Mazda6 Maintenance and Repair

bluem6i · March 2005

We had the wind noise at 60 mph and above... it turned out to be a loose side skirt (the lower body cladding on the sport or appearance packages).

The dealer fixed it under warranty. They said it is stuck on with 2 sided tape and it came loose.

dcnj · March 2005

After reading several post I thought I would add my two cents to the discussion. I bought an 04 6s wagon in January. At 320 miles I took it in to service to have the alignment looked at because it pulled to the left at highway speeds. They of course blamed incorrect tire pressure which I had checked and set according to the door panel. They also checked the alignment on the computer. I got the car back and it still pulled but not as much...thought I just made a poor choice in vehicle and planned to change to a different tire later this spring.

All this is leading up to what happened with 4200 miles on the ticker. Both front tires are now bald on the outside where the lugs used to be and the rear tires are worn down evenly to the wear bars. With the snow and salt and rain we have had in New Jersey since the end of January - there is no way I could have worn out tires that quickly. The dealership has the car - I have a wonderfully inept loaner. Looking forward to getting a chance to drive the car when all four tires aren't fighting each other.

audia8q · March 2005

For those of you who are still experiencing clutch chatter with your manual tranny...Mazda sent out a TSB today. The clutch disc material is modified to address the concern. TSB # 05-003/05. just came out today, so your local dealers may not be up to speed yet.

baggs32 · March 2005

Rich,
Are you referring to a chirping noise coming from the clutch when letting it out too slow and giving it a lot of gas? Mine makes that noise occasionally after being stuck in traffic on a steep hill. My old Civic did it all the time but never slipped, neither does the 6's, so I didn't bother having it looked at. Not too worried about the 6's clutch either but if they can fix it I'm going to have them do it even though it's a lease. At least it will be documented.

autonomous · March 2005

"I bought an 04 6s wagon in January. At 320 miles I took it in to service to have the alignment looked at because it pulled to the left at highway speeds ... with 4200 miles on the ticker. Both front tires are now bald on the outside where the lugs used to be and the rear tires are worn down evenly to the wear bars. With the snow and salt and rain we have had in New Jersey since the end of January - there is no way I could have worn out tires that quickly."

Speak about premature wear! If the tires were mounted improperly or were misaligned I can see how they would wear, but this seems much more serious. Did you buy the car new? Was the car involved in an accident? You may want to get a second opinion from another garage if your dealer does not provide a reasonable explanation.

cards_200 · March 2005

You are not alone with the rough shift from 1st to 2nd when cold (6i model). My '05 has quite a jerk on the shift. My dealer claims nothing they can do and says it is quite common - although I'm not sure just how common. He says possibly Mazda will come with an update. I believe with the older models there may have been a program upgrade possible in the module. I also asked about the fluid level (mine within range but possibly a bit on lower end) - was told it would not help the shift problem. I will post if I find any new info on this - please do same. I've seen several such posts on other boards but nobody seems to have solved it yet.

brian_in_md · March 2005

I may be having the same problem with my 6i MT, although I can cause the issue at will. Here's what happens. I drive the car for a while - even a short 5 or 10 minute trip - no problems. Then I park for some duration up to around 20 minutes or so. When I restart the car, the rhythmic whine is there - clear as can be. I can make the sound go away, without fail, by turning the engine off then restarting it immediately. It is entirely predictable. I mentioned this to the dealer at my 7500 mile service (at 10k now) and naturally they were unable to recreate the problem. It sounds to me like either a fuel pump issue, or perhaps some sort of emmissions equipment sound...perhaps some sort of vapor recovery system. I'll be asking the dealer about it again.

kaliforniakid · March 2005

I have an '04 Mazda 6s, bought it with 100 miles on it 3 weeks ago. The sticker said the mileage was estimated at 19/26, with the absolute lowest city mileage being 16. I have 700 miles on it now, and when I drive all city miles, I calculated it at 13.3 mpg. Highway I calculated at about 23 mpg. I asked the dealer and all they said was that mileage is all estimated, there is no way to measure what it should be. That's a load of crap because then they would not put the mileage range on the sticker. I asked another person at the dealer and she said it takes about 2000 miles before I get the proper mileage. Any thoughts?

mz6greyghost · March 2005

The EPA estimates are only that, an estimate. There are a LOT of variables that affect mileage that the EPA doesn't consider, for instance, the amount of stop-and-go, use of the AC compressor, how heavy your right foot REALLY is, etc.

I have an '04 6s with manual tranny, and I average about 22-25 MPG, 70% highway driving. Granted, the manual gives me a couple MPG here and there, but if I stay within the EPA limits, I figure I'm doing okay.

The car does need a little while to "break in" as well, so it will take about 2000 or so miles to get better mileage. I averaged about 3-4 MPG less when I bought my car (120 Miles on the ODO), but it slowly increased.

A few other suggestions:

Try keeping the tires at 35-36 PSI, this will decrease rolling resistance a little, giving you an extra MPG or two, and make sure you check the pressure often. I usually check it every gas fill-up. Checking it once a month, as the "experts" recommend, works as well.

Also, don't "gun" the pedal when accelerating from a stop or onto a highway. Granted, it's not as fun, but it will cut down on fuel use as well.

Use the cruise control as much as possible, but only if it's safe to do so. Keeping a consistent speed on the highway will also help mileage. (I'd recommend slowing down on the highway as well, but if you're like me, you'd get eaten alive in rush-hour!)

Good luck!

suydam · March 2005

I'm watching the gas mileage too. I bought my 6s wagon in October, currently have just under 5000 miles. All winter I had terrible gas mileage -- 16-18 mpg mostly in town driving. But just recently it has improved to around 20. So I'm hopeful that with the arrival of warmer weather, and a few miles on the car, it will get better. But if I can't get at least 20 around town I will not be happy. I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima, same EPA ratings, that consistently gets 22-23 mpg around town and 24-26 on the highway. I think this car should do at least as well. Otherwise, great car so far, no problems.

cdj1 · March 2005

My 2004 Mazda6 Sportwagon with auto trans. has 9,000 miles. This morning it wouldn't start initially, once it did start after a few miles the CHECK ENGINE light came on. After several restarts it did go out. I smell sulfar every evening after I shut the car off in my garage after my 44 mile commute. I also hear a noise like a body part is loose. Apparently I have a normal Mazda. What is next?

jahnu04 · March 2005

I bought my 6s wagon last December, first couple of weeks I got 24 mpg. My driving is 75% hwy, have put on 3750 miles so far and I live in MN. When the high temp was below 30, I got only 21-22 mpg. Now the temp is in the mid 30's, I am again getting 24 mpg. I have always got 1-2 mpg more than the estimated high from my previous cars, hope to get the same from this one with few more miles and with warmer temperature. Had few initial problems with the car but now enjoy driving this car.

lefthandman · March 2005

I agree with mz6greyghost, there are many variables affecting gas mileage. He listed several of what are often touted as the most critical (heaviness of your right foot on the accelerator, speed that you drive, tire inflation pressure and how often you run the a/c compressor). Last week NPR had a report on how the EPA estimates vehicle mileage - basically it's a 30-year old test based on 30-year old technology. Several members of Congress are pressuring EPA to use more modern testing techniques to obtain more realistic mileage estimates (we'll see if that goes anywhere).

I've had my 5-door Mazda6 S (V6, 5-speed manual) for 3 months (4,000 miles) and it's been averaging about 27 mpg (60 percent highway, generally @65mph or less, 40 percent city). Early on the mileage was only about 25 mpg (before the engine was 'broken in'), but on one recent tankful (nearly all highway) I hit 30 mpg.

I keep track of each fill-up and mileage for each tankful in a small notebook, along with oil changes, tire rotation, etc. I realize I'm the exception rather than the rule on that, and most people won't go to that extreme. I tend to drive with a pretty light foot on the gas, I don't rev the engine to really high rpms unless necessary (merging onto the interstate, etc), haven't used the a/c much yet (live in Colorado), keep the tires inflated, and I tend to drive within 5-10 miles of the speed limit. No really big secrets.

But it is fun, once in awhile, to let loose and really use the car's handling and acceleration abilities to their fullest! I just don't do it every day. :-)

kaliforniakid · March 2005

Well I agree with what everyone is saying, the problem is that I am the same way: I don't floor the gas pedal, I have rarely used the AC over the past 3 weeks that I've had the car, the tires are fully inflated, and I haven't even taken the car over 75 on the freeway yet. I know that there are many variables and that it's hard to estimate what any car "should" get, but 13.3 mpg is just ridiculously low (my friend's quad cab Dodge Ram gets 13 MPG), considering I drive it under normal conditions. The weather here (southern cali) is even perfect driving weather. It's been in the 60s lately. It's at 900 miles now. I'll give it another 1000, then I'm going back to Mazda and not leaving until they give me an answer. I had a 2000 Maxima GLE before this, and even with the heaviest AC usage and with all city rush-hour driving, I got more mileage on the Maxima than the highway mileage on my 6. Thank you so much for your input so far though, it's been really insightful!!

mz6greyghost · March 2005

2000 miles may not be long enough, a lot of other posts (on this forum and others) have noticed an improvement at 4000-5000 miles. It might take that long for you to get better mileage.

Then again, the variables are endless...

PF_Flyer · March 2005

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likaglov · March 2005

I took my 2004 6s-AT to get a state inspection today and the 3rd party inspection place couldn't do it. When they hooked up their computer to the OBD at first it wouldn't connect, then when it did connect it fired the "check engine light" in the car and gave the following codes below (which their software didn't understand). They said I needed to take it to the dealer. Is this a common OBD software problem with the Mazda6 or somehow related to my sulfur smell/exhaust issue? The inspection place said they had seen it before and thought it was just software related.

Google did not reveal much on these codes, anyone have better info? Thanks!

U0121
U0155
U0100

angelsfan · March 2005

On two occasions now my 6-i 2004 AT has completely stalled when pulling into my garage. On both occasions I noticed some hesitancy on acceleration prior to me pulling in. The car though is able to restart as soon as I put the automatic trans into park. I'm not sure it has to do with this, but previously on two occasions when I was driving on the freeway the car started "hiccuping" (please excuse the expression but I don't know how else to describe it). The dash panel would flicker a few times, and during this hiccuping, acceleration was virtually impossible. I took it in and nothing wrong could be found. Now this new stall problem is happening. Also I have something rattling under my dash toward the far end of the front windshield on the passenger side, the only time the rattling occurs is when the dash has been in the sun and is hot. Any ideas or suggestions before I take it in?

angelsfan · March 2005

My 2004 6-i AT does the same thing when cold. Very hard shifts from 1st to 2nd. Didn't know it was a common problem, I'll just have to add that to the growing list of problems to tell the service department.

mazda6s · March 2005

Stalling can be a safety issue, so you should submit a complaint to NHSTA at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

dcnj · March 2005

Well at 4200 miles my dealer replaced all 4 tires. They were all down to the wear bars. This on a newly purchase car with 14 miles on it when I took delivery. As I mentioned before, the dealer did an alignment at 320 miles when I complained about it pulling to the left. It continued to pull after the alignment.

Now with a new set of tires and a four wheel alignment the wagon continues to pull to the left. Not as bad as before but enough to notice when driving more than a few miles. I couldn't believe that the service dept. actually thought I had swapped the tires with another set just to get new ones. The sales manager set them straight that I had been complaining since day 1 that something was not right with the car.

Now at 4500 miles not only does the car still pull to the left but the CEL came on this morning on the way to work. It is 4:30pm now still no response from the service manager who I called at 8am this morning. The service dept. scheduler doesn't have a loaner for me until next week. Guess I'll be driving with the CEL on until then.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

uffdaole · March 2005

Same ol- same ol. See post#1379

espumoso · March 2005

I just bought a 2004 Wagon. I recently got out of my car while it was parked and running and I noticed a distinct metallic ticking sound coming from the engine. It had about 3000 miles on it, so I took it in for an oil change, thinking the ticking was due to low oil, but after the change, it is still ticking.

Has anyone noticed a similar noise from their Mazda6's? I'm really PO'd at my dealer right now, so I haven't wanted to take it in for a checkup.

epster · March 2005

I just got my 04 6i back from the dealer. They told my wife that the transmition all checked out ok. They said they heard the wind noise but could not find the source. I just took it for a ride this evening and it is still shifting hard into second gear. Not every time at times. I will try again in a week or two. They did turn the rotors. They said they felt a little wobble when braking.

jrk222 · March 2005

I have 2,000 on my Mazda. I drove from Denver to Park City -- all highway -- got only 21 MPG driving 65-80 MPH. I get close to 30 MPG with my 2000 Acura TL on the highway -- both cars have 3.0 litre engines and 220 HP. The city mileage is really bad -- two tanks of gas so far - one was 15.1 MPG and the second was 15.66 MPG. The Acura gets 23 MPG in the city. Mazda (or is it really a Ford engine in this car)need to fix this problem.

civiceater4u · March 2005

if u get annoyed by the beepin ur 6 makes when u change songs or adjust the volume u can get rid of it.
1. turn off the radio
2. press and hold the "seek"-down button
3. press and hold the "5" button until a beep confirms the setting

from here on out u should be beep free

mazda6s · March 2005

Nice work civiceater4u. Are there are more settings you can change this way? Where did you find this info?

jahnu04 · March 2005

I always hear a metallic ticking sound within a minute after the engine is shut off. Did not try to hear it with the engine running. I had taken my car to the dealer to check on this couple of weeks after I bought it and I am told, it is the sound of the cooling system shutting off, some 6's make that sound and some don't. He told me that the sound might either go away or get worse after some time. I am told there is nothing to worry about. Since then, three months have passed and have put on 4000 miles.

stephen6 · March 2005

5-Door Hatchback: Speaking of interior noise, is the sound of gasoline sloshing around the tank noticeable only to me? It can be rather disconcerting when driving slowly in quiet areas such as underground parking garages. Also, regarding transmissions (mine is a manual 5-speed) I find the shift from 1st to 2nd gears rather 'crunchy', anyone else experiencing something similar?

slickdog · March 2005

My wagon makes the fuel tank sloshing noise as well. At this point I'm tuning it out successfully most of the time however.

My manual tranny also feels a bit "crunchy" at times, but only when the weather and the transmission are cold. I may replace the oil with synthetic over the summer and see how it does next fall. The 5-spd manual in my 626 behaved much better in the cold with synthetic.

lexie · March 2005

This happened to me at 23,200 miles on my Chevy Cavalier. Make sure that you get a second opinion if they tell you that you transmission did not sustain any damage. My SECOND transmission was almost totalled and i wish it was then GM would have had to buy it back but it did not. Three months after that repair, the body valve and shift solenoid needed repair.

lefthandman · March 2005

Yep, I have a 5-door hatch and experience the same gas tank slosh and a rather 'notchy' manual shifter, particularly during cold weather and/or when the engine and tranny are not warmed up yet. So I don't think your experience is too unusual.

I would be interested to hear of anyone's experience using synthetic oil in/for a manual transmission. I started using Mobil 1 in my 3.0 liter V6 at 3000 miles (after discussing it extensively with the service and parts managers at the Mazda dealer where I bought the car). And so far so good. I've never used synthetic before but my dad's used it for a number of years in his vehicles and highly recommended it. Anyone using synthetic in a manual transmission? What weight? Thanks!

jeremy585 · March 2005

MY engine ticks also, no problem though. The 1991 Mazda I owned did the same thing. I still cant get rid of that sulfur smell after I travel home from work (30 miles hwy)though!

slickdog · March 2005

I used Mobil1 5W-30 (winter) and 10W-30 (summer) with stock Mazda filters in my '00 626 for 4 years, but unfortunately never had an oil analysis done before it got wrecked. I use Mobil1 5W-30 with stock Subaru filters in my wife's '01 Outback all year. It can get fairly cold (near-zero to sub-zero) at night during mid to late winter here, and I feel more comfortable with synthetic in the engines and transmissions.

I also used Redline MT-90 in my 626 for roughly 2 years, and it made a noticeable difference in shifting when the transmission was cold at first use of the day, especially in cold winter weather.

You need to be careful selecting MT oil, as some vehicles like the 626 (don't know about the Mazda6 yet) have brass or bronze synchros and GL-5 oils (like Mobil1 synth gear lube) have additives which apparently shortens their lives significantly. That's why I ended up with the Redline for my 626. It's a GL-4 oil and is supposed to be safe for use with brass/bronze transmission components.

slickdog · March 2005

Ticking sounds heard after the engine is shut off are usually produced by metal parts like exhaust system components contracting as they cool down. My wagon did quite a lot of that at first, but the sounds have become much less pronounced by now after 4+ months. My last two cars exhibited the same behavior.

duffer · March 2005

Is it possible to reprogram the key fob to disable the Panic Button?

jlam2 · March 2005

Wow, this is the best piece of info I got since I got my 6s. Say, is there anyway to bypass the 120 mph speed limiter via the radio controls. Not that I would go that fast but.......

mazda6s · March 2005

I'd like to hear from anyone who has successfully done this.

mz6greyghost · March 2005

It worked for me!

A word of warning, it only turns off the beeps from the radio controls. The HVAC controls still beep, but since I only use the ACC, it doesn't bother me much.

Now my wife can't tell anymore if I slowly turn up the radio from the steering wheel controls.

O Happy day!

likaglov · March 2005

It did NOT work for me. I suspect is has to do with the software version, but it could have to do with build date. I have an 04-6sAT sedan.

grahamb · March 2005

hey likaglov...
it should work for you as it's worked for everyone who's tried it over at a different message board.

Make sure the radio is off. hold seek down and 5 simultaneously till you get a confirmation beep...about 3 seconds or so.

there you go...

angelsfan · March 2005

Can you turn the beep back on by doing the same once its been turned off?

mz6greyghost · March 2005

Yes.

(But why bother?)

:-)

lefthandman · March 2005

Thanks slickdog, I'm also using Mobil1 5W-30 in my 3.0 V6 on the advice of local Mazda service and parts guys (recommended for year-round use here in Colorado). Also appreciate the advice, info and caution regarding synthetic oil use in manual transmissions (brass or bronze synchros). Zoom, zoom...

suydam · March 2005

I just took my Mazda6s wagon in for its 5000 mile service. The Check Engine light just started coming on, and the serviceman said I had a slightly defective throttle body sensor, which was replaced under warranty. He said the only symptom I might have noticed was poorer gas mileage. So this might be something for others with lower gas mileage than they expect to have checked out.

mazda6s · March 2005

What happens if you hold the Seek and one of the other number keys for 3 seconds? Anybody wanna try it and let us know?

dans6 · April 2005

Thanks for the idea to stop the BEEP. I just bought an '05 Steel Grey 6i Sport, and love it! The beeps were bothersome, but no more!!

slickdog · April 2005

No problem, I'll probably post when I change out my MT oil this summer. Haven't gathered enough info on what's most appropriate for it yet. I will probably also be using Mobil1 synthetic when it's time for my first oil change.

mjvchicago · April 2005

Does anyone know how to change the "Bose Sound" message that is displayed when the car starts up?

thawkins1 · April 2005

My check engine light went on yesterday. I have a 2004 auto w/ 17k miles. I can't get it into the shop for 4 more days. Any suggestions?? Ok to drive for a few days?? I checked the manual and none of the common problems related to this are evident.

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