Mazda dealers are in for a lot of software updates, as two recalls involving a total of 16,155 vehicles have been launched. The vast majority of the vehicles involved are CX-90s (though a few Mazda3s are also in the mix), and issues with their cameras and their failsafe modes are at the heart of these safety campaigns.
The first recall affects 4,252 CX-90s — exclusively plug-in hybrid models — whose drivers may lose motive power with little to no warning. The cause of the power loss is an overheating electric motor inverter, but that is not the problem that Mazda will seek to fix with this recall.
Instead, the automaker is looking at ways to provide drivers with more warning and more of an opportunity to get off the road if something goes wrong. That’s because losing power in the middle of the road puts vehicles and their occupants in a dangerous position, increasing their chances of being involved in a crash.
Read: The Mazda CX-90 Could Make A Reversing Sound When Going Forward
Fortunately, Mazda is not aware of any such accidents occurring in the United States, and will reprogram the powertrain and engine control modules of at-risk vehicles. The new software will ensure that drivers see a warning light or message if the inverter reaches an abnormal temperature. In addition, it will shut off the electric motor and throw the powertrain into internal combustion engine-only mode to give drivers an opportunity to get off the highway.
Mazda CX-90 and Mazda3 recalls
Mazda plans to start reaching out to owners about this issue on December 22. On that same date, it will also reach out to the owners of 10,782 CX-90 mild hybrids and 1,121 Mazda3s to remedy a separate problem, related to the cameras in the 2024 model year vehicles.
The images coming from the front, side, and rearview cameras can flicker, or even disappear entirely from the center display. That increases the risk of an accident occurring while the vehicles are performing low-speed maneuvers.
Mazda blames the flickering pictures on bad processing logic in the cameras’ control module. To fix the issue, it has developed new software that properly resets data memory when the system restarts, and should help the images show up properly.
Again, the automaker is not aware of any incidents or injuries occurring as a result of this issue. In fact, it isn’t even aware of any American customers complaining about such a problem, and the first report came from Japan. However, it will implement both software fixes at no cost to the owners.
