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Comments
iron particles/industrial fallout/acid rain...last issued 06/24/2004. It's the most recent TSB.
"zetaminer" take your 3 to your dealer for an inspection. Get on record ASAP about paint problem.
everfeb
The issue is they don't want to pay for the repairs / replacement of rear brakes - so they are stalling.
This is the same thing they did with the defective AC issue. Finally they came out with a cheap worthless defuser - that IMO does nothing to solve the problem.
Sounds fine at speed but over the small nasty road humps or pot-holes/drains etc. it sounds like a nasty creak coming from the front right hand side of the car. Mazda have already replaced the strut and swaybar link but the noise persists. They're replacing the rubber bushings next week - hopefully that will fix it.
Fingers crossed
m3driver
Hope your dealer fixes the problem.
My dealer states that "they all operate like this". Has anyone else found this problem? Found a solution?
Think about it. If you were driving without the cruse on and you came to one of these small decline. If you
A) keep your foot on the gas by the time you got to the bottom of the hill you would be going faster than at the top.
The cruise is just more sensitive than you are because you would not notice the relatively small (5 to 7 MPH) increase or decrease in speed when it is associated with the hill. The cruise on the other had does.
My suggestion is that this is a fun car to drive, so drive it. Don't use the cruise control.
Corey
I can put the cruise on at any speed above 50 MPH and it hold it within 1/2 of a MPH in all conditions except a large hill.
If I go up / down a hill the speed does not change by more than 1 MPH - this is the best cruise control I have ever had.
If your speed changes by 5-7 MPH then your cruise is not only defective - but worthless.
I would trade the good cruise control in my Mazda3 for an AC system that works.
I bought the car four days ago and used the cruise to drive 60 mph on a back highway. The road ahs gentle hills and the car would lurch slightly and the tach would flutter briefly going downhill. I just figured it was the car trying real hard to maintain speed.
I don't doubt that it is 'typical'. Not desirable but at least normal.
Jason
I would guess the lurching would be quite pronounced on a steeper decline. Are you guys noticing that? Or are you guys experiencing lurching on perfectly flat ground?
My experience with cruise control is minimal. My previous car didn't have it. The one before that, a 1986 Taurus, had weak cruise control that had difficulty maintaining speed. On the other hand, it didn't lurch because it wasn't trying very hard to maintain speed.
I DID rent a Pontiac Grand Am in December that had cruise. The controls were an ugly looking afterthought, but it worked wonderfully. That OHV engine was quite impressive.
Jason
We experienced no lurching or other irregularities.
Application of the 3M would help but is it really necessary and is it worth the cost? Personally I would love to keep my 3 brand spanking new for 5 years etc. but I have to realise that its a car. Cars will age, depreciate and eventually lose their showroom lustre. From a personal standpoint I won't deny that fact. If your hood is not chipped in 2 years then your door might get the ding or scratch from a shopping cart. 3M to cover the bumper and hood etc will cost about $400-$1000 depending on which shop I go to. Money that could be spent somewhere else. I am prepared to handle the cosmetic changes when I get the chips and would maybe use Langka + touch up paint as it seems to work. Much more cost effective IMO.
I walk by two 3s every morning on the way to work, and their hoods and bumpers are perfectly fine with no chips.
As well, the 3M is visible when it gets dusty, and the hood is a different shade of color when you look at it. And what affect will it have on the paint underneath when it is left on for 5 years? And what happens if you 3M film is penetrated somehow, you'd have to shell out more $ to get it redone. !So I'm not all thrilled about that. Although, it's better than your standard leather black car bra.
But I am still on the fence on this, so I do need your input on the subject.
Is it worth the money? Or should I use the money towards something else and accept the fact that my car depreciates day by day?
With my common 6-8 hour trips, the cruise control does some in handy.
Did you report the problem to your dealer? (I'm trying to get anyone who has this problem to report it, so that maybe Mazda will issue a fix so that I can truly enjoy this car.)
Did you report this problem to the dealer? If not, would you please do so?
If enough of us notice it, then perhaps Mazda might fix this annoying glitch.
Thanks,
Tim
The pattern is always the same. With engine off just for a few minutes, it won't re-start. No cranking noise, nothing, just dead as if the battery is disconnected.
The only way to get car started is to wait about five minutes, remove key from keyring, and reinsert it. Then it starts.
Dealer needs to see it happen but of course with only an average of 2 or 3 instances per year, it never happens when in for service.
Any clues?
I would not pay $25 to have someone put this junk on my car -but for $400 - $1,000 you can get your car painted. Earl Sheib has $300 specials at least 2 X per year. Of course if you have body damage it will cost more - but 3M film doesn't protect against that.
If I had to drive 20 miles everyday on a gravel road I still would not get plastic film on my car. It could actually lower the resale value - everyone expects a car with 60+K miles to have chips in the paint.
Save your money and spend it on something worthwhile like lotto tickets or Enron stock.
So I am debating with myself here on whether or not to get 3M. Now we've all heard that Mazda paints are not that great anymore to resisting chips because of the new environmental paint process.
Application of the 3M would help but is it really necessary and is it worth the cost? Personally I would love to keep my 3 brand spanking new for 5 years etc. but I have to realise that its a car. Cars will age, depreciate and eventually lose their showroom lustre. From a personal standpoint I won't deny that fact. If your hood is not chipped in 2 years then your door might get the ding or scratch from a shopping cart. 3M to cover the bumper and hood etc will cost about $400-$1000 depending on which shop I go to. Money that could be spent somewhere else. I am prepared to handle the cosmetic changes when I get the chips and would maybe use Langka + touch up paint as it seems to work. Much more cost effective IMO.
I walk by two 3s every morning on the way to work, and their hoods and bumpers are perfectly fine with no chips.
As well, the 3M is visible when it gets dusty, and the hood is a different shade of color when you look at it. And what affect will it have on the paint underneath when it is left on for 5 years? And what happens if you 3M film is penetrated somehow, you'd have to shell out more $ to get it redone. !So I'm not all thrilled about that. Although, it's better than your standard leather black car bra.
But I am still on the fence on this, so I do need your input on the subject.
Is it worth the money? Or should I use the money towards something else and accept the fact that my car depreciates day by day?
Looking back at your post you seem to have a little different situation. Is what I described what you were feeling? The on and off the gas, or is it something else?
In an automatic you will almost never have this situation as the decellaration from engine compression is not as effective as in a manual.
Corey
Or has a dealer tried to improve your mileage but not been successful. Could you let us know please what was done to improve your mileage or what was tried but didn't work?
In my case I had that "long crank time" problem. Dealer replaced my fuel pump and was hopeful that new fuel pump might improve my mileage. It didn't.
Thanks.
everfeb
I just bought a 2005 Mazda3 5 door. I too have the same power steering noise which is very annoying! I'm having trouble finding the information you found on the NHTSA. Can you please link them to me. Also, did you take your car to the dealer yet to address the problem?
I have 500 miles currently on my car and will take it to the dealer for the 1000 mile oil change and check up. I will address this problem to them and would like to have as much information as possible in hand.
Thanks,
Rich
Staring at the tach, it looks like the car is letting up too generously on the throttle because the RPMs would drop 500 or so for a split second. Perhaps going 75, the car doesn't have to adjust as much with the RPMs.
The reverse is also true. If you have an automatic and the car is going 5 mph below your cruise setting when you hit "resume", the car will downshift to third and accelerate quickly up to your cruise speed.
Jason
I know that the sound is coming from the safety lock that prevents the gear shifter from being taken out of park unless you have the brake applied. So I guess you could say it is normal. But then latter in the day the noise was almost gone - so faint that if I would not have been listening for it I would not even have noticed it.
Now sometimes when I put my foot on the brake to shift out of park I get a very loud CLICK - other time I get almost no click.
I have checked the safety lock - I can not take it out of park unless I have my foot on the brake.
Anyone else have a loud click?
I am wondering if my safety lock switch may be about to fail.
Is my dealer here in Las Vegas correct?
Thanks.
Loren
My wife and I put the full kit ($500 pre-cut kit) on her '03 P5, and considering how she's letting the rest of her car go, I have to say it wasn't worth the investment (though the cover for the top of the rear bumper and the headlamp & foglamp pieces have been worthwhile). I'd have put it on my '99 Pro LX, but full kits weren't available when I got it (I installed a set of headlamp protectors). Then again, I'm fussy about my car.
I know dark colors show scratches but to all the Strato blue owners, how is your paint finish holding up so far? Thanks.
Change manual transmission to automatic, and this describes my experience exactly. Took delivery of the 2005 3s 5-door yesterday. The cruise is making me queasy with its continual accel/decel! Couldn't a programming change on the computer fix this? Hey Turby, maybe we should get together and call the dealers. I'll definitely be reporting this at the first oil change/service.
Real break-in for a modern engine can take thousands of miles - my experience with Hondas, Toyotas, and Mercedes is that all of them gradually make more power, and gradually use less fuel, right up through 5-7k miles or more.
This is not to be confused with each manufacturer's recommendation for initial "break-in" driving habits - generally, to seat the piston rings properly and get everything a bit happier after initial assembly, there are admonitions to take it easy for the first 600-1000 miles [lower rpm, avoid steady speeds for long periods of time, don't use full throttle]. You should always follow these instructions in the owner's manual as closely as possible. But at the end of that 600-1000 miles, while you're allowed to start using the engine to its full potential, it won't be fully loosened up for many more miles. Dumping the initial fill of oil in the crankcase at this point is just a waste of money and resources.