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Comments
On a V6, the filter is in an awkward spot and angled forward. When you break the seal on it, oil tends to run down onto the block which can make quite a mess of that area. To avoid this, when I start loosening the filter by hand I push forward on the bottom of it while turning the filter several times quickly (to get some quick separation from the block), and sometimes I can succeed in getting the flow of oil to start down the filter instead of down the block, but this is difficult to achieve. To keep the exhaust pipe clean, I wrap a piece of tin foil over the top of it, and make the ends u-shaped so the spillage from the filter will run off the foil into my collection container. The filter also barely fits between the exhaust pipe and the radiator support, so you have to be careful there. On my car it needs to be tilted a bit so the lip at the top will fit through. It's easy to make a mess while changing the filter on this car, so you just have to be patient and careful.
The drain plug is located just above the rear bottom edge of the oil pan, so it is oriented horizontally facing the rear of the car. Unfortunately it has an integrated rubber washer, which does not seal very well. I've always been careful not to over-torque it, but even so I find an oil stain around the plug every time I do a change. It has to be the plug, as nothing above it is leaking, and I have de-greased the entire area twice following changes only to find the stain return again. Personally, I like crush washers better - I've never had one leak on me.
When I first bought my car, 5W-20 was not very common in my area, but now I am able to choose from a few different brands in some of the major parts store chains. I used to use Mobil1 as it was the only 5W-20 full synthetic available here at first (sometimes it was sold out), but switched to Pennzoil Platinum two changes ago. Both of those are full synthetics. Apparently Mazda uses (or at least they used to) a Motorcraft synthetic blend for this car, which many online say they have tried and like, but I have not used it myself.
Enjoy your new toy!
I won't have a chance to go to the dealer until next week so what should I do in the meantime if it happens again so I don't get stuck somewhere. Is there a trick to get it started. Should you just toggle the shifter back and forth until it fully engages in park.
I don't get the clicking noises - that almost sounds like a dead battery.
With my problem, I definitely think it is the clutch (park) safety. Now whenever this happens to me, I disengage the clutch and engage it again, and it starts right up. I imagine that moving it from park to drive and back would essentially be the same thing.
Khana
I have a 2007 Mazda6 2.3L automatic and just changed the oil to syn Valvoline 5/20 at 3k (yeah, I know it is a little late ..., $20.95 for 6 quarts at Kragen now) I also drained the ATF and refilled with Amsoil syn ATF. However, I was not able to figure out how to get to the cartridge. Can someone tell me how to open this "plastic" cover?
Give me anything but an electrical problem because, unless it happens in front of a mechanic, it's almost impossible to diagnose snd the constant fear of being stranded makes me want to get rid of an enjoyable car.
Called the dealer and spoke to the service technician, he says the battery may be the problem, when I mentioned Radio and Lights work he comment was the battery may not have enough voltage to crank up the engine but still has some juice left in it.
Called Mazda Roadside Assistance waiting for the TOW truck to take the car to the dealer. As per the warranty manual Mazda pays for 15% of the replacement battery's suggested retail price for 37-48 months.
I am almost certain now it is an issue with the safety mechanism that prevents the car from starting when the clutch is not engaged (or not in Park).
Here is the deal - I know the group of us is a fairly small representation of the 2004s out there - but I would be willing to bet that this is another one of those first model year issues that us lucky Mazda 6 oldtimers get to face (like the squealing brakes, the clutch judder, condensation in the car, etc.. etc...).
Mazda was more than willing to work with us at no cost on many of these issues, recognizing that they were design or parts issues.
Hopefully we can get them to recognize that this is one of those issues, too - even though it happens at a later stage.
One word of advice for anyone with this issue - Mazda techs will want to throw a battery at the problem, and that is definitely not the issue. It is wasted money.
Khana
I also notice it is hard to drive this car at a steady low speed. Even if the pedal is held steady, the engine hunts and surges abruptly. I'm thinking there is a vacuum leak or a sensor is bad causing both of these symptoms. Any ideas?
I also have to go in to get it serviced for a constant squealing niose from one of the belts that is at it's loudest when idling which over time has gotten unbearable and this all started about a year ago. It makes the car sound like a 20 year old jalopy and actually quite embarassing. Mazda said last year that it was the serpentine belt which has a self adjusting tensioner and I have to live with it. Now that it has become louder they say I need the belt and tensioner replaced for $200+ dollars. Anybody have this problem and was this the proper fix?
I've decided to sell this car this summer so I just want it sounding smooth and not like a winter beater. I love the driving dynamics of this car but I must have gotten a lemon because it's been one thing after another. Here's a list of my problems of my 4 year old car with 72K KM.
-The aforementioned squealing belt and starting issues.
-Fraying cloth seats- both the original and replaced ones. Funny thing is the seats that no one sits in are the most worn and won't last another 2 years.
-Battery died after 3 years.
-Gas tank leaking every time a filled it up. Besides making a permenent mess of my driveway, my car stunk like gas for weeks afterward. Had to get an entire new gas tank which was out of warrenty but the dealer, knowing my car's history, got head office to approve it under warranty, saved me $1000.
-Air conditioner compressor replaced just before the 3 year warranty expired. would have been another costly repair, this was after a selector switch(?) was fixed when the AC broke down 6 months after I bought it.
-the infamous rust spots along the doors. The doors are fine but now I discovered that thay forgot to seal the trunk right by the hinges and surface rust is now bubbling there. There is also surface rust appearing along the outside black borders framing the rear windows. I've always washed and waxed this car regularly so it wasn't because of owner neglect on my part.
-the horrible downshifting issues where at low speeds it feels like you got rammed by a MAC truck because it is so rough.
-the interior covers falling off door lights and fuse box.
-Also the recalls for the cooling fan module and doors not closing in cold weather.
I've spent so much time at the dealership I should be getting frequent flyer miles. Luckily my job is flexible and allows me to drop off my car at my convenience. I know my car was a launch model in Canada but to have this many different issues is inexcusable and I'm afraid to own this car any longer without a warranty. Mazda has really fallen off for reliablility. I had a 1990 MX 6 for years and the thing performed rock solid but this car is a joke and I will never buy another Mazda nor recommend one to someone else. It's a shame because they do make fun cars to drive.
If you have a moon roof, I think there is a drain for that too...don't know how that is routed or anything...but that might be another possible source of the problem.
I once had a Horizon with similar symptoms and it turned out it was the road spray from the wheel that was leaking in. Dealer fixed it on the second attempt. Maybe you could borrow or buy a shop vac for now and hope it doesn't rain too much on your way home.
last week i got stranded downtown during rush hour and was not looking forward to a tow, fortunately I got it started after 20 minutes and lots of swearing and made it home. I was going the next day into the dealer to get my serpentine belt and tensioner replaced and again brought this starting problem up. They didn't know what to do unless the problem was replicated there as the reading on the battery seemed fine and it was only a year old and they didn't want to guess with replacing stuff.
Lo and behold in a moment that may be one of the greatest moments in my life the car wouldn't start as I was leaving the dealer. This never happens according to Murphy's law. Never been so happy to have my car not start. They brought it back in and then said that my battery had a bad cell or something. This will be my 3rd battery in my 4 year old car so either something's draining it prematurely or I have lousy luck with batteries and bad cells.
On a side note, I found another rust spot the size of a dime along the top corner of the car. It appears they didn't seal the crease well enough between the front windshield and sheetmetal on the top. The adventure continues and just counting the days until it leaves my garage.
I own an '04 M6S 5-door hatch with the 3.0 V6 and 5 speed manual, and have a couple of thoughts on the surging and high idle:
(1) I've been told (though not researched it) that emission controls on the '04 V6 engine cause the high idle you described, particularly between shifts during hard acceleration This also might be the case on the '05.
(2) You may know the 3.0 liter V6 used in the M6 is Ford-sourced (based on the Duratec V6) and utilizes a modified throttle body fuel injection system, which is not as precise at delivering fuel to the cylinders as a port-type fuel injection system. While I like my M6 a lot, one of my biggest complaints is the throttle control, which is poor at best, particularly for a vehicle with a manual transmission.
I've owned my M6 for almost three years, and if my experience with the car is any indication, I think you're just going to have to live with the surging, high idle and imprecise throttle control.
Good luck!
Lefthandman
I just bought a 2005 6S, and while being checked over after trade-in, some type of service bulletin was done regarding a fan control module. I saw this on a warranty report I got after buying it. I don't know which fan this was for.
Perhaps yours needs this upgrade.
I could look over the paperwork to try to figure out a number or title if you can't figure it out some other way.
You are a likely candidate for the TSB on the Fan Control Module. Take it to the dealer, and have it replaced. It's a 10-minute job, and it shouldn't cost you a cent.
I am taking it back in the shop friday to have the fan module replaced for the THIRD time (which i have to pay for since it was already replaced as a recall) and the car is no longer under warrenty so i'm terrified at what they are going to find when i have them check this again (and normal is not a finding). I am 5 1/2 mths preggie and need this car to stay reliable for me!!!