Mazda6 Maintenance and Repair

glideslopes

I have 8,000 hard miles on my 6s with no rotor issues. Always be careful if you use any type of automatic car wash. If you enter with very hot rotors the blast of cold water directly onto the rotor surface can cause warping.

It is not the same as driving in the rain, or even hitting a puddle. In those situations the tire will actually push the water off to the sides.

Also, be very careful that your lug nuts are not over tightened. The majority of warped rotors come from over tightened lug nuts.

dhankes

I own a fully-loaded Mazda 6s and have the following problem.

Regarding message #144 placed by Mr. Rod Hughes, I also have a problem with the driver's side window making a clunking to cracking sound upon closing. It is intermittent, but present more often than not. It is also variable as far as the type of sound (ie, a mere clunk to a sharp "crack!") and how loud the noise is, but it can be very loud at times.

I discussed this with a dealer service guy who said it was probably a design defect. Then when I took it in to get it taken care of, the service invoice said, "Unable to duplicate customer's complaint." That is possible, but I suspect that they were stumped and didn't want to make matters worse by trying to fix something that is essentially "not broke."

Moreover, I wrote to Mazda and described the problem but no reply as of yet.

At any rate, does anyone else have this problem? And Mr. Hughes, did the new regulator they installed fix the problem?

Dan

nayhoma_1

Hi All,

I have a red Mazda6 GS-V6 AT with the sport pkg. I have about 5000kms and overall I've been extremely satisfied. Love the looks, interior, trunk space (amazing with the seats down - even fit a full size futon in the back!!!), steering, handling, and nice road feel (HATE the turning radius), and it sure beats my '91 Protege. That being said my 6 has stalled twice on me upon start-up (thank goodness never on the road). The two occasions where it stalled....I started the car, but then a few seconds later it sounded like the engine was struggling to stay on. The RPMs would start dipping erratically until the RPMs hit zero and the engine shut off. Does anyone have any idea why it's doing this? Anyone else have this experience? Other than this I have had no problems with the car, although my wife did sideswipe a concrete pillar 2 weeks after having bought the car :-( .....something about not being use to driving a new car (sigh!).

nayhoma_1

mazdafun

I'd check the air inlet to make sure nothing has come loose. This can fool the MAS (mass airflow sensor) or ECM (engine control module) into cutting power. Failure can occur in these two units as well. So could a bad fuel pump. So could many other things, but start by inspecting the air inlet parts as you can do this yourself.

bluem6i

Do you have an automatic? I was just reading about a similar situation with a different make of car in the Click and Clack Brothers column (you know, the 2 funny car guys from Boston).

Don't pick on me for the lack of specifics or proper terminology but, the gist of what they said was that there are sensors in auto trannies that sometimes fail, resulting in the tourque converters not engaging which can cause stalling. Similar to coming to a stop in a manny tranny without depressing the clutch. Maybe worth a shot.

cookie01

I have the stinky rear too (on the car, not on me) and I've noticed that it really does make a difference where I buy the gas. I no longer can buy 76. It smells the worst by far. The Shell is better, but still smells a little. Oddly, the cheaper brands (Arco, Fred Meyer) seem the least offensive.

I would still complain to the dealer, but in the meantime, try a different brand.

aromas

My 6 and my previous car (Legacy) both had occasional problems with rotten egg smells. There is a Shell closest to my house at which I figure I must fill up there 1/2 the time. Well now it is closed for renovation since July and I've noticed the smell
is gone. Feeling pretty stupid that I didn't make the connection and put up with the annoyance of it for the last several years. BTW I mainly use Sunoco now so they have my recommendation.

Has anybody had problems with their cloth seats fraying all over the place. The dealership said they will replace the seats with a new material but it hasn't been approved yet. It's now been over 2 months and I'm still waiting. Apparently the dealership has several other customers waiting for replacements as well. Just want to know if anybody else have had their seats replaced yet because I'm getting tired of the runaround by the dealer. Of all the cars I've owned these seats have easily the worst fabric for durability as well as attracting dirt and next to impossible to clean.

dodgeguy1

So far, we have tried virtually all of the different brands of gas available here in central Ky without any noticeable difference. The car is going to the dealership in a couple of days for a thorough checkout of the exhaust system.

troyben

my 17" front passenger side alloy against cement berm; scrape about 6" long. Anybody have any suggestions on how to buff this out? Thanks

glideslopes

New wheel.

    : (

samuraielias

Well I guess something was bound to go wrong eventually...
I've had my 6 since July 11th with no problems, just broke 5200 miles yesterday. Today before work I noticed a problem. I have the appearance package on my 6s, and the rear piece that goes above the exhause is starting to come loose on the back left side... there is a noticeable gap between the piece and the actual car. I guess the glue they used there failed already. The piece is bolted on as well so I'm not too concerned, as I have an oil change upcoming at 7500 miles (which should be about 5-6 weeks away).

Any thoughts about whether I should just wait until then? The nearest dealers to me are all a solid 45 minute drive so I'm hoping to avoid an extra trip here... but I also don't want to risk damaging my 6. And I'm assuming this repair would be under warranty...

jason444

Have had my Mazda6s (w/ appearance pkg)since July and have had no problems with in 5,800 miles since. As I was parking yesterday, I pulled in too far and felt light scraping as the curb was higher than most. I went to check for damage and as I ran my hand on underside of the front air dam, I noticed a springy vertical movement from it. Kind of like it is made to be pushed up when encountering resistance (& minimize damage)and spring back down when unobstructed. Is it designed this way or did I knock it loose?

bluem6i

The front and rear air dams on the appearance pkg do seem to move quite a bit. I noticed this while washing and waxing the car. I don't think you knocked it loose.

ashutoshsm

... a friend of mine was driving my car on a road trip, and when we pulled to a curb, he got too close and scraped the underside as well. One corner only (45 degree parking). The front sill doesn't move any more than it ever did before, and seems to have settled into its original position after he backed up.

I had my heart in my mouth for a moment while I stepped out to examine it, and was relieved to find no damage at all.

And here's the good thing about the Appearance package - any damage is MUCH cheaper to replace than the Sport Package bumper with the dam built in

dinu01

That's not good!

Rust? Already?

What's going on here?

Dinu

dhankes

Regarding post #470: I did the same thing, although not quite as bad as your description. Anyway, since the silver paint on the rims is identical to one of the colors the car comes in (Glacier Silver Metallic), I ordered the tough-up paint and fixed the problem. If the damage exceeds that of a mere "tough-up" remedy, you can go to mazdastuff.com and order a brand new rim for 120 bucks. Hope this helps. Dan

aromas

I just posted on the general board warning everybody to check their cars for the rust. I just finished checking mine and it has some rust spots all around the 4 doors and trunk.

I am not a happy camper and I will be contacting the dealer tomorrow. They better not play stupid with me because Mazda Canada must know about the problem. They better find a good fix for this.

troyben

Just checked my 6i & don't see any rust...so far!

mjvchicago

How many miles do you have on your car/how long have you owned it?

aromas

I checked my car in the daylight and it is actually worse than I thought. On 2 of the doors there is discoloration all along the seams behind the weatherstripping and on one edge it is starting to corrode a little. There is also a some occurring on the trunk behind the weather stripping there too.

I called the dealer and he hasn't heard anything about it but I'm going next week to have him check it out.

I have 7000 miles on the car and bought it in March. The build date is January 3/03. Apparently this is affecting only 6's built in the U.S. From what I read in other boards the build dates of cars affected varies.

I checked my buddies 1995 Caravan which he treats like crap and his frames look fine so I don't think this is a common thing.

There is no way this should be happening to a car that is 6 months old. The paint looks really thin so it looks like Mazda did a piss poor job painting and clearcoating the frames.

sevenseas

I completed a quick-check of my 6s today. Color is Lapis Blue. I used a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and ran it by the seams behind the rubber gaskets around the door frame. The q-tip did not pick up the telltale rust color. I'll do a detailed check tomorrow.

glideslopes

Are the rust spots on the outer skin, or inside the doors channels? Cars that travel by train can accumulate iron deposits on the outer skin that will rust after time if the surface was not cleaned correctly during prep. Although not a common occurrence, it is mentioned in other forums.

No spots on my 6s. 8,000 miles since 5/1/03. I live in Upstate, NY. The salt capital of the world.

Mark.

newcar31

This issue is not rail dust. Go look in other Mazda6 forums for more info. My car has the same thing that aromas does. ALL of them do.

cop414

Checked again this morning after reading the new posts. Again I could not find any rust on any doors, top, bottom or anywhere.
I took delivery in early April and live in eastern PA, although I know my dealer got the car from Pittsburgh. Redfire i, sport.
I lifted the weatherstripping again and it all looks very clean underneath. I wash and hand dry at least 1-2 times a week and wax every month.
Next time I'm at the dealer I'll check other 6's

darmc96

The issue with the rust seems to be along the channel that runs under the rubber moldings on all 4 doors and the metal that is welded to the door frame to hold on the molding. I personally have rust on the corners of some of the door frames as well at the welds. Some of the lighter color cars are also noticing rust in the channel that runs on the back part of the front doors where the doors close to the B-Pillar, and on the front part of the back doors where the doors close to the B-Pillar. It seems like it is much easier to notice on the lighter color cars. Colors like Black, Steel Gray and especially Redfire seem to mask the rust. In the beginning stages you have to pull back the rubber molding and look close to see it.

troyben

I'd be curious if Edmunds test 6 has rust forming on it. Can our host find out?

sevenseas

I completed a more thorough examination of my 2003 M6, build date 5/03. No problems found. I'll check it again during the winter here in So. Cal. I hope other owners who are affected by this rust problem receive a timely response from Mazda.

Edmunds, lets hear about your long term test M6, whats the verdict? And by the way, you should allow links to other Mazda owner sites complaining of this problem within posted messages. Sharing information is what the Internet is all about.

pkzln89

It looks like I've got the smell problem too. I've first noticed it about 10 days ago (bought my 6s in May) - exactly on the day when the temperature dropped into low 50's and the heater turned on for the first time (I keep the CC setting at 72F). Now I can feel rotten egg type smell almost every time I stop at a traffic light and it's starting to really bother me. The gas is from Shell, where I filled it the last time, I'll try Mobil or BP next time and if it still smells - I'm taking it to the dealer.

aromas

pkzln89: I had this problem with my 6 and my previous Legacy(your problem seems worse though). It seems to have mostly gone away with my 6(bought in March) and it went away with my Legacy after a year. I know Hondas and Toyotas have problems with this too. I haven't heard any real fixes about this (alot of car makers say "live with it, it's the gas") so hopefully Mazda can resolve it somehow if it continues to be that bad.

mazda6s

I think the smell comes from sulphur dioxide produced during combustion. Seems like it would depend on the amount of sulphur in the fuel then?

aromas

I think the smell is one of life's great mysteries. I've heard high sulphur gas, undercoating dripping onto your cat converter and the spray they use to coat the engine. Don't think even the manufacturers know.

mazdafun

High sulfur content is usually the culprit. Switching brands of fuel (give it at least a few fill-ups to dilute the previous fuel) usually helps.

Karen_S

Re: sulfur odor- Other members on various make/model discussions in the TH have noticed the stinky smell primarily when using Shell brand fuel. Switching to another might be helpful.

Re: Rust - I'll send an inquiry to the editors.

darmc96

There currently has been a TSB issued on the exhaust smell so I would ask your dealership. I would wager that it will tell you if anything can be done to "fix" the problem or tell you what to do or not do to avoid the problem or tell you why it is happening etc...

semmons23

Well I had my rotors fixed for the 4th time and it turned out to be the rear rotors and not the front ones. They said this was a common problem for the Mercury Sable when they put rotors on the rear. Everyone turned the front ones and never checked the rears. Mine were out .008" and they said they had actually turned blue from being so hot but couldn't explain why.

The vibration is gone however its currently at the shop because the rears didn't get fixed corrected.

They turned the rears and after about a week I noticed the outer 1/2 inch still had the etching but the inner part did not, as I would have expected. I took it back and they are now replacing the rear rotors. I don't know if the warping problem is gone because I'm guessing that since the rear pads we're fully touching, they aren't getting hot enough to warp. We'll see how this one goes.

I also have an intermittent problem when turning at low speeds with the brakes applied. Its makes a loud "fingers on the chalk board" (but a little deeper) sound and the brake peddle vibrates. Unfortunately, they can't reproduce it every time I take it in so I'm sure it will be back in.

I'm passed the 4 allowed trips for the brakes and approaching the 20 days of service in 12 months for the lemon law. Anyone know how difficult this would be to enforce and get my money back?

Thanks

jstandefer

Please see this page of my site for a detailed description of the rust, diagrams, and pictures. It is not fully complete and has not been officially linked within the site yet. But, it will give everyone here and the Edmunds crew an idea of where to look.

http://www.4doorzoom.1hwy.com/m6_rust_howandwhat.html

Also, here is the gallery so you can see some examples of the rust:

http://www.4doorzoom.1hwy.com/m6_rust_gallery.html

You will see other links in there to see a list of owners who have the problem so far and a reporting form. If you do have the rust, please use the reporting form to be added to the list. We are studying the data to look for patterns in build dates, colors, locations, etc. Thanks!

cop414

See my post #14286 in the Main Mazda6 board here-2nd paragraph. I was having the exact same problem. It gets worse. I found that it happens more often on damp mornings. Try yours on a damp/rainy morning with the wheels at full lock and under 5mph. I bet you'll be able to replicate it more often than not.
I'm still waiting for the kit to come in. I would think they'll be calling me within a week. I'll post what the repair order says as far as the kit. (number, TSB, description...)

darmc96

EXCELLENT work man. If we can get some wide spread paticipation, we should have a great resouce to educate 6 owners to this problems. Even the ones that believe the rust is just a fabrication or that people are getting worked up over nothing.

mnunez611

Has anyone e-mailed one of the editors of Edmunds to get them to update their long-term review?

barryso

"Has anyone e-mailed one of the editors of Edmunds to get them to update their long-term review?"

I've been mulling around the idea of sending a letter to Automobile magazine. They have an M6 in their long term test fleet. Their editor-in-chief, Jean Jennings, has been a great supporter of the M6 (mentioning it in her column several times).

When the mainstream media gets ahold of this it can do many things ... it could force Mazda into action but it could also overwhelm Mazda's reputation before they get a chance to properly address the issue. Frankly, if Mazda can't sell cars and goes bankrupt none of our cars will be worth much in resale (rust or no). Very few of us seem to be interested in doing Mazda any long term harm if they are willing to deal with the problem.

So for now I'm holding off. It isn't unreasonable to give a large company a month or two to come up with a solution. We can always scream and yell at a later date. Best to be adults and see what the company decides to do.

aromas

barryso: I agree, don't get the auto mags involved, Mazda doesn't deserve that. My car is one of the worst cases and although I'm furious about it and was ready to go off half-cocked with legal action in the beginning it's best to see what Mazda will do. Don't expect it to be resolved in a month or two however. Let Mazda find out the extent of the problem and offer a proper solution. If that takes 6 months so be it as long as it is resolved properly. National attention would do more harm than good for everyone involved IMO.

glideslopes

Excellent post.

  Mark. : )

hyperjason

I'm not sure if I have had the car as long as some of yall, I have had it since February, but I am sure that I have more miles than the majority; I have at least 26,000 miles from my use and letting my family use it- how frustrating. Anyway, for those who have the stick (manual) version of the mazda 6 make sure you check your clutch. I had to have mine replaced a while ago and I found out the clutch wasn't right from the beginning, but seeing how I was over 15000 miles it wasn't covered under warranty. So realize that your clutch should push back strongly. If it doesn't push back too strong there may be a problem. I have actually experienced more than just that problem and it hurts because I love the look of the car, but other aspects need work. Why couldn't Mazda team with honda or something instead of Ford, geez.

herzogtum71

Mazda still has only a 1 year 12K warranty?

chikoo

be glad if they cover it even for 12k miles.

inalea

My Mazda started making a scraping-type noise when I made a sharp turn just a few months after I got it. I mentioned it when I took it in for the first oil change, but they couldn't duplicate it. Since then it has been getting worse and I mentioned it again today when I took it in for the second oil change. This time they knew what I was talking about as another 6 owner had the same problem. They have ordered a kit called "brake pad retainer clips" to prevent pads from moving on sharp turns. Just thought this info could help someone out there.

cop414

See my post #499-you're not from PA are you? I haven't had the "kit" installed yet-but I suspect that it will be in soon. I'll let you know. You're correct-it gets MUCH worse over time.

dhankes

I have come across a few postings/complaints about the abnormal glass-to-metal cracking sound that occurs when rolling up one or more of the windows. I have had the same problem with my driver's side window. It occurs intermittently, but more often than not. From repeatedly studying the problem, it seems that the sound is coming from inside the door, ie, where some kind of hardware is coming into contact with base of the window--causing the noise. At any rate, can anyone offer some further insight--or perhaps a solution to this problem? My dealer doesn't have a clue. Thanks, Dan

By the way, no rust noted on my car following a thorough, day-light inspection. However, I know that certain colors, Redfire in particular, are notorious for masking this problem. Build date: 11/02.

jstandefer

I had the same problem. The window mounting bolts are loose. This problem is not uncommon with the 6, especially the early build vehicles. Have your dealership remove the interior door panel and check the torque on the window mounting bolts. The glass is shifting when it hits the top of its run and what you are hearing is the glass hitting the mounting bolts.

dhankes

Mr. Standefer:

Thank You Sir! I'll be taking the car in for the 1203F Brake Reservoir recall anyway, so I'll also get the window taken care of at that time.

Oh yeah, I spoke too soon about the rust. Just found a scant amount on each door by running Q-Tips along the areas described. Nothing that you can actually see, however, but bad news nonetheless. Anyway, thanks again for the window info. Dan