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All the other high end, namely Philips, HArman/KArdon , Yamaha came with only Bass and Treble controls.
Again, I believe that is done to protect the sanctity of the original recording. if u have a 10 band GE, the common user might end up with a worse sound than the original recording.
Can somebody explain why the TCS being on or off makes a difference. Unless it's engaged how would it make a difference in acceleration or gas mileage? I've had it on and off and found absolutely no difference in engine performance either way. I've never had it go on unless the snow is really bad. Just wondering.
Would love to hear what your audio guys say about the midrange issue.
If I start experiencing many problems with my 6 and post it on the problems board the last thing I want is people chiming in that the car is great because it's a Mazda even though there are a gazillion problems and be grateful for that reason. I would get quite annoyed and those people seem to be too.
One comment, tt had one little blurb "Some of our testers considered the Fours' steering to be slightly quicker and more precise" (then the Passat or Accord) which seemed to be a little dismissive of a point that people here have more interest in.
Finally, if you turn to page 45 of the same issue of CR under RECALLS read "'01-93 Audi and Volkswagen Potentially defective ignition coil could lead to a partial loss of engine power and, possibly, accident. Models: 01 to 03 Audi TT, A3, VW Golf/GTI, Jetta, New Beetle, and Passat" all with 1.9 liter engines. Anyway, maybe not that big a deal (!) but kinda of funny when you read the glowing review of the Passat in one part of the mag. then read the recall notice.
jhtlag
The suspension, while not conventional in this class, isn't something that hasn't been done before. Can't imagine there'll be many (if any) problems. Especially considering it's in the rear.
So far there does not seem to be a defect that effects ALL Accords built like the Passat's problem. And even the Passat's problem has now been minimized now that they have finally decided to replace all coils.
On another note has Mazda changed their option packages yet? Somebody previously said on this board Mazda was going to change their option packages in April...well its April.
Does anyone have links on exactly how the 6i's oil filter is supposed to be changed? It looks like you'd have to take the engine apart to change the oil filter since it doesn't have a casing like normal oil filters. someone please tell me this is not the case, otherwise I'm probably going to buy a different car instead. The mazda6i is tied pretty closely with another car I'm considering, so every minor difference counts.
As for oil changes, I've heard of many stories, and also know personally people who have gone for oil changes to leave with bolts that were not tightened enough or overfilled the oil. Also not limited to oil changes, I went into a dealer to get my car's tires rotated, and came out with a misalignment, (fortunately they were willing to readjust it for free since my car was so new at the time). I've rotated my own tires from then on and never had a misalignemtn after such procedures. I just think I can do a much more careful job on some of these simple routine things.
As for the camry engine sludge problem, I believe documenting with receipts oil and oil filter purchases is enough for the warranty. There was probably not much a consumer to do in that situation anyway because Toyota blamed it on customers not changing oils in less than 3-4k miles which is a very strict tolerance compared to other manufacturers. They were very hesitant to admit it was their own design problem instead of customer's maintenance schedule.
I may have exaggerated with taking the engine apart to change the oil filter, but it sounds pretty messy compared to a simple screw-on oil filter with its own casing like 99% of other vehicles. Was Mazda trying to be cheap, or did the dealers win in a battle to try to get more customers in for service work?
-The fabric on the door panels is a bit irritating to my skin
-At higher speeds there is a wind sound as if a door isn't closed all the way or there is window open a little when there isn't.
-This is a subjective thing, however the power-points aren't on when the key is out, so my cell only gets charged when I'm driving.
-The audio, climate, etc. controls are excellently illuminated, however the inside trunk release, buttons on the auto-dimming mirror, all but the driver's windows, and all the door locks aren't illuminated.
-Fuel economy is not as good as some other cars in its class.
-I love the way the fuel door looks, but at the pump its latch sometimes catches the inside of head of the pump.
-The turning circle is fine on normal roads, however on smaller roads it can get somewhat difficult to U-Turn.
-I miss features like auto-locking doors and auto-up driver's window, and an interior way to let down the back seats into the trunk.
-Out of a Jetta, Cougar, and Protege5 it is the most expensive car on the insurance but a 100 bucks.
After 850 miles the engine really opened up, and acceleration off the line and for passing is excellent. The Bose System sounds excellent, however sometimes I'm left wanting a little more base. No rattles, no mechanical problems. When I got the car one of the rear door's child safety locks was on and one wasn't, I thought that was a bit odd. I think my favorite extra feature are the Opitron gauges, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to white numbers on black background ever again. The auto-dimming mirror was well worth it, I originally got it just for the homelink as getting an extra garage door transmitter for my system was more than the mirror. However, it is extremely functional. I'm 5'11, and even with the seats near all the way back I was still comfortable in the back seats. Also, if you burn a low-quality MP3 into CD-Audio and play it, its sounds miserable in the bose system. Thats about it, I'm loving the car and have finally got used to the previously funny-feeling clutch.
If you pick the Accord or 6 I hope you pick the right car for yourself.
If this car was also meant to replace the upscale Millenia which had rear seat head rests, why eliminate them when bringing the car to the US? It is not like the competition like the Accord, Passat and Camry leave head rests off the back. With available airbags all around it seems like an odd decision.
Also, why not offer the Navigation system? it goes in the spot where the storage compartment is above the center console. This would be a no brainer to add in my mind since even the Accord offers it.
Does anyone know if for 2004 rear head rests or Nav might make it into the Mazda 6s??? I know the hatch back is on the way which is cool also.
I would highly doubt it's anything more than removing a cylinder, replacing the element and then putting it back. messier perhaps, but it will NOT be a big deal.
Call a dealer service department and ask, or go crawl underneath the car and find it.
The power points switch off when the key is removed due to safety. You don't want unattended kids in the car sticking their fingers in the socket or burning down the car.
I think some of the switches/buttons are not illuminated is due reducing driver light distraction, but I agree on some should have been illum such as the door locks.
As for gas mileage, what are you averaging now? It should improve after 1K. I have better than 25 mpg avg with over 3200 mi.
Haven't had any problems inserting gas pump nozzle with the filler door latch.
The turning diameter is a little above average (Altima similar) though is livable and not an issue with me.
Auto-lock doors would have been nice, auto-up windows is a safety issue (long hair getting caught as the window goes up). I haven't checked, but I thought there was an inside release latch mechanism for the rear seats.
Is as expected, the insurance company will always profit from you on a higher priced car.
I agree with others posting here, you shouldn't need to use an equalizer at all if the stereo is of decent quality. Most of the time, you should only need to use the equalizer if your listening environment is abnormal and you have to correct for something....which happens much more frequently in a car than at home because of the random shape of the car interior.
Regarding the mid-range quality, I don't think we're as sensitive to peaks and valleys in the mid-range as much as we are in the bass and treble sound regions. Of course, if the peak or valley is great enough, then you'll definitely be able to tell. I wouldn't worry about bad mid-range sound in a car though because you're starting in a really bad environment to begin with. Road and engine noise is intruding into the mid-range frequencies, so your sound is already messed up. Having + or - 3db of error in the mid-range isn't going to make much difference if your car is making 70db of road noise while cruising down the freeway.
I spend a lot of time listening to music in the car, but it's just a bad place to expect good sounding music from. Get a nice home system, and for the car just get something that will play your favorite tunes "good enough." You should enjoy listening to music in your car, but it's not worth spending thousands of dollars for because a car system will never be as good as a home system of the same price. Actually, the only car to even come close to a nice home system is a Lincoln LS, which just got the first THX certification for a car stereo system. I still haven't listened to it yet, but if it got the strict THX certification, it must be pretty good.
Anyway, I'll stop blabbing about this now. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Mike
Something isn't right. I've run nearly 2,000 miles at 60+ MPH and the car is very quiet. Have the dealer listen with you - this doesn't sound normal at all. My girlfriend's car had a similar issue (2001 Eclipse) and it was some weatherstripping out of whack and was easily fixed.
"-Fuel economy is not as good as some other cars in its class."
While it's not rated as good, give it some time. I just passed 3,500 miles and just got to 300 miles (OK -297.7) before the fuel light came on for the first time.
Perhaps changing a cartridge filter spills a bit more oil (we don't know that yet), but if you change your own oil then surely you already have a wide-mouth container to catch oil and rubber gloves to keep it off your hands? My Nissan spews oil all over the exhaust pipe when I unscrew the filter. So what? I wipe it off, it's not a factor.
Perhaps a filter from the dealer costs $10 instead of $5 at AutoZone. Is an extra $15 per year really a deal breaker? If so, you should probably be looking at used cars :-)
Aftermarket filters are not yet available, but they WILL be available soon - aftermarket suppliers are in business to sell filters and you can bet they will make sure there is one available for the the 2.3L engine! Purolator already has a part number assigned to it in their online catalog, even though it's not yet available.
Buy the car that you like to drive and that has the features you want/need. Trivial stuff like oil filters would not even factor into the equation for me.
Here's another thought - perhaps cartridge type filters are better! Reviews I've read of oil filters show large variability in the quality of backflow preventers and bypass valves. If these items are built into the engine's filter casing and only the filter element gets replaced then this might give the engine manufacturer much tighter control over the quality of these important filter control devices, instead of leaving it up to the whims of the aftermarket. This is just speculation on my part... perhaps someone well versed in oil filter technology would know more.
Filter availability - if this is a deciding factor for buying a car, you didn't like the car much to start.
Oil changes aren't unanticipated happenings - and any dealer worth his salt will have plenty on hand to service the cars they've sold. Buy a couple at a time like a lot of DIYers do. Autozone's site indicates "not available, yet".
More expensive? Probably, but we're talking about MAYBE $165 extra over 100,000 miles (est. 33 changes @ $8 vs. $3) - assuming utterly religous 3k intervals. It's even less if you follow the owner's manual intervals.
The nav system is rumored to be coming, maybe someone can comment on when.
The wind noise thing sounds odd, like you may have a bad window seal. I've heard that exactly once -- when I was driving on the interstate on a day when we were having 30 to 40 mph wind gusts. (And trying to avoid all the SUV drivers who were being blown all over the road...) Otherwise the car is amazingly quiet even cruising at (a hypothetical, officer!) 75 to 80.
Alcjew,
A meetup at RevItUp sounds like fun. It'd be great if we could get the posters/readers from here and Mazda6Club to get together. (I'd swing by on Saturday, but I'm coming from all the way over in Vermont.)
On a totally different note... Anyone know if the 6s engine uses a timing belt or a timing chain? I remember with my Miata, a broken timing chain would mean... Get a new timing chain. On my Ford Probe, a broken timing belt would mean... Get a new engine.
Not that I'll have to really worry about this till about 2008, but I'm just curious.
How did you come to the conslusion that it might be a widespread problem?? I don't recall seeing anyone else with a similar problem.
The nav system would be a nice option to have and since the US loves gadgets, that seems like a no brainer to have available...
To this day I've only seen ONE other M6 on the road, and it's been out since Dec!
I believe an "owner" for a local Nissan dealer lives in my area, maybe that was his car? Who knows. Just bugged me.
I do have the chrome fuel door. It intergrates well with other chrome features on the car. I have the other door too (steel grey) and I could swap them out if needed. The car sort of came with that feature, not one I was willing to bug them about.
I've already decided that my first "mod" will be a stainless steel license plate frame that has "zoom-zoom" along the bottom. Replace the dealer frame with that one.
Then I'm going to get the windows lightly tinted, also.
Other than that, I probably won't change too much.
To clarify what was said earlier, your ears aren't just as sensitive to midrange compared to bass and treble, they're MORE sensitive. Midrange is the key to a high-end audio system, make no doubt. Any worthwhile audio system will require no bass or treble adjustments- it'll sound smooth and powerful at the same time with any type of music.
In regards to the oil filters, I doubt they'll be more expensive. Heck, the OEM ones are $8 w/ free shipping. Surely K-Mart will have them for half that!
Some of my favorite things about the car (in no particular order):
- Handling and braking are superb! Love taking those curves at much higher speeds than posted speed limit, with no drift or sway.
- The way the seat hugs you, especially in those curves
- Get a super feeling for the road, it is like you are connected to it
- Great acceleration
- Drives really good in the snow, and the TCS has not kicked in at all.
- Feels solid. Especially noticeable when you shut the doors.
- Plenty of rear leg room and trunk space
- Enjoy hearing the kids excitedly say, “Can we take the Mazda 6?”
- No noticeable wind noise at high speeds
- Illuminated controls in red. Love the steering wheel controls.
- Seat warmer. Warms up the buns quickly.
- Adjustable vents. Can twist them any direction you like.
- Adequate mileage over 23 with almost totally city driving
- The stares, looks, and compliments I have received on the car!
Areas that could use some improvement:
- More lower end torque
- Needs an auto-memory on the drivers seat. The few times I have let my wife drive it, she has to adjust the seat. It takes me a while to adjust it back to the spot where I feel comfortable in it. Memory on the seat position would be great.
- Auto-locks (Minor complaint)
- Better turning radius.
I have not had any problems to report yet (knock on wood). I looked at many vehicles (Camry, Accord, Altima, Maxima, Jetta) before deciding on the 6, and my experience so far has confirmed my decision to get the 6. BTW, I’m one of those who actually likes the look of the chrome mustache on the grill. Overall, this has been a fun vehicle to drive, and I just look for excuses to go out and take it for a spin. Zoom, Zoom!
If a family man were asking him, he would spin around and show all the places where the 6 is bigger than the Altima.
The woman comes out with her coffee and opens the door.
I asked her how it was going, did she like the car.
"Best car I've ever owned" she said. And off she went.
Nice! Finally see the car out on the street, with a real person driving.
Whew...
If they don't compete in his mind, just ask him what was Car & Driver thinking when they did their recent direct comparo.
I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has done an oil change on the 6i and report back how hard it is or easy it is compared to regular canister oil filters. If it's accessible without jacking up the car, that would be a huge plus.
I don't know whether the 6 uses a chain or belt. But these days, it is my impression that most engines are zero-clearance.