Failure of the rack & pinion steering twice in the last 1.5 years; March 2004 and again Sept. 2005. Needed to be replaced each time.replacement was done under warranty the first time[ at 20,000 miles]; the second time Mazda paid for the part even though the car had 54,000 miles on it and was out of warranty; I paid for the labor.

- Murrysville, PA, USA

The transmission in my 2003 Mazda 6S has failed on me 2 times in 2 years at the most diffucult times... finals week at college and aslo during a busy time of work. The dealership has ackknowledgewd the problem and reprogrammed the computer system. Still the car had problems immidieatley after that visit, the transmission failed. They replaced the transmission with a new one, it too had the same problems... they acknowledged the situation and were unable to diagnose the problem. They told me that my car already had the upgraded computer program that is supposed to fix the erratic shifting. And that I should return if it gets worse. When it did, the technician drove it and now knows what it is doing, but he too said he doesn't know how to fix the problem if no check engine lights are coming on.... thats the other problem. The check engine light don't come on when the car does it, but further more they don't even come on when the transmission fails completely! I am worried that this car has a major problems that will only get worse and adversley affect other components. Which it already has... they rack and pinion went out and almost caused me to wreck into a city bus, the subframe was installed too tight and caused the car to squeak and rattle, the brakes have a chatter that has been addressed and have been replaced twice. But most of al all of these things have happened in the first 2 years (20 months.) the original transmission issue was addressed at 12,000 miles and has since by my opinion been the cause of the other related problems. Also the car sits an inch and a quarter lower on the passenger front than the driver front. Causing the rear to also be uneven.

- Fresno, CA, USA