The alternator quit which caused the cooling fan to stop , the heat light didnt come on so the car ran hot and exploded the radiator, the top of the radiator cracked and spewed out all of the water , the brakes failed twice and had to replace the master cylinder and rear brakes ,
Engine & cooling
1989 Mazda 323 Engine problems
Owners have filed 4 complaints about the 1989 Mazda 323's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 11% of all its complaints, most recently on January 15, 2004. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
- Complaints
- 4
- Recalls
- 0
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Engine complaints
Mechanic was informed by mazda to carefully observe belt tension. Mechanic feels that mazda's design on the crankshaft has too little metal left after the front jounal to provide adequate strength for crank not to break over long period of time. Crankshaft is cut down a lot from the journal size. Mechanic noted that mazda has a service bullentin in reference to accesory belt tensions and feels that mazda is not wanting to admit that crankshaft is too small. Diameter of shaft lends itself to permature failure due to...
Read the full complaint
metal fatigue. Mechanic noted other reports on nhtsa website in reference to this problem. Felt notice needs to be out there. Properly sized crankshafts with proper lubrication do not break. They are reused in motor cores for rebuilding. This resulted in a purchase of a new engine, not a rebulit, from mazda.*Ak
The crankshaft pulley bolt broke, without warning, causing engine failure. Please describe details.
The crankshakt has been replaced at four different times . *Ak
Mazda 323 engine complaints by year
323 engine problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data