Your Mazda3 Wheels Could Fall Off

Having one or more wheels come off your car at speed isn’t a fun thing to experience. Best case scenario you’re looking at some damage to the chassis, and at worst it could be fatal. This could be a problem with brand new 2019 Mazda3s, and it’s all because of improper tightening of the lug nuts in the factory.

NHTSA issued a safety recall report, which states there’s “a partial gap between the hub bolts and hub flanges” which results in the loose lug nuts. So far no one has reported their wheel falling off while driving, so no accidents are attached to the issue.

Obviously, you can tighten your lug nuts. If you own a torque wrench, you can even do it to spec. Still, Mazda will notify Mazda3 owners and offer to have the lug nuts tightened at the dealer for no charge. Of course, the dealership service department might upsell you on some nice underbody coating or find some imminent repairs that aren’t covered by the warranty, but that’s a separate issue entirely.

You can read the NHTSA report here.