Last Thursday Mazda notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of steering issues on its Mazda3 and Mazda5 models; a week later, it's turned into a major recall, with the manufacturer planning to summon back more than half a million vehicles worldwide to repair power-steering systems that fail without warning. Currently, 215,000 recalls have been filed in the U.S., with an additional 10,000 affected vehicles sold in China. Recalls will also extend to Europe and Australia. The affected Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles were produced in Japan from 2007 to 2008.
Three accidents -- none of which resulted in death or injury -- kicked off the recall.