More Than 170,000 Mazda Cars Must Be Withdrawn In The US And Canada, Here's The Reason

Mazda 3. (Doc. Mazda Motor)

JAKARTA - Mazda took steps by making a recall involving the Mazda 3 and CX-30 models in the United States (US) and Canada.

According to a CarBuzz report, Monday, June 9, this automotive manufacturer recalled more than 170,000 units on the two models due to imperfections in the vehicle's airbag system that could prevent other safety features from working when an accident occurred.

The problem arises when the driver leaves the ignition key in the "ON" position for two hours or more without turning on the engine, so that the battery can be drained and not filled.

When the battery is loaded and the vehicle restarts, the air bag control module, known as the Sophisticated Airbag Sensor (SAS) unit, can store errors that disable the airbag system.

Based on documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), these problems do not appear if the battery is drained for other reasons, such as letting the lights turn on.

But if that happens through this special sequence, the airbag warning lights will turn on and a message will appear on the instrument cluster. This is a sign that the airbag system is not working.

The automotive manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan conducted an investigation into the matter in mid-2024 after receiving a field report from the US and initially did not consider it a safety risk, but linked it to customer errors.

After a March investigation this year, Mazda realized that the case came from a flaw in his car resulting in a recall order on May 29.

Luckily, the manufacturer has not received an incident related to reports of injuries or accidents related to this case. However, Mazda has received reports of 15 guarantee claims involving airbag indicators and substitutions of SAS units.

Specifically, the models affected were Mazda 3 with 51,857 units produced at the Mexican and Japanese factories. Meanwhile, CX-30 amounted to 119,555 units, consisting of Mexico.

The affected vehicles are production dates from May 2023 to January 2025, but Mazda clarified that all vehicles produced after a certain date in late 2024 and early 2025 already include updated software fixes and are not part of a recall.

This means that the newer 2025 unit buyers are not affected by this problem and are only affected by the production model in the previous period.

The owner will be contacted by Mazda starting July 28 by suggesting that his vehicle be taken to the nearest dealer network.

Repairs will involve reproducing the SAS module or replacing it completely, depending on the condition of the car. All handling is done free of charge and the vehicle is under warranty.