Mine hasn't fail yet but most of us know what the problem is.

Im thinking will this cause an accident. hmm It shouldn't be not like Im completely out of control. Steering still works, at speed its not even a problem. but might be a problem at lower speed.

Mazda is stupid enough to position the coolant overflow tube directly at the power steering wires. sooner or later (if you don't re-route it) it will kill the power steering.

maybe Mazda should warranty this PLUS change the design of the bottle/tube direction?

opinions, opinions.

 

Sounds like you have a bug up your *** with Mazda, you know what the problem is,and how to remedy it,just do it, I really cant see the need for this thread.

 

Is this a kinder, gentler you?

Haven't there been recalls of other cars because of power steering failure? You might browse through the recalls at NHTSA to see what precedent there is. Then see how many people have had this problem. I'd think NHTSA would take any steering component failure even more seriously than clutch bracket failure.

The coolant bottle setup on the RX-8 seems very odd to me. Now, my '06 is the first new car I've bought since 1994, so maybe technology has changed and I'm behind the times. But it seems like a step backwards. At one time the radiator cap was on top of the radiator. If the car overheated, coolant just sprayed where it felt like. Eventually they started using an overflow tube to at least direct it downward. Then they started to direct the overflow tube into a catch tank. Coolant would blow past the cap into the tank, then get sucked back in when the car cooled off.

On the 8, that plastic bottle is not a catch tank. It's really the radiator top tank, just separated from the radiator. And we're back to the overflow tube just going overboard.

Is that the way most cars are these days?

Ken

 

Yep, on the FC any extra coolant is "vented" into a catch "bottle", and when the engine cools off the vacuum will suck the coolant back into the system. This is why I almost never need to add coolant to it.

There was a massive recall on all 2007-2009 Mazda3 cuz of power steering failure. the part Mazda used will rust and crack/break, result is lost of steering.

On the 8, the plastic bottle is the exact same idea as AST on the FD. Its used to get rid of extra air/bubbles in the cooling system, but sadly there is nothing at the end to catch all the extra coolant, not just that, they're stupid enough to let the coolant like you said, to go anywhere it wants and most of them end up at the Power Steering connections. and that circuit is expensive as "fked" to replace. Did I say the bottle sucks too? god damn plastic breaks after a while, it happened to me once.

will see what happens.

 

dont make a mountain out of a molehill here guys. get a longer piece of rubber hose and just replace what is there.
While I not denying that overflow coolant can be a problem in that area, most PS problems I have seen it not due to the coolant. It is due to the connectors --over time-- become looser, not as tight. The steering is very sensitive to any voltage change whatsoever and if it senses a problem it will shut down. When a connector shifts or whatever it can cause a tiny voltage change. Thats is what I have seen happening in 99% of the cases around here.
I fixed mine by just removing the plastic connector, but keeping the actual blade (male and female) connectors on the wires and using shrink wrap etc to get them more secure. Since that time my steering has never been better.
Its a simple fix and doesnt take long.
OD

 

you gotta admit that coolant is probably the biggest problem. IF Mazda position the tube to somewhere else in the first place then we will never have a problem.

I direct mine all the way down to the oil cooler, but most owners don't and one day when their connectors break due to coolant and it will cost $$$$$$$ to fix + the issue that might cause.

 

After driving a 1989 626 that would occasionally run out of fluid pressure in the middle of a sharp turn, causing the power steering to suddenly go away, I've developed a pretty good skill at compensating for steering that suddenly gets stiffer. If you can reroute the coolant hoses under the EPS supply wires, great, but it's not going to kill you if you don't.

 

its not, but my point is this is just a stupid design.

 

oh i agree---totally stupid design---easy fix and no one is paying attention at Mazda..
OD

 

Meh, I tried cleaning crimping, etc. I finally said screw it and got the $80.00 harness replacement from the dealer and all is good. I can't tell you how many people have had the whole rack replaced or control unit and after talking to them i bet it was just the harness.

When I compared the old harness to the new one it was kind of obvious why it didn't function so well. Texas heat was not so kind to it.

 

like me. i spent $1200 on a rack and pcm only to find the first harness i replaced was bad too. now i'm stuck with an extra set of pcm and power steering rack. i could've gotten coil overs

 

this is a well known issue and Im thinking Mazda should cover this ... NHTSA 2nd time ?

can I NOT do it this time? I have a feeling someone gonna hire some hitman to finish me ... :P

 

i had the same problem , started about 4 days ago, the electric steering would intermittently quit. until the other morning the light came and stayed on. i was doin alot of reading and i found the thread about the 2 connectors under the intake box. sure enough i got to them and disconnected them and they were full of dirt, it didnt take much, i cleaned out the dirt and made the terminals inside the connectors a little tighter and it did the trick, took about 15 min to do the fix, and its been fine for the last 2 hours. we'll see if it comes back in a few days

 

Wait until the first time it rips the wheel out of your hand and sends you off in a new direction without warning. It's a lot of fun.

 

weee...!

Just like the Geico comercial.. we wee weee.................

 

 

That would suck, luckily mine never went out while driving on the track or in the canyons. My replacement harness has been holding up well for the last couple of months (knocks on wood).

 

i have had a small degree of that on the interstate---scared the hell of of me. I white knuckled it the rest of the way.
It happened so damn fast and it was strong.
I also noticed after my back yard fix--my steering was better than I can ever remember.
So if the quality of your steering is going (its subtle) that may be a sign of problems down the road.
OD

 

I've just recently started having the same issues with my 8. I just try to compensate for the loss of power steering by steering harder. But that caused a problem when I turned too hard and almost hit a wall on the highway.. Didn't know what the problem could be so thanks for the thread. Now I know what to look for.

 

never happen to me. phew