Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair

edgarem

Have same version - 2000km - slight wear on rear rotors and that's it - no other probs - zip zero. Getting about 30 mpg combined city/hwy. Hoot to drive.

My build date is 12/03. Later the better, I'd suspect.

This is a first year model, and in a nod to other folk who have had some glitches, not surprising. However, doesn't seem to be much in the way of serious drive train weakness.

roger341

I have 1600 miles, and the rear rotors have grooves. The front ones, however, are smooth as glass.

So what gives? Is it possible that the pads on the rear have a higher metallic content than the front pads or are otherwise different?

If all pads are exactly the same, does anyone have an idea as to why it's just happening on the rear?

I'm considering taking it to a brake shop next week. The Mazda dealer is just protecting his rear, he won't admit to anything wrong. Until a TSB is issued, it's a waste of time.

z71bill

I have almost 1,900 miles on the Mazda3. I still get more dust on the rear than the front maybe 2X as much but alot less then before. My rotors - front and rear are smooth - the rear rotors look like they have some grooving - but are smooth to the touch - I don't see a problem - yet.

The problem could be that the rear brakes are dragging - ever so slightly. Not enough to hurt performance - like driving with the E-brake partly on, but just enough to cause extra brake dust. Just a guess - but that would be consistent with the symptoms being described.

bigdadi118

Looks like to me that the rear brake pads engaged the rotors 'earlier' or gripped harder than the front two. Hence the rear ones are hotter, more brake dust and rotor grooving.
Comparing the wear of front and rear pads should tell a tale.

taylor3

Well the new shocks did not fix it, so that is not the problem. When it did it again, I tried a test. I opened the hatch and drove with it open and the noise disappeared. As soon as I closed it, the popping/rattling noise came back. It is back at the dealer. Will let you all know what happens......

mazda6s

From everything I've read in all the posts on this, I suspect it's the latch making the noise.

rjison

I met Adam at an autocross last week. He took out a scratch form me looked like some one Key'd the back fender. Adam worked on it with his scratch remover, and it worked.
http://www.adamspolishes.com is his web site.
The detail spray he sells is beyond belief!

After washing, you take the detail spray and his micro mesh cloths and clean up any spots. It works good with the Mr Clean stuff too. Let the car dry and clean up any missed spots with the detail spray. I washed 4 cars in an hour and a half!

roger341

Someone mentioned that a Mazda tech told him that the reason the rear brakes have the dust and rotor grooving is because they are of a different type and/or quality than the front pads.

Has anyone been able to examine the pads to see if there's any difference? For example if they are of a higher metallic content?

psymn

psymn

I just received an email from Mazda USA that should clear up this question about the rear brake dust. They said, "There is no difference in composition between the front and rear brake
pads."

There, that's it, the official word from the manufacturer. The dust must be casued by an over application of the rear brakes or it could be another defect. Also the pads are semi-metallic.

psymn

mdaffron

Sounds like an engine starting or something ...

When I turn the key the other way it goes away.

LOL

aric214

Really? oh o...I would get that checked out ASAP...doesnt sound good at all...

:P

mazda6s

mdaffron

I dialed "0" and she knew nothing about it.

Thanks for the tip though.

3owner

I think you need to get the Volvo S40.
That should clear up your problem when you turn your key!
;o)

everfeb

Thanks for your post 315 re paint marks. Glad to hear everything OK.
everfeb

ish2l

But doesn't the volvo S40 have ford parts in it? I can't drive a ford!

mazda6s

Isn't Honda still using Delco batteries? Oh no, GM parts in a Honda, can't buy one of those either!!!

3owner

I think your best bet is to wipe those cobwebs off of your bicycle and get peddling ;o)

mdaffron

I know this is off-topic, but I hope the host won't delete this one last comment.

You really made me laugh with the Volvo comment. You see, my dad owned probably five or six early-'70s Volvos (144 series) back in the late '70s to mid-'80s. In fact I learned to drive in a '73 Volvo.

The thing I won't ever forget is how long those cars took to start, and then how they didn't ever want to turn off! My poor dad would be out there in the morning, cranking that engine -- rm, rm, rm, rm, rm, rm, sputter, rm, rm, rm, rm, rm, sputter, sputter, etc. etc! Fifteen minutes later he'd come inside to get us while the poor car sputtered and choked in the driveway. Then, when he got home from work in the afternoon, he'd turn off the car, take out the key and get out and be halfway to the front door and that poor car would still be "dieseling" in the driveway! It was a riot. I swear you could get into a Volvo 144, put it in gear and take off five minutes after the owner took the key out.

That, and did you ever notice a '70s or '80s Volvo that had BOTH rear mud flaps? Every single one of them I've ever seen is missing one of them. My dad used to stop and pick his up when they fell off the car.

Volvo -- safe, yes. Funky? You bet!

Don't even get me STARTED on the 1980 Saab I owned!!!

Meade

3owner

I was parked in my driveway (with my emergency brake on ... important detail)
I pulled out the ashtray to get some change that I had been storing. I went to slide the change into my hand, but because of the ridge in the middle of the tray some of the coins got bumped out .... and of all places it went down into the hole at the base of the emergency brake. How the %*!# do I get it out? or is it a lost cause?

mdaffron

Put a fresh bag on your vacuum cleaner and use its nozzle to suck 'em out, then go retrieve them. If that doesn't work, you can always remove the couple of screws that hold down the center console and lift it up enough to get in there. On the Protege (and most other cars I've owned), you can slide the front seats all the way forward to get to those darned screws on the sides of the console. Usually there are only two, holding down the rear of the console on either side, and the front of the console can pivot enough to get it up a few inches and get your fingers under there.

Meade

3owner

I will definitely give those ideas an attempt this week. Especially with us Canadians, coins represent a small fortune ... with the $1 and $2 coins!
By the way I've also had a couple of Hyundai's in my background as well, a 1998 Accent and 2001 Tuburon. I heard horror stories about the Excel and when I got the Accent I received some disapproval from friends and family.

iqmaw

taylor3, on the trunk door you will find 2 rubber stoppers about 3/4" in length. When the hatch is closed these 2 rubber stoppers seat onto the bumper. When the dealer removed them from my vehicle the noise in question went away. The stoppers have been put back but some additional foam has been placed on the bumper area where the stoppers seat. More than likely there was too much play between the stoppers and the bumper, especially in cold weather. I hope this helps you. Let me know

mdaffron

You're Canadian, duh! Hey -- not many folks seem to know what I'm about to say, but I learned this from working with a lot of coins at a Supermarket for six years. With the exception of your penny, Canadian coins are magnetic! It's true! (It's how we used to separate out the Canadian coins from the U.S. ones.) Try dropping a small magnet down there on a string and see if you can fish 'em out.

As long as they're not pennies ...

Meade

rj19

not always so, in recent years, depending on production capacity the Canadian pennies can be made out of a copper alloy or steel, ergo the latter magnetic.

guskim

I recently had two very interesting discussions this week with Mazda Canada on the subject of synthetic oil.

The Customer Service Manager (at head office, not a dealership), and a representative at head office BOTH said: the use of synthetic oil on ANY Mazda vehicle will nullify the warranty.

I asked the Customer Service Manager at Mazda's Head Office if this policy only applied to the RX-8 (where synth is not recommended), and I was told twice, No - that the policy applies to ALL Mazda cars sold in Canada.

Mazda Canada apparently doesn't care if the synthetic oil is 5-20 and meets all API and ILSAC specs. It nullifies the warranty.

When I pointed out that there is absolutely NO documentation in our owners manuals banning synthetic, they replied that nevertheless THIS was the official policy of Mazda Canada for all vehicles.

The reason I called Mazda Canada in the first place, is that I wanted to know if it was permissible to use a synthetic 5-30, because as we know, there are very few synthetic 5-20's available. Just Amsoil, and now Pennzoil, and Castrol Syntec (very new). Most Mazda dealerships in Canada don't offer a synthetic 5-20 oil change, and instead were putting in synth 5-30's.

Head office for Mazda Canada says not only will Synthetic 5-30 nullify the warranty, but so will the synthetic 5-20!!

To me, it's outrageous. But that's what they said: twice and unequivocally.

The funny thing is that the DEALERS themselves (I polled 6 of them in the Toronto area) say a synthetic 5-20 is fine for the warranty, as long as it meets specs.

I think Mazda Canada had better clean up its act, and inform both its customer AND its dealers what its official policy is IN writing, or we're going to see some serious lawsuitsin future years, if engines start to fail.

ASIDE: I asked Mazda Canada why a synthetic 5-20 would nullify the warranty on an engine that calls for a 5-20, and I was told (again on two separate occasions) is that the problem with many synthetic oils is that they "do not burn", and that Mazda engines are not meant or designed to work with oils that have this property.

npaladin2000

Anyone know of MazdaUSA has the same policy? I think I may just ask my dealer today (supposed to go and get my MP3 player put in, if I can get an appointment).

mdaffron

Synthetic oil causes much less wear on an engine.

Less wear = fewer problems.

Fewer problems = less money for Mazda Service.

I'd ask to get that in writing.

I'd especially like to see what happens if your dealership recommends (or even provides) synthetic oil and then Mazda denies a warranty claim.

Meade

taylor3

Hey Igmaw,

Thanks for the advise, I will check that out at lunch-time. Well I got the car back and they have now replace the hatch struts because if you grab them while the hatch is up, they make a popping noise as well. Could not tell if it was the exact same noise cause the car was not moving. The new ones are tight, but the weather is warm and this noise only shows up 45 degrees and below. So I guess I cannot test your theory right now either. But you better believe I will be testing it in the future. By the way, what kind of "foam" did they place "on" the bumper? Was it that "thick tape" kind?? Let me know, because I will probably go ahead and do it myself.. As nice as my dealer service has been, I am sick of going up there and I am sure they are sick of me, even though they told me they could not believe how calm I have been about it cause they have been cussed out for far less. Guess that is why they are trying to really help me.

mazda6s

I think the "polite but persistent" approach with the dealer is the best way to go.

gandrigo

my airbag light was on back in Feb for about 10 days and has been on several times since for short periods (10-15 min). Does anyone know if the error is stored? The reason I ask is that my dealer finally has the new sensor, but when I called to make the appointment they said they could not replace/diagnose a failed sensor if the light wasn't currently on. I don't see why I should drive around till it comes on and then race to the closest dealer for a known issue. my car was manufactured in Nov03, so they should know the sensor is prone to failure and replace them all. should I call Mazda Canada?

mazda6s

That's ridulous. I'd call Mazda customer support and say, "the car was previously diagnosed with a bad sensor because the airbag light was on for 10 days straight in February, and it's still coming on intermittently, so I think you should replace it".

howho

mine came on.

called the dealer and said "its my turn to have the sensor changed - the airbag light came on"

they had one in stock, took me in the next day, and swapped it out in half an hour. no hassle, no waiting for the light to stay on permanently, etc.

to pour kerosine on the fire once more, "your car must be from mazda, but your dealer must be from ford".

irvello2

i just called the dealership where i bought my car from, and was telling them about the problem w/ the brakes. i also mentioned that i was not the only one w/ this problem that a lot of people have it. he said he was not aware of this. of course not there i no tsb on it. i told him to go to edmunds .com and he would see how many people have this problem. any way i dont know how bad anyone else has it but, mine have all the dust on the rear none on the front,the front are smooth and shiny the rear are grooved and dirty. when they get to hot the back actually grab real fast and jerk me to a stop and no i am not slamming on them. this has happened a couple of times. i told the dealer all of this then asked if the have loaner cars and he said .... only if this is a warranty repair. well i dont even know what would make him think it isn't going to be . it goes in the shop Monday

edgarem

"i told the dealer all of this then asked if the have loaner cars and he said .... only if this is a warranty repair. well i dont even know what would make him think it isn't going to be . it goes in the shop Monday"

I've had hot rears and more wear than front, but no grabbing. However, with this being a recurrent issue not resolved yet, don't let him get away with saying it is not a warranty issue. Mazda Corporate by now is well aware of the complaints. Keep us posted.

m3momma

well I am another victim of the air bag light, took it to the dealer today and they automatically blamed my aftermarket remote starter for the problem and handed me a bulletin from Mazda that said after market electronics could interfere with the SRS sensors. I bought the 3 in January (picked it up 1/25/04) and it was already on the boat, so I am assuming it has one of those faulty sensors I have read so much about. Now how do I get my dealer to look at it again. and also I got 3 error codes and they are clueless about them, but I found 2 out of 3 listed here. seems to me I know more about the car than they do. oh and another thing, the dealer I BOUGHT the car from made the arrangements to have the auto start put in. so does anyone know the code B226-EO-RCM ??? And gee the dealership couldn't get them to clear, probably because the things are faulty. DUH!
Other than that tho I LOVE me 3, lots of pep, good milage getting about 27 MPG and I do half and half driving. and lots more interior room than the old Saturn. ZOOM-ZOOM

jandd1

At about 1800 miles. I stopped by the dealer today and they say they are aware of the problem have the part in stock and it takes 30 minutes to replace. Tell the dealer to go to this site - and good luck.

npaladin2000

Anyone have trouble with their front wiper system? Every once in a while it goes wacky on me and won't turn off the wipers; also when you push them up for mist cycle, the wipers stop instantly instead of going all the way back down when the stalk is released...dunno if it's supposed to be that way or not, but I suppose the wiper switch may be faulty? It's only happened twice to me, but it is pretty annoying.

gandrigo

Here's the story: When I bought my car in January, 16 inch steel wheels were hard to find, and I was forced to buy some from a tire distributor rather than Mazda. My salesman had assured me getting wheels would not be a problem, but of course failed to deliver. I was not in a position to delay the purchase, and after a great deal of running around, bought generic rims that I was assured were correct. I had Mazda install the wheels prior to picking up the car, and my salesman confirmed they were the correct rim. I failed to notice that the steel wheels protrude much further from the fenders than the stock alloys. I came to this realization today when re installing the summer rubber. my question is how much damage might have been done to the bearings and/or suspension. I have approximately 4000 km on the car and I would conservatively say that the steel wheels seemed to sit about 1.5 inches further out from the hub. My concern is that this will create a problem somewhere down the road (probably after the warranty expires). My salesman has yet to return my call, and the store where I bought the rims maintains that they are correct and is unable(unwilling) to give me the relevant dimensions of the rim. any help/comments would be much appreciated.

chem2k2

After waiting for 9 weeks for my 3s, it finally arrived and all was good. Two days later, I noticed a rattle from around (or in) the B-pillar. Has anyone else noticed this? Also, how good are Madza dealers at fixing rattles? This is driving me crazy.

m3momma

the dealership won't even look at the 3 until the autostart is out. they say it is that and that is it. no matter what information I give them. even tho the error codes are for the sensors that we all seem to have trouble with. they say they got an error on the TEST codes too. and they can't get to where they need to be to tell if the sensor is bad. they say go back to the dealer where I BOUGHT it. so much for the Mazda family concept. the dealership I bought it from is known for lousy customer service, (didn't know this til after I purchased, but found out quickly) so I vowed never to take it back to them. I found the next nearest dealer and this is what I get. the runaround. now what go to east overshoe to get the thing fixed??? any suggestions. I can't believe the autostart would be the problem, since I went to the place the dealership would have gone had I spent an additional $300.00 and had them get it done.

gandrigo

After some measurement/calculation, the rim difference is not as bad as I originally thought. the large visible difference was more due to the cross-sectional difference between the stock RSA and the Blizzac tires, as verified by figures at the tirerack website. In fact the rims are 16X6.5 with a 40mm offset rather than 52.5mm. I remain concerned and annoyed with the lack of professionalism shown by both Mazda and Bridgestone, but at least I don't really fear for the longevity of the car.

audia8q

The mazda3 has an engine mgt system that does not function well with aftermarket stuff that was not designed to deal with the this cars computer. Also, mazda will generally decline any warranty work with non-mazda authorized accessories on the car...This is a directive from mazda and the dealership is simply following mazda's rules...some dealers will break the rules and work on the car, but it's not fair to criticize a dealership for following the rules of the manufacturer.

mazda6s

But it would be fair to criticize the dealer if they installed the unauthorized aftermarket stuff and lead the owner to believe it would not affect the warranty, right?

I would not suggest that dealerships be prohibited by Mazda from installing this stuff, but I think if the dealership decides to do it, they have a responsibility to inform the owner that they could be in for warranty issues. The owner also has a responsibility to ask about it. Personally, I would assume up front that installing any non-Mazda approved hardware (especially electronics) could raise warranty issues,and I wouldn't install anything like that until the car is out of warranty.

m3momma - What did they tell you about this when they added the autostart? Did you ask? Did they volunteer the information?

m3momma

no I didn't ask, since they were pushing the system while they were trying to get me to buy all the other lil "extras" you know the drill. So I figured if THEY were going to put it on---- it should be fine. I think it is pretty lame of Mazda to make something that you can not do ANYTHING to, for fear of messing it up. I mean don't most of us like to customize OUR car in some way???? be it nick knacks or new speakers, etc etc. I mean do we want to all have the exact same car??? I have been dying to have an autostart in my car, but until this purchase I had a manual transmission, and couldn't even think about having one. so I didn't want to wait another year for it to be off warranty and I never imagined that it would cause a problem. and just a note... it has been OVER a month since it was put in and no problems. That to me looks like it is just a bad sensor. since mine was built prior to Dec 2003.

firstmazda

What kind of stuff CAN we install without it affecting the warranty?
ie. intake, light bulbs, exhaust etc.

I didn't ask if my heated seats would affect my warranty, only what kind of warranty they came with. hmmm... you guys got me wondering now.

But it should be ok because it has nothing to do with the engine right??

mazda6s

I don't think there's any hard rules here, but you can just use common sense. If you or the dealer installs something electrical (i.e. autostart, heated seats), and then you have electrical problems, well you open the door for the manufacturer to question a warranty repair. I would assume than ANY non-Mazda approved accessories could cause warranty problems. Should the dealer inform you of this if they install or arrange for the installation? Yes, I think they should. Should you ask? Yup.

Of course, dealers routinely install those "security key" gizmos on cars even before they're sold. Those things require hacking into the wiring, so I would not buy a car with one of those on it, even if they offer to remove it.My basic rule is, if the dealer modifies the car in any way, the sale is off. I don't count those cute little dealer logos they put on the back of the car though, as long as they don't drill any holes in the car to put it on.:)

In other words, just keep your fingers crossed that you don't have any electrical problems, since the installation of your your heated seats required an electrical connection to power the heaters.

3owner

I have a Mazda 3 Sedan and what I can only describe to you as a HUGE POP noise greeted me when I pulled away from a traffic light yesterday night. So many things went through my mind ... was I hit from behind ... did I run over a plastic bottle ... did my tire burst into the original pieces of rubber that it was molded from ... The answer, I have no idea. There was nothing on the road when I looked in the rear view mirror. I got out and inspected to see if something from the sky had hit me. It scared the bageezers out of me though. My fear is that something may have popped in the rear suspension. I was able to drive the car ok afterwards, but I still feel that there may be more. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm gonna be getting my car serviced on Friday, so I'm gonna take it easy until then.

bigdadi118

Would it be some kind of misfire sound from the exhaust?