Mazda Motor is recalling over 300,000 units of the Mazda3 and Mazda5 in the North American region manufactured from April 1st 2007 to November 30th 2008.

According to an a report. Further details from the report suggested the breakdown of figures is as around 215,000 vehicles in the United States and a further 100,000 vehicles in Canada and Mexico.

The recall relates to an issue with the steering system which may suddenly lose all power assist while driving. Reports of such failures have been made in Japan, then the US since 2008, and Mazda's own investigations concluded that the problem was caused by rusting in the power steering hose (another source we checked says the rust comes from the air-con pipes). These rust particles eventually make their way into the power steering pump, which then shuts down as a fail-safe.

Local Mazda distributors Bermaz Motor has responded to these reports with a press statement released on August 18th. The statement assured customers that a recall in Malaysia is not necessary at this point in time as 'there has not been any safety related occurrences to date'.

However, when it comes to safety-related issues, 'to date' is very much the operative phrase, and Bermaz's statement also noted that there may be "some isolated cases, when drivers may experience heaviness in the steering system."

Contrary to popular belief, power steering failure does not make a car un-drivable, but substantially increased effort will be needed to steer the car as the entire power steering mechanism effectively becomes a dead weight.

In view of the possibility that the problem might actually affect models sold here, and also to provide customer peace-of-mind, Bermaz will voluntarily check all Mazda3 and Mazda5 units sold between May 1st 2007 to December 30th 2008. In the interest of safety, we would urge all owners of the said vehicles to make this check without delay.