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I heard the clicking/ticking sound again. Usually when the car is at a standstill it doesn't occur, only when it's moving/accelerating. Yesterday, I heard it while it was stopped. So I pulled over and did a little listening under the hood.
I'm about 80% certain the sound is coming from right around the top/rear of the engine. Looks like it's coming from what I believe is the air injection system. Either that or its coming from the headers of the rear bank of cylinders.
Anyone have any thoughts on what this intermittent clicking could be? Again, it stops once the engine has been running for about 10 minutes. Thanks.
Basically, the service manager said that I didn't have enough oil in the engine... was about 2-1/2 quarts low. The clicking had to do with not enough oil pressure. Remember, the clicking was only happening when the car was cold and would stop after about 10 mins of running. Oil flows slower when the engine's cold. So it's logical that this was the problem considering that the oil would be flowing more freely once the engine and oil were properly warmed.
Now, I like to think I take really good care of my cars following the guidelines laid out by the manual and following regular maintenance intervals. It's been almost exactly 5000 miles since my last oil change. My error was assuming that the oil level stayed the same between oil changes.
Apparantly you still go through about 1 quart every 1500 or so miles according to the service manager. So I should be topping off the oil between changes if I don't get the oil changed every 3000 miles. Funny since Mazda recommends that you can go between 5000 and 7500 between oil changes and doesn't mention refilling the oil in between changes.
Anyhow, the car sounded great when I picked it up (man was I glad to get the 6 back - not that I hated having the Mazda3 as a loaner, but the 6 is just so much smoother). The test will be tomorrow AM when I start it up after having it sit in the cold overnight.
Moral of the story: if you don't do an oil change every 3000, make sure the crankcase is full.
Sorry, one last thing: anyone know if I've done any real damage to the engine by running 2-1/2 quarts low? Ran it that way for about 350 miles or so.
I don't think there's a car built past 1980 that requires 1 quart every 1500 miles. That seems a little much to me.
I've got 4000 miles on my 6S, and the oil level at my 3000 mile oil change was fine. I'm sure that some engines use up a little oil during break-in, but 2 1/2 quarts? You might want to check for leaks, or maybe consider a new place to get oil changes.
As for possible damages, the ticking sound causes me to be a little concerned, but friends tell me I'm a little paranoid when it comes to my car!
BTW, I will check my oil tonight :-) I too "assume" it is fine and you know what they say about assumptions...
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
LOOSE BRAKES - My dealer machined my front rotors to take care of my car shaking when braking per a TSB. But my brakes seem "loose" now. Earlier, the car used to start slowing down when I applied slight force on the brake pedal. Now the pedal seems to depress a lot more before the car starts to slow down. Is this normal after machining the rotors? Can anything be done to make the brakes feel "tighter"? Dealer says nothing more can be done.
Appreciate any help on either problem.
I've had brake rotors machined several times in the past, usually I remove/reinstall them myself, and I have never experienced a "loose" feel to the brakes afterward. Each time I've had it done, such a small amount of the rotor surface was removed by the brake lathe that I can't imagine it could have possibly made a noticeable difference in how "tight" the brakes felt.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Clutch problems seem to be like brake problems for dealers. Easy to play the wear and tear card, tell the customer they abused the car too much or that the conditions they're driving in are too harsh and weasel out of doing any warranty work. I always pray that I don't have premature brake or clutch failures in my vehicles after I buy them because I've heard too many stories like this.
Keep after Mazda, and good luck.
My '04 wagon doesn't really pull unless there are ruts or an unusually steep angle in the road surface I'm on, but for some reason my steering wheel does tend to be just a bit off center (counter-clockwise) when I'm traveling straight on a level surface. I just assumed it wasn't perfectly centered when it was installed.
At any rate, given the alignment problems described on this board, I plan to watch my tread wear VERY closely.
From your description of the fluid color, it IS the antifreeze. Mazda installs the car with orange antifreeze--versus the green type that you may be used to. At any rate, I own an '03, and had the same problem. It took some getting down on my hands and knees--and about 30 minutes of investigative work with a flashlight--but I eventually identified the problem: the right lower corner of my radiator developed a hairline crack and was leaking fluid. I took it in for warranty service and they replaced the radiator with a new one--thus taking care of the problem. You might have the same thing going on.
If pad dust is the culprit, your dealer should be willing to do a quick cleaning of the brakes. You can also do it yourself with a spray can of brake cleaner from an auto parts store. Just be mindful of where the runoff is going to end up, because it will leave quite a mess.
1st thing, i drive a stick shift and im wondering do any of you guys/girls have problems changing gears when its cold outside?
2nd thing, when you guys turn hard left or right or all the way until the wheel stops and when you put the brakes up does it make any kind of sound? when i turn hard left or right, it sounds like im a bus stopping...
3rd thing, the dealer told me that i should put Synthetic motor oil in my car if i drive it alot, so i did and the bottle told me 6 months or 14000k's before next oil change and it cost me $60 canadian money so now mazda dealer told me now i still have to follow their rules, i mean the mazda Warranty on it... ppl synthetic oil is the best oil you can get... why do i have to??? i called and went down to other dealers ships like ford, GM and others, they wouldve told me to put synthetic oil in my car if i bought one of them...
can anyone help me here...
Im thinking driving to mazda canada to [non-permissible content removed] about it.. im just wondering if it happen to you..
thanks
2nd - Haven't experienced that one before. Are you saying that when you release the brake pedal it makes noise? When you say it sounds like a "bus stopping", what sort of noise is it?
3rd - The synthetic oil issue always seems to generate more questions than answers. I always change my own oil, and use synthetic, but haven't gotten to my first change on the Mazda6 yet. When I had my 626 I changed the synthetic every 6 months, which for me worked out to roughly 6K miles between changes. For the 626, that was right in line with the mainenance schedule for normal operating conditions (for extreme conditions, a 3K oil change interval was specified). For some reason, manufacturers don't distinguish between synthetic and non-synthetic oil in the maintenance schedules. Personally I wouldn't be comfortable going 14K miles between changes, and I'm not sure how Mazda would react if you had warranty work done on the engine and they knew that. My father got into a battle once with the Chevy dealer who provides the extended warranty on his truck, because the shop where he has his oil changed couldn't find just one of his oil changes in their computer. The dealer used that against him when he tried to get a leaky intake valve problem (a known issue with his truck) covered under the warranty.
I wouldn't mess with the recommended oil change intervals much if I were you, but if someone at Mazda ends up telling you it's ok, better get it in writing. Synthetic oil is rather expensive, and worth it in my opinion, but paying for major engine work that should be covered under warranty because you didn't change the oil frequently enough would be much worse. You better do a thorough job of covering your back before going ahead with your own maintenance intervals.
2nd no not release the brake.. when i apply the brake on when i am turning at the same time, like im going to park.. this odd noise happens.. it sounds like Hmmmm have you ever watched nightmare on elm street with freddy?? well you know when he takes his knifes from his glove and starts rubbing on the choke board.. that really bad sound what mostly ppl hate.. yea that what happens...
3rd well the manager ASKED me i should put that kind of oil in her, so i just bought the stuff and when i had my next oil change they put it in their..... no no no i wouldn't do my own maintenance thats why i got extended warranty on it...
but thanks for the reply!! it helped alot!!
Sorry, I misunderstood your problem with the brakes. I seem to remember someone on the forum talking about brake noise or judder that occurred while braking and turning at low speed (like in parking lots), try a search and you might find it. If I come across it I'll let you know.
Whether you do your own oil changes or not, my point on the maintenance intervals was that synthetic oil or not, Mazda is probably still going to claim that you need to change it every 3K or 6K miles. If you decide to ask about that, please let us know what they say.
do you think that mazda put cheap brakes on and you think i can get better brakes to put on to stopt his noise??
Too much dust on the brake pads and rotors can cause squealing, which may only occur during the first few stops in damp and/or cold weather. Other owners on this forum have observed that the Mazda6 pads produce quite a lot of brake dust, so that could be your problem.
If pad dust is the culprit, your dealer should be willing to do a quick cleaning of the brakes. You can also do it yourself with a spray can of brake cleaner from an auto parts store. Just be mindful of where the runoff is going to end up, because it will leave quite a mess.
Yea i will tell you what happens when i get back from mazda about the oil, my gears and my brakes..... im sure everyone would like to know...
I'm not sure it means the brakes are cheap, just seems to me that certain pads produce more dust than others. There used to be asbestos pads and they didn't make much dust, but you can't get those anymore. I think there was some discussion a while back on this forum about replacement pads to solve this problem, but I don't remember if anyone made recommendations on what to get.
Good luck w/Mazda, I've not had any customer service gripes with them yet, but my dealer is pretty good.
20 below? That's too cold for me. I'm miserable when it's 20 above. 20 below must turn your gear oil into molasses!
BUT it doesnt only happen to 1st gear tho.. sometimes it happens to 2nd and 3rd as well...
Yes. & the engine makes ugly banging noises when starting at -20. Syn oil really helps the engine on cold start, I'm expecting it to do the same for the tranny. I've only got 3K miles on the car. I wonder if I should wait b4 changing the tranny fluid.
"BUT it doesnt only happen to 1st gear tho.. sometimes it happens to 2nd and 3rd as well"
Yes. Until things warm up, the gearbox is real stiff. All MTX are this way to some degree. You need to be very deliberate until the fluid warms up. You shouldn't be pushing a car with a cold engine anyway.
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My wife got a 2004 Mazda6 wagon, stick shift back in May. About two months in, the "check engine" light went on. We brought it in and the dealer guys said it had something to do with a defective throttle part that was back-ordered. They reset the light and we got the car back.
About two weeks later the light came back on. The next day my wife was driving on a highway when all the lights on the dashboard suddenly illuminated, followed by the car's engine cutting out and the car dying. She coasted to the side of the road. The car started again, but at that point in rush hour traffic, she opted to call a tow truck.
The dealer replaced the throttle part and we haven't had a problem...until yesterday when the "check engine" light came back on. Does this sound even remotely familiar to anyone? I am beginning to think about looking into the Lemon Law for Maryland...
--Bill Warren
Silver Spring, MD