Mazda MPV: Problems & Solutions

pjgpt

I have a 2003 MPV with about 500 miles on it. I started experiencing the hard shift at about 300 miles. It is not that dramatic, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't think that much of it if I didn't read these boards.

I figured that since it wasn't that bad, I would wait to take it in for service when a fix was found.

After reading a previous post about a 2/18 fix date, I decided to call the service center of the dealership (Country Mazda on Long Island, NY)where I purchased it. According to the person I just spoke to, he has never heard of any problem or of any service bulletin coming out. He said that I would need to bring it in.

I guess I will continue to wait and see what happens.

rumor24

I talked to the customer service today and she had the engineer from the testing facility on the phone while we were talking. It is a computer issue and they have been working on the fix and are in the "final" testing stage which means that the release is very close. She told him of my concerns about long term affect and he said that it should not affect long term. Their words were just hold on a little longer they are working hard. As for the extended, they have not heard of anyone getting one, they are not offering any such thing. I am out of luck as far as that goes, but 2 days before my warrentee is up, this thing will be back on the lot and that is a sure thing. I told her I would let all of you know what was said. She seemed more sympathetic than the rest of the people I have talked to. Still no exact time frame, just soon. That is all I know from this point. Good luck to anyone else who might get more, please let us know.

tccmn1

I was told by a dealer in St. Paul MN. that the fix was to come in January....that was in December. So here we are...and where is the fix?
Two weeks and counting I guess.

My mileage has also dropped like a rock. I get about 15 MPG's now where I use to get 20 in the spring, summer, fall. I do NOT warm my car up either! I get in and drive, so no lost gas idling there. Wondering if the mix of gas to more alcohol formula for winter here affects it. I'm thinking of trying Premium just to see what changes. No gas smell of a leak either....

Funny, when I first read the threads about the MPV back in 02 prior to buying my 03, the talk was all about sulfur smells from gas...since the 03's came out, it's now all about tranny problems. Usually, a vehicle get's refined after being out for a couple years, the MPV is reverse logic on that theory...it's worse now than back in 00 and 01!?!?! I don't hear much about the older MPV's having problems other than that dog engine they had.

backy

The drop could be due to a number of things. It's been pretty cold in the Twin Cities lately. Each 10 degree drop in temperature lowers tire pressure by around 1 psi. So if you last set the tire pressue at around 50 degrees, the tires would be down 5 psi at 0. Then there's the lower efficiency of gas engines in real cold weather (gas has to be vaporized to run the engine), the winter-formula gas, denser air etc. Lately we've been getting around 13 mpg in town on our Grand Caravan, and we can get 16-17 in the summer.

dan2004

Also in extreme cold the fluids are thicker during initial startup so more gas is used up.

steveeast

Just spoke to the service manager while getting my MPV serviced (Brookdale Mazda, Twin Cities). He doesn't have a date for the hard shift fix, but says his understanding is that the modified TCM code is currently running in a number of corporate test vehicles. He also said that he now has about a dozen vans waiting for the fix.

He did say that the problem seems to affect some areas more than others. He mentioned Cleveland, OH as another city that seemed to have a lot of the problem. Of course, pure randomness tends to create clusters - a perfectly even distribution wouldn't be random.

Steve.

danog

From time to time we have a sulfer like smell with our '04. We really notice it while in our garage but it isn't that bad.

I'm setting up a service next week for our first oil change and will discuss the tranny issue.

steveeast

Just got a call from the service manager at my Mazda dealer. He was driving an MPV with the new TCM software installed! We arranged for me to take my MPV in Monday afternoon to reflash the TCM and let them drive it about for a few hours. It's not clear to me yet whether this is the official release or still beta, but I'll sort that out when I'm there.

Let's hope this is good news.

Steve.

rumor24

Mine goes in Monday for the fix. My dealer mechanic is going to take it monday night, fix it tues, then take it home (for warming up distance) and I should get it back wed night or thurs. Will let you all know how it does when I get it back

mjvchicago

Glad it's here! Thanks for letting us know and can't wait to see if it works.

dan2004

Please try to find out what changes were made in the software. The key question I have is whether the software fix addresses the root cause of the issue or simply tries to "mask" the symptoms.

I wish you the best of luck!

steveeast

I have a feeling that's one piece of information we're never going to get; in fact, I doubt the dealer will even know. But I'll try!

Steve.

sslbaron24

Let's see if this IS the fix or not...Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed! I was hoping that they didn't have to put another tranny (#4) in my van by the time the "fix" came!

Scott

bottgers

..who have been told a tranny fix is just around the corner, were any of you told whether the fix will come as a recall, a TSB, or will it be left completely up to the customer to seek out the fix? Personally, I think Mazda should contact every MPV owner by mail so we at least have a letter to take with us to the service department for those that haven't heard of this problem (or claim they haven't anyway). This would make things much easier for those customers who have to deal with service departments who plead ignorance on this issue.

moib

Hi Scott,
I just had to ask.....did I read your last post correctly? Have you really had 3 trannies installed in your MPV? Holy cow, please tell me that can't be true. I just keep getting more and more scared the more I read about the problems everyone has been having with their MPV's!
Sharon

steveeast

Nope, I have no info (yet) on how Mazda are going to treat the tranny fix. Let's see whether it actually works first...

Steve.

sslbaron24

Yes, you read the post correctly. Just to clearify #1) The original Tranny; #2)Mazda installed a new tranny to fix the extra rough shifting...It was the 2nd-3rd jolt, but turned into a much worse problem..(in between shifts the tranny would loose the engine power...like being in neutral..); They test drove the vehicle, after installing the new tranny, and lost the speedometer on the drive. After 4 hours of troubleshooting, they discovered the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) was bad. This part is internal to the tranny, so the dealership was told by Mazda's tech support team that the fix was to change out the tranny! #3) This is the tranny that we still have...which has the jolt, also!!! They ended up having our van for almost 3 weeks.

Also, I just got an e-mail from my district rep. This is what he wrote:

Scott, I wanted to let you know that the new programming is now available and was tested successfully. Please talk to Shawn about getting an appointment.
 
Thanks for your patience.

Let's hope this "fixes" the problem once and for all.

bottgers,
The answer to your post is: I don't know...I have a feeling that they will just wait for everyone to go to their service dept. to find out!

Scott

oldmedic

It would appear that Mazda has two choices: announce publicly that they have transmission problems with a recall or let nationwide word of mouth and discussion forums give them a long term bad reputation with a fix on request only TSB. With a TSB alot of people are going to live with the problem thinking this is what I get for not buying American.

bottgers

......emailed Mazdausa.com about this tranny issue? If so, what did they say? Maybe it would help if every one of us who are having this problem would write to them. If they see that this is not just an isolated incident, maybe they'll decide to issue a recall for this problem once they have a fix. That would be the proper thing for them to do.

oldmedic

You bet I emailed Mazda, a couple of times. The first 2 I received commerical links. But the last 2 times I etalked with Charlie Kim. At first he feined ignorance but finally admitted that there was a problem and Mazda was working on it. Guess its about time I rattled his cage again about a recall.

rumor24

If you call in rather than email them, you get a real person who can try but unsucessfully lie to you. I had a more sincere person last time. They get concerned when they hear your tone of voice rather than an impersonal email. I simply told them that they were about to get my vehicle back and I wasa told they are in the final testing stage and very close to being done. That was last tues, on thurs my mechanic called me to tell me that the fix is here and I take it in on monday and I will get it back on thurs. He needs to drive it for a couple days before giving it back to me.I guess to make sure that it doesnt become attempt #3 because lemon law prevails then. I get a loner for those 4 days so I am ok with that. Hate the thought of someone else driving my car but its a small price to pay for a big fix if it works.

bigdadi

So happy that Mazda came out a fix on the hard-shift tranny. Please let us know what reference number on your service ticket so that we can refer same when we bring the car in to the dealer. Isn't Monday a holiday, MLK day?

bigdadi

I got the hard shift again yesterday after driven about 1 hour on the highway 70-80 mph and exited to local road, the hardshift (2nd to 3rd gear)kicked on when moving after the 1st traffic light stop and a few other stops.

rumor24

It is a holiday but we all still have to work. Only government and educational get the day off. That is fine with me, It gets my van in faster for the fix. I still have o wait until thurs to get it back, but I will be patient. I have to be, I have been waiting since Nov. for this fix to come in.

notasoccermom

We haven't heard a thing, and they know how angry & anxious we are to get this resolved!! I'll be sure to call my dealership first thing Monday AM (if they're open). I think MLK day is just a bank/school holiday.

BTW, ours is still doing the hard shift consistently. My 3K mile theory was wrong.

oldmedic

Does anyone know of some gadget to warn or prevent scraping my GPX package front end on those tall parking curbs. Internet searching for curb feelers, curb whiskers, or curb scrapers only results in cute storylines about senior citizens and 50's memories. I would really like something like a skid plate or nerf bar. Suggestions:

mpvhell

I am reading with dismay all the posts regarding the transmission/hard shifting problems. Been dealing with it myself for the last 3000 miles. Really starting to get scary to drive when it refuses to shift merging in traffic. Dealership has already reflashed, tried computer recording with a Ford recorder (did not record anything). I would dearly love to call this a lemon and be done with it. The Mazda engineer is coming on Feb. 3rd to test drive and attempt a diagnosis so the local dealer can attempt a fix. Anyone out there had success with North Carolina lemon laws? Dealer very carefully fails to find specific problem and always avoids stating my complaints as "hard shift" no longer wants to try and fix it.

steveeast

Had the TCM reflashed today for the hard 2-3 shift. Drove home a longer way to give me about 30 minutes on the freeway before doing the stop/start section. No unpleasantness. But given I've only had a few instances of the problem since the cold weather set in, it's gonna take at least a couple of weeks before I begin to be convinced it's gone for good.

Service manager says the fix appears to be on general release. He has absolutely no idea what was done to the software.

Steve.

dan2004

Did you notice any other changes in the way the transmission shifts since update -- e.g. how quickly gears are engaged etc?

Good luck!

rumor24

How did you get yours back so fast? Mine went in tonight and I won't get it back until Thurs. My dealer mechanic says he wants to make sure that it is fixed before giving it back. He lives 30 miles away and says he will drive it back and forth just to make sure it works. My thought was that if he gives it back and it does it again then it puts it that much closer to lemon law status. The dealer has been really good, gave me a mazda 6 to drive, full tank of gas, and says mine will have a full tank when I get it back. The six is ok but definately not the zoom zoom I expected. If you want zoom zoom, a maxima is outstanding.

steveeast

Dan,

It did feel a touch tighter in the 1-2 shift, but that could just be my imagination. No obvious difference elsewhere - let's hope there is one in that the 2-3 bang disappears. One thought that occurs to me is that the transmission will be learning a different "me" this time. I'm driving more aggressively now than I did when I first bought the van.

Dawn, I got it back fast because the dealer and I both agreed it was best for *me* to see whether it was really fixed or not. So they just flashed it, drove it about 20 miles to check nothing dramatic had happened, and let me have it back. (I had a 6 as a loaner too, bright yellow - my 3 year old loved it. I thought performance was OK for a 4 cylinder; the V6 must be a lot of fun. But fitting the 2 car seats was a back-breaker!)

Steve.

rumor24

I think the 6 is bigger in the back than my camry was, but no trunk space. But in light of earlier messages about the 6 having tranny issues I would be hard pressed to ever go mazda again. I told my child that when she gets her licence in about 4 years mom is going sports car all the way. I am already scouting what will be next since I will most certainly dump the mpv before the warrantee is up. This decision comes from hearing that mazda under no certain terms will give me an extended warantee. Now they have put on at least 100 miles and are going to put on another 120 just to make sure it is fixed. Since there is not reimbursment for those miles my warantee might be up sooner than I would like. So as I said before Nissan maxima, see you in about 4 years!!!

dan2004

Sounds great. I really hope they fixed it. I'm a little skeptical about the colder ambient temp theory having a direct causal effect as some MPVs seemed to benefit while others did not. I think it may be an indirect variable impacting something else.

My latest theory is that some internal tranny "widget" is sticky under certain conditions, and the software change is geared (if you excuse the pun) toward either masking the condition or somehow "unsticking" it.

I say this because my MPV is running Mobil1 synthetic ATF and seems to have benefited from it. Synthetic fluids are known to help sticky situations such as noisy hydraulic lifters in some engines. Except for one hard shift two days ago, it has run smoothly across the -8 to 40F temp range experienced in that time.

goldenfam

I've been in contact w/ Heather Drake from Mazda through Email for 2 weeks. In essence, I have to wait for this magic fix. So, I'm waiting...

In the meantime, I noticed that when my MPV was in for this problem, they noted on the work order that they "Could Not Duplicate..." it, even though when they kept it over night - the next morning it did the hard shift from 1st to 2nd. They only admitted this verbally. So, I called them on it, and he's supposedly modifying my work order and faxing it to me so I have a paper trail.
I suggest everyone do this so we can "prove" it when it comes time to Lemon them or get the fix, whatever comes first. I'm waiting on the fax.

davec6

I'm a little skeptical of the vehicle because the previous owner had the oil changes at "iffy lube". The receipts show the oil changed at around 5k (sometimes more) intervals. I have test driven the car extensively and it seems fine. It has 44k miles on it and drives and looks like new. The purchase is thru a dealer, but i have spoken personally with the original owner (found his number on the "iffy receipts") and he tells me that the car was great for him, no problems, he just needed more highway power and 4x4 capability. I tend to believe him since he has already traded it.
Do the duratec engines really need the 3k interval pampering to last 100k? Are there any tell-tale signs to look for? Anyone with "iffy lube" issues out there or any insight at all on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

mbs7

If the owner had the oil changed every +/- 5000 miles I would think that would be a good sign, even if it was done by Gippy Lube. Both of my cars (1999 & 2003) recommend having the oil changed every 7500 miles. My personal opinion is that changing your oil every 3000 miles is excessive overkill and that the oil companies want you to do it so you will buy lots of oil! On the other hand, maybe Mazda wants me to change my oil every 7500 so they can sell me another car sooner! 5000 miles seems like a happy medium.

On the issue of Gippy Lube, I don't think they do great work. My experience has been that they don't let all the oil drain out before they refill the engine. They also tighten the oil filters way too tight. Also, I had a friend who worked for one of those quick-change places (may have been Gippy Lube) and he seemed to think the quality of oil they use is iffy. That being said, I still doubt that their work will have caused damage to the engine, especially if it was changed every 5000 miles.

Just my opinion.

bottgers

Your experience is exactly why Mazda needs to address the tranny fix with a recall or a TSB. The last thing I want to do is waste my time getting into a pi$$ing match with the service department because they can't duplicate the problem. If they address the issue with a recall or TSB, all you'd have to do is take the van in, say you're dropping it off for recall or TSB # XXXXX, and be done with it. No hassles.

steveeast

I'm not sure a TSB would work. They often have a step 1 that says "duplicate the problem". It would have to be a recall.

Incidentally, if I didn't have the problem, I sure wouldn't want my TCM reflashed.

Steve.

oldmedic

Scheduled my 03 MPV for the TCM flash at a local dealer not where I purchased the vehicle. Just asked the service manager if he had the software to corrrect the hard shifting problem. He said sure just drop it off and we'll give you a loaner for the day. No debate or haggle. I'd say Mazda is trying to resolve this problem quickly before anymore bad press gets out.

dan2004

The only way to know for sure is to do a compression and cylinder leak test. However its going to be expensive because getting at the spark plugs is not easy.

Chances are good that the van will run OK until 100K miles.

If you buy the van, you way want to run a good fuel injector cleaner through the system (e.g. Chevron Techron or Valvoline Synthetic).

davec6

Why are people reporting such a large disparity in gas mileage on the 2000 and 2001 model years?. It's a minivan! How much variation in driving styles can there be? Some say its over 20, others say as low as 14! Thats a pretty big difference in my book. What the heck is going on here! I am wondering what kind of numbers to expect under normal conditions in mixed city and highway driving. Is premium fuel reccomended?

Thanks, dave.

bottgers

Post #3185 in this thread states there's a TSB for the 2-3 shift flare/slippage problem. If there's a TSB to fix this problem, why is all the latest info saying Mazda is still working on a fix? Makes no sense.

steveeast

I think that's a notice to dealers rather than a full-blown TSB. In any case, it's the original one from when Mazda thought the problem could be fixed by flashing the (then) latest TCM code and/or replacing the control valve body assembly. I had that procedure done myself to absolutely no effect.

My guess is that they'll reissue it in the very near future.

Steve.

dtownfb

There are a number of reasons why there is such disparity in the reported gas mileage:
1. Outside temperature (the colder the worst the mpg)
2. the way a person drives
3. how long you let your car idle
4. type of gas (regular vs.premium)
5. winter gas reformulation (while it is better for the air we breathe, it is not the most efficient for some cars)
6. type of driving (city vs. hwy, bumper to bumper traffic, etc)
7. type of roads - flat vs hilly

I'm sure there are more factors as well. These are just the ones I cam up with off the top of my head.

The best advice I can give you is, the more city driving you do the closer to the city estimate you will be. Even if you did 80% highway traveling at 55 mph the whole time and did 20% city, your avg mpg for that tank of gas would mostly likely be below the sticker estimate for highway. How much below? I don't know. There is no scientific way of determining gas mileage except to drive the vehicle.

alexv1n

The driving style could be VERY different. If it's a minivan it doesn't mean that it can't be driven aggressively.

For example, when I drive the MPV, I go about 380 km between fillups (~16 mpg). My wife, on the other hand, usually gets to 420-430 in the same driving conditions, giving about 18.5 mpg. If we lived farther from the city and had to commute daily on highways, that could be about 20 mpg and over. If we lived in Toronto and had to sit in traffic jams for hours, that would be lower than 14 mpg. And that's pretty much about the difference.

dan2004

Manual recommends regular (87 Octane). Any experiences comparing 97 to higher Octane on the 3.0?

bob57

Yes - From my experience about 20 cents a gallon.. )

Seriously, I accidently filled up with premium once (not paying attention - looking at some blonde...). I didn't see any difference in my '01. Gas mileage seemed the same - nothing dramatic took place to warrant the premium cost.

quest132k

I have only put about 1400 miles on my 2003 MPV in 3 months - I never use anything other than regular (87). Used only regular for 10 years in my 1993 Quest, 134K+ miles. And the same for the 86 Aerostar, 147K+ miles. Never had a fuel-related problem or major engine work.
read
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2003-07-30-premiumgas_x.htm
USATODAY may not be the best source of high-quality journalism, but this article quotes a number of chemists and engineers from Honda, GM, Nissan, Toyota, and the FTC. Bottom line: they all say if your car/engine was built to run on regular, it's not worth it to use anything else.

I expect TomJ will chime in shortly with his contrary perspective...

It would actually be interesting to hear from someone who has tried them both in the same vehicle under the same real-life conditions and kept track to find out.

edmundsuser328

I have a 96MPV. Basically it has been a good
vehicle. 92K miles. I have metal fillings in
a tranmsission filter/oil change. The dealer
says 100K is about right (sounds like a std
answer).
Any one put >100K on a MPV mid 90s tranny?????
How about the engine >>100K miles?
Tell there are some long life MPVs out there.

THANKS

bigdadi

I used both regular (mostly) and super (last 3 tanks) on the 2003 MPV ... no difference on miles.