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I bought the car used and it had 62,000km. I've only driven it to 65,500km. Here are the problems Ive occured and Id appreciate any feedback as Im taking it in to be looked at, at my Mazda dealership in a few days and really don't want to be taken advantage of.
While accelerating there is a large, extremely noticeable jolting motion as the car switches between gears.
When making a right turn, with passengers or weight in the back, there is a loud squeak from the rear right side of car.
When holding the brake with the transmission in drive and in a stopped position i.e. red light, the car vibrates. This is most prominent and heard in the dashboard.
When driving the car after it has not been used for 2-3 hours, the brakes squeak loudly.
When not on automatic the wiper blades only go one speed, regardless if they are on speed one or two.
:confuse: :confuse:
What happens when decelerating?
When making a right turn, with passengers or weight in the back, there is a loud squeak from the rear right side of car.
This issue sounds like a suspension problem. I wonder if it may be the stabilizer link.
When holding the brake with the transmission in drive and in a stopped position i.e. red light, the car vibrates. This is most prominent and heard in the dashboard. Some vibration is normal, but if it is prominent that sounds problematic. Does it sound the same when you switch it to Neutral?
When driving the car after it has not been used for 2-3 hours, the brakes squeak loudly.
Your brakes may be rusty or you may need new brake pads. If the squeaking disappears after you drive a bit then it's only rust burning off, which is okay.
When not on automatic the wiper blades only go one speed, regardless if they are on speed one or two.
This may be a nuisance that you can live with while having the other problems corrected.
It's curious that none of these problems were evident when you first bought the car.
Sorry to hear that. What did your mechanic say was the cause of the failure?
Is yours a 2.0 or the 2.3 L litre engine?
p.s. My 2002 automatic 2.0L Mazds Protege5 continues humming along at nearly 80K miles.
This seems to be the P0733 fault in the OBD. Based on a cursory Google search, it sounds like your transmission may need to be opened up to determine the source of the problem. I'd contact your Mazda dealer and the manufacturer (MazdaUSA) and state that a transmission failure on a 6 year old car with only 48K is premature and that you want them to look into it in order to correct the situation.
You have my heartfelt sympathy. What a horrible and demeaning ordeal to be faced with!
I just hate it when automakers expect vehicle owners to be responsible for properly maintaining their own cars.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Well, you originally posted "I'm gonna just have to check the trans fluid"- not "change".
I'm hoping you know the difference.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I'm an owner of an '07 Mazda3 with 42k miles. The car has never given me a single problem... until Sunday morning at 3am, when the clutch suddenly and catastrophically failed at 50mph - no power to the wheels in any gear. I coasted it into a parking lot, and noticed the clutch pedal vibrating when the car is in neutral and a burning smell under the hood.
The dealership is now giving me some funny stories.
First, the dealer told me that the flywheel and clutch pressure plate need to be replaced for $1200+labor, and that nothing is covered by the warranty. I pointed them to the Mazda website, which clearly and plainly indicates that both components are fully covered (5 years/60k miles) under the powertrain warranty. This took several phone calls over a few hours - and I even had to email them a link to the Mazda website!
Now, the dealer is telling me that the problem is with the clutch disc, which is not a covered item and is a normal wear item. The mechanic says that he'd like to replace the flywheel and clutch pressure plate as well - but keeps wavering on whether or not the warranty will cover them. Also, he's STILL quoting me a price of $1,200+labor for the repair, but says that he may be able to take off $500 if some parts are covered under the warranty. Oddly, he also tells me that the cost of the clutch disc, as a wear item, is only $120.
I called Mazda's customer support, but the guy who answered the phone just called the dealership and repeated what the mechanic said. He says he opened a case for review with the district manager for my area - but the mechanic also called and said he explained the situation to the district manager, who agrees with him.
Obviously, I have some questions:
1) Does a clutch disc ordinarily wear out at 42k miles - and wear out suddenly and catastrophically, with no warning or change in car behavior, followed by total failure of the transmission?
2) Does the sudden nature of the failure suggest a defect in the other parts of the clutch? And if those parts failed and burned out the clutch disc in the process, should the clutch disc also be covered under the power train warranty?
3) What should I do about the car repairs? Should I consider towing the vehicle to another dealership?
4) If there's a problem with an incorrect denial of warranty coverage or a sketchy explanation, what's my recourse? Do I file a complaint with Mazda HQ, or here at Edmunds, or the BBB? Or do I start looking around for an attorney?
MANY thanks in advance...
I have this problem with my 2008 manual 3s Touring also. About every sixth time I shift into reverse, it takes three or four attempts. Since I can't reproduce it at will and since I have no other problems (I'm at 30k), I haven't taken it to the dealer. I have 20 years manual experience.
Hope this helps.
So in your case, how can you be sure the problem was not due to abuse by the first owner?
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Best regards,
Shipo
Is anyone familiar with what might cause this and will it be covered under the power train warranty?
Car has been great except I go through tires every 20,000 miles no matter what brand. First mechanical problem is tranny and the AC switch intermittently shuts off the compressor. Otherwise, just a new battery and rear brake pads to go to dust free ones, the car has been great.
Can some other spd3 owners confirm that the clutch on the speeds were a little weird from mile 1? Both my wife and i commented when we first purchased the car (December '06. There weren't any other speed3s on the lot that weren't already purchased for us to compare too) that the clutch engaged weird.
Also we both noticed on cold morning that the gears would grind on the first couple 1-2 shifts even with the clutch pedal depressed to the fire wall.
I spoke with Customer Assistance last night, but they just looked up the warranty (12/12 on clutches) and told me there wasn't much he could do, except open it for review at the dealership.
I wouldn't describe the clutch action as "weird", although I did find it to be a bit abrupt; I finally adapted to it.That said, the clutch on my 63K mile MS3 is still good.
Also we both noticed on cold morning that the gears would grind on the first couple 1-2 shifts even with the clutch pedal depressed to the fire wall.
That's a gearbox issue, and it's not all that uncommon. I (along with many other MS3 owners) have switched to Ford Full Synthetic Manual Transmission Fluid - problem solved.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
So I had my transmission replaced fall 2009 at 68K. About a month and a half ago they replaced the PCM because sometimes (When driving in traffic aka stopping and going quickly), the AT light would go on and the car would not shift into 4th gear. The AT light would go off and shutting the car off a few times, but the engine light stayed on. Anyway, that was their diagnosis. About two weeks later, my transmission no longer goes into 4th gear and would shudder every time it went from "park" into "reverse." I was traveling and took it to a different dealership who prints out a history of the car. That is when I find out that the transmission in the car was the FOURTH one. WHAT THE WHAT?! I was sold a car that had the transmission replaced twice in one year!!! They tell me that a fifth one needed to be put in but were waiting for an "ok" from Mazda (because the new (?) transmission was covered under warranty). Well, they never got an okay so they did some more tests on it and realized that a ground wire was loose. They charged me a butt load to have it fixed but now my car is working okay. Seriously Mazda, get your stuff together!
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
FWIW, since the time when most (all?) manufacturers began moving to hydraulic clutch actuation I've noticed what I consider to be a higher number of reports of premature clutch failure from drivers of cars from all over the world. I wonder if the problem is due to improperly bled hydraulic lines.
I brought it in regularly every 8K miles. Finally, at 62K they figure out that there is a problem and I need a new transmission! What a miracle! The transmission fluid has been discolored the whole time because the transmission is wearing out.
The dealership tells me it's out of warranty and Mazda company won't help. They wouldn't even allow me to use the $85 diagnosis fee toward changing my transmission fluid rather than changing the entire transmission. They have told me to stick it where the sun doesn't shine in more ways than one.
I had plans to pass this car on to my daughter when she learned to drive shortly and buy a Miata. But I have completely reversed any decisions to deal with such a company anymore, considering how they treat customers.
It seems with all of these complaints about the transmission that a class action lawsuit is in order to get Mazda to issue a recall.
My previous two Honda Civics (both manuals) ran for 130,000+ miles without ever needing any clutch or transmission repairs.
What is the expectation, how many miles with a 0% failure rate is acceptable?
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Curious. In the April 2010 Consumer Reports Auto issue the 2007 Mazda 3 transmission is top rated (that is, it "had relatively few problems compared with other models"). In fact, the transmission seems to be consistently rated highly from 2006 to 2009. The automatic transmission on my 2002 Mazda Protege5 (precursor to the Mazda3) continues to work flawlessly after 80K miles.
When this many of the same year and model are having the EXACT same problems then Mazda should be taking notice. Changing your entire transmission (no repair) before changing your breaks is a ridiculous proposition.
As for Consumer Reports. That piece of data is given without context. Which type of Mazda3 transmissions were they talking about? The Mazda3 Speed transmission is still highly rated. We are specifically talking about the automatic transmission in the standard model.
How many is "this many", do we have accurate statistics on the failure rate? Do we also have an accurate figure on failure rate amongst all vehicles for comparison?
You raise a good point, so I checked the reference in Consumer Reports. CR is referring to the "Mazda3 sedan" so this would exclude the Mazda3 Speed (which as you know is not a sedan). The listing has two rows referring to troublespots with transmissions: "Trans. major" and "Trans. minor". In both cases, the Mazda3 receives their best rating. The car is rated "better than avg." overall. As you know, CR has one of the largest databases of consumer responses (latest survey covers 1.4 million vehicles). CR is an important tool for determining the reliability and "how a model is holding up and its strengths and weakenesses".
You cannot compare your 2002 Mazda Protege5 transmission with another year and model. It's apples and oranges
My point was that the Protege5, the predecessor for the Mazda3, had a reputation for solid transmissions. So, it seems curious to me for Mazda to start making inferior transmissions for the Mazda3.
I read it on the internet- so it HAS to be true!!!
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Want an example? Look what happened to Toyota's stellar reputation.
Not only have I found many of the exact complaints locally and on the internet, I have experienced this myself. Therefore, yes, I do find truth in it.
I would probably not feel as keen if the symptoms didn't appear to be identical (starts acting up at 30K; computer reports no problems; discolored transmission flud; "diagnosed" after warranty period).
What is your mileage and model year of your Mazda3?