My husband drove my 3 today and went around a corner into a hole. He said it sounded like a gun went off. I haven't seen my car yet but he said one of the spokes sheared off. Does anyone know how much and where I can get a new wheel to match the original ones? It is a 2005 3 5door. Thanks p.s. Way worse than we thought.

 

here, classifieds. or Ebay. Or local wheel stores might be able to find one. Last resort: dealer. They will charge you about $400-$500 for the one wheel.

 

Or you could buy all four, with tires, for $250.
http://www.craigslist.org/sby/pts/146450423.html

I wonder where you're located.

 

Hey there it is me again. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? When the car was towed to the dealer on Sat. they gave me a loaner and said they would take care of it under warranty. Now they are hemming and hawing. thanks, Kathleen2

 

 

Wow, i've never seen anything like that in my life. He must have driven over a small explosive. I'm betting that the wheel was defective only because alloy's usually bend out of round, not break in two....

 

WOW!!! I've only seen a wheel break like that under one condition. If you hit a curb at a good speed it will bend and potentially break the rim. If he said it was a hole, it would have been one deep pot-hole!

 

holy crap, thats terrible aww man thats a heart breaker right there, but there is a bright side you now have a reason to get a nice set of rims.

 

I agree...I used to sell replacement wheels/hubcaps for my father in law's business and I have never, ever seen a modern aluminum alloy wheel break completely in two under any kind of stress. they bend, not break.

If that seriously happened just by driving into a large pothole, it should definitely be covered as a manufaturing defect. However, because this sort of thing is so extremely rare, I can understand your dealer's skepticism. Stick to your guns - there's no way Mazda USA will allow a defect that bad to go uncovered.

 

Keep in mind that low profile tires don't like potholes. It doesn't matter what make of car it is - the damage is the same. I met a guy who had the same problem with his Honda Civic hitting a pothole in Mexico. This is my first experience with my new car with low profile tires (2006 Mazda 3 2.3GT). I try to avoid potholes and manhole covers whenever possible. With my truck I never had to worry about hitting potholes.
Marty