I will be the top Mazda dealership in no time.

I still get random people stopping and stareing at my car and saying "wow thats a nice car, what is it?" LOVE IT! yes sir, a smile with every Km :)

MMmm..

So what really is it Jackson?, IMO they are two separate issues.

A Windshield (windscreen) leak (if rusted, or a bond seal leak) is usually under the glass frame area.

IF on the roof rail the water is running down from the rusted hole inside the roof and down to the windshield.?

So which is it and can you get any pics mate?? ;)

It's gonna rain tonight so the car is in the garage now, and I forgot to take pics :(

they said they don't see leaks at the spot that I show them, and it's just minor rust. and funny thing is, when I pour water there today, nothing happens. so I could be wrong (and I truly hope I AM FREAKING WRONG)

I will wait until Monday to bring the car over, call the insurance/3rd party bumper vendor to verify something, then they will take everything apart (I know them well) and check everything out for me.

Time for a carbon roof, now that WON'T RUST ;)

No, I've had many cars, and I drive crazy miles on them, and I've lived in the rust belt my entire life. The Mazda3 rust I (and many others) had was completely different and vastly more severe than any other car I've ever owned. Clearly there was an issue with the Mazda3 and rust. None of my Fords ever developed anything more than a slight hint of rust in a spot or two under the same driving conditions. My Mazda3 had a GAPING FUCKING HOLE in the B-pillar after 2 years. Clearly, that's an issue with the car when all other conditions remain the same. I can't vouch for rust in other Mazdas, but I can say my Mazda3 clearly had an issue with it, and I wasn't the only one. To have major rust in four different location of the car after only 4 years is not normal. My 1991 Escort GT didn't have anywhere near that level of rust after 6 years; my 1997 Contour SE had only a tiny bubble starting to form in one spot on the rear passenger side door at the edge of the rubber weather stripping under the window after 4.5 years (and many more miles); and my 2001 Focus had not a spot of rust even beginning to form after 4 years (and had fewer stone chips than my Mazda3 had after only 1 year). My dealer even admitted to me that their Mazdas have more rust issues than the other (Volvo and GM) brands they sell.

My Mazda3 was extremely reliable from a mechanical perspective for the first 4 years or so, but then it seemed like it just starting falling apart, and rust had already started to form long before that.

This ^^^ and I might add my car is not winter driven .... Mazda of Orangeville basically told me, too bad ...

Then this happened

http://www.insidecaledon.com/news/20...isabled-woman/

This is why Mazda gets a bad wrap

http://www.omvic.on.ca/news/releases...se_2010-04.htm

You are 100% correct- while I had no complaints about Mazda of Great Neck before they folded when the recession really slammed auto sales, the other dealer was a goddamned crook who tried to rip my throat out at the end of my lease. I truly wanted to buy my car, but I'm not paying some gangster $800 to transfer my title. Many dealers on Long Island in fact, are rumored to be in the hands of some shady characters- like people you've seen in certain movies.

When I called Mazda Credit, they're response was "they're just trying to make money!" Thats what they had the nerve to say to a 10 year Mazda customer.

Thanks to this vermin that infects the Mazda dealer network, no Ford or Mazda product will ever be purchased again by me or any of my family members.

While Im sad to see any sports car go (lets face it- the new grille was ungodly frikkin' ugly, and the engine metrics make no sense in the 21st century) I would have been happy to own the car- which didn't give me a lick of trouble- for many more years to come. It was a hell of a performance value for its time.

Pity MNAO is run by flaming idiots who never took responsibility for the thugs who ran their dealer network.

My 1987 RX7 was very very reliable, no rust, got 26mpg on the highway, fun etc.
my 2 RX8's 2008 and 2010 were both very fun but: both had a noise in the front end when you start the car and turn the wheel to pull away, 2010 had squeeky break noise all the time even when not using brakes, 2008 leaked fluid, otherwise fine. The MPG of the RX8 16-18 is totally uncacceptible in this day and age considering it only has 159 ft lbs of torque to offer. Noone likes wasting money for premium fuel when other makes offer much more power with much higher mpg's (esp since my 87 RX7 got 26mpg) I think Mazda is an amazing company that builds very fun products but maybe they need to step up the QC and RD to get with the times.

your 1987 RX7 has no airbags, not as safe body, not as comfy, not as much equipment, etc.

Not to mention, your 1987 RX7 has how many horse again ? was it 160 or 148 or was it the turbo like what 200 ?? hmm. before you say I don't know shit about Rx7 yea I have a S5 myself, and I've pretty much torn everything apart in the car to rebuild it. last I know the RX-8 has 232 hp, same 13B , NA. something that Rx7 turbo can't do at stock.

speaking of mpg, my 8 can get 24 mpg highway. hmm, both ur car were bad? or you just can't drive for shit ?

I still have no idea what noise you're talking about, as my RX-8 drives just like any other car that I drove.

you obviously have no idea what you are talking about, just get lost.

Was waiting for this post J..

Totally agree..

Being somewhat diplomatic, I am having trouble understanding why Mr Mitsubishi is here and posting...yes the forum is free for all...yes, was a former 8 owner, however, his posts are somewhat antagonistic.

I wonder how welcomed we would be in his forum with a role reversal.?

Trollololol. Ban time, yet?

nah, why would we want to be as low as the EVO forum ?

the post that guy made got deleted like almost immediately. Most EVO owners can't stand negative comments. cuz deep down they know their car is nothing but an Econbox with a fast turbo.:rollingla

He is no different from the forum clogging bullshit monchie produces.

Stalkers...following me to every post now...LOL
You see what you want to see, if your 1 car doesnt do something then all RX8s dont do it?
Google front end noise RX8...a very common issue although not all cars have it. Ive seen others have same issue.
RE: mpg issue, I didnt do a ton of highway driving...did a mix of city/hiway and still never got above 18mpg per tank....this is also a well known fact of RX8.
I had 3 rotaries, I do know what Im talking about, The RX7 was the most trouble free of all 3.
It had 146 bhp...not 160bhp that was the 1989 and forward non turbo engine. There was no 148 bhp engine in the second gen.

Troll=anyone who says something you cant dispute and you disagree with....

Oh man, you're the only troll so far who makes this "OMG NOISE" thing sounds like the car would explode at anytime.

my 1 car doesn't do it ? hmm ok, well, no other RX-8 that I've met had this issue, and I'm talking about 50+ RX-8. maybe you're an idiot ?


hmm ok, you know you got a RX-8? I thought u were talking about a Prius.

It's funny all these morons kept complaining about RX-8 not getting 18 mpg of mix driving. My Mazda3 can barely get 18 REAL LIFE mixed city/hw mpg. I guess dumbasses like you are too into the EPA rating, which everybody with a sense knows it's utter bs.


It's good to know that. so does lots of RX-8 out there. but why don't you point out that RX-8 weights almost 500-1000 (depends on trim) heavier than a FC ? try to put an extra 500-1000 lbs of sand bags on ur car, see if you can even get close to whatever bs you're talking about.

Yes I know a 1990 Honda Civic can get over 45 mpg. Damn Civic these days must suck cuz they can barely do 30. Jesus Honda what were you doing !


close enough, it was something in the 140-160 range. but doesn't change the fact with the same displacement, the 13B-MSP engine has much more hp.