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Discussion starter · #61 ·
shrug

I haven't seen a single article about these cars having any more issues due to rust than any other vehicle and, after 185k miles, I still take corners faster than I should and enjoy every second of it. The only things on Mazdas I've seen fall apart due to corrosion (after roughly 8 years) are the upper strut mounts in the rear.

If I've got any "imminent failure areas" they would've broken a long time ago.
Who needs articles when we have recalls:

Note that the recalls happened after cars were roughly 8 years old.
 
Who needs articles when we have recalls:

Note that the recalls happened after cars were roughly 8 years old.
Both for 2nd gens ;)

Like I said - haven't heard a single person on here or seen any articles about this generation (yet). So far, so good for everyone here.
 
Discussion starter · #64 ·
Both for 2nd gens ;)

Like I said - haven't heard a single person on here or seen any articles about this generation (yet). So far, so good for everyone here.
We're now at the roughly 8 year mark. Prior recalls happened due to customer complaints. I'm here to encourage you and other gen 3 owners to look closely at the top of their lower rear control arms, and lower front control arms and file a complaint with Home | NHTSA when they look like mine and likely yours.
 
Discussion starter · #65 ·
... haven't heard a single person on here or seen any articles about this generation (yet). So far, so good for everyone here.
"So far so good"? That just means no one has noticed the problem. Likely due to having to jack up the car to see the top of the rear lower control arms. You seem to be viewing recalls as a bad thing. I'd welcome a Mazda recall to replace the lower control arms and stabilizer links as that's less that I have to pay for. Plus it would restore my faith in the company.
 
Recalls are bad things...... it means there was a serious enough issue with a large enough majority of the vehicles that the manufacturer decided to spend millions of dollars implementing a free-to-the-customer fix because it otherwise would have resulted in countless lawsuits/issues.

Companies with vehicles oozing recalls don't garner my favor, that's for sure.

And I am not going to lose faith in a company when they show no more or less rusting than any other major brand vehicle in their market (unless you get into the specifics of where the cars were built, in which case our 3rd gen 6 was from Japan and much better quality control than previous models/years which were from Mexico). It seems to me that you're actively looking for a problem/complaint about this car without providing any concrete evidence as to what the problem really is.

BTW you can see the tops of the rear lower control arms without jacking the car up, takes like 20 seconds - mine still have plenty of paint left on them and show no areas of concern for being the age that they are.
Automotive tire Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Rim
 
Discussion starter · #67 · (Edited)
It seems to me that you're actively looking for a problem/complaint about this car without providing any concrete evidence as to what the problem really is.

BTW you can see the tops of the rear lower control arms without jacking the car up, takes like 20 seconds - mine still have plenty of paint left on them and show no areas of concern for being the age that they are.
I'm surprised - Yours certainly looks a lot better than mine. As for concrete evidence, my pictures speak for themselves. What more do you need?

I'd much prefer not to have any problem. Remember - It's the Mazda dealer that brought this to my attention as a critical problem that needs to be addressed before it becomes a safety issue.
 
I'm surprised - Yours certainly looks a lot better than mine. As for concrete evidence, my pictures speak for themselves. What more do you need?

I'd much prefer not to have any problem. Remember - It's the Mazda dealer that brought this to my attention as a critical problem that needs to be addressed before it becomes a safety issue.
So, I feel silly now - when you first posted, I wasn't able to load any of the images on your OP, and I hadn't gone back to see if they finally showed up.

Your rust is far worse than mine and definitely a concern. Sorry to beat around the bush so much only to agree with you lol. That's 100% warranting a call to Mazda.
 
when you first posted, I wasn't able to load any of the images on your OP
Not the first time ive seen that happen. Usually once a day.
 
Not the first time ive seen that happen. Usually once a day.
In my case, I can't see the one posted by @Byakuya. I finally saw it yesterday.

We don't have winter season but I always wash the car's underneath every time I clean it. If I passed a flooded area, I make sure that I wash it thoroughly. Sometimes, I'll even go to a fuel station just to avail their underwash service.

It is normal to see a 20 year old car here but cars are getting cheaper so I don't think most people will retain it for such a long time.
 
Here are some photos, three of which which unfortunately I can't put into context, that is to say... mileage, environment it was run in, or even whose car it is (could it have been "Mazdamoisturization's car"???) Said 3 photos are of a 3rd gen 6, of course.

The two I want to point to are that of the rear-view of the rear subframe, and specifically the rear toe adjustment scales. Also, the front view of the frt susp LCA... its eccentric adjuster... Seems to me these areas particularly may be worth keeping corrosion-free...

The photos have lost their logical order with the upload... but I have four other ones I want to comment on:

Door jamb photo: there's a foam block up against the bolt-on front fender... That seems like a natural moisture trap. Rustproof the inside of the fender, there?

Remaining three photos... Before and after application of Bilt Hamber's "UB" undercarriage sealer, a waxy material with apparently good staying-power; and a fairly yellow looking underbody... with many built-up layers (apparently) of Waxoyl.
 

Attachments

Interesting. When I look at Byakuya's pics I see the same level of corrosion as mine. It took me a bit of time to get the phone camera in the right positions to see the problem areas. Car needs to be jacked up to really see the rear lower control arm/stabilizer link bracket area and expose the subframe to bushing connection rot. The front lower control arms tend to be rotting out right at the bushing - again - have to get the camera in the right angle to see it.
I refer the OP to this post, post no. 71... 2015 Mazda6 GT - Filed Safety Problem with NHTSA due to Rust

But I also note that the OP's frt wishbones, as they enter the bushing, are in a much worse state. And yes, the weldments appear to be where corr. is worse...
 
Discussion starter · #73 ·
OK so I’ve come to terms with the fact that Mazda isn’t going to step up to the plate and provide any assistance what-so-ever. So now I’m weighing my options and leaning towards bringing the car to the dealer and letting them replace everything that needs to be replaced front and rear. Fix any chassis rust under there and do whatever kind of rust preventive treatment they offer. Tempting to do a 1” drop in the process, but this is not my area of expertise.

The big question: Are there any suspension components that I should consider not replacing with OEM in favor of a superior part?
 
The big question: Are there any suspension components that I should consider not replacing with OEM in favor of a superior part?
The OEM suspension is pretty dang good, but if you wanna dump some money, id get H&R coils, Godspeed rear camber arms and some front adjustable pillow mounts. I dont think thats gonna cost much more than the OEM stuff, unless you find a really cheap dealer and your dealer wont mind installing it all.
 
OK so I’ve come to terms with the fact that Mazda isn’t going to step up to the plate and provide any assistance what-so-ever. So now I’m weighing my options and leaning towards bringing the car to the dealer and letting them replace everything that needs to be replaced front and rear. Fix any chassis rust under there and do whatever kind of rust preventive treatment they offer. Tempting to do a 1” drop in the process, but this is not my area of expertise.

The big question: Are there any suspension components that I should consider not replacing with OEM in favor of a superior part?
I have to wonder if the dealer is the best place for the work to be done at... but I suppose you're only just (first) trying to determine what parts to replace versus which to try to presumably media blast (as the best method) and then prime, paint, and rustproof... The replaced parts, too, need to be protected... and the lower control arms have hollow sections with poor access.... other than with an aerosol can and 360°-spraying flexible tube lance to coat with creeping-type cavity wax, say.

I wonder if the dealer would offer to do this cleanup and protective work...

You also have to answer, for your circumstance, whether it is economic for you to do this. You might also consider replacement of only some of the worst offending cpts with used ones so you can sell the car off, in good conscience?
 
Discussion starter · #76 · (Edited)
The OEM suspension is pretty dang good, but if you wanna dump some money, id get H&R coils, Godspeed rear camber arms and some front adjustable pillow mounts. I dont think thats gonna cost much more than the OEM stuff, unless you find a really cheap dealer and your dealer wont mind installing it all.
No cheap dealers around here and yeah, getting the dealer to install off brand parts might be a challenge. I contacted my go-to collision shop and they took one look at the pictures and said "No thank you". Also, dropping 1" makes undercarriage maintenance even more difficult. Probably best to stick with stock since I have no suspension experience and I have no issues with the way it currently handles.

I have to wonder if the dealer is the best place for the work to be done at... but I suppose you're only just (first) trying to determine what parts to replace versus which to try to presumably media blast (as the best method) and then prime, paint, and rustproof... The replaced parts, too, need to be protected... and the lower control arms have hollow sections with poor access.... other than with an aerosol can and 360°-spraying flexible tube lance to coat with creeping-type cavity wax, say.

I wonder if the dealer would offer to do this cleanup and protective work...

You also have to answer, for your circumstance, whether it is economic for you to do this. You might also consider replacement of only some of the worst offending cpts with used ones so you can sell the car off, in good conscience?
The challenge is finding someone willing to do the job that won't f**k it up. I know the dealer is likely the most expensive option as they're more focused on replacing with new parts than doing some minor rust-oration on the parts that would otherwise be salvageable. At least there I have a fighting chance of them fixing any errors, plus it's on record if Mazda ever does a recall for this issue on Gen 3 maybe I'll get a few bucks back. Best I can do is have them save all the old parts for me and restore the salvageable ones myself (for god knows what purpose). I'm hoping I can at least get the dealer to do the minor chassis rust cleanup and some form of chassis rust prevention. If I can keep the cost under $10K, it's worth doing vs selling and buying something new.
 
No cheap dealers around here and yeah, getting the dealer to install off brand parts might be a challenge. I contacted my go-to collision shop and they took one look at the pictures and said "No thank you". Also, dropping 1" makes undercarriage maintenance even more difficult. Probably best to stick with stock since I have no suspension experience and I have no issues with the way it currently handles.


The challenge is finding someone willing to do the job that won't f**k it up. I know the dealer is likely the most expensive option as they're more focused on replacing with new parts than doing some minor rust-oration on the parts that would otherwise be salvageable. At least there I have a fighting chance of them fixing any errors, plus it's on record if Mazda ever does a recall for this issue on Gen 3 maybe I'll get a few bucks back. Best I can do is have them save all the old parts for me and restore the salvageable ones myself (for god knows what purpose). I'm hoping I can at least get the dealer to do the minor chassis rust cleanup and some form of chassis rust prevention. If I can keep the cost under $10K, it's worth doing vs selling and buying something new.
$10,000 potential expenditure would be economic? Is it not a 7 year old car? Are used cars that crazy-expensive out there?

Hey, I know you really like your car... and it appears otherwise to be in good nick - but how many miles are on it? What would the blue-book value of the car be if the subframes/cpts corrosion were not evident? If it has high miles, the automatic trans giving-up would be $5k potentially...
 
Discussion starter · #78 ·
$10,000 potential expenditure would be economic? Is it not a 7 year old car? Are used cars that crazy-expensive out there?

Hey, I know you really like your car... and it appears otherwise to be in good nick - but how many miles are on it? What would the blue-book value of the car be if the subframes/cpts corrosion were not evident? If it has high miles, the automatic trans giving-up would be $5k potentially...
I believe used cars are crazy expensive everywhere right now. It's a sellers market, plus you never really know what you're getting when you buy used - which is why I will only buy new from now on (unless we're talking classics over 40 years old). 42,000 miles on it. Book is around $16K. (Repeating myself): I covered the entire front clip, rocker panels, trunk lid and rear bumper top, roof in front of sunroof with PPF immediately after buying it. (Not done by Mazda). Paint is near perfect. No chassis rot except minor surface rust on underside chassis. OEM rims replaced by Mazda due to pealing paint less than 4 years ago = rims have less than 10K miles on them and are perfect (only used 6 months/year). Still have the original tires on, but they're now due for replacement. OEM remote start. All service done on or before schedule at Mazda dealer.
 
Discussion starter · #79 ·
I'm guessing a significant contributing factor as to why my 2015 42K mile vehicle has more rust than Byakuya's 2014 185K mile is my car is never garaged and during Covid my car sat on a gravel driveway and rarely moved while I worked from home for 18+ months. I'll be getting quotes to pave my driveway, though at 3500 sq.ft. I'm sure I'm not going to like the price.
 
Just my opinion, I would not drop that kind of cash replacing those parts. I would sell the car, you will get top dollar because used cars are in high demand. I would use the proceeds to buy a new car. I suspect that will be the best financial decision. Best of luck to you.
 
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