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Mazda5 Engine Issues
Have a question or problem uner the hood of your Mazda5? This is the place to discuss it and work out a solution.
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I am at the stage of changing my oil and I want to put in Mobil 1. It is cheaper to buy 5W30 than 5W20.
Could I use the 5W30 in place of the 5W20?
fowler3
Not likely, especially if it is Mobil 1 5W30.
The lower viscosity stuff is used for emissions reductions, but is actually poorer for protecting the engine vs 5W30.
John
You should follow the break-in instructions for the first 600 miles: No fast starts, i.e. flooring it; No hard braking such as running up behind traffic already stopped at traffic lights and slamming on the brakes; if you have a manual tranny don't down-shift to reduce speed, use the brakes with moderate pressure and allow the car enough distance to stop; don't accellerate above 3500rpm for the first 600 miles; and up to 1000 miles increase rpms slowly.
In other words don't drive it like you stole it and/or it already has 5000 miles on it.
The engine is tight (green) and needs time to break-in. What you are doing the first 1000 miles is going easy on it until the rings seat properly to avoid an "oil burner" later on. Hard braking and downshifting with the tranny manually puts a lot of strain on the engine. Fast take-offs does the same thing and driving for long periods at one speed doesn't allow the engine to run-in at a wide range of rpms. It won't run smoothly when you do need higher rpms.
Hope this helps.
fowler3
Also is there a way to check if there has been damage to the engine, or only time will tell ? I didn't notice any difference in engine sound yet, I suppose that is a good thing ?
You can find numerous articles on the net related to break-in periods. I would side with being a little harder on the engine rather than softer. IF something is going to break, it will break whether you go soft or hard.
I changed my oil at 6500 KM and went with Mobil 1. This should reduce any wear and tear on the engine, now that it is broken in.
The poster who said, "If it breaks the warrenty will cover it." forgets one important thing -- the *Black Box*, which comes on most new cars. The Black Box records the engines speed and other info before and following an accident and before something happens to the engine. If the manufacturer discovers the car was being driven "hard" during break-in they can refuse to repair it.
And, NO, the Black Box can not be disabled. It is so tightly intigrated with the safety equipment and on-board computer it can't be hacked.
Isn't it much easier to just do the break-in and be done with it?
fowler3
If there was an accident and the Police wanted the engine management information, do you think the manufacturers would install a disc drive to record the last 24 hours or the last 24 months. I would side the with the shorter period of 24 hours (if that). Anything longer would add cost and deliver little value given the objective of providing the Speed, traction, RPM's etc prior to the (sudden)accident.
I don't know how long the black box records info for.
Can anyone out there provide some info on the Black Box?
Google is your friend
So it can tell why you died, but not how badly you mistreated the engine. Also your manual should have some information according to the article, but I haven't checked ours yet.
David
I have also experienced cold acceleration issues that may be unrelated to the engine stumble TSB. It feels to me like I am driving a carbureted car instead of a fuel-injected car for about the first five minutes after starting the car when the engine is not hot. Acceleration is rough and slow at low RPMs and then abruptly kicks in smoother and more powerful (feels like a turbo kicking in after winding up) at around ~3000 RPM. This is a problem in both winter and summer driving. Once the engine is warmed up, the acceleration problem goes away.
Has anyone else experienced these cold acceleration issues? Is there a known fix? Does having the engine stumble TSB fix (reprogramming the PCM) done on the car also fix this issue?
The break-in goal is to allow the formation of oil film on all the parts rubbing together.
Since on new engines, the oil film is not permanent on all parts (and their entire surfaces) it is recommended that strain would not be put on - so the parts lacking an oil film would not rub very hard and exhibit premature wear.
BUT... at different RPM, some parts come in contact with other at different points of their surfaces. Ex: valve ends will put pressure on a different part of a cam at different speeds; pistons will travel a few microns more at higher RPM. That is why running the engine through all its regimes is very important.
Don't be afraid to spin your engine up to the red line (it's designed to go there), just do not put load on it.
There are cases when damage has been observed on the top ring on the piston, because during the break-in period the engine was not rev’d up and used in the same manner as it was after that. I.E. if will rev the engine to 5k only after the break in, your top ring will suddenly encounter a part of the cylinder that does not have the "mirror" formed (more or less like running on sand paper).
"If gonna race it, race it now, just not too hard" an old mechanic said once.
I'm wondering if any of you are experiencing a loud radiator fan that always seems to be running. Granted, when the engine is cold, it doesn't run. But, once you've been driving for like 15 to 20 minutes, the radiator fan turns on and it's pretty loud! The summer months aren't here yet and the days have not gotten that warm for the fan to be running constantly AND that loud. Also, it doesn't shut off until I turn the engine off.
My 5 never exhibited this before, and I'm wondering if it's normal or if it's something I need to take it to Mazda for. Please advise. Thanks!
Larry
If the car ran out of oil and you drove it that way, resulting in its demise ... then it is pretty much your fault. You can't rely on a car to tell you something is wrong. It is a piece of machinery and your obligation to keep a close eye on it. Checking your oil AT LEAST once a week is imperative.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
More generally: the Mazda 5 oil filter cartridge turns to a very positive stop, versus the quarter-turn range that all techs should know to tighten conventional oil filters. If the cartridge O-ring was not replaced right, there will be a major leak in a short time; also possibly the cartridge drain plug and its O-ring could be replaced wrong. But either case would definitely show oil on the floor in a hurry, or even in a parking space you've just left.
Mazda sides on the side of simplicity.
What throws me off is the fact that the dealer said it cleaned the engine the noise was gone for a little while. It sounds like they added some additive or you are right, you do have sticky something. I would try to identify what's noisy with a piece of wood placed on the engine (the broom stick trick).
It is my first mazda5, and I am noticing something I would like to share with you. I was checking the engine oil (cold engine), and the dipstick showed oil at minimum. I checked again, and the oil barely made the bottom of the dipstick wet. It seems to be inconsistent with the readings I would expect. It has 4000 miles on it and this car has not been to dealership since we bought it.
Just wanted to know if I need to be alarmed about it. Also, of lately, after turning off the engine, I hear a humming sound of a motor for 2-3 seconds.
Please share your thoughts.
thanks,
Akshobya
Some will point out to the way the engine has been broken in, but I would not.
With electric motor sound, I don't hear one in mine, but try to figure out where is it coming from: under the passenger seat in the second raw? Then that's your fuel pump. From the dash - ventilation doors... and that's all I have. Ask the dealer and let us know!
Victor
The motor sound comes from the engine block ...
thanks!
I have a new Mazda5 2012, and I have the same situation: oil is very low with about 5000 miles on it, I will go to dealer this week but would like to know what happened to you.
Thanks.
I have a new Mazda5 2012, and I have the same situation: oil is very low with about 5000 miles on it, I will go to dealer this week but would like to know what happened to you.
Thanks.
I know for sure that I didn't step on the gas pedal. So I checked the internet and found a lot of discussions about the flooding problem in RX-8, e.g., at http://www.rotaryinsider.com/faq-tac40/rx8-preventing-flooding-gap44.htm.
According to it, if the car started cold and turn off before the engine warms up, the engine could be flooded. I happended to have such a start two days ago to run my air pump for a wheel barrow. I didn't use my car after that until this morning.
If this is the root cause, I must say I am very shocked. With my other cars in the past, I have had such cold start a lot of times, and never had a problem.
Did anyone experience a similar incident? Thanks a lot.
Can you tell me what the outcome was in your situation? Did Mazda pick up the bill and what was the repair/cost?
Since I have a manual, another question: Did anyone notice mazda5's extra sensitive clutch? I mean, if you don't give a set throttle, it will just surge ahead. Have not driven other manual cars in US before, but do other cars have such issues? thanks.
I have a few issues with my engine I'd like some opinions on:
My 2010 has 45 000 miles. It seems to eat more gas. In the morning, when it's cold, there is a strong gas smell around the car (very rich) and also if accelerated hard, it wants to stop before it gets going.
After warming up, it seems to knock when accelerating lightly and I saw black smoke coming out of the tail (a few inches long jet) when accelerated hard (I was outside the car watching my wife drive away).
To me it seems that the timing is off, but I thought these engines are adjusted by the computer so they cannot be advanced or retarded. Am I wrong?
Does any one have any idea what this could be? Thanks.
Bubba
Bubbette
anyway - I don't think the car will start unless it is in neutral or park. My guess is that the stick position switch is having an intermittent fault.