TCS/DSC light & ABS unit failure (Mazda 5)

I wish I had read this page before buying our Mazda! I then wouldn't have.

We bought a brand new 08 plate nearly top-of-the-range Mazda 5 (a Sport Diesel) from a Mazda dealership near Gatwick airport. We thought we were "trading up" to a Mazda given their showing in the JD Power surveys [where are they in those now?] and liked the MPV space, high driving position and car-park convenience of the sliding doors.

Just 6 months out of warranty (year 3 1/2), the TCS/DSC light came on. The car had done less than 12k miles. My partner rang the dealership whilst we were driving – who promised the ABS was unaffected. It wasn't – it had failed. (Luckily we never had cause to invoke the ABS before it was fixed.)

I looked on the internet and found the "Honest John" and Mazda-campaign.co.uk sites. My partner called the dealership and got increasingly irate with the lack of ownership and customer service. The dealership quoted £2,000 for the part, and then as we had a FSH, that was sugared with a goodwill discount. It was clear, as evidenced on the above websites, this was a well-known fault and the dealership/Mazda weren't prepared to stand behind their own product.

My partner was very open and told Mazda UK that we were both lawyers and would get our own way. Mazda UK shined us on, and simply offered a 55% "goodwill" discount.

I sent the letter below. I have sanitised it in the hope it will be useful for others.

I also sent my letter via email to Mazda Japan. The mazda.co.jp site has a list of directors and Mazda Japan's email format is [lastname].[initial of first name]@mazda.co.jp.

As mentioned in my letter, I also filed a complaint with VOSA – as the warning light did not indicate the ABS had failed, so a clear safety issue.

The upshot was my partner was contacted by the dealership who replaced the ABS unit free of charge (claiming they bore some of the goodwill and Mazda UK some). Apparently someone from Mazda UK was present to oversee the repair.

A shame – the concept of the Mazda 5 and it sliding doors is a good one - at the time it was only the bigger Peugeot & Citroens (which I deemed unreliable) which had sliding doors. A pity the 5 is so poorly executed in terms of quality.

Irrespective of the fact it was just outside warranty, the dealership's and Mazda UK's attitude was shocking – they just backed away from anything remotely resembling customer service.

[A point of clarity: Under UK sale of goods legislation, a buyer's claim is against the seller - the dealership you bought the car from. The law gives you certain rights around satisfactory quality. Martin Lewis' website (moneysavingexpert.com) gives some good background on SOGA/satisfactory quality in a consumer context. Mazda UK therefore are legally irrelevant (and also from a customer service angle), though commercially Mazda Japan should be concerned about what Mazda UK is doing to the reputation of the Mazda brand. As you will see from my letter, your claim would be for the cost of putting things right. Where that cost/loss is under £5k, you bring the claim in the small claims court/track, which is quite claimant-friendly. There are websites giving free good advice on bring small claims court claims – e.g. the government direct.gov site.]

"[address]

[date]

RECORDED DELIVERY

[Customer Services Manager]

[Dealer from whom you bought car]

Dear Sir/Madam

COMPLAINT - MAZDA [ ], REGISTRATION [ ]

We purchased the above Mazda [ ] from your [location] dealership on or about [date].

Background

On [ ], the traction control (TCS/DCS) warning light illuminated on the dashboard of the above vehicle and did not extinguish.

I noticed this whilst driving and immediately called your [location] dealership to check whether this was of concern. I asked what the light meant, and in particular whether it indicated any fault with the anti-lock braking system ("ABS"), [given that we had [number] small children on board]. We were promised the ABS was unaffected but it was suggested we should have the fault checked when next convenient. At this time, our vehicle's mileage was approximately [number] miles.

[On [date], I spoke to [name] in the service department of your [location] dealership and arranged a free diagnostic check. We delivered the vehicle to [location] for this check at [time] on [date]. When we collected the vehicle, we spoke with [name]. [Mr name] told us that the ABS had failed and a new part was required, costing over £[ ] to supply and fit. We expressed our horror and surprise given this vehicle's low mileage and full [dealership name] service history.

[Mr name] agreed to discuss this matter with Mazda Motors UK Limited ("Mazda UK") on our behalf. We had to chase Mr [name] on or about [date], who then indicated Mazda had offered us a []% goodwill gesture. We escalated this matter that same day to Mazda UK's customer services team where we spoke with [name] who simply confirmed the same percentage. We indicated this was not acceptable and [name] promised that Mazda UK "would investigate" the matter.]

[We have subsequently received a letter dated [date] from Mazda UK, which states your repair cost of £[ ] was incorrect, but indicating Mazda UK is still only willing to make a goodwill contribution of [ ]%, resulting in a repair cost of £[ ].]

Complaint

At the time of this fault, this vehicle was less than [ ] years old. In that time, it had done about [number] miles - the industry accepted one year average mileage.

It is a clear safety issue for the ABS unit to fail and the ABS warning light not to indicate such failure. I am deeply concerned that you told us the ABS was unaffected by this fault, when actually the ABS unit had failed. From a brief internet search, it is clear that Mazda vehicles have recurring faults with TCS/DCS/ABS systems and warning lights.

It is clear that this vehicle is faulty in that it is not of satisfactory quality under UK consumer goods legislation with regards to freedom from minor defects, safety and durability.

Resolution

We purchased a Mazda due to the strong reputation for reliability we believed Mazda had, even above other Japanese brands. This is our first Mazda. We are now questioning the quality and reliability of Mazda.

In accordance with our consumer rights, we require you to resolve this matter and expect you to repair this fault completely free of charge.

We have spoken with your Mr [name] a number of times and given you and Mazda UK a reasonable opportunity to resolve this complaint, but you and Mazda UK have failed to do so.

Therefore, unless you confirm, within 14 days from the date of this letter, that you will repair this fault free of charge, then we will have the vehicle repaired at another dealership and issue Court proceedings for recovery of the repair costs without further notice to you. The cost of issuing this Court action will be added to our claim.

I will also be taking this further with consumer rights bodies and informing the UK Government's Department of Transport's vehicle safety agency of this safety issue.

Furthermore, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules' Practice Direction regarding pre-action conduct, I require disclosure of:

· full details of the results of the diagnostic check carried out on this vehicle on [date] with all engine management error codes;

· copies of all correspondence between you and Mazda UK regarding this vehicle and our complaint; and

· copies of all information issued to you by Mazda UK and/or Mazda Japan regarding TCS, DCS and/or ABS unit/light faults and failures on Mazda vehicles.

I refer you to the above Practice Direction and also draw your attention to paragraph 4 thereof concerning the Court's powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with that Practice Direction.

I await your substantive and meaningful response.

Yours faithfully

[name]"