Yesterday I noticed a shudder in the rear passenger corner of my car that occurred after hitting bumps. It was too dark to get under there and look, but upon inspection today I’ve discovered that the rear passenger shock is leaking fluid, badly. I took it for a quick ride, parked it, and within about 2 hours there was a puddle under the shock, and the shock itself was covered in a thin film of fluid.
Before I go in to a dealer to plead my case, I thought it might be helpful if anybody on here had any pull, or friends that worked at a Mazda dealer, that might be able to kinda nudge the shop supervisor in my favor.
The vehicle is a 2012 Mazdaspeed3, just over 45,000 miles. I’ve owned the car practically since it was brand new…I think it had 5800 miles on it when I bought it just over 2 years ago.
I did some research on the speed3 forums and it appears that these shocks are a common problem, but apparently never became enough of a problem for Mazda to justify a recall.
The factory suspension is about as stiff as I want a daily driver to be, so I’m not going to use this as an excuse to upgrade the suspension. I’m not planning on ever really tracking the car.
I talked to a buddy that worked at a dealer for some several years, and he said a lot of times they have bulletins of common problems that they’re aware of, but never did a recall for. He also mentioned that sometimes, dealers are willing to offer a “good will” repair, as he put it, in which case they would admit that the premature failure of the part was inexcusable at such low mileage, and should be covered by Mazda without cost to me.
At the end of the day, it’ll be less than a $100 repair that I could take care of most likely in the driveway, so I’m not too worried. But, I’d still rather have that $100 in my pocket, along with time of mine I’d rather not spend working on a car if I don’t have to.
Any help is appreciated.
-Andy