Mazda Millenia

crowbarred

This is a tire tread pattern problem in all likelihood. It will vary by brand and by amount of wear, even if the waer is normal. I would suggest going to www.tirerack.com to do research to find a tire that doesn't "tramline" which is what it sounds like you are describing. zHope that helps.

crowbarred

The next thing you should do is to take the care to someone you trust (none of the places you have been). Hvae them break down the tire from the wheel and CLEAN the rim of the wheel and the bead of the tire. This will probably fix your problem. I have 17" wheels and have had to do this twice. Of course, you could have a problem with the tire that will require you to replace it. You can ask Dunlop to help -- and be the first to get them to. When my Dunlops wear out (and they have worn ok, I will never use them again. I have never had a tire that was so poorly weighted from the factory not one so prone to belst separations and sidewall problems from curb bumps. BTW, anyone who puts 6 oz of weights on your tire is an idiot. They should have broken down the tire, rotated it on the wheel to move the heavy spot, and rebalanced. It will usually lessen the weight needed. The longer I run low profile tires the more AI believe that they look good but are NOT that much fun to own. Hope that fixes your problem for cheap. It worked for me.

marak88

Hello every one,

last weekend I found out that one of my wheels on my 99 millenia S is bent and I need to buy a replacement, but I could not find any at the used car part places (salvages).
Do any of you know where to get good used wheel (17x7 chrome) for a decent price?
your help is much appreciated.

regards.

carguy58

As far as having problems with cars anybody can have a problem with their car. Yes there are Honda's and Toyota's with problems. I like those companies but every car company has cars with problems. I'm sure there are Lexus's with problems.

crowbarred

Marak88 -

I have seen wheels on eBay from time to time. Another alternative to buying one new is to find a place in your town that "straightens" wheels. there is a shop in Houston, TX that fixes bent whhels for $100. You could try a national salvage yard like Mazmart (or is it MazMax) but they will charge a premium.

Hope that helps.

marak88

I called mazmart and they wanted $400 for a used wheel, I tried one place about fixing the rim and they wanted $175 (they did not even look at the wheel), I think i'll be trying another place to get another quote, as I know that the whell is not bent bad.

Thanks

skspgh

Just to update everyone - I walked into NTB. The helpful rep explained that air leaking between the chrome wheel and it's own rim is often the case in cold weather. Apparently, the wheel tends to *peel* a lot. So typically, you have to keep the air filled and you might have to re-seal the tires. It so happened that my driver side tire was also damaged - broken belts (don't know why). Dunlap payed 50% of the tire costs for both front tires based on some tread measurement. I thought it was unfair - 1.5 yr old tires, and I get only 50% back. In either case, I put the same tires on again since I didn't want to change all 4. And NTB guarantees to fix any resulting problems. So I'm happy again. Thanks for those who replied...

crowbarred

Marak88 - Keep looking to find someone else to fix your wheel. The cost will be the same no matter what the bend. They put it on a machine that s-l-o-w-l-y bends it back, and almost always charge the same. Get two shops into a bidding war!

crowbarred

Glad you got it fixed. I have a 99 S (okay, my wife drives it; I drive a Miata). My mechanic told me when I bought the 17" wheels that I would have problems.
I was talking to the shop foreman at the Mazda dealership months later. He has a 99, not an S, with the 16" wheels. I asked him if he had seen problems with Dunlops. He said that they would bubble in the sidewall if you got them within 6 " of the curb. I have not been impressed with them. Now the Potenzas on the Miata are awesome - and not available in the slightly odd size that the Millenia requires.

heybrady

I stumbled upon a website www.aaarims.com that sells OEM rims. The 17x7 chrome for your 99S go for 278 new on there. Might be worth checking out.

masonovich

Okay! So once again, the ck engine light in my 98 MM (non supercharged) came on. Here is a brief history that I need some help with!

I purchased the car in May of 2002 w/ 53K miles. In August, the car died in downtown Chicago during a funeral, of all places?! I had it jumped and the ck engine light was on. Brought it to my local Mazda dealer (as Autozone could not figure out how to put the diagnostic tool on the vehicle?) and the dealer did the test. The results indicated the battery was low, and there was a random cylinder mis-fire. Bottom line, they replaced the battery, spark plugs and plug wires totaling $381.

10K miles later the light is back on. 200 miles later it is off. 150 miles later, it is once again on...you get the picture. The car is back at the dealer and the diagnostic tool says it is an EGR port that is carboned up impeding EGR flow. They clean the carbon from the EGR port and cleared the codes for $65.

Two days (15 miles) later, guess what...yes, the light was on. After bringing it into the dealer this time, I am told it is a knock sensor located in the middle of the engine that may need replacement. It needs a new sensor and EGR pipe. This is apparently a big project as the estimate is a hefty $230 in labor totaling $382.

The dealer and I agree that it should be okay to wait until we need to get into the engine for another problem before we fix this knock sensor issue. Then they can take care of the sensor then.

Has anyone experienced this before? The dealer indicated he has service over 200 Millenias and 5 have had this problem. My question is can I turn off the ck engine light?? Besides putting a piece of black electrical tape over the light on the dash?!

Thank you for the assistance...
MM Masonovich!

steevo2

No trouble with this car for 3 years, and now she's leaking oil. Checked the obvious oil plug and filter and they are both fine. I now have a very queasy feeling from reading some posts about supercharger oil leaks on the MM and the $$ to fix. Any advice on how I can find the source of this leak without taking it to the dealer? Can a supercharger leak be seen without dismantling a bunch of stuff? If so, where should I look? I'm going to take an asprin now ... and pretend this is not happening.

maltb

A leaking lysolm compressor seal is evidenced by smoke out the tail pipe not by drops on the ground. Keep looking...

rotarykid

valve cover gaskets, oil pressure switch, oil cooler.....these are the most common places for oil leaks on the S.

windy6

Is it just me or do the driver's seats not go back very far, on the track that is, no the recliner. I'm no giant, but with the seat pushed all the way back my knees are still bent? I notice the seat in the Mazda 6 goes back as far as anything I've driven except my 1969 Mercedes 280 SEL, with the seat all the way back I could barely reach.
Has anyone reversed or reset their brackets like some people do with their Miatas, or I'm I just psychotic?
Thanks

heymista

I am looking at a 2002 Millenia, and I am curious as to what kind of gas mileage you get. I currently get 20MPG in my Acura TLS and I was hoping to improve that by going to a smaller engine like the 2.3 or 2.5 Mazdas. I would appreciate comments on both models, thanks

fwatson

I have a 2001P which has the 2.5 unblown engine.

At just under 9000 miles I have never gotten below 20 nor higher than 28 mpg. I have averaged 22.1 overall and about 27 mpg on trips.

Good luck with your new car shopping.

carguy58

Maybe its the gas cap isn't on all the way? My Mom had the same problem in a 92 Grand Am where a light what go on all the time for no reason. Believe me it became annoying after awhile. You should also check the owners manual. Never go to the dealer for these things. Go to an independent shop. One place charged me 27 dollars to repair patch a tire. I went to an independent shop in my town and they charged me 10 dollars. Once the car is out of warranty do not go back to the dealer. They charge too much. Another thing to do is go to a place that specializes in import cars(Hobda's, Toyota's, nissan's, Mazda's.)

tuckerdog1

Heymista,

Our 2002 S has averaged a little better than 23mi/gal. That's about an even mix of freeway and in town driving.
Haven't taken any trips, so cannot say how well things could go with a lot of freeway miles.

The S is supposed to get better milage than the P because the engine is smaller, but the tradeoff is it "requires" premium fuel, where the P does not.

Enjoy the hunt.

heymista

Thanks for the responses Tuckerdog1 and fwatson. It sounds very comparable to my Acura 3.2 TLS. I get 20 city and 25 highway. I really thought the Millenia would be more efficient with a smaller engine.

tomekk

I get 28 on all-highway trips @70-80mph, but 20 in city . . . with a lead foot (floor it/redline it every now and then). That's on a 2001 S.

fwatson

I at some point read from someone complaining that the Mazda engines are "noisy".

From my own 9000 miles of experience over a year and a half period I can tell you that unless you are in a very quiet location it is almost impossible to determine if the engine is running at idle. The same is true at any cruising speed.

On hard acceleration it has a beautiful Indycar like sound that invariably brings a grin to my face. Last weekend on an I-4 onramp as I was merging with traffic my wife chukled outloud. She had been quiet to that point and I asked her what she was laughing about.

Her reply? I love that sound, it sounds like a race car. She is a huge Nascar fan. No! I am not saying the 2.5 V-6 performs like an Indy or Nascar. But the sound is beautiful. And while it is no hotrod it certainly is no slouch. 0-60 in 8 point something seconds allows very easy freeway merges while singing that wonderful song to you.

Incidentally, in that 9000 miles nothing of any type has gone wrong, and the only time a wrench has touched it is to do preventive maintenance. For all but fulltime leadfeet this is one wonderful ride.

It will curise at 100 mph with complete ease, and nothing but a little tire and wind noise to give you an indication you are taking a big chance of visiting the local judge next month.

klbk

I've just been introduced to the Millennia and love it. I'm considering buying a '99 model with 19,000 miles on it. I don't know which engine it has (advertised as 2.5L). Is this a car that will last for years to come? I usually keep cars until they have around 150,000 miles on them. Also, are heated seats offered on any model?Thanks!

kcm8419

Heated seats come standard with the S 2.3 model. I do not know if the 2.5 P model comes standard, but I do not think so. As far as lasting for a 150,000 miles I do not see why you could not keep it for that long. Like with any car as long as you keep up the maintance on it and are not intentionly trying to run it into the ground it should last that long.

As far as gas mileage goes I have a 2002 S and I am getting 23 to 24 mpg in town and about 27 on highway. My dad bought a 2002 S, about 7 months after I bought mine, and he is getting 18 in town on his.

heybrady

KLBK,

How much are they asking for the 99? I bought a 99 with 32k miles for 12,000 in january. I have the P model, and it has heated seats. From what I understand, most P models have the Four Seasons Package, which includes the heated leather.

akirby

I have a coworker who has a Millenia S (don't know any more than that) with an erratic engine temp problem. It seems to periodically and randomly run too hot or too cold. Already replaced thermostat and that didn't fix it. Just wondering if there are any known problems that exhibit this behavior (like bad temp sensors, etc.).

tomekk

I had a problem with engine overheating, on 2001 S - started at 17K miles or so, 4 times in the shop, last time - water pump replaced along with some seals - seems to have done the trick. SUpposedly it was small coolant leak somewhere around the water pump that would bring down the coolant level from max to below low in about 2.5K miles of driving. First I'd lose the heat inside (heater core wasn't heated 'cause there wasn't enough coolant to flow to the top of the engine), then it would start overheating - how ironic (on a 0 degree day). The temp gauge would go 3/4 - 7/8, then back to normal... very annoying, to say the least. Now it's been fine for a while, and coolant level is not dropping anymore. I'm glad I didn't have to pay for all those repairs (covered under warranty along with a Doge Stratus service loaner free of charge).
Good luck, if there is no obvious traces of coolant leaks it is very difficult to find.
Hope this helps -
Tomek

akirby

Thanks. That does sound like what his was doing - first no heat then overheating but not consistently. I'll tell him to have the water pump checked. Unfortunately I don't think he's under warranty.

steevo2

Thanks to maltb and rotarykid for the oil leak tips. I finally took my '97 MM-S to the dealer and they did a 'dye test'. They say that the valve cover gaskets are leaking and want $537 to replace. Is that a fair price? Anything else I should have them do while they are in there to head off future troubles? Thanks again.

maltb

That sounds awfully high for less than 1 hour of labor and $50 retail in parts. Are you sure they are only quoting you to replace the valve cover gaskets?

You might want a second opinion...

tomekk

Tomorrow I can check the work order for detailed tech comments and share them with you...

steevo2

maltb, I think I'll take your advice and get a 2nd opinion. The dealer mentioned only the valve cover gaskets and that it was a real pain to get to them, hence the $$. Seems to be a documented problem with Millenia with 75k+ miles or so. I know a trustworthy independent shop and I'll post back when I get an estimate from them. Maybe others on the board will benefit from the info.

maltb

The dealer mentioned only the valve cover gaskets and that it was a real pain to get to them...

Well, according to my estimating guide (Motor Info Systems) it's 0.4 hours per side.

akirby

Turns out it was the water pump just like you said. My buddy is very appreciative of the information. He says the dealer wants $800+ to change the water pump - does that sound right? He's also concerned about long term engine damage from the overheating - any thoughts there?
Thanks!!!

klbk

heybrady,
Thanks for the info. The car sold the day after I posted. They were asking $16,000 with 19K miles. It did not have heated seats.

klbk

kcm3419;
Thanks for the info-very helpful!!

maltb

That's a 4+ hour job with a $100 part so it sounds pretty close to correct. An independent may do it cheaper, but at the dealer, they will probably assign their most competent tech to a larger job like that.

fwatson

From what I have read you should be sure the timing belt is replaced while they have it down that far.

rrschlesinger

I have an 01 S with 6,700 miles on it. Around town I never get more than 14.5 mpg, with moderate acceleration, i.e. I don't step on it. Is this normal for this car? Has anyone had any luck with using synthetic oil or a K&N filter to improve mpg? Any suggestions?

Second question, when I floor the accelerator going about 10-20 mph the transmission won't down shift. Is this normal? Has anyone had any success with reprogramming the chip or some other type of performance improvement.

Third question, the emergency brake handle hits my knee all the time, has anyone had any success with bending it out of the way?

tomekk

Gas mileage: that is NOT normal! On '01 S I get 21 city / up to 28 hwy.
Downshift: you really have to floor it quickly to make it downshift ... it will, but again you need to know how to convince it :-)
Emergency brake: bend it? Hm, how about if you try it and let us know...

Tomek

tomekk

As promised, here's my work order (4th trip for this problem):


pressure ck cooling system to 14lbs, no visible leaks detected. called mazda hotline they suggested pulling timing belt covers to inspect for leaks. Water pump showed traces of coolant at weep hole. While checking for coolant leak noticed rt cam seal also leaking. Replace water pump & rt cam seal. Road test to confirm repair

Parts:
B0205BRX Oil seal (front housing or camshaft front) r&r 90 WM94
1 BP01-10-602A oil seal
E0101XRX water pump assembly and/or gasket, r&r 90 WM94
1 8AK3-15-010B pumpset, water
4 5555-CL-001 Warr Coolant
FC:77
part: 8AK3-15-010B


All this was covered under warranty, so I have absolutely no idea how much it would be...

Good luck,
Tomek

concertokyung

Hello,

I recently sold 92 929 with 130k miles (had it for 7 yrs), and now looking at used Millenia S. (I think it's such a wonderful car in many aspects, including its looks and feature contents).

I am looking at model year 97 or older, to be used as second car.

There is a gentlemen who has 95' at 102k miles, offering ~7000. Carfax yields absolutely no accidents or issues. However since they say 95' was first year for Millenias, I am a bit uneasy about making up my mind. On my 929, for example, there were a couple of issues with the car(no glovebox, wahahaha! and driving belt pulleys rattling). Is there anything to be aware of on 95 Millenias?

fwatson

" Is there anything to be aware of on 95 Millenias?"

The only repeat problem that shows up on Carpoint or other reliability ratings for the '95 MM is spark plug wires. They run around $100 plus labor. But I have read on this forum of oil leaks in the supercharger on all S models with high miles. I imagine that could be a substantially more expensive problem if the car you are looking at needs that work. You would probably be smart to have it checked before buying that car.

It is also overdue for an expensive timing belt and water pump change if that has not been done.

pat

Join us tonight, 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET for another
round of automotive trivia and member-to-member chat.
Test your skills (or multiple choice guessing ability)
against other Town Hall members.

http://www.edmunds.com/townhall/chat/townhallchat.html

Hope to see you there!

concertokyung

Thank you fwatson I will look for the service record on the car for timing belt and water pump, in addition to oil leak!

carguy58

It seems like people are getting 14 mpg to the gallon on this car. A fuel pick-up problem or something? This seems to be too common.

tomekk

Only those with problems complain... I'm getting 21 city 28 hwy on 2001 Mill S.

fwatson

"It seems like people are getting 14 mpg to the gallon on this car. A fuel pick-up problem or something?"

----------------------

That car very obviously has a problem. Any mechanic with good diagnostic equipment can determine what it is, but there is no way for it to be diagnosed on a forum. It requires knowing the code that is read out of the OBD.

rotarykid

The labor for replacing the valve cover gaskets on a 2.5 millenia is more than an hour. We get at least 2, and thats about the same as the warranty time.

dmoyer

Per AutoZone and http://www.troublecodes.net/mazda/ ("Mazda Code Retrieval - Accessing Trouble Codes 96 & later are OBD2 systems"), the 1995 MM 2.5 V6 has OBD (located in front of the firewall), but requires a special tool to read.
So, since all systems appear to be operational, I re checked all things visual in the engine compartment and then followed the above web site's recommendations for clearing the fault. "Mazda Fuel Injected Models With OBD - Disconnect battery ground cable for a minimum of 10 seconds, then depress brake pedal five times to clear trouble code's stored in the memory". Drove it for 30 minutes with all systems off, no check light. I'll just start using things and see if the check engine light returns.
This 95 has been good to me so it is worth the effort to keep it on the road, I only drive it about 5K a year.