I purchased my 2005 Mazda Tribute on March 3, 2023 off Facebook Market place of a owner who said al that was wrong is that it needed new shocks and struts. He went to further explained the reason for the loud banging noise when rolling over a bump is due to the shocks needing to be repaired. Me not knowing any better I took his word for that because he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. When I took it to the shop (Firestone) to get new shocks, this is when I learned the vehicle was in worse shape then what I was told. The Firestone employee said he thinks the owner knew what was wrong with the car and lied to get my money.

He did and now I am in a sticky situation because I don't know what to do. The passenger rear wheel well is completely rusted out where the frame is damaged and it is very dangerous to drive on the road. Firestone wont even touch it as they do not want to be liable for if anything goes wrong. As I am upset with the owner for selling me this vehicle in this condition, I am more upset with Mazda for not recalling this year and model. I did some research to learn this issues with the wheel well has been ongoing since the 2001 Mazda Tribute model that was recalled until the model 2004.

So why not recall the model 2005 as well with all the many complaints they have on this model? This has inconvenienced me in so many ways and I am still trying to figure out a solution. I was told I can trade it in for a down deposit for another vehicle but I CANNOT AFFORD A CAR NOTE, which is why I bought it out in the first place. I rather look into seeing if it can be repaired and if not I was advised selling it for pieces but that sounds like a lot. Does anyone know if this wheel well is repairable? Or when will will Mazda hold their company accountable? I thought this car would last at least 3 years before I had to worry about getting a new one. I feel stuck there has to be something that can be done.

Just found out about this issue and how there are multiple complaints for exactly the same issue on the same car / same age / same spot: So much so the same issue, I could just copy & paste previous descriptions! ~ 14 year old Mazda, owned since day one, religiously maintained, perfect shape other than I brought it to my mechanic for usual oil change & tune up since I now have a job requiring a long drive and wanted to prepare for longer daily drives.

About a year ago we noticed and tended to a bit of rust on the rear passenger inside door & gas cover, so mechanic rechecked those areas. To my and my mechanic's shock, he called me right away to say he couldn't believe how bad the passenger rear wheel well was! Rest of the wheels have no issue.

I did some research and found that the previous models from 2003 and 2004 were recalled due to the same issue, yet Mazda has not released anything on the issue for the 2005 model. Certainly a design flaw. My mechanic suggests I replace the car. I was hoping to get at least another 2 years from this car as it only has 108,000 miles and otherwise runs great! I can't afford a new car!

Mazda should own up to this issue. They recalled up to 2004, but should have also included 2005, especially since so many complaints have surfaced! I love my Tribute, and I used to love you, Mazda. Unfortunately, it's time to say BYE BYE MAZDA! You done me WRONG!!!!

Has anyone gotten a solution?

It started with a tapping sound coming from the passenger rear. Then while going over a bumpy bridge the tapping became a banging. I stopped and there was a small piece of rusted material missing from the wheel well. I continued on my trip and each bump made a loud bang. When I got on the highway I went over a bridge joint nad there was another bang but I felt a lateral sway in the body. I got off of the highway and made it home via slower roads. When I got home the only thing attaching the shock to the frame was a small piece of metal. So I research issues with the 05 Tribute and find that this was a common thing with the 00-04s which were recalled. Should have recalled the 05s too!!

When driving the vehicle I hear awful thudding from the back of the vehicle. On further inspection we learned that the rear wheel well had rusted away completely and the shock had detached from the right rear wheel well. The car is unsafe to drive. In addition, we have noticed rusting at the gas tank. The car is in excellent condition otherwise. We had new tires put on about 4 months ago and no mention was made of this. It came out of nowhere. Also, my husband installed new brakes and shocks around the same time.

This is crazy!!! All of my other wheel wells are perfect! (See picture of perfect left rear wheel well)My car was garaged 90% of its life. It still has a value of $3-4000 on KBB.com but my mechanic says it's unsafe and in an accident rear end could shear off and could be catastrophic.

Everything else in our car is running like a top! Before this happened I would've told you I bet we'll get another 100,000 miles in this car. Yes there's a lot of miles on this beauty but that's because we drive a lot (3 boys playing hockey) Now we have 2 in college and need our car!!

I contacted our local Mazda & Corporate Mazda, but they could care less. I have also contacted the NHTSA(1-800-424-9393) to file a complaint and advise anyone with this problem to report it to them because they help start recalls. I can't believe that there are a lot of complaints for this, ALL ON THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL WELL and no one is going to protect the consumers of a product that is this expensive.

I have ordered the auxiliary bracket kit from ebay ($245for kit -no idea yet what labor will cost & possibly 2 weeks wait for kit to arrive) and I am praying that my mechanic will be able to fix it. This has our busy family hopping with only 1 car now.

This could have gotten me killed. I heard a rattling... stopped at a mechanic... he told me it was very bad and i was lucky I made it there in one piece and the suv was undrivable safely. I took to body shop... body shop told me they had never seen a vehicle do this in their 60 yrs of business and that it should have never happened. Told me it was a defective piece of steel used at the factory.

My car is immaculate and this is not acceptable. It is not ok for a car co. to sell a defective vehicle to an unsuspecting public. I will file a complaint with the consumer protection agency. I smell class action in the air.

Rear shock mount rusted, right side only just like others here! I decided to follow recommendations on forums and I installed the repair kit (from ebay, 220$ + shipping and well worth it!) that includes a specially designed frame-mounting bracket for the shock absorber that you simply bolt on the frame just underneath the original shock mount. It comes with all the gear you need to seal the opening in the floor. I have done this by myself with no knowledge in 5-6 hours following the instructions provided. I am quite sure, like other folks I have talked to, that this was the best thing to do to keep this car on the road for a few more years!

Don't think about the option of replacing the wheel well panel $$$...

This is a really annoying situation and I don't know why Mazda hasn't recalled these Tribute. The left wheel is completely rusted. Definitely a really crazy accident waiting to happen. My wife bought this truck brand new and we have been the only owner. It has never being in an accident but yet it has been marked unsafe by the local Mazda dealership. At first, I thought it was a minor fix, till I was quoted $3000.00 and when I research this problem. I discovered so many people are having the same issue - Rear Left wheel. MAZDA SHOULD PLEASE RECALL THESE TRIBUTES!!!!! I will be uploading some pictures soon

$530 +taxes to fix mine! ($300 for parts+$230 for labor) Just like other folks, rear right wheel well completely rusted out... Replacing the wheel well would have been such a pain in the ass and I did not want to pay the $2500 job like some people here. That's why my mechanic has done a few research and he suggested me not to replace it but instead he ordered and installed the auxiliary bracket kit made especially to solve this problem on Ford Escapes and Mazda Tributes. No need for panel de-welding/re-welding...

Looks pretty solid and drives just like before. Will clearly ride a few years on that! Consider the bracket option folks.

Inner fender wall shock mount rusted and broke away from frame. Passenger side rear shock is completely broke away from frame with driver side rear shock soon to follow. Cannot have anyone sit in back of car due to too much bouncing of rear end. Car is now dangerous to drive unless a fix is put in place. Cannot in good conscience sell vehicle without fixing. Current state of vehicle...Unsalable. Car could sell for $4 or $5000 if Mazda would own up to this problem. Recalls were put in place for 2000- 2004 then knowingly continued to make and sell 2005 without correcting the problem.

Seriously, this was the most scary car situation I have or could have been in. What is worse is that this is my 19 year old daughter's car. The car has been babied, garaged, etc. for 9 of the 10 years of age it is. She took it to college this year. It just passed inspection 8/31/15 and today when I took it to fill it up for her, I heard horrible thuds, rattles, etc in the back right rear. When we stopped for gas, I looked in the area and saw how the entire wheel well was rusted out.

I took it to the closest auto repair story literally a few hundred feet away, and they said it was too dangerous to drive. It would cost $3000 to fix it. At that point, I looked online for any information because I could not believe I was dealing with this on a 10 year old car that had been babied!

Then I saw all the forums. My heart is still beating fast as I think about how horrible this could have been for my daughter if she had been driving at a high speed. She honestly thought it was something rolling around in the back of her car...she just is too inexperienced to know better. This put my daughter in total danger.

I am furious that they recalled up to 2004 models and have not responded to 2005 models. I have an appt. with the Mazda dealer we purchased the car from when it was new. They kept telling me on the phone it was not covered, but gave me the 800 number which then had an operator connect me back to dealer for appt. for review. I will take it to Bommerito Mazda in St. Peters, MO. I literally just leased a new car from Bommerito Infiniti so I am really hoping they make this good. This is an obvious structural defect and if they do not make this right for all of us, I will forever question the ethics of both Mazda and Bommerito. They will lose my business forever and I will not rest until everyone knows, including BBB and attorney general. This is really scary.

Update from Jun 20, 2016: Ended up leaving 2 Mazda Tributes in the parking lot at the dealer and leasing a Mazda 6 at "cost" from them. Upon following the Mazda 2005 to the dealer with our Mazda Tribute 2008, The 2008 literally caught on fire on the way there...was smoking as we drove into the lot. the electrical wiring in the engine caught on fire. We could drive neither car off the lot and was too expensive to repair both.

Just finding out about this issue and how there are multiple complaints for exactly the same issue on the same car / same age / same spot: ~ 10 year old Mazda, owned since day one, religiously maintained, perfect shape other than a sudden separation on the right rear wheel well. Rest of the wheels have no issue. Certainly a design flaw. Taking it to Mazda dealer to inspect it and see what solution they can provide. Edmunds resale car value is over ~$4,500 without this issue. Mazda better own up to this issue. Has anyone gotten a solution?

I heard a rattling sound in the right rear of my 2005 Mazda Tribute. Took it to the shop and the entire wheel well was rusted out. Took it to the body shop for an estimate for the repair. They did not recommend repairing the vehicle since it appeared the other side of the vehicle was already beginning to rust, along with the bottoms of the doors, etc. I saw that Mazda had recalled all of the 2001 through 2004 model years of the Tribute for the EXACT SAME PROBLEM, so I contacted the dealer from whom I had purchased the vehicle. They were kind enough to get in touch with Mazda, who quickly refused to extend the recall to the 2005 model. The vehicle was unsafe to drive and, although I had just replaced the entire exhaust and had some other engine work done recently, had no choice but to dispose of the vehicle. I will certainly never be purchasing a Mazda again.