Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair

ctflea

OK, so I have never owned a new car before, so perhaps this is something expected, but I have had my 3 Hatch for 3 months now (3K). It is Automatic and when cold, the shift up from 1-2 is very jerky and not at all smooth. After a couple of minutes, when the engine is warm, the shifting is fine. Is this normal?

Also, is a 3K oil change really required, as it is not mentioned in the manual at that point?

Thanks,

Colin,

PS, my AC is not overly impressive (my 96 Civic Htch is better), but as I live in SD, this is not a major issue.

big_guy

I am not an expert on vehicle cooling systems ... but I am an expert on HVAC systems (I'm a mechanical engineer and design these types of systems).

A typical air conditioning system that is used to cool a building (whether it is an office, a house, a hospital, or a retail store) the discharge air temperature from the fan system is typically designed around 55 degrees. In extreme cooling environments (like an operating room) that temperature may be driven down to as low as 48 to 50 degrees. Having a system that blows "freezing" air is not reasonable and extremely expensive. If you are designing a system to cool a walk-in refrigerator or a walk in freezer, then you can get much lower discharge air temparatures ... but you are also providing serious insulation to keep the heat out and have a serious compressor to generate very low temperatures.

Having an automobile AC system that blows 55 degree air seems to be reasonable to me and it should provide a comfortable cockpit ... but it may take a while for it to cool off a black interior that has been sitting in the sun all day ... just like it takes a long time to cool off your house if you leave your blinds open all day and leave the cooling off until you get home.

Just my $.02

big_apple_al

My Mazda3 S has done almost 6000 miles and, until 2 weeks ago, was performing perfectly. Then the 'check engine' light came on. At about the same time, I started to have problems starting the engine (but, strangely, this seems to happen only after starting the car immediately after filling up with gas).

When I took it to Mazda, the mechanic said that the two problems (the engine light and the starting problems) were unrelated.

The starting problem was supposedly being caused by a failing 'mass air flow' sensor, which was replaced. This problem, however, persists and its going to the shop again in a few days to be looked at again.

The 'check engine' light on the dash is due to problems with another part (the 'purge solenoid valve') which has been ordered.

I was wondering if anyone else had experience similar problems.

sschaffer

"A typical air conditioning system that is used to cool a building (whether it is an office, a house, a hospital, or a retail store) the discharge air temperature from the fan system is typically designed around 55 degrees. In extreme cooling environments (like an operating room) that temperature may be driven down to as low as 48 to 50 degrees. Having a system that blows "freezing" air is not reasonable and extremely expensive. If you are designing a system to cool a walk-in refrigerator or a walk in freezer, then you can get much lower discharge air temparatures ... but you are also providing serious insulation to keep the heat out and have a serious compressor to generate very low temperatures.

Having an automobile AC system that blows 55 degree air seems to be reasonable to me and it should provide a comfortable cockpit ... but it may take a while for it to cool off a black interior that has been sitting in the sun all day ... just like it takes a long time to cool off your house if you leave your blinds open all day and leave the cooling off until you get home.

Just my $.02"

The typical auto ac system is powerful enough to cool 3 average bedrooms in a normally insulated house.

A car is a metal box with no insulation in the roof. That metal box sits out in the sun all day and the interior temp reaches 140 degrees+. The interior upholstery and seat cushions soak in that 140 degrees and are loathe to give it up.

The auto ac compressor is least efficient in stop and go rush hour traffic.

In Fresno, it can run 105-110 with low humidity, comparable ac load to 95 degrees and typical Texas humidity. Under these conditions I rarely see outlet temps below 60-65 degrees with the ac on Fresh in stop and go traffic. Using recirc and opening windows to let out the 140 degree air on start out can bring that down to the mid to high 50s in stop and go, mid to high 40s in steady high speed driving.

dancehaus

My 3 is less than a week old, and I have read this bulletin board for the past few weeks. I knew about the potential defect with the a/c, and bought it anyway. My a/c does not blow as cold as I'd like when the sun is shining here in Dallas, Texas. I haven't put a thermometer up to it, but I know my old Neon and my wife's Civic are colder. Has anyone had this issue resolved yet? Should I write a letter to Mazda?

mazda6s

The cooling requirements of a car aren't anything like that of any kind of a building, except maybe a phone booth.

z71bill

I have a few questions about the electric radiator fan (also pulls air over the AC condenser).

The last few days it has been in the mid to high 90's - when I turn the engine off the electric fan keeps running for 3 - 5 seconds. I assume this is normal - but kind of strange. Anyone have this condition? Just as strange if I turn my AC off (motor running)the electric radiator fan motor also shuts off - I would think that since it is so hot out that the fan would be on most of the time.

I think the fan has 3 speeds - off - low and high - OR is it either off or on? It seems to make more noise sometimes - so I am guessing this is high speed.

I noticed that today (even though it is 95 degrees outside) when my radiator fan is making the loud humming noise (high speed?) my AC blows cooler air - like 48 degrees - when the radiator fan is running but not making much noise (low speed?) my AC blows 58 degree air.

So - maybe my AC problem is being caused by a defective radiator fan.

rinebird

MY Mazda 3 i cools better with the fan at speed 2 rather than higher speed.

I was told my AC is fine. I was also told my brakes were fine when I had a loud noise when braking and backing out.I found a TSB from another link here and got new brake pads and rotors( I had the rotor groove problem). so your idea sound good.

I think getting Together the MONTH our cars were made and see if we all have a common thread & start there.

My car 3/04 AC problem

rinebird

I have AC problem month made 3/04

Lets see if we have a common thread with AC problem by Manufacturer date

rainman

I am pushing my dealership at least weekly to stay on Mazda re the interior temperature of my car. The air conditioning isn't great and it appears to be fighting against the heater. With my heater supposedly turned off and the fresh air on, my car is in fact being heated. I held a thermometer in front of the dashboard centre vents this weekend and the air coming in was at least 12 degrees F warmer than the outside air, with the fan set on either 2 or 3 and the air all directed to the dashboard vents. At this point I'm not sure of the cause of the heating. I thought it might be from the duct work in the engine compartment heating up. I have cooled it somewhat by covering the duct work with aluminum foil to reduce radiant heating, but this didn't help much, even though the duct work is much cooler to the touch. The dealership felt the rubber seal that keeps engine air out of the hvac intakes when the hood is closed wasn't sealing properly and possibly warm engine compartment air was being sucked in. I sealed off the engine compartment with some foam rope insulation to stop any air flow of hot engine air. That didn't seem to help. Apparently hot coolant flows to the heater core at all times, but when the temperature is set to cool, a door in the heater is supposed to keep all incoming air from flowing through the heater core. Some Miatas had a problem in the past with that door not closing fully with the heater on cold, so that the heater was actually always on. I will ask the dealership to check this out in my car.

If anyone else out there is having problems with the interior being too warm, and has a digital thermometer, I would be interested in knowing whether their car is heating the fresh air at all times when the engine is warm. It seems to me that this has to have a negative effect on the air conditioning. If my heater is always on, I'm not going to get really cold air coming out of the vents. An extra 12 degrees F is very significant. This could just be my car, or it may not be. I may take a demonstrator from another dealership for a ride to check it out.

qddave

this might be the cause of the A/C throwing out colder air right at startup. since the engine isn't warmed up yet, the coolant lines to the heater core aren't warm either. thus, the A/C would be functioning "ideally".

z71bill

I have a digital thermometer in my vent most of the time (unless I am cooking BBQ)

AC does work better at start up - the theory that hot air from the heater core is getting mixed in with the cool air from the AC evaporator could be right. But I don't think it is the whole problem.

I took an AC test drive today - I still think the problem is partially caused by the radiator cooling fan.

The temp today is about 95

When I drive a steady 40 MPH I get air that is about 48 degrees, stop and idle - it slowly climbs to 58 degrees, drive a steady 65 MPG and I get 55 degree air.

I am guessing that once you get up to say 50 or 60 MPH the electric fan must shut down - maybe Mazda figures that enough air flow (over the radiator and AC condenser) will be generated so that the fan is not required. At 40 MPH you get both the electric radiator fan & the air flow from going 40. But when at idle all you have is a too weak electric fan that does not move enough air to allow the AC system to function.

I also stopped by my dealer - just to see if the have heard anything from Mazda - they had no information -

birdman579

My car was built 5/04 and the A/C is fine.

sschaffer

Build date 6/04.

I was driving around yesterday evening as the sun was setting, not dark out but sun not shining on the car. Under these conditions every other car I've had would cool much better than in the direct sunlight. My Mazda 3 cools the same under these conditons as in hot sunlight, strange.

Today, I left work today at 3:45pm, car had been parked in spot where half the car was shaded and half was in the sun. Ambient temp was about 90 degrees. I'd left the moonroof tilted up and the windows cracked an inch. I headed due West, directly into the afternoon sun, on a 5 mile stop and go trip to my insurance agent's office to get my old car taken off the policy and the new one put on. Initially I had fan on 2, windows down, on Fresh, for about one block then closed up the car and switched to fan speed 3 and recirc. Car was comfortable within about a mile or less.

I will have to get an outlet thermometer to verify but my outlet temp seems to not vary much between fresh and recirc, nor does it warm up very noticeably at long stop lights. Every other car I've owned would blow warmer on Fresh, and would get gradually warmer during long halts at traffic lights.

Overall I'm not dissatisfied with my car's AC performance. I live in a very hot climate and of the 20 or so cars I've had over the last 33 years I've definitely had a few with worse AC (and not because the ac in these was defective).

The last car I had was an 01 Nissan Sentra SE, and the air in the Mazda is much more effective and has much less temp variation.

The temp damper door adjustment may be a factor. I have adjusted lots of these damper door control cables on Toyotas and a mere 1/8 inch short of fully closed can make a system's outlet temp go up by 5 to 8 degrees. Many cars use electric servo motors to control this door, but the temp knob on the Mazda feels like it's working a cable rather than turning a rheostat. Someday when I get ambitious I'm gonna crawl under the dash and see what's up with this cable on my Mazda and see if it's off a bit.

While I'm puzzled by the fact that my car won't freeze me out with the AC on at dusk, it still cools adequately. It almost seems to work better in bright sunlight which had me thinking it might have some sort of solar sensor like most automatic temperature control-ac systems. There is a funny looking little thingie at the center of the dash right at the base of the windshield that I thought might be some sort of security system LED, but that's on the instrument cluster.

I'm seriously considering ordering the service manuals for my car, if they still publish them in book form.

dancehaus

Mine was made 3/04. DANG! That could be it!
And YES, my air flows thru the vents warmer than the outside air with windows and vents open. I noticed it bad last night when it was about 79 when I was driving home and the air coming in the vents was about 10 degrees warmer than when I stuck my hand out the window. I had to open a rear window & get a cross-current going to get rid of the warm air.

abarlow

Ok. I do not yet have a Mazda 3 although I am very close to getting one. The reason I came on here is that I work in the car business and know a little more about cars and their systems. The cooling fan theory does not make much sense because if this was the case then the pressures in the system at idle would be very high (therefore cutting out the A/C). Whilst this is possible dealerships seem to have checked this (in theory) and found no problems so I am tending to rule out this (although when I get my car I will take it into where I work and check this). Now the flap is definately a possibility. I really dont understand why manufacturers do not install coolant valves that shut off any hot coolant coming into the vehicle. Ok. here is one way to test this for anyone technically minded. Disconnect the feed and return hoses to the heater core and fit a joining piece to have the two hoses connected together and still circulating coolant (obviously only do this when the engine is COLD and release the pressure first). If the A/C then seems much better at cooling we know it is related to this. I have seen people do this when their heater cores are leaking and they dont want to pay to have them fixed. Obviously when your done reconnect your heater core (your need it in the winter). This would clear if this is the cause. I would be interested to hear of any results (and please dont attempt this unless you are mechanically minded and competant). Again if I get the car I am looking at and it has the same problem as described I may be able to get one of my work buddies and try this just for test purposes. The Solar sensor is also a possibility but is much harder to test. Well I hope this information helps and please post any results (using a digital thermometer before and after). Thanks and good luck

abarlow

dougpaw57

I live in the desert North of Los Angeles and I bought my Mazda 3 on July 7th. I wish I would have found this site before I bought. The AC worked fine on the test drive, I guess I need to buy cars during the day when the sun is out. I have e-mailed Mazda and have received the standard "canned" reply (interesting how they don't really admit to anything). The dealer gives me the "nobody has ever complained before" line. Anyway, my Mazda 3 has 1800 miles on it with tinted windows and custom wheels and tires, and is now for sale. Could be a new record, even for me. I'll lose a lot of money, but at least I know never to buy a Mazda again. Anybody want it for $13,500?

mazda6s

Now the only question is, how long will it take Mazda to come up with a fix?

z71bill

When I held a digital thermometer out the window today I got a temp reading of 88.5 degrees - turn the vent on , fan set at high speed temp is 100.5.

So I get a 12 degree increase in air temp just coming through the Mazda3 system.

I think some increase is normal - the air ducts are inside a machine that is generating a lot of heat.

I don't think I have a leaking flap. Today when I was getting 100.5 degree air out of the vent (knob turned all the way over to cold) when I turn one click clockwise (more hot air in the mix) the temp stays at 100.5 - if I turn 2 clicks it quickly jumps up to 110 - so I figure my flap is 100% closed - when I am 100% on cold - and also 100% closed even when one click to warm.

 abarlow - wouldn't it be better to check out the car before you buy it - and if it has the AC defect buy another car? Why take on this problem - if it can be avoided.

rinebird

Well two of us with the AC built 3/04 so maybe it was caught AFTER that date .I had a loaner built 6.04 fine with the AC in fact Mazda loaned it to me to work on my cars brakes( new rotors and pads on my 3/04 Mazda bought in May).

Thank you! lets make sure others post the year built.It si right on the driver door panel ladies & gentlemen.

rinebird

Look on the driver door panel to see the date it was made month and year....two of us here with 3/04 have AC problems.

Thank you

rinebird

MY AC and outside air has the exact problem you have same date 3/04 .I am trying to get others with the Ac problem to write their cars manufactured date.Thanks

harddrivet

My 3i is 3/04 with weak ac

peterdh2000

Purchased 3s one month ago (See Prices Paid #675). Have driven 2200 miles as of today and (knock on wood) not a single problem, rattle, or squeak. Driving fairly zoomy in mixed city/ highway is netting about 28 mpg.

Only minor nit-picks--carpet and floormats are econo-box cheap and hard to thoroughly clean, and an innocently light brush against a curb parallel parking resulted in a 1" scrape on wheel rim. At least it has folding mirrors for when I now paranoiacally park a foot from any curb. Also, the brake dust on the rear wheels is excessive, but seems common. Will ask about it at 1st oil change. Most friends generally approve of the car, but adjusting the xenons up and down always gets oohs and ahs!

A/C does struggle on hot days, but is adequate for Seattle climate. I chalk it up mostly to the black interior, as the air coming out of the vents seems decently cool. For those of you with sunroofs, close them on hot days. It is counterintuitive, but after living in New Orleans for 3 years, I found my 98 Altima's otherwise excellent A/C had a hard time cooling the car with the roof even tilted up. Closing the roof resulted in an almost instant improvement. Maybe everyone knows this already, but my $0.02 anyway.

gambit293

Some of you should get together. In particular, some who have problem ACs and some who claim to not have problems. Then test drive each others' cars, and find out how subjective the problem is.

Maybe the people who claim to have good ACs simply have different standards on hot/cold. This could help figure out if this problem truly affects some or all Mz3s.

backy

It's easier than that. Those that believe the A/C isn't performing up to snuff, drive down to your local Mazda dealer on a hot day (when the A/C on your car isn't performing as you would expect), and ask to test-drive a 3 off the lot--one that has been sitting in the sun. Compare its A/C performance to that of your car. If the tester is better, that points to a defect that affects only some cars. If it's the same, it could be a general design flaw (or maybe a "feature").

z71bill

I have owned more than 20 cars - the only ones that had an AC this weak had NO AC AT ALL.

It is a frustrating that some people think this is a made up problem - or that the owners that are not happy with the AC performance are somehow wrong to expect a car that is not sweaty hot. Do you really think that I can't tell the difference between sweating and being cool?

If you go out to your car and it has a flat tire - or will not start and I posted something real smart like - my car does not have a flat tire and it always starts on the first try - maybe you don't know what a flat tire is or are you sure you know how to turn a key - it would be the same thing as wondering if this is really a problem.

abarlow

Thanks for the tip z71bill but there is no other car out there that is like this (I am like yellow cars and there is not much choice especially in this price range). I have ordered my fully loaded Mazda and will have the windows tinted as much as is legal in this state (Virginia). I have had cars in the past with no A/C at all. Its interesting that we can start to see a pattern of 03/04 vehicles having poor A/C. Mine will be earlier, a 12/03 model (yes I got it at a great price). I would have held off till MY05 however I heard on another board that they are stop making the Yellow and then there would be nothing else out there I even remotely like (and within my price range). I will definitely keep you all posted as to if my new car suffers the same plagues as everyone else reference the A/C.
P.S I have read every post in this section of the forum so I do know of the assorted issues.

abarlow

sschaffer

How many of you have tried measuring outlet air temp vs ambient air temp with compressor off and AC set to Fresh on any other car????

I've got a hot flash for you guys, they all have hotter than ambient air coming out of the vents with the compressor off and the system set on Fresh.

That outside air enters thru a plenum chamber at the base of the windshield. The front wall and most of the floor of that chamber is, guess what? the Firewall, which is the back wall of the engine compartment, which gets really hot because it's, guess what? very close to the Engine.

Switching to Recirc is gonna get you air drawn from roughly behind the glovebox, a semi-enclosed area the top of which is the big black dashboard, so that's gonna be hotter than what you measure from holding the thermometer out the window too! Not to mention the heat conducted to the evap coils/fins (thru which all system air must pass regardless of control positions) via the metal refrigerant tubing in the engine compartment.

Because of all these factors it's perfectly normal for vent outlet temp to be warmer than the temp when you hold a thermometer out the window provided the compressor is not running.

This is even true in mild or cold weather, though to a somewhat lesser extent.

My ac works better than that of several other cars I've owned that did not have defective AC, others are reporting that theirs is the worst of any car they've owned so I don't discount the possiblity that they have a defect my car does not have.

In other words I'm not saying you guys don't have a legitimate complaint, but that with this measuring of outlet temp vs ambient temp with compressor off and noting a 8-10 degree rise you're barking up the wrong tree.

Another mfg who shall remain nameless but whose TSBs I have easy access to has a similar problem with the AC on one of their recently introduced models--complaints of inadequate cooling on hot days. So far they have issued a bulletin instructing how to adjust the damper cable. They have also asked us to make special note of and report to them on any customer complaints of inadequate AC performance on this particular model, and will probably issue further bulletins if complaints persist after cable adjustment.
TSBs are not issued until a mfg is fairly confident that the recommended procedure will in most if not all cases cure the particular problem with no ill effects to other systems. A bunch of engineers and techical types both in this country and in Japan have to sign off on these things before they're issued, so it does take some time. Usually any modifications to systems are put into production vehicles before these tsbs are issued. Typically when we see a TSB regarding a situation where a modification is to be made it will include the VIN numbers for the beginning of production with the mods incorporated at the factory.

If I'm not mistaken this is the first cooling season since the 3s introduction and they've been getting these complaints probably only since June or so.

Those of you with problems should keep up the pressure especially on the Factory. Dealerships can and do check these systems to see if they are working as designed, and can make adjustments within the range of the design (i.e. adjust damper cables) but can go no further without instructions from the factory. They cannot, for example, modify an electrical circuit or install a non-spec radiator cooling fan.

The dealers would love nothing better than to be able to make your ac work the way you want it to, but can't modify a Factory design, nor do they have a magic wand that can fix your problem, so try to be a bit understanding as they're caught between the dissatisfied customer and the manufacturer whose product design the customer is so unhappy with.

You'll get much better and quicker results by contacting Mazda by phone, e-mail, and most effectively, snail mail--they along with all other mfgs these days take this kind of stuff very seriously. Being polite, courteous, but firm gets the best results.

z71bill

I agree - having a temperature gain in the vent air (compared to outside air temp) is normal. If the system has been designed properly and is working as designed it should have the power to overcome this heat load.

IMO an auto AC should be designed to cool the car (75 degrees or less) when the temp is 100+ degrees, high humidity, sun is out, the car is full of people and you are stuck in stop and go traffic. It is obvious Mazda has a different standard. It looks like they shoot for an AC system that will blow some cool air. Mazda defines cool air as - air that has a lower temperature that outside air.

I normally only have 2-3 people in the Mazda3 (counting the driver) -If you put 5 people in the Mazda3 on a hot day the people in the back would be making their own gravy. Although I think the Mazda3 is really designed more for 4 people Max - the middle seat in back is really not even a seat for a child - because anyone small enough to be comfortable on the hump should be in a car seat.

Maybe a better test of the AC system would be to compare the outside temperature with the air vent temperature with the system on fresh air and the fan on high. This would give you the temperature differential (TD)between air entering the system and air leaving the system. Obviously the larger the difference between these two values the better the system is. It would also be a way to compare our AC systems - if some have a TD of 35 degrees and others are only 20 it would at least prove that some are are better than others - and take any driver bias out of the discussion.

audia8q

1. inspect refrigerant pressure
2. place dry-bulb thermometer in driver side cernter vent outlet
3. start engine and after it is warmed up, run at a constant 1500rpm
4. set fan to MAX hi
5. Turn the A/C switch on
6. Set to recirculate mode
7. sent temp control to max cold
8. set to vent mode
9. close all doors and windows
10 wait until the air conditioner output temp stabilizes.
....stabilized condition....
 - The A/C compressor repeatedly turns on and off at regular intervals
11. after the blower air is stabilized, read dry bulb thermometer
12. verify ambient temp
13. verify reading is in the spec temp zone.

Specs...

Ambient temp 68 vent temp range 40-52
ambient temp 77 vent temp range 41-52
ambient temp 86 vent temp range 41-53
ambient temp 95 vent temp range 42-54
ambient temp 104 vent temp range 43-54

z71bill

Is this an official Mazda test for the Mazda3?

I stopped into my dealer on Monday to see if they had any information about the AC problem

I ask them what the standard was for air temp - the service manager told me that there was no standard.

Is this something new?
What is the source?

My car would be close to the top end of the range ( 50 - 55 degrees) if I am in the shade - but above it (55-65) if I am driving in the bright sun - I assume this test is done inside the dealerships garage.

If I can track this down and give the information to my service manager maybe I can get Mazda to fix my defective AC system.

audia8q

it came from the Mazda3 shop manual.

rainman

Of course there will be some heat gain when the outside air passes through the hvac system when it is set to the coolest and the AC is off. Most of us are aware of the likely causes of the heat transfer - the heating of the ductwork inside the engine compartment, actual sucking of air from the inside of the engine compartment, and the flap in the heater not being completely closed. The issue is whether the heating is excessive compared to what we have a right to expect. My brother drives a BMW M3 and the ductwork for the air intakes is on the passenger side of the firewall, not in the engine compartment. He of course doesn't have a problem with the heating of incoming air, but that is a very expensive car and most of us are driving vehicles in which we have to expect some heating.

I have owned many cars, including two other Mazda's. I have never before owned a car in which it felt like the heat was on all of the time. It makes perfect sense to objectively measure temperatures if you want to credibly discuss it with the dealer or Mazda. Last night I compared my Mazda GT to my girlfriend's 99 1.8 litre Protege, which is the same model I traded in for the M3. We drove the same distance from a restaurant to my home and idled in the driveway for a few minutes while we checked the temperature of "unheated" and uncooled fresh air coming out of the centre vent with the fan on 3. The Protege was at 86.9 F and the M3 at 95.2 F. The outside temperature was 76. This temperature rise is probably consistent with what you could expect in stop and go traffic. My M3 clearly has a problem. At this point I'm not sure of the location of excessive heat transfer, but there is no doubt in my mind or the mind of anyone who has felt it, that the transfer is excessive.

It would not be acceptable to me and should not be acceptable to anyone else that the AC is powerful enough to overcome the pre-heating of the fresh air. I should not have use my AC on a cloudy 65 F day. I drove my son to work this morning at 6:30 a.m. with an outside temperature of 50 F. The car was just comfortable for me wearing shorts and a t-shirt with the fresh air on cool. In a car with a reasonable hvac system I should have had to turn the heat on.

The pre-heating of incoming air is likely not the only problem with the hvac system in my car, but it is clear to me that it is causing me to have to use the AC far more often than should be required, with the wear and tear on that system and likely some reduction in gas mileage, and it obviously will affect the temperature of the air after it's cooled by the AC. If it's 90 outstside and I'm cooling 110 degree air, it's not going to be as cool in the car.

I will continue to work with my dealer on tracking down and solving the excessive heating of fresh air. Others may not have this problem and the AC in their cars may just be inadequate. I don't know if my AC will work well enough or not after I deal with this problem. There is no point in speculating that it won't be a complete fix and doing nothing.

For those of you who have more than one vehicle, you may want to do a temperature comparison. If the fresh air on cool in the Mazda is being warmed to a far greater extent in the Mazda you can decide if it's acceptable or is contributing to unacceptable temperature levels in the car.

z71bill

I did this test yesterday - outside temp was 88.5 - my vent blows 100.5 - if I turn the temp control knob two clicks off the coldest setting I get a 21.5 degree rise up to 110 degrees.

I agree with your view - 20 degree gain tells me you have a leak. You need to have your cable adjusted. My 12 degree gain is close to the 10 degree gain you got from the Protege - so I don't think I have a leak.

What I ment by the AC system should overcome the heat gain - I ment the normal amount of heat gain expected in all cars - not that it should be able to overcome a system that has in effect the "heat turned on".

rainman

On the weekend I did some straight ahead driving with few traffic lights and stops and starts, but only at city speeds. I was getting about a 12 degree heat gain on the coolest setting. The heat gain seems to increase rapidly with the car standing still, when likely the engine compartment is heating up. I didn't get a chance to measure the Protege during normal driving, but I drove one for 5 years until a few weeks ago and never felt the fresh air was being heated during normal driving. The air temperature generally felt about the same as the outstide air. I suspect the heat gain for the Protege during normal driving is way below the 12 degree gain in the M3. The M3 also seems to hold onto the heat longer once you get away from stop and start driving. These last comments are just impressions. I haven't had a chance to actually measure.

rinebird

I was given a loaner car of the same model I bought(mine car has AC).The loaner had better AC under the same conditions in weather.I informed the dealer of such,they told me the loaner had a bigger engine .I was smart enough to get the VIn on the loaner to verify engine.The dealer's service department told me that the 2.0 isnt' big enough for the AC is IMO admitting the AC doesn't work but they check my AC out and say it is up to standards of the manufacturer, what a contradiction.

rinebird

I have an an idea...My car was built 3/04 with the AC problem.Do you think that perhaps your car 12/03 and the 3/04 by being built in the winter perhaps the AC wasn't even checked or if checked it was in winter conditions in a cold factory?

secretcervix

I read through most of this thread, but I can't get through it all.

Is the only outstanding issue these days, the AC? Or is the brake thing still a problem? I assume all the cars these days are coming with fixed airbag sensors?

I think its a great idea for people to post their build. I haven't seen 1 person outside 3/04 yet, so maybe it specific to that.

I'm trying to decide between a Mz3 and Subaru Legacy. I love the interior of the mz3, but I don't see hardly any problems with the Sub.

drywall

My build date is 05/04. I haven't had much occassion to use my AC, but my casual impression is that it was underpowered, though not horribly so. I'm getting lots of dust on the rear rims, a problem also noted here, but it doesn't seem to be affecting anything.

No problems to report from airbag sensors, CEL, or anything else. I do have several very minor complaints about the car in general -- you're not going to get perfection for $17k, after all -- but on the whole I love my Mazda3 hatch. I get the impression I might be slightly less satisfied if I lived someplace warmer...

lmp180psu

My build date on my sedan is 1/04 and I have an ineffective A/C system. I had one day where I had to turn the dial down to level 1 occassionally, because it seemed to actually be cooling the car effectively ( around 80 degrees, sunny, with some humidity). But of course, since then, the A/C has always had to stay on level 2, and I have had the cycling of barely sufficient cool air then muggy, stale air.

In other cars me/my family has owned, the A/C has never been a problem ( except for the occassional recharging of refridgerant). In fact, my mom owned a 97 Escort up until last year, and the A/C in that car was great, and very often needed to be switched to a slight mix of warmer and colder air to prevent freezing hands, toes etc (This car had a 2.0 liter, 110 hp engine). I haven't had the temp dail off of max cold since I have owned my Mazda3. Luckily, I have a good tolerance for heat, because if this was my mom's car, she might have gotten rid of it by now.

Aside from this issue, I am very satisfied with my car ( 4.5 months, 4300 miles).

Sschafer,

How come you can't tell us the company that issued a TSB about a problem similar to the problem being discussed? Am I missing something here?

Keep the discussion/ideas coming everyone.

sschaffer

I work for a dealership of a competing Japanese car company and like my job, 'nuff said. The interesting thing is that although this TSB regarding heater damper door adjustment on some models was issued a coupla months ago we haven't had a single owner of that model come in with a complaint about poor AC performance.

I became cognizant on my own of this damper door adjustment factor back in the mid-80s, and it's the first thing I check when a car comes in with a poor ac complaint and the refrigeration system checks out ok.

birdman579

I've had my 3 for just over a week now and the rear brake dust is starting to be noticeable. A friend was telling me that the Electronic Brakeforce Distribution causes this because it creates a rear-brake bias. The idea is that under severe braking, the braking system can send more braking power to the front wheels if needed to increase stopping power. Any truth to this theory?

abarlow

Go read my A/C theory on the other 'Mazda 3' forum (it seems I cannot name it here im afraid). I have written a long essay on my theory as to the possible cause of this problem. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

abarlow

dancehaus

I conducted my own test last night with a digital thermometer. The outside temp was 87 at 1:00am (dallas). I tested the vent airflow first without A/C. The air coming in was 95 and even after driving for 5 minutes, that didn't change!
Then I turned on the A/C. It started out around 60 something, then dropped to 50 degrees. The lowest it got in 15 minutes of driving was 48 degrees while idling. Mostly it hovered around 50.
To compare, I did the same thing with my wife's Honda Civic. Did the same vent test and the air coming from the outside was not warmer, it was cooler, by at least 5 degrees. This Honda engine was warm - just drove it for 40 minutes right before the testing - and the air was not coming in warm at all.
Then I turned on the A/C and it immediately dropped to 50F, then 45F and stayed there. The lowest it got was 43.9F. Average temp was 5 degrees less than the Mazda3. Oh, did I mention that this Honda has 113,000 miles on it and as far as I know the A/C has never been serviced!!?
This was all between 1 and 2 AM this morning/last night. I will conduct an afternoon test as soon as possible to compare.

lmp180psu

I participate in the "other Mazda3 forum", and have read his thoughts about the A/C problem, and it seems to make sense. Not sure if he minds or if this is a violation of any Town Hall rules but I have copied the text of abarlow's thoughts below ( it is a bit long ):

"Firstly I do not have my Mazda 3 yet (picking it up next week) and I hope I am one of the lucky ones but we shall see. Anyway as I have posted on another forum I have been working for 15 years in the motor trade (started as technician and worked up to service advisor) so I feel I have some experience that may help.

Heres what I am wondering. I see reading all the posts (which I have done) that one person posted after they covered the dashboard the A/C seemed to cool fine. I wonder if its not related to the vents heating up in the sun (as some people have hinted) however it could be related to the dashboard getting very hot (especially in the sun). My theory (and I have no way to test this at this time) is that maybe the A/C Amplifier is getting too hot (in the sun, heat off the heater core etc..) and is not functioning correctly. Just to clarify for people who do not know what a A/C's amplifier is for I will give you a quick description (I did not know myself until I researched it). The purpose of the Amplifier is to control the compressor function. Now think about it for a moment. Several people both here and the other forum have been talking about the compressors cyling on and off very quickly along with cases where the compressor can cut off whilst cruising. Just to me it sounds like the A/C Amplifier may be the culprit. It would be interesting to find someone with the shop manuals to find this Amplifier behind their dashboard and try insulating it against heat (I suspect something like the insulation on the A/C hoses that was talked about only you would need a bigger piece). I cannot see it doing any harm to the Amplifier (although I cannot be certain - do this at your own risk).I hope this make sense to most of you and if anyone can try this and let us know the results it would be very interesting to know. As I said just my theory (and this may be the same reason the RX-8 Amplifiers had to be replaced ??)

I have just been doing some research on the Amplifier position in related to the RX-8 (I know its not the 3 but it may help give us an insight). The exact working in the bulletin says ' remove 3 screws attatching A/C Amplifier to Blower case'. So it sounds like the amplifier is attatched to the blower case so you can imagine how hot this will get especially on a particularly hot day (plus we dont know how close to the heater core it is either - thats in the heater box too and remember the hotter the car gets the hotter the coolant gets the hotter the inside will get without some kind of valve to shut off coolant getting into the core !!). It really sounds like this amplifier needs to be moved away from the heater box (and the greatest source of heat you could possibly imagine). Again just my observations. Let me know what you think of this."

z71bill

A while back someone posted the AC performance standard from Protege service manual - Air temp was 36.5-39 degrees.

Now we have a post that shows the same information on the Mazda3:

Ambient temp 68 vent temp range 40-52
ambient temp 77 vent temp range 41-52
ambient temp 86 vent temp range 41-53
ambient temp 95 vent temp range 42-54
ambient temp 104 vent temp range 43-54

If this information is true - then the problem is obvious - I wonder how much money Mazda saved by lowering the AC temperature standard by 15 degrees?

I did the test - at 1500 RPM my AC puts out air that is 52 - 57 degrees (outside temp was 95) so not sure if this falls inside the Mazda standard (it does on the low end)

At Idle I was 58 - 66 degrees.

Maybe some will disagree with me on this - but I really don't care what Mazda says their standard is - even if they do meet it - my car is to hot.

Look at it this way - if the Mazda standard was air that was only 20 degrees (sounds real cold) but if the inside of the car was still sweaty hot what does that do for me. The standard should be it cools the car off. Mine does not.

abarlow

Thanks for posting that Imp180psu. Does anyone else have any comments on what I posted.

abarlow

kyfdx

birdman.. I'd have to say that theory is a big load of crap.. Most cars with brake dust problems have them on the front wheels because that is where most of the braking occurs, when the weight shifts forward under braking.

My "theory" is that airflow to the rear brakes is different than the front and somehow is blowing more brake dust out onto the wheels. The front wheels are probably creating as much or more dust, but the airflow there is blowing the dust towards a different location. I changed to a different style wheel on my wife's BMW, and the new style gets more brake dust than the old one, just because of the openings in the wheel.

The brake dust problem will probably go away, the first time you replace your brake pads with aftermarket pads. Many BMW owners have found this to be a good solution.

Also, if you have a brake dust problem, you should clean your wheels at least weekly.. That dust will eat through the finish eventually.

regards,
kyfdx

halocline

Actually it's more likely that the rear pads are made from a different material to the front pads, and this material is more prone to giving off sticky dust.