Mazda to recall more than 2 million vehicles worldwide over defective tail gate and engine problems

Mazda Motor Corp is to recall 2.3 million vehicles worldwide, over issues related to their tail gate. The same was revealed by the Japanese automaker on Thursday (1 September).

Of these, about 390,000 vehicles will be recalled in Japan and about 1.8 million vehicles will be recalled in the overseas markets. While Mazda declined to give a regional breakdown of the numbers, it said the move will help fix the damper stays on the rear gates of these vehicles, which if exposed to salt could corrode and break.

The models affected include among others, the Mazda3 sedan and hatchback and the Mazda CX-3 crossover SUV. The vehicles that have been affected were manufactured between December 2007 and December 2015, according to Reuters.

A separate news report, citing the Japanese transport ministry said that Mazda would recall an additional 130,000 vehicles in the domestic market over a defect related to its diesel engines. The ministry said that the carmaker was taking this move after receiving 846 customer complaints.

According to Yosuke Sabato, a transport ministry official, the Mazda models affected by this recall include the CX-3 crossovers, the Demio and Axela small cars. He said the defect was with the engine control unit. Sabato further explained that this unit could lead to soot buildup in the exhaust valves and this in turn would lead to vibration, noise and engine failure while driving.

This recall is not the first for Mazda, which is Japan's fifth largest carmaker. The company, which has sold about 1.5 million vehicles in the year ended March, had in May recalled many vehicles in the US over defective Takata airbags. The Japanese airbag manufacturer had declared airbags in about 33.8 million US vehicles as defective. Apart from Mazda, nine other automakers such as BMW, Fiat, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors had then recalled their vehicles over this issue.