A problem concerning the steering system of the 2024 Mazda CX-90 has led the Japanese automaker to issue a recall for the SUV in the United States. This is not a minor recall, as it affects 43,752 vehicles, all of which must be brought to dealers for repairs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) recall notice reveals that owners of the new CX-90 may notice a sudden increase in effort when steering. This is because there may be a worn gear in the steering gear assembly responsible for transmitting the power assist generated by the power steering motor.
More: Mazda CX-90 Hit With Two Recalls Over An Overeager Failsafe Mode And Bad Cameras
Mazda says it received its first field report about a potential steering issue in November 2022 and in early 2023, it discovered it had been caused by grease pushed out from the gear teeth. It quickly initiated a fix by modifying the teeth of the wheel but after a few months, it was determined that the improved parts were also suffering from the same issue.
A second fix was then developed that requires the spring force applied to the worm gear to be reduced in a bid to ensure that excessive grease is not pushed out from the gear teeth.
As mentioned, the recall impacts 43,752 vehicles, all of which were manufactured between December 27, 2022, and December 11, 2023.
Read: The Mazda CX-90 Could Make A Reversing Sound When Going Forward
Owners will be alerted to the issue before March 18, 2024, and asked to bring their vehicles into a dealership. Dealers will resolve the issue by replacing the spring engaging the worm gear and reapplying grease to the gear teeth, free of charge.
This is not the first time the CX-90 has been recalled. In November last year, Mazda issued two recalls for it, the first impacting over 4,000 plug-in hybrid variants that could experience a loss in power and the second involving CX-90 mild-hybrids experiencing issues with their front, side, and rearview cameras.
