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Mazda6 Sedan

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    chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    maybe you have a small butt than the ones who are ranting....
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    chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    Mazda 6 GT-V6 GFX.
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    mpiatekmpiatek Member Posts: 68
    The Mazda 6 GT-V6 GFX is the Canadian version of the Mazda 6s with sport package.

    Mike
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    dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    MT or AT? What city? And if you don't mind me asking, how much? I'm trying to get a feeling for how much they go in Canada. Thanx!

    Dinu
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    glideslopesglideslopes Member Posts: 431
    If a person was a heavy user of the manu-matic feature does anyone believe it would adversely effect transmission longevity? I assume it's a standard automatic with the special shifter? Is the transmission given any special reinforcement? I guess what I am wondering is if the auto would hold up as well as a manual box with someone who uses the manu-matic feature every time they take the car out? If the deal was good would the extended warranty be a good idea for the transmission?

    How has this type of automatic held up in other types of automobiles?

    Mark.
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    vini29vini29 Member Posts: 2
    In Quebec city. GFX meen whit avery options(leather, bose system, moon roof, etc.) It cost about 37000$ tax included in canadian dollars.
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    skyrayskyray Member Posts: 156
    Anyone added the Mazda fog lights for the non-sport-package Mazda 6 themselves? Just wondering if it really requires the dealer to do the install, or if it's something that can be done with a 200-piece toolkit and patience? :)
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    edmund2460edmund2460 Member Posts: 293
    I used to read all the specs, the slalom times and everything before making a choice, now I care only about quiet,ride and reliability. Anyway it was the wife's car and strangely she didn't like the Buick LeSabre. She ruled out the 6 after the test drive, I think it had to have something to do with pre-conceived notions after riding in my PRO. She's changed too, used to drive a Malibu with the SS type engine. I have a large dog too who likes to bounce around in the back seat and tries to 'catch' cars that go by, snapping at them like flies. That's why I'm still driving my 82 Jetta.
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    fowler3fowler3 Member Posts: 1,919
    when you are 80 the 6 WILL be your dad's Cadillac. ;) By then most luxury cars will be smaller.

    ambull: the seats are the same, cloth or leather, but the latter being thicker I would assume there are some differences. Both feel "tight" when you first sit on them. It's the side bolsters, they are wider toward the front and taper to the back. Not as narrow as Miata seats, though. It's the latteral grip one doesn't expect.

    The seats in the Protegé are a little wider and in the LX model they are flatter. No latteral support.

    It's been a long time since I have had car seats that didn't cause some kind of pain in the first 30 days: 1994 Civic, had very good seats but something about them caused severe pain at bottom of my spine. A car mag said it was due to the seat cushion being too thin where it goes under the bottom of the back rest. 1998 Accord, had very poor seats, very firm and painful. I sold it back to the dealer in 30 days. 2001 Protegé, had similar problem as 1994 Civic, the back rest cushion turns under too soon causing a gap and no lumbar support. I made a small pillow that solved the problem neatly, cost $7 for materials.

    Some times you can fix it and some times it is a major design flaw.

    Yeah, let's forget age! It's attitude alright. ;)

    I read the specs and reviews, even if I'm not sure what some of them mean. That's what this forum is for -- finding out. But words rarely come close to describing certain things, that's why you need to take several test drives -- "drive it and you will know".

    Maybe a good test drive would be to let the salesman drive the car part of the test route while you ride and look everything over, things you can't look at when driving. Watch what he does, especialy with the sport tranny. Check the seat comfort for instance. Then have him stop and you drive back. This way you get a much better feel for the car and how the new things work. This is more important in the 6s than the 6i, which has Mazda's standard HAVC controls.

    In particular the seats: Try the leather seats for fit and comfort. See if the powerseat lowers far enough for you, this is for drivers over six feet tall. Try the lumbar control. Then try the standard cloth seat and manual controls, it lowers farther than the power seat. I can't think of anything worse than having a beautiful new car you dread getting into. If it isn't comfortable ask if they can make adjustments. Sometimes spacers under the front mounts can make a big difference. Thigh support is important.

    Ah, to be 20 again, or even 38, and have a Mazda6! When I was 20 cars had two-piece windshields and cost $1800, I-6. When I was 38 they had wraparound whindshields and cost $3000, V8, average. Most had bench seats, which were no joy on long trips if three sat in front with the middle passenger straddling the tranny hump. But not nearly as uncomfortable as four men in an Austin Healey roadster. (Thats another story.)

    fowler3
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    pgmrpgmr Member Posts: 6
    I read the following in the pdf version of the owners manual I downloaded from mazdausa.com: "The keyless entry system is designed to operate up to about 2.5m (8 ft)from the center of the vehicle, but this may vary because of local conditions."

    2.5m seems pretty lame. Anyone have some real world numbers?
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    aromasaromas Member Posts: 314
    8 feet seems a little short, seems at least twice that but the panic alarm sets off alot farther than that, at least 50 feet because I've forgotten a few times where I parked and it went off from quite far away.
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    miata10aemiata10ae Member Posts: 90
    pgmr: No worries. I tried it at between 50 and 60 feet and it worked just fine. Just remember that if you unlock the car with the keyless pad and you don't open any door within 30 seconds it will lock back automatically. For this reason you might not want to be far away when you unlock it.
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    aromasaromas Member Posts: 314
    50 feet! I don't think I've ever gotten it to unlock from more than 20 feet. Although maybe it did lock up again because I walked too slow getting to the car. Well I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
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    jdmalmighty1jdmalmighty1 Member Posts: 2
    to MikeF208, yes i think the post of ambuli and stretchsje is right. You have to ultimately make your test drive which one is right for you. So don't discount the I4 just yet. Accdg. to Atenza (a.k.a. M6) engine development engineer. The new engines fm. MZR engines fm. Mazda would fulfill the companys policy (actually design goal) that 90% of max.Torq is avaialable fm. revs as low as 1750rpm. So it means, improved drivability around town but still with enough pop to go all the way to the redline.
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    edmund2460edmund2460 Member Posts: 293
    My PRO unlocks from 20 feet or so. I don't think it has that lock back mechanism bec. I can amble up to it and it's still open. Of the Altima/CamCord/Mazda seats I thought the Accord had the best seats. I was comparing leather which is what I got on the Camry. I think the leather in the new Accord is softer. The previous model seems a little too firm. What is needed in nearly every one of these cars is deeper seats. As much as I have hated my Sable/Taurus for the problems they gave me they had nice thigh support by providing generous depth. I have heard that Volvo's have very comfortable seats and the French I am told also have the best seats even in the smallest cars. Like Renault which left the US years ago.
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    aromasaromas Member Posts: 314
    "Like Renault which left the US years ago."

    But isn't Nissan just a fancy Renault like Mazda is a Ford! I betcha the "dude" would think so.
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    chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    ho ho ho !!!!
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    cookie01cookie01 Member Posts: 369
    I rode in, and have owned a few Hondas and the seats were just the worst! People with low back problems should probably drive one around for a few days before deciding.

    However, my sister drove her 89 honda for 12 years with a small pillow on the seat and seemed to do okay.
    Their new 2003 Accord seems not to bother her back. It came with power lumbar support and I think that helped her a lot.

    Seats KILL me on long drives. But I drove the M6 (w/cloth) for 6 hours the day I bought it and my back was COMPLETELY fine... Maybe it's all in my head?
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    stretchsjestretchsje Member Posts: 700
    My butt falls asleep in almost every car, especially the new Camry (heralded for comfortable seats).

    The '6 is the only car I've never been uncomfortable in. It's a miracle.
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    chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    believe it or not, but Mazda seats are extremely ergonomical. My Protege ES seats never hurt me even on long drives of 8 hours....even when they are not as soft like a Chrysler Minivans.
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    protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Your Protege does re-lock itself. Wait a bit longer after unlocking it and you'll see.
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    fowler3fowler3 Member Posts: 1,919
    Why? In case you don't make it to the car, mugged or you decide to go back into a store, your car is secure.

    The downside, you go into your garage to get something out of the car and it's locked. You have to go back to get the key. Why? You fumbled with the keys and pod in your pocket, inadvertantly pressed the big button.

    Caution: Notice cars in shopping centers with their horns honking? The owners locked them with keyless entry and unlocked them with the key -- setting off the horn/alarm. With perimeter alarm be sure to disable it before unlocking.

    fowler3
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    thegreatvudinithegreatvudini Member Posts: 103
    I am a regular reader of this site (www.canadiandriver.com), which has pretty good reviews (and especially, pics!) of cars. They had a good review of the 2004 (!) 6 GT/GS. Only drawback: dollars are Canadian (which, if you are careless, will give you a real sticker shock). Only wish they would give US equivalent stickers as well... Also, mileage tends to appear much higher in Canada for ALL car models (is it because there is less congestion there?)
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    ruefusruefus Member Posts: 254
    I've done numerous 3.5 - 4 hour stints in my car. Without question, this is the most comfortable car I've ever ridden in. No hot spots, creaky back or anything. I get out after 4 hours and don't even notice I've been driving.
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    aromasaromas Member Posts: 314
    If you've ever been to Toronto you know you're better off riding a bike to get around in rush hour. The city has year round post nasal drip.

    The reason that Canadian mileage is higher is that our gallons are measured diffrently. Our's is smaller because they're imperial gallons(U.K. measure). Or maybe the U.S. uses imperial gallons, I can't remember which but they're smaller. But then again we go by litres usually to measure our mileage just to confuse us more.Then it really gets fun for instance the specs for a Canadian car would be litres used per 100 kilometres.(eg. a car would burn 9.6 litres per 100 km), so the lower the # of litres the more economical the car. Don't even ask me what the 6 would be in this measurement because my head's starting to spin.

    Betcha the "dude" would know.
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    barrysobarryso Member Posts: 66
    "I rode in, and have owned a few Hondas and the seats were just the worst! People with low back problems should probably drive one around for a few days before deciding."

    The old Hondas needed Fowlers lower back pillow to be comfortable. The '83 Accord in our driveway had a $5 Pep Boys special lumbar support to keep it comfortable. It would kill your back without the extra support.

    Newer Honda seats are much better. Our '02 Accord isn't anything special but it doesn't need any props or pillows. The '03 Accord we took on a test drive seemed to have better seats than just about everything else out there. Honda is *finally* serious about seats.

    The Mazda6 seats are also mighty fine. It seems the lumbar support is placed a bit too high to be useful to me when on higher setings, but with the setting on low the seat is wonderful.

    As for big American rumps: I own one (a classic!). The Mazda6 seats fit it just fine. There were other sport sedans that didn't handle the excess of my bottom with anywhere near the comfort.

    So the Mazda6 gets the big bum vote.
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    microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    my favorite discussions! SEATS !! I sat in a Mazda6 for only a few minutes; with the cloth seats. Even in that short time they reminded me of the best seats in any car I ever owned. My 1988 Mazda MX-6.. What incredibly great seats. They were manual but had about 37 adjustments; well maybe only 8.. Overall seat height, seat cushion tilt (for thigh support), thigh bolster width, kidney bolster width, lumbar adjustment, seat back tilt, overall seat tilt, and front to back slide. And they were nice and firm which was disconcerting at first, but I drove that car on a number of 7-10 day trips where it was common to be behind the wheel fro up to 10 hours per day and I always got out of that car feeling well rested and spry. And this with a chronic lower lumbar problem. And after almost 10 years of ownership, the seats still felt and looked as good as the first year.. If the Mazda6 seats are based on those, they will be winners..

    Worst ever seats were in the Buick LeSabre of mid 90 vintage. Very little padding over the frame members (had to have the seat replaced within the first month) and NEGATIVE lumber support. It was so bad it induced spinal curvature! If I drove it for more than 30 minutes without a lumbar pillow, I wouldn't be able to stand up straight for at least 10 minutes! Horrid seats.. Yeccch!

    Seats in our Toyota Matrix are pretty good and the seats in my 96 E-class Mercedes, although without adjustable lumbar, are pretty decent for all-day driving.

    Bad seats can ruin the ownership experience so, if you have back problems make sure you pay attention to the seat comfort when you test drive..
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    pgmrpgmr Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for the input on the keyless entry range.

    Haven't heard any response to my earlier question re: whether the trip meter has any undocumented additional functions. Since our M6 hasn't been delivered yet, I'll post this link to a Mustang site that describes this kind of function. Maybe someone would be kind (brave??) enough to try it on their M6.

    www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/News/99hec.htm
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    jndesmarjndesmar Member Posts: 13
    Hey aromas let really get your head spinning. In Canada, transport Canada Fuel ratings for the Mazda 6s/gt with Sports Mode 5/AT for the city is 12.3L per 100km or if you broke that down in US numbers that would be 3.25 US gallons per 62 miles. That would make it roughly 19 miles per US gallon. Want to hear more....Transport Canada rates highway miles for the same car at 8.1L per 100 Km or 2.14 US gallons per 62 miles or 29 miles to the US gallon. Currently right now my M6 GS is getting about 23 miles per US gallon or 10.2L per 100 Km city/highway combined and It appears to be getting better... a quick lesson in metric conversions....
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    barrysobarryso Member Posts: 66
    How have you made out with your stereo upgrades of late? You seemed peeved at the base head unit and were posting nasty things at *that other site* for a while. Then the site died...

    Have you been able to make it sound as good as you'd like?
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    gee35coupegee35coupe Member Posts: 3,387
    I ever had were in my Toyota FX16 GT-S. Back in the late 80's Toyota had a seat they used in the Celica, Supra, FX16 range that was awesome. You could sit in it and drive all day long. It was like a couch with lateral support.
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    aromasaromas Member Posts: 314
    jndesmar: Please send me some Gravol!

    Speaking of rice, on that recently resurrected board somebody posted the 6 with the clear taillights without the bulge. Now that's grade A Uncle Ben's. If you want to ruin the look of your 6 put those on especially next year when the fad dies. All the people replying seemed to like it.I must be missing something. I love my red bulge. It's truly distinct.

    I don't think even the "dude" would put those on his Mazda Taurus.
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    corvettecorvette Member Posts: 10,267
    Does anyone know if the automatic transmission on the Mazda 6i (4-cylinder model) is the same Ford unit that caused so many problems with the 4-cylinder 626's?
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    alcjewalcjew Member Posts: 173
    corvette: The 6i AT is a Jatco. See this URL: http://www.jatco.co.jp/E_JATCO/SHOHIN/LIN_E.HTM
    Hope this helps.
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    maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    Not Jatco. The 6s auto is made by Jatco.

    the trans in the 6i is basically the same as the old 626 V6/'00-01 MPV trans that has a fine track record for reliability, but not the best for performance.
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    miata10aemiata10ae Member Posts: 90
    Who makes the MT trannys? My 6s MT sticker says that the country of origin of the transmission is Japan. Is it a Mazda unit?
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    glideslopesglideslopes Member Posts: 431
    Is it the same 5-Speed auto that is in our 02 MPV?

    That is a JATCO unit. One sweet transmission IMO.

    Mark.
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    stretchsjestretchsje Member Posts: 700
    ...I'll keep you posted, nothing really to update on yet.
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    caligirl94caligirl94 Member Posts: 24
    I'm probably going to end up a new 6 owner by the end of the month, but I have a question I'm hoping you guys can help with:

    I mentioned the extended warranty for previous Accord, Altima, etc owners, and mentioned that I own a Protege and it would be nice to have some sort of loyalty perk, like the extra warranty or possibly cash incentive.

    He seemed to think the lot manager WOULD BE ABLE TO GET ME THE EXTENDED WARRANTY offered to the other car owners.

    I'm wondering, was he blowing smoke up my skirt, or are dealerships able to do this? (there was no mention of charging me for it)
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    fowler3fowler3 Member Posts: 1,919
    You had better check the Bill of Sale carefully, I'm sure they will charge you for it. Don't be so anxious to get going in your 6, look the Bill of Sale over very carefully for fees and other amounts. Question anything you don't understand.

    Make sure all "promises" are in writing (on the Bill of Sale). They don't give refunds.

    "loyalty perk"? Just get the lowest price you can, that's your "perk". Extended warrenties are available for all cars, but you pay for them.

    fowler3
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    patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    but it's time for me to point out again that the Town Hall does not accept "rice" terms of any sort as applied to vehicles.

    Please don't make comments about this policy here. I will remove them. If you have something to say, send an email to sylvia@edmunds.com.

    Thanks.
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    markjennmarkjenn Member Posts: 1,142
    I'd interpret the salesman comments simply to mean that if you bought the car for a certain price, they'd throw in the plan. If you didn't get the plan, then they'd probably be able to do better on price. IOW, you'll pay for it, one way or the other, and the price of the plan, like everything else, is open to negotiation.

    - Mark
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    stretchsjestretchsje Member Posts: 700
    I'm going to try moving my subwoofer into the spare tire well... which might be easy to do poorly, but very hard to do well (and I will settle for nothing less!). More on that here.

    I'm also ordering some resistors to create an attenuation circuit for the front tweeters- they're a bit unevenly loud, and that's just accentuating the distortion from the stock head unit.

    When this is done, I'll give a good write-up, you bet.
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    ruefusruefus Member Posts: 254
    You do realize that the clear taillights are OEM, standard equipment in virtually every other market except the US?
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    miata10aemiata10ae Member Posts: 90
    You will be offered to buy an extended warranty. You get to choose how much of an extended warranty you wish to purchase. If you end up not using the warranty, you get your money back at the end of it. This is good but it also means that your money is tied up until the warranty expires. The warranty is transferable so you can use it as a selling feature if you decide to sell your 6 to another party.
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    alcjewalcjew Member Posts: 173
    maltb: This is where I got my info (Excerpt from Autointell) for the Mazda ATs unless you have a different source that says otherwise:
    Mazda: Relationship to the Ford Motor Company

    1969 October
    Japan Automatic Transmission Company (JATCO) is formed as a joint venture among Mazda, Ford and Nissan for automatic transmission manufacturing (since 1981 only Mazda and Nissan remain).
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    mazda6smazda6s Member Posts: 1,901
    Whatever extended warranty you are offered, make sure you ask if it's a Mazda warranty or some third party product. Sometimes they'll try to slip you something else without telling you up front what it really is.
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    alcjewalcjew Member Posts: 173
    caligirl94: Do what others are advising you on the extended warranty by checking your bill of sale to insure you are not being charged. That'd would be great if you get it if they offer it for free as part of closing a sale. You may not use it at least from my past/current reliability experiences of Mazdas I've owned that have lasted over 150K w/o any problems. I don't have an EW on my current 6s.

    miata10ae: On extended warranty, I've didn't know "If you end up not using the warranty, you get your money back at the end of it." It's usually similar to an auto insurance policy, you won't get your money back even though you don't use it.
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    alternatoralternator Member Posts: 629
    may be found here :

    www.mazda.co.nz/tms/ tms_model4_home.html
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    miata10aemiata10ae Member Posts: 90
    alcjew: It was clear to me that I was gonna get my money back if I didn't use the extended warranty. I was shocked when they told me that as well. I didn't buy it but that is what I was told. They even told me that I didn't have to purchase it at the time of delivery but I could buy it later on (I don't remember exactly when later is, but I am sure it was in terms of years).
    I agree with you that most likely you don't have to use an EW since I owned many Mazdas in the past and all proved to be very reliable.
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