Personally, I think Mazda is too similar to Ford in every way. Really? I don't see the similarity. For example, which Ford product resembles a Mazdaspeed3, Mazdaspeed6, RX8 or Miata?
Funny you mentioned Ford. Checked my oil today to see if possible they put to much in which could reduce mileage. It was spot on, but noticed the dip stick had FoMoCo stamped on it. I test drove a 4cyl manual Fusion when they first came out and was impressed. Got my issue of Consumer Reports today and they are giving both the Fusion and the Milan a solid red for reliability. The Ford 500 was even more impressive but with only a 3.0 v6 was a bit underpowered and noisy. The 500 offers very good mileage(only 1mpg less than Fusion) for the size of the car and gets a Gold award in safety. They need a good motor/automatic combination to really make the car world class. If Ford and Mazda can't find or figure out how to get decent MPGs with automatic transmissions then they will find themselves in the same boat as Oldsmobile.
I had the 5AT 3 from December 19 and I contacted them about the mileage around January 19. Took it to service, and noticed the sound that z71bill talks about, and explained to the sales guy that I did not feel comfortable staying with the car, and was cut a pretty good deal on getting a manual 3. It was about a month, 1100 total miles on the clock.
Got $18,500 on trade, plus $500 Mazda dealer cash, so $19,000 plud I got the manual 3 at invoice. I am happy with the deal.
If you have driven a manual in the past and even remotely enjoyed it, you would love the 3 in a manual. It is a very fun car, and I have already improved by 3+ mpg in worse conditions and a less broken in vehicle. Too bad I didn't save the money in the first place.
So I have to ask, did the dealer attempt to see if there was a problem or did they just accept it as fact that the auto gets poor mileage and offerred you the trade? Was it a 2.3 or 2.0 because your figures would put me at a considerable loss? What did they try if anything?
The dealer did try to see if anything was wrong, but they couldn't find anything.
Both models were 2.3l hatches. It did end up costing me more money, but because of the special interest rate Mazda was offering, monthly payments and total amount I will pay is the same.
Second tank in the new 5MT 2.3l Mazda3 Hatch now at 400 miles clocked on the odo. It has been in the low 20's to mid teens (23-15 F) most of the drives. This time it was 100% city, with a lot of fairly agressive driving, over mountains, hard acceleration at 3/4 throttle to 5,500 rpm. I just couldn't resist the allure of the engine and transmission combo. I can't wait till I can finally go WOT to red line and see what it feels like.
204.0 miles on 9.803 gallons = 20.81 mpg. Not at all bad considering the conditions.
If I can ask, how much did the new intake manifold run you? I went in for the exact same problem you described and they gave the exact same diagnosis. I'm have trouble believing that the quoted price for an intake manifold is really $900.
Thanks for Andreas of Mazda3Forums I was able to unlock my trip computer on my 07 Mazda 3. It works for 06 too!
1. Press and hold down CD and AM/FM buttons 2. Start your car while still pressing down on those buttons 3. The display will read, "DIS ON" which means Driver Information System On. 4. Release the CD and AM/FM buttons 5. Turn off and restart the car 6. Now press the Set button and cycle through your avg. mpg, miles until empty, current mpg!
Sweet hack!!! :shades: I have 07 3i Touring & works like a charm. The only thing to add to your great instructions is to 1st make sure the radio is ON or you will NOT get the "DIS ON" message - maybe it was just me !
Pretty cool, thanks. Worked like a charm for me (06 S touring MT).
The avg MPG (Which I assume has been tracked by the ECU for the life of the car, since it came on right away, before I moved) is 25.8. Right where I had been tracking it on an excel sheet, whenever I remember to. Looks more accurate than others I have had
Mine shows 19.4 average, average speed 24 mph. The sensor for the current mpg is crazy. Mine was going from 2.5 mpg when I was accelerating to 99.9 when I was going down a hill. I'm not quite sure how something that jumps up and down every second is useful, but the average lifetime mpg is pretty useful. Is there a way to change the refresh rate on the current mpg so it averages over like 5 seconds or so instead of wildly going from 20 mpg to 50 or 70 back to 15 every second?
I didn't get to measure the actual mileage on my first tank, but so far my average has been 21.86 over the life of the car using the actual miles / gallons calculation, so it is a little pessimistic on mine at least.
Actually the instant mpg is very usefull. Whenever you see it dip down to 2 mpg make a note not to do whatever you were doing, and your mpg will improve.
Out of curiousity - can anybody with a stick shift 3S tell me what the instant mpg is at a steady and level 60 mph indicated. Just curious about the optimum mpg at a slow speed.
Ahh, don't do what I was doing, so that means don't go up any hills, even moderate ones?
Even with cruise control on, at 60 mph on flat ground, the reading fluctuates from 20 mpg to 58 mpg. It takes its readings too often, at least on mine. The very slightest incline causes it to go to 20, inclines so slight, I've never really noticed them as an incline until the DIS dips to 20 mpg in the same place every time.
Out of curiousity - can anybody with a stick shift 3S tell me what the instant mpg is at a steady and level 60 mph indicated. Just curious about the optimum mpg at a slow speed. "
I'll try to play around with it more, but when I had it on cruise and flat ground, going maybe 65, I think it was in the high 40's. Stayed steady for a bit, but then traffic intervened
I have a 2006 3i with manual transmission, bought 07/2006. Unlock was succesful. Average mpg since I bought the car (have 10,100 miles on it) according to the trip computer is 32 mpg, with an average speed of 32 mph.
"I'll try to play around with it more, but when I had it on cruise and flat ground, going maybe 65, I think it was in the high 40's. Stayed steady for a bit, but then traffic intervened "
I tried a little more yesterday. Had it on cruise at 71 MPH, I had it stay steady at 35.3 for a while
AEWSOME!!! I just stumbled across this thread by Google search on my Mazda 3. I just ran out and tried it and it does work! One question though? How do you reset it back to show the current time? Will it reset on its own? Also, I have one of the K&N air filters and it improves gas mileage. Thanks.
Thanks!!! This is really cool. I have had my Mazda 3 for a year now and didnt know all this. When I bought it I was a little sad that I thought it didnt have a trip odomoter like by previous car had.
The city mileage on the Mazda is in the low 20's but my wife doesn't keep a steady pressure on the accelerator like most drivers. More of a hold and release driving style which I find very annoying. I don't even mention it anymore as she says she was taught to drive that ludicris way and doesn't plan to change. I find that I'm getting in the high 20's mostly with the Civic. It mostly sees short city driving and the mileage is still under 6k right now. Performance wise, the 3 blows the Civic away! It's like driving a sports car or a carnival ride. You just have to touch it and zoom...you're gone. Shifts are almost unnoticed also up the power band. Puts a smile on my face everytime I get into it. The Civic is surprisingly zippy for a 1.8 liter engine. Not as fast or smooth as the 3, but I drive it accordingly. I've learned to adapt my driving style to it and try to stay under 3000 rpm's when accelerating. Very satisfying to drive, but not as much fun as the 3. We bought each car for a different reason though. The wife wanted a car that could get up and go when needed and I wanted a car with great gas mileage with great reliability, as I drive less miles per year and plan to keep the car till I retire within the next 5 to 7 years.
Dunno if it was mentioned here before, but I believe it was [consumer reports] showed the 3 gets about 25% lower mileage in the city than government tests and about 20% better mileage on the highway (if you don't go over 60mph).
It's also interesting on what tire pressure you have. There are two thoughts, go with what is on the door jam or what the tire dealers say. In my case, I am to use 33 PSI all around, while tire dealers say that's too low. It shoud be around 35/36. While the dealer tends to put in around 34PSI all around. This too can affect the mileage.
I am not crazy about the new procedures. I think they need a higher highway number. From what I understand 35 mpg is quite easy to get with a manual 3. Saying it only gets 30 mpg on the highway is very misleading.
Basically they could keep the new numbers, but call them city, and suburban and use the old highway number for highway driving. If you are truely driving all highway miles the old highway numbers were very easy to beat in most vehicles.
I know there is a range of numbers in fine print, but it seems nobody reads these the way they complain about mpg.
From what I understand 35 mpg is quite easy to get with a manual 3. Saying it only gets 30 mpg on the highway is very misleading.
I think this depends in part on whether we are talking about the Mazda3 2.0 or the 2.3 litre. Not surprisingly, the smaller engine is more efficient (rated at 24/32) compared to the larger one which comes in at 22/30 as you say. The other part, of course, is the driver. I agree that one can beat these numbers if one drives "as if your mother were in the car" (to quote Motorweek).
Yes. I have had my 06 3S GT 5-speed since May and do a lot of highway driving (21K on the clock). The sweet spot seems to be around 64 MPH. With the cruise on, I average about 33-34 mpg. Driving 64 MPH on my local interstate is taking your life in your hands though as the average cruising speed is 75-85+
If I cruise at 70 the mpg will drop to around 31.
I did a 2000 mile round trip and the numbers stayed consistent.
My averages have dropped to 29-30 mpg during the winter months.
I have about 45,000 miles on my 3 now and I check my mileage every time I fill up. Only twice have I gotten below 30mpg and both of those were 29mpg. I drive mostly rural roads with few stops. I don't speed but I would consider my driving style as somewhat spirited. I'm shocked when I read people getting in the teens or low 20's. Fast highway driving (75mph+) gets me the worse mileage but overall I average between 30 and 33mpg. I've not had a single problem with my 3 either, it's been a great car!
Here is the monthly data for my first year with the 2006 3i Touring MT. Conditions have been quite consistent: 75% highway, mostly at cruise 63 with no passengers, and the rest short trips and congestion with 0 to 2 passengers. Right now it has about 14K miles.
The MPG seems to correlate closely with temperature, which is the same pattern seen in my last 2 cars. I admit I drive with these nbrs in mind (lots cheaper than buying a hybrid!). I subscribe to the waygrabow philosphy: coasting is a good thing. Overall I am very pleased with the MPG, esp. considering this is a fun-to-drive car for this reasonable price ($16K).
Since buying my M3i 5M at the end of Sept. 2006, I've gotten close to the EPA estimates 28/35 mpg. Most of my driving is city/suburban less than 10 mile trips. My worst mileage of 26.33 mpg happened with all city driving, cold weather using the heater/defrost (which I found out later automatically uses the compressor). My best mileage of 34.5 mpg came during 25% city/75% highway driving (between 60 and 65 mph). Interstate driving with cruise set on 75 mph (90% of miles) yielded ~33 mpg. With over 6,500 miles on my 3i, I'm pleased with the mpg, and I love the way it drives.
Your driving style sounds like text book EPA, so it should not be a surprise that you're getting close to EPA numbers. Common sense (and science) tells us that driving that extra 10 miles faster will affect our mpg negatively. It's amusing hearing people complain about poor mileage numbers when they drive as if they were on an F1 track.
The MPG seems to correlate closely with temperature, which is the same pattern seen in my last 2 cars
I recall hearing about this guy a long long time ago that heated his fuel in his Cadillac and he got spectacular gas mileage. Of course, this is dangerous as heck but does explain why we get better mileage in the summer. However, refineries add different additives during the winter months which may have an effect on fuel economy.
heated his fuel in his Cadillac and he got spectacular gas mileage
If you have an engine block heater, a common device here in Canada, you are in effect doing something similar. Plugging in the heater a half hour those wintry mornings makes for a smooth drive-off, improves mileage and preserves your car's engine.
It seems that even the '07 M3i 5M is geared toward performance. An exta overdrive 6th gear might help get better gas mileage on the interstate trips since it runs well over 3000 rpm in 5th gear at 75 mph.
Took the Mazda3 in on Monday for the TAP TAP TAP sound coming from the engine (at idle, auto tranny in gear) plus my low MPG (16-18 MPG)
TT dealer today & the intake manifold is defective - the valves are bad (I did not know the intake had valves - but I am guessing its some type of butterfly valve)- he also thinks it may be cracked - but will not know this until it is removed from the car. Service rep was sure it is the cause of the TAP TAP noise - but not 100% sure about this being the (only) reason for my low MPG.
The parts have been ordered - but no delivery date yet - he thinks that it could take "A FEW DAYS" to find the parts. I wonder why no parts are available - but at this point I am just happy that they could find something wrong - and have agreed to fix it.
Very interesting, You have been great by keeping us up to date on this. I have not tried listening with it in gear. Mine is scheduled for a service at the end of March and I hope to hear back from you on how this repair works out in regards to MPG. I have found my mileage to be about 1 mpg better than the car computer is reporting but 21mpg is the best so far. Daughter took a first highway trip yesterday and very interested to see what she got when she returns tomorrow.
I have an 07 3i Touring AT bought in late Jan 07. I have found out that the A/C compressor is enabled if you turn the airflow positioner knob clockwise to (or past it) "feet position" - strangely, the A/C indicator light does NOT come on. :confuse: I suggest for those getting low MPG, try turning airflow positioner counter-clockwise from "feet" to avoid running the compressor.
Over 2,800 miles I have averaged 30.8 MPG combined city/hwy (50/50) typical hwy speed 65-74.
hey sand! I know i'm replying to an old post, but i had a question for you; is your 3 equipped with the 5 speed auto? or was it when they were still using the 4 speed even on the 2.3?
Reason i'm asking is because i was wonering what does the engine turn, say on the highway around 70-80 mph in rpms?
I'm not quite sure where the tach is at that speed. Last time I drove it on the highway was about 4 months ago. Will research this further and find out. Usually the wife drives when we take the 3...it's her car, and since my accident, I don't like to drive that much anymore.
Comments
Really? I don't see the similarity. For example, which Ford product resembles a Mazdaspeed3, Mazdaspeed6, RX8 or Miata?
Management style, customer service, reliability...
Got $18,500 on trade, plus $500 Mazda dealer cash, so $19,000 plud I got the manual 3 at invoice. I am happy with the deal.
If you have driven a manual in the past and even remotely enjoyed it, you would love the 3 in a manual. It is a very fun car, and I have already improved by 3+ mpg in worse conditions and a less broken in vehicle. Too bad I didn't save the money in the first place.
That's every automaker, not just Ford or Mazda.
Both models were 2.3l hatches. It did end up costing me more money, but because of the special interest rate Mazda was offering, monthly payments and total amount I will pay is the same.
Not to the same degree as Mazda or Ford. Each manufacturer has their own ranking. I suspect these two are pretty much equally low.
204.0 miles on 9.803 gallons = 20.81 mpg. Not at all bad considering the conditions.
$900 does seem like a lot of money -
Have you had it fixed yet?
Did it do any good?
Did you try and get Mazda to pay for it out of warranty?
1. Press and hold down CD and AM/FM buttons
2. Start your car while still pressing down on those buttons
3. The display will read, "DIS ON" which means Driver Information System On.
4. Release the CD and AM/FM buttons
5. Turn off and restart the car
6. Now press the Set button and cycle through your avg. mpg, miles until empty, current mpg!
Now you can truly know your Real MPG numbers!
Please pass this info to others!
JC
I have 07 3i Touring & works like a charm. The only thing to add to your great instructions is to 1st make sure the radio is ON or you will NOT get the "DIS ON" message - maybe it was just me
The avg MPG (Which I assume has been tracked by the ECU for the life of the car, since it came on right away, before I moved) is 25.8. Right where I had been tracking it on an excel sheet, whenever I remember to. Looks more accurate than others I have had
I didn't get to measure the actual mileage on my first tank, but so far my average has been 21.86 over the life of the car using the actual miles / gallons calculation, so it is a little pessimistic on mine at least.
Out of curiousity - can anybody with a stick shift 3S tell me what the instant mpg is at a steady and level 60 mph indicated. Just curious about the optimum mpg at a slow speed.
Thanks
Even with cruise control on, at 60 mph on flat ground, the reading fluctuates from 20 mpg to 58 mpg. It takes its readings too often, at least on mine. The very slightest incline causes it to go to 20, inclines so slight, I've never really noticed them as an incline until the DIS dips to 20 mpg in the same place every time.
I'll try to play around with it more, but when I had it on cruise and flat ground, going maybe 65, I think it was in the high 40's. Stayed steady for a bit, but then traffic intervened
I tried a little more yesterday. Had it on cruise at 71 MPH, I had it stay steady at 35.3 for a while
Since you have both the 3S and the Civic how much difference is there in mileage and performance between the two?
Performance wise, the 3 blows the Civic away! It's like driving a sports car or a carnival ride. You just have to touch it and zoom...you're gone. Shifts are almost unnoticed also up the power band. Puts a smile on my face everytime I get into it. The Civic is surprisingly zippy for a 1.8 liter engine. Not as fast or smooth as the 3, but I drive it accordingly. I've learned to adapt my driving style to it and try to stay under 3000 rpm's when accelerating. Very satisfying to drive, but not as much fun as the 3.
We bought each car for a different reason though. The wife wanted a car that could get up and go when needed and I wanted a car with great gas mileage with great reliability, as I drive less miles per year and plan to keep the car till I retire within the next 5 to 7 years.
The Sandman
It's also interesting on what tire pressure you have. There are two thoughts, go with what is on the door jam or what the tire dealers say. In my case, I am to use 33 PSI all around, while tire dealers say that's too low. It shoud be around 35/36. While the dealer tends to put in around 34PSI all around. This too can affect the mileage.
According to the estimate, the 3 gets 22 city 30 highway with the new procedures. Sounds just about right with my experience.
Basically they could keep the new numbers, but call them city, and suburban and use the old highway number for highway driving. If you are truely driving all highway miles the old highway numbers were very easy to beat in most vehicles.
I know there is a range of numbers in fine print, but it seems nobody reads these the way they complain about mpg.
I think this depends in part on whether we are talking about the Mazda3 2.0 or the 2.3 litre. Not surprisingly, the smaller engine is more efficient (rated at 24/32) compared to the larger one which comes in at 22/30 as you say. The other part, of course, is the driver. I agree that one can beat these numbers if one drives "as if your mother were in the car" (to quote Motorweek).
If I cruise at 70 the mpg will drop to around 31.
I did a 2000 mile round trip and the numbers stayed consistent.
My averages have dropped to 29-30 mpg during the winter months.
Right now it has about 14K miles.
Month MPG
March06 31.7
April06 36.0
May06 36.2
June06 36.3
July06 35.1
Aug06 37.5
Sept06 36.8
Oct06 34.9
Nov06 33.6
Dec06 33.3
Jan07 33.1
Feb07 31.6
The MPG seems to correlate closely with temperature, which is the same pattern seen in my last 2 cars. I admit I drive with these nbrs in mind (lots cheaper than buying a hybrid!). I subscribe to the waygrabow philosphy: coasting is a good thing. Overall I am very pleased with the MPG, esp. considering this is a fun-to-drive car for this reasonable price ($16K).
Common sense (and science) tells us that driving that extra 10 miles faster will affect our mpg negatively. It's amusing hearing people complain about poor mileage numbers when they drive as if they were on an F1 track.
I recall hearing about this guy a long long time ago that heated his fuel in his Cadillac and he got spectacular gas mileage. Of course, this is dangerous as heck but does explain why we get better mileage in the summer. However, refineries add different additives during the winter months which may have an effect on fuel economy.
If you have an engine block heater, a common device here in Canada, you are in effect doing something similar. Plugging in the heater a half hour those wintry mornings makes for a smooth drive-off, improves mileage and preserves your car's engine.
TT dealer today & the intake manifold is defective - the valves are bad (I did not know the intake had valves - but I am guessing its some type of butterfly valve)- he also thinks it may be cracked - but will not know this until it is removed from the car. Service rep was sure it is the cause of the TAP TAP noise - but not 100% sure about this being the (only) reason for my low MPG.
The parts have been ordered - but no delivery date yet - he thinks that it could take "A FEW DAYS" to find the parts. I wonder why no parts are available - but at this point I am just happy that they could find something wrong - and have agreed to fix it.
I suggest for those getting low MPG, try turning airflow positioner counter-clockwise from "feet" to avoid running the compressor.
Over 2,800 miles I have averaged 30.8 MPG combined city/hwy (50/50) typical hwy speed 65-74.
Reason i'm asking is because i was wonering what does the engine turn, say on the highway around 70-80 mph in rpms?
The Sandman :confuse: