The government is opening investigations into possible power steering problems in Mazda3 and BMW Z4 cars.

The investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration involve more than 290,000 Mazda3s from the 2007-2009 model years and nearly 50,000 Z4s from the 2003-2005 model years.
NHTSA says it has received 33 complaints of steering problems in the Mazda3s and reports of three crashes tied to the problem.

The government has received 107 complaints in the BMWs and one crash has been reported.

The complaints involve the loss of power steering, making it difficult to maintain control.

Government investigations sometimes lead to recalls.