Steering fluid leak.

[alhope34]

Hey guys, just wanted to give those of you with higher kms on your MS3's a heads up. My car has developed a power steering fluid leak. I checked it out last night and it turns out one of the rubber fluid lines that goes into the steering rack right above the rear motor mount has already dried out and cracked and split. I'm at 121,500 kms now and it should be covered under my MAP warranty, my dealer will hear back from Mazda on Monday. They said there isn't a reason why it shouldn't be covered, though. You guys with higher kms might want to check out your rubber lines and see if they need replacing.

[TheMAN]

heat from the exhaust/turbo probably cooked it
ozone also kills rubber

I know it is not the reason, but I like to change the steering fluid out at 50k with synthetic for the very reason to avoid steering parts going bad/drying out and leaking
the fluid does go bad over time like anything else does... heat kills the fluid, and once the additives in the fluid has been expended, they no longer can provide any added protection they normally give