I read about the problems with rust on the wheel wells of the early Mazda 3’s, but didn’t think that I had a problem with my car. Until I looked very closely at it one day and noticed rust bubbles beginning to form near where the rear fender meets the rear bumper.

From reading messages on various Mazda forums I found out that Mazda recognized the problem and extended the rust protection warranty to five years. Sadly, I only discovered my rust problem in 2010, my 6th year of ownership.

So this summer I decided to fix the rust on my own. Although you may think that your car is fine, you may be surprised at what you discover when you remove the rocker panel trim and peel back the fender liners. Here’s some pictures of the rust on my car:

Left rear wheel well:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89284258132194

Right front wheel well:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89286320291666

Right front wheel well #2:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89288535354818

Right rear wheel well:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89412588087170

Right rear wheel well #2:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89442437294818

Right rear wheel well #3:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89474772861122

Left rear wheel well:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1129006...89505276839730

I’ll post some pics of my DIY body repair later on. I’ve completed the job and, while it’s definitely not a professional-looking job, looks OK.

 

like me, you shoulda went for the rust inhibitor. doh. now, like me, you better get Maaco. but not literally, go somewhere else.

 

I owned a Mazda 323 before the Mazda 3. When I traded the 323 it didn't have a speck of rust on it, and that was without any dealer-applied or third-party rust protection and after ten years of driving through typical Canadian winters. So I thought the 3 would be just as rust-resistant as the 323. Turns out the 3 rusts in the same places as the Protege 5.

Even with the rust problems, my next car will be a Mazda 3. The 3 is just far superior to any other hatchback on the market today.

 

i prefer the sedan, but mazda3s are still top of their class, from 05 (the year of my ride) til now. definately not one of the fastest cars ive ever driven, but with all the stuff ive done to it, its a really fun ride.

 

Jim,
I was unable to view your photos regarding the rocker panel trim removal. I neen to do some rust repair, too. How can I view your photos?
Thanks!

 

I accidentally deleted then from Picassa trying to get rid of #&@#ing Google+. They're back on, but here:

Link to pics

In the first four pics, you will see white ***** on the rocker panels where the rocker panel trim should be. The rocker panel trim snaps on to these white *****, but I found that about half of them will break when you try to pop the rocker trim off.

I used an upholstery trim removal tool to snap the rocker trim off. Insert the tool in the approximate place that you think the **** is and pry the trim off, but carefully. Be careful not to dent the metal rocker, because this sheet metal will dent easily.

The rocker trim then slides backwards, if I remember correctly, then drops down. There are some more tabs on the bottom of the rocker panel that hold the trim in place. You have to slide the rocker panel trim backwards (again, IIRC) for them to drop off.

There's also adhesive tape on the edge of the trim. When I put the rocker panels back on, I replaced it with 3M double sided tape.

Hope this helps!

 

Hi Jim,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to me. I was unable to view your photos; looks like I need you to approve permission for me. Looking fwd to seeing how you did it.
Thanks.
Mike

 

Mike, I forgot to "unlock" the pictures. Google drives me crazy sometimes. Here's the link again:

link

These pics are just the "before" pics. I didn't take any of the "after" results yet.

If I were to do it again (which I will probably have to do), I would use a soda blaster to remove all the rust, then try POR-15 on the bare metal to prevent the rust from coming back. The rust on my car has come back, but not as bad as before.

For some reason, this site replaced the word I used to describe the white things with *****. The white things are plugs that the rocker panel trim snaps on to. I don't know what this site thought I was trying to say?

 

Jim,
Got 7 photos. Thanks!