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Mazda MPV: Problems & Solutions
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My MPV also makes hissing and clicking noises after I park it. Just my 2 cents. Maybe someone else has some input.
Leslie
Moderate road/tire noise.
Excessive Wind (against the windshield) noise.
I think some people are confusing road and wind noise. They are very different.
Anyone know if the all-season package really does add more insulation and thus sound deadening material as one poster suggested?
Thanks!
All of which proves that in probability and statistics, when you are dealing with a sample size of one, anything can happen. Also, just because a vehicle is made in Japan by a Japanese manufacturer, it does not guarantee a trouble-free experience. Conversely, if a vehicle is made by a domestic manufacturer with arguably the worst reputation for quality, it does not necessarily doom you to making regular visits to the repair shop.
-RB
ps We still like our MPV and hope it settles down.
Mazda MPV 2000+ #5883 21 Jun 2003 eddie777
Mazda MPV 2000+ #5878 21 Jun 2003 tomj5
HTH
RB
mb
miles.What was unusual about it was that the car didn't have to be moving or even running for the sound to occur. It seemed to happen shortly after the car warmed up and then again after shutting down the engine, maybe five or ten minutes later. I finally crawled under the car after shutting the engine down and noticed an indentation in the main muffler. After piddling around in the garage for ten minutes, I heard the "pop", crawled underneath again and found the indentation in the muffler was gone! I have duplicated this phenomenon lots of times now, and the indentation still comes and goes in accordance with the temperature (or back presusure), of the exhaust system. So far the muffler has not produced a hole or a leak. Anyone else experience this? If so, would this qualify as a problem I should be concerned about? Since I'm out of warranty timewise, I was hoping that Mazda might be concerned enough to look into the situation anyway.
I too wonder why the muffler would do that but at least I know that I'm not alone
As I mentioned earlier, the temp sensor on my mirror was acting up similar to the way others have described (note: most of the problems are reported with dealer-installed mirrors, not factory-installed ones). The dealer insisted the sensor was faulty (it may well have been) and replaced it. Then I went on a long trip to the beach (Wrightsville Beach, NC, since moib asked) during a week of weather in the 90s. At stop lights and in slow traffic, the same quick rises in temperature persisted. So just yesterday the dealer moved the sensor to the position recommended in the Mazda Tech Service Bulletin (though the dealer seemed to have no copy of the TSB; I had to bring my own copy in), and based just on the trip home yesterday, the problem does seem to be fixed.
Other than that, my '03 ES has no problems whatsoever at 1600 miles. Since the problem was based on the dealer's improper installation of the optional equipment, I wonder: If J.D. Power calls me up and asks if I've had any problems, would that be a reportable problem?
Since Hummer owners complain to JD Power about their poor gas mileage (d'oh), you may as well complain about the temp sensor if they ask :-)
Steve, Host
But then again, keep bashing the MPV and we will keep the best kept secret in the minivan world just that - A secret :-)
Love the fact that we drive something which is not as commonly seen as ... (Take your pick!)
I do hope your temp sensor is "fixed". Ours, however, continues to be a pain in the neck. I'm in the process of writing a letter to the dealership about the whole mess.
I forget if I told everyone this or not, but originally our "official" Mazda accessory was installed with the sensor on the driver's side of the front grill, poking out a bit. They then moved it to the passenger side of the grill (that part is correct), but did not attach it to the foam covered piece of metal (or whatever it is) like the TSB shows. They said they COULDN'T, due to our having the heavy-duty cooling stuff. (Stuff is supposedly in the way.) Ha, do you like my technical mechanic-type descriptions?
That very same day they moved the sensor, my temps were still going up and down like a yo yo and were climbing to the heavens. And about a week ago, when our "real" temps were in the 80's, we pulled into a parking lot about 6pm (cooler temps by 6pm than the high for the day) and after only a few minutes the temp JUMPED to 117. I am not a happy camper about this at all.
In my opinion, this IS something to complain about to any surveys that come our way....both about the dealer's installation AND the fact that Mazda is selling these temp displays as an accessory because from what I'm discovering, it appears that they should only be installed as a factory item. Any other installation will not work properly.
Thanks again for your update and I hope you had a great time at the beach. I'd love to hit a beach out your way someday....I've never been east of the Mississippi except to go to DisneyWorld one time.
Sharon
I will be purchasing a Protege5 in the not to distant future and I originally wanted an outside temp. display. Like the MPV's, this is something that has to be done at the dealership. Would you recommend foregoing the temp. display and just looking for the temps. as I drive past various banks? I really don't want the hassle of having to take the car back and forth for service. Plus, if I have to pay extra for this feature to not work, I just assume save my money! Any suggestions would be appreciated.
By the way, I agree 100% with acedriver. My mother just purchased a new Protege two weeks ago and it's great having a superb car that very few drivers have. Mazdas seem to be forgotten by many but they're great vehicles.
Have you looked at the Mazda Washu ? Try this link:
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=- conceptWashu
I haven't seen our factory installed temp display in the MPV yet, as we pick it up tomorrow. But our Subie is always within a degree or so of the reported temps in our area, unless we're idling in traffic on a hot day, when it reads a few degrees high.
Actually, I'm inclined to believe that the temp display is reasonably accurate even under those conditions. On a hot day in full sun in the midst of a sea of hot, idling cars running their a/c (and pumping heat out of their interiors into the ambient environment), the local temp at our bumper can easily reach into the 100's. Why not?
Once you get rolling, you get a reading more in line with the outside temperature away from the tarmac.
Given all the variables, it's a wonder that they can come close under most conditions at all.
-brianV
I did check out your link for the Washu...very cool! What is the projection year for that model? I love Mazdas. Hopefully, they will be able to maintain their superior reliability record in the coming years and not do something to jeopardize their position. They're gaining momentum against some of the other "imports" like Nissan and Mitsu...at least in WI (where I live now) and in NYS (where I lived for 25 years and will be returning to). As I mentioned earlier, I put my mother in a Protege and, for the money spent, it is a great car. Looked at Honda Accord, Civic; Nissan Sentra, Altima, Maxima; Mitsu Galant, Lancer, Outlander; Volvo S40; Subaru Legacy, Forester; Toyota Corolla, Camry, Matrix... Quite a cross section of the imports out there! Mazda had the best drive response, option packages and price.
Are you are in Oshkosh, WI ? Me from Waukesha, WI :-)
oskwi...it's not just an after market accessory that is installed by the dealer....it can also be factory installed. (At least that is what I've seen here in the chats...one person that replied to my temp display woes said his was factory installed and he had zero problems with his.) It appears to be the ones that are installed at the dealer that have problems. But anyway, you have to remember that the mirror doesn't just display the temp. It also has a compass and it also has the auto-dimming feature.
Our previous van had both the temp/compass feature (not on the rear view mirror) and we loved having it. The temp was always "right on" the real temps we'd hear on the radio etc. It didn't matter if we were stopped in traffic or sitting in a parking lot for a few minutes or more, the temp stayed accurate. (It did not go up and down like a yo yo!) That is why I am so disappointed with the one we have on our MPV. It shouldn't be shooting up to 117 degrees just because we are in a parking lot (in the shade I might add) for literally 3-4 minutes.
And we also like the compass feature...I've used it a few times (with our old van) when I would be in a part of town I was unfamiliar with and if the streets ran at angles and I got turned around, I could look at the compass to get myself back in the right direction.
As for the auto-dimming feature...I don't know much about that since I've not driven our MPV at night that much yet. Seems like it would be a nice feature to have though.
Sharon
acedriver...how did you guess about Oshkosh...did my "oskwi" give it away?
That Washu isn't that far away if it's projected for 2005/06. It's nice to see something other than more SUV's! I looked into them but with grad. school, they're too much money...tires, brakes, oil changes, GAS...plus I drive about 35,000 miles/year, so on top of a large car payment, I would have a lot of upkeep payments too. That's one of the reasons I like the P5...it's small, but not tiny, sporty, but not an insurance drain, and I can transport small pieces of furniture and my mountain bike. I looked at ALL of the competition and the P5 has them beat in my book!
I had the car towed to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong except that the fuse marked "engine" in the interior fuse box (a 10 amp fuse) was blown. We replaced it and everything was chalked up to a bad fuse.
Today, the same thing happened again.
Is this a problem with the immobilizer? Maybe somebody else has experienced this.
ANYBODY???
The horn still has power, and the engine ignition system/ecm and/or the fuel pump does not. Other than that, you don't have a lot to go on yet.
My guess is that the engine immobilizer has power too, as it was prolly the system that made the horn go off. That suggests that the immobilizer may not be involved in the fuse blowing, but doesn't prove it. You need to know what can cause a sufficiently large surge on the blown circuit to kill the fuse.
Not much help, I know, but it's all I can offer. These kinds of things can be hard to track down. I hope you get this resolved soon.
-brianV
Thanks
Robert
David
Where can I find this technical bulletin describing the mislocation of the temperature probe?
dave_h2: You can go to www.mpvclub.com and click on the TSB thing on your left and then you'll almost be to the actual TSB...you have to either read through all the TSB's or do a search for the temp sensor...Sorry I just can't give you the exact "address" but I'm not that good with computers. The TSB at this location just recently changed but my husband and I can't figure out how much of it is different because we never printed out the one we saw in June.
As for whether you should be concerned about yours, I think it depends on whether your temp thing was installed at the factory or after-market as an accessory. We couldn't find an MPV in our area with everything we wanted and so the temp display etc was done at the dealership as an accessory.
I put a few posts on this site about our problems and one person that wrote a reply said his was working fine but then his was factory-installed. There's been a couple of other people that have written about problems too but I'm not 100% sure if they were after-market installs or not.
All I can tell you for sure is that we have an 03 MPV and our mirror was installed at the dealership and it doesn't work right. daveinla has us beat on a top temp! The highest ours has read is 117 on an 80-something degree day.
Hope I helped.
Sharon
Has this happened to you ? The auto-sliding door is open and you want to close it. You pull the handle outwards and slide the door manually a little bit to get it started automatically .. The door moves very little and followed by a continous beeping sound !!
Here is what I did to try and stop the beeps:
Press the auto-slider button on keyfob: Nothing happens. Press the auto-slider button below the B-pillar near second row seat: Nothing happens. Press the Close door button on driver side door: Nothing happens. I slide the door manually and close it completely: Nothing! .. The beeping is continuous .. Beep, beep, beep, beep .. So, finally I press the "Power Off" for the sliding doors and the beeping stops :dontknow:
This happened two times and I have not been able to recreate this problem .. Both times the Power off button stopped the beeping and after that the auto-sliding of the doors functioned normally.
Anyone experienced something like this ?
Leslie
thanks
MJ
IMHO, Honda and Toyota got their famous reputation due to Japanese workforce's quest for quality. Once the production moved out of Japan the quality of the end product suffered (maybe not a lot, but it sure did)
-Brian
You are absolutely correct.
MJ
Be American, Buy American, but, Drive Japanese !! :-)
If that makes me un-patriotic then consider this :
I would rather be an unpatriotic person driving by in a Japanese vehicle, than be a patriotic person stranded by the roadside in an American vehicle !!
OMG!! What ??? After all that big pep talk you gave about how manual sliders can slice fingers .. you turn around and power yours OFF ???
Hmmmmm ... :-)
Don't worry, I turned it back on! Sheesh! I don't get a break around here. ;o )
Leslie
Leslie
MB
Frankly, I like my kids not being able to open the sliders until I put the car in park.
My 2 cents.
Leslie
Yes my MPV also beeeeeps when you drive it with open sliding door
MB
The safety feature is a must for those with young kids. My daughter accidently hit the switch to open her slider with her foot. Luckily she's 11. If it had been my 2 year old niece or if she had been playing with the handle, the door could have opened without the feature. I don't put anything past toddlers. My daughter at age 2 opened the back door to my sisters suburban while it was moving.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Leslie
My mirror was deal installed. They originally installed it underneath the vehicle, passenger side, next to the towing hook (where there is a lot of heat coming from fans I suppose). The moved it as mentionned in the bulletin behind the lower grill, passenger side, next to the horn.
David