UPDATE 3/21: **SAFETY ALERT: Fuel Tank recall - Fuel Leaks & Other Issues"

[Harrycg93]

Has anyone had issues after the work being carried out with fuel level? I don't drive mine often but got caught out on the way to a night shift, had 1/3 of a tank on the gauge but had ran out of fuel

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[nightfire10]

Has anyone had issues after the work being carried out with fuel level? I don't drive mine often but got caught out on the way to a night shift, had 1/3 of a tank on the gauge but had ran out of fuel

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Ah I've been there

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[nightfire10]

After God knows how many times I had to return the car then had to take it to a different dealer after I got mazda assistance involved the second dealer had it for nearly a week and found a sensor wire trapped under the float, but what a pain in arse. Good luck

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[casey]

Sorry to hear you've got this problem Harry. Another call to Mazda is in order I think. You can at least say you are not the only one to suffer this issue after the recall. It's pretty rare though.

[Harrycg93]

Another phone call it is then, thanks all

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[casey]

Keep us posted please Harry

[nightfire10]

For everyone's information, I just received this email from DVSA:

"Dear Mr Case

Thank you for your letter that has been passed to me to look into and provide a response, this has been allocated the following reference

32801 Mazda RX-8 – fuel leak after safety recall R/2018/014

Sorry for the delay in my response but I have been working with the manufacturer to understand this potential issue in more detail.

I raised the concern with my contact within Mazda UK and they have investigated your concerns and have provided some responses to DVSA.

They have only 1 reported case on file of a fuel leak being present after the recall has been completed at the monent.

As there is very little information available to investigate this issue at this time due to the low number of reports and that it appears to be more prevalent after the owner has refuelled their vehicle the Manufacturer are going to implement a change to their process so that the vehicles are only signed off as completed once they have been checked by a dealer with a full tank of fuel following the completion of the recall to ensure there are no leaks.

If they find any leaks they can then investigate to try and understand the cause and look to make any changes required to the process or any actions to address any shortcomings identifed (such as further training or additonal processes) to ensure the recall is robust and safe.

DVSA are also currently only aware of this issue from your letter other than the actual Recall notification from Mazda at this time and have had no other reports of fuel leaking on this model of vehicle.

DVSA are content with the procedures the manufacturer are implementing at this time to allow further investigation of this concern to try and identify if there is an issue with the recall or what the cause may be of any fuel leaks identified following the recall completion.

I understand they have also written to you about this and to request further information from your members to allow them to continue investgating this issue to understand what the cause may be and how it could be addressed as there could be many different reasons for this leak to occur. If you could supply them any information this would be useful as it will assist them in their research and understanding of this potential concern.

There are also still many RX-8 vehicles outstanding on this recall (and some other recalls on this model ) and DVSA recommend that these are completed as soon as possible. Your members can check this using the MOT Check web site link (as below for your information) and if they find their vehicle showing as having an outstanding recall then DVSA recommend contacting their local dealer or the manufacturer to arrange to have them carried out.

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

DVSA will continue to monitor this concern and work with the manufacturer to try and reach a more definite conclusion to this issue in the future, your case will remain on file to be referred to should we receive more incidences of this issue.

If you have any further questions or wish to discuss this further then do not hesitate to contact me

Thank you for contacting the DVSA with matter

Kind Regards

Kevin

This document has been data assessed as OFFICIAL

Please Note: I work condensed Hours and my working pattern is Monday to Thursday

Kevin Zinzan | Vehicle Defect Investigation & Market Surveillance Engineer
Vehicle Safety Branch & Market Surveillance Unit
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | Berkeley House, Croydon Street, Bristol, BS5 0DA
National Number 0300 1239000
Main Office Email – VSB@dvsa.gov.uk"

[Harrizone]

Might be worth pointing out to Mr Zinzan that Mazda UK only took this action on account of your highlighting the problem and not through any foresight on their part . Cheeky blighters .

[casey]

Reply sent about an hour ago:

Dear Kevin

Thank you for your response.

It took a while for Mazda UK to take this issue seriously, even though the Club had good evidence of 15 fuel tank leaks from a relatively small sample of owners. I have to commend David Wilson-Green, Director Customer Service at Mazda UK for finally instigating action, following another post-recall serious fuel leak reported to me on 31 Dec 2020. I sent a video of the leak to David on 4 Jan 2021, as soon as I became aware. By 8 January, following a detailed investigation of that particular vehicle by Mazda UK, David reported that the revised post recall “full tank” test procedure (as recommended by our Club) was sent to the dealership network. This should prevent owners collecting their car, post-recall work, totally unaware they have a leaking tank, sometimes for many months, until they fully fill their tank and happen to notice the leak.

Several owners have delayed getting this this recall work done, knowing of serious leaks experienced by others, and preferring not to risk that happening to their vehicle. The Club is now encouraging those owners to get the recall work completed, and I await feedback to check the dealers are performing the post recall “full tank” test. However, the current lockdown is obviously making logistics difficult for many owners.

[Delanor]

If they find any leaks they can then investigate to try and understand the cause and look to make any changes required to the process or any actions to address any shortcomings identified (such as further training or additional processes) to ensure the recall is robust and safe.

For sure Terry the "Mazda Technician" is going to go through that process whilst your car is leaking fuel from a full tank isn`t he?

What I find so shocking about this whole affair is that we all know that if you presented your car to a Mazda dealer with a suspected potential fire risk due to a breakdown of parts within the fuel pump assembly would they deal with it by taking it apart and replacing seals and lock rings - no you would be presented with a bill for a complete replacement pump!

And for Mazda to claim that they are only aware of one case of fuel leakage after repair is that just the UK or Internationally because owners in other countries have reported the same issue on OC forums!

Mazda are guilty of putting profits before safety in my opinion!

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Del.

[Delanor]

Might be worth pointing out to Mr Zinzan that Mazda UK only took this action on account of your highlighting the problem and not through any foresight on their part . Cheeky blighters .

As I pointed out earlier the same response was made from Mazda UK about the oil cooler leaks it was only when one owner experienced oil spraying over the brakes and it was reported to VOSA at that time (I was one of them) that Mazda looked at it seriously on that occasion they claimed they only knew of one case of corroded cooler pipes!

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Del.

[ChrisHolmes]

How on earth can it be necessary for Mazda to investigate the reason for the leaks when there is just one sealing ring therefore it has to be that which leaks as it’s incorrectly tightened and then incorrectly checked to be sealed. A technical desk jockey could work that out!

[Delanor]

When you look at the complete repair procedure from this Repair Bulletin instruction I am not surprised that problems occur with re-assembly and certainty that the pump was properly sealed - I for one wouldn`t fancy doing it and returning the car confident that a leak wouldn`t then occur.

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Del.

[ChrisHolmes]

Took my car in this morning for the recall work and during the booking in process I was advised to check for fuel leaks when I filled the tank! I responded that was not correct and that Mazda have issued a revised instruction to dealers to fill the fuel tank to check for leaks and not simply test with only the 1/4 tank of fuel. "We cannot be expected to pay for a tank of fuel" came the reply and I replied "I agree, and you are not but you are expected to advise the customer that there will be a charge for the fuel required to fill the tank in order to check for any leaks"
"Customers cannot be expected to have the skills to remove the rear seats squabs and covering panels to check for leaks"
They are now going to fill the tank to check for leaks.

Latest is that I just received a call advising that one of the airbags had not come in and would it be OK to extend the loan car until tomorrow?
How is this for the loan car model name Mazda 3 GT Sport Tech Skyactiv-X NHEV 180 Imagine if that was badged on the tailgate!
The courtesy check video was of good quality and reported an oil leak which I know is from the oil tank vent due to my overfilling the COFS tank, twice!

News to me today is the following.

The leading spark plugs have also been checked and would have been replaced if required.
The front wheel arch liners are being replaced with later items.
The car would have been eligible for new oil lines had it not got Racing Beat lines fitted. Interesting as its a 2006 build registered in January 2007 which I thought was after the cut off date for the oil line recall.

[Delanor]

You cannot fault them as they sound like they nearly knew what they should be doing!

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Del.

[ChrisHolmes]

It’s a reflection of the service reception manager Chelsey who is certainly on the ball.

[casey]

As Del said, very nearly right, plus some bonus extras you weren't expecting.

When you queried their request, did they check the recently issued Mazda UK procedure, "dealer fills tank and checks for leaks" and accept that asking you to fill the tank was an error?

The fact they asked you to fill the tank at least shows the issue was known to them (some comfort at least that the message has got through!). Seems to me they simply didn't want the hassle of having to take the car to a fuel station and dealing with a leak if they found one

So, what if you didn't query their request, took your car to a fuel station, filled the tank and discovered fuel gushing out? What did they expect you to do, drive a lethal weapon back to them to fix the leak they created

I'll wait until you get the car back to decide if we should communicate your experience to Mazda UK.

[Nicklaus]

It looks like the hard work Malcolm has put in has started to bear fruit.

Question: Will I have any issues from the dealer if I take my car in with a Decat?

I know it’s nothing to do with the recall but I presume they turn a blind eye?


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[Nicklaus]

In theory they could refuse to drive the car on the road, either for a road test or to fill with fuel, as technically it's not roadworthy.

However, I've never heard of this happening and it's certainly no excuse not to do the required work.

[rotatopotato]

I had no issues putting mine in for recalls with a de-cat.

[nightfire10]

I had no issues putting mine in for recalls with a de-cat.

Same no problems

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[nightfire10]

I had no issues putting mine in for recalls with a de-cat.

Same no problems

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Ah! but are you assuming that a Mazda tained Technician actually knows what a Cat` is and where to find it?

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Del.

[rotatopotato]

They're those things that vibrate and scratch you, right?

[PaulAV]

The car would have been eligible for new oil lines had it not got Racing Beat lines fitted. Interesting as its a 2006 build registered in January 2007 which I thought was after the cut off date for the oil line recall.

My car is of the same age, built 2006 registered 2007, I purchased it early 2008 from the dealer(ex demo car) later in 2008 it was recalled for oil lines and rear arch liner sealing upgrade so the recall was still current for that year car

[ChrisHolmes]

Unfortunately the oil lines were never officially "a Recall", they were "a Service Campaign".

Even then, the instructions were "to inspect and replace as required". Mazda were very mean in the time allowance for the job, so having done one or two, many dealers decided that all subsequent cars were either "fine" in the inspection, or only the easiest of the five lines needed replacing. If your car had been through the process, at any time in its history, then there was no further comeback.

The Service Campaign was officially withdrawn in 2009, though some dealers did manage to replace lines at Mazda's expense, for at least a couple of years after, as they forgot to close the billing reference.