Hawke's Bay Mazda drivers not affected by recall

Hawke's Bay motorists will not be affected by Mazda's recall of vehicles worldwide -- but they are being urged to keep an eye on their power steering.
``Mazda North America has announced a voluntary recall of vehicles which has been initiated from a number of complaints in the US,'' Mazda New Zealand marketing manager Glenn Harris said.
``It is not a safety-related issue in New Zealand. Even though there may be a loss of the power steering, there are absolutely no circumstances where the steering of the car becomes inoperable.
``So we'll be managing the repairs of cars for customers as soon as parts become available. We are not recalling any vehicles.''
People who bought the Mazda Axela and Mazda -- also known as the Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 -- between April 2007 and November 2008 were warned watch for a malfunction warning lamp on the dashboard.
Mazda has applied to recall 215,000 vehicles in the US, and more than 10,000 in China.
Three accidents had been reported in the US in connection with the defect, but no deaths or injuries.