While we’re sure Mazda would love for its customers to figuratively drive the wheels off of its admirably fun Mazda3, we don’t think this is what it had in mind. The Japanese automaker is issuing a recall on the 2019 Mazda3 because of a kink in the manufacturing process that could cause loose wheels to potentially fall off while driving.
According to the official NHTSA filing, the issue stems from a “manufacturing process error” that resulted in a gap in between wheel hub bolts and hub flanges, causing lug nuts that may come loose. Lug nuts may fall off under normal driving conditions which, if gone unnoticed, may eventually lead to entire wheels coming off of moving cars. Thankfully, no actual detached-wheel incidents have been reported and the issue has not been linked to any accidents, injuries, or fatalities.
The recall affects a total of 25,003 cars made from Sept. 25, 2018 to April 19, 2019 in either of Mazda’s Japanese or Mexican plants. Since discovering the defect, extra steps have reportedly been incorporated into the manufacturing process to make sure lug nuts are tight and the wheels stay on.
As a remedy, Mazda dealerships will tighten all potentially loose lug nuts free of charge—a simple task that anyone who’s ever changed a tire will be familiar with. Even if owners are able to tighten their own lug nuts, Mazda would likely prefer it if they brought their cars in anyway just to make sure all bases are covered, figuratively and legally speaking.
Affected owners will be notified by early August.
h/t: Consumer Reports