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Comments
Bill says he has been to two Mazda dealerships for service. Surely they have records of the visits in their computers.
What if Bill went to a third dealer - would they have access to his prior service visits to other dealerships, or history of calls to MazdaUSA - or could he present his problems to a fresh set of service techs - without reference to any prior visits/calls?
Bill, calm down!
Meade
I think I remember you mentioning that you were looking for some sort of plastic gaurd for the driver foot rest. Have you found an acceptable solution yet?
Also, has anyone been able to find aftermarket mudflaps to protect the ground effects on the 3 Hatch? Maybe by the 06 model catalog mazda will listen to the emails.
Nope, it wasn't me!
(But I would be interested in hearing anyone's ideas.)
Meade
It is the only knock I have on the car so far.
Hear hear.
Incidentally, it's been 90+ degrees all week here in NY state, and I've been having to run errands way after work (like noontime) and I've been enjoying my wonderfully chilly A/C in my 3s hatch.
Oh, and it's an 04.
With the AC operating on a 80 degree day the fan needs to be on 4 and after 5 minutes it is on the edge of chilled.
I think we've established, and had confirmed by the auto industry, that the highest fan speed setting is not the best setting for cold a/c. I'll go find the link again if I have to, but I'd much rather you go back and find where this has been discussed in the past week or two here. Basically, in the highest fan setting, you're not giving the air long enough to cool down as it passes over the coils. I find that setting 3, sometimes 2, works best in my car.
On a cool night the car is warm and no cool air comes in though the vents with outside air selected and the knob all the way over to cold.
Most cars -- Mazda3 included -- bring their interior air in under a cowling under the windshield, just behind the hood. No car I've ever had (and I've had quite a few) has had "cold" air that matched the outside temperature -- it was always several degrees warmer, especially when I sat motionless. My Mazda3 is no exception.
If you put the a/c in recirculate, this eliminates the "warmer outside air" thing right out of your argument, though.
I'm still wondering, and I will keep wondering until somebody proves me wrong, how many of these "defective a/c" complaints come from people who don't know how to use their air conditioning. If some folks here can call Mazda Motor Corporation corrupt and inept because of their experience with one car, then I can question the a/c aptitude of a group of random owners.
If all Mazda3's had this problem, I would change my story. But, my friends, it's been in the 90s with 80 percent and higher humidity here for one solid week now, with another week of the same in the forecast, and I've commuted 20 miles to and 20 miles from work every day with a business suit covering my 280-pound, Meatloaf-inspired frame. I have enjoyed the a/c in my 2005 Mazda3s hatch immensely. So either Mazda really is sabotaging cars on a random basis, or something's rotten in the state of (insert your state here).
Meade
All dealers will run the VIN number to see if the car has any open campaigns and the warranty history. It will list the dates and miles of any previous warranty claims and what was replaced. If they got a loaner etc... It won't have any dealer notes like "the guy is a nut" or anything like that, just the stuff the dealer did.
The digital thermometer confirms this in our Contour, MPV, & Camry (1998, 2001, & 1997). Hey Meade, nothing like real world results (vs. just reading about it).
But here is the kicker: it is different with fresh vs. recirc. On fresh, the air temp. coming out of the vents will rise as you increase fan speed and stay there (unless the outside temp drops off dramatically). On recirc., the air temp. coming out of the vents will initially rise, then eventually (several minutes later) fall as the temp. inside cools off. Of course, the air temp. coming out of the vents on highest fan speed will never be colder than the air temp. at the lowest fan speed. (Most likely, the opposite happens with colder winter type temps.)
The question then becomes, why use the highest fan speed? Probably to get the volume of the interior temp. equalized (or as close to it as possible). Sure helps convince the psych. to the contrary.
I think we've established, and had confirmed by the auto industry, that the highest fan speed setting is not the best setting for cold a/c. I'll go find the link again if I have to, but I'd much rather you go back and find where this has been discussed in the past week or two here. Basically, in the highest fan setting, you're not giving the air long enough to cool down as it passes over the coils. I find that setting 3, sometimes 2, works best in my car. ---I agree the air will be colder near the vent on a lower fan speed, but I do not sit next to the vent. I never had the fan over 2 on my 95 Nissan 200SX. There is not too much in a number on your fan switch. The real answer would be how many cubic feet of air get moved over a given time period. We will not get that answer, so there is no need to go any further....even though I'm sure you will.
I'm still wondering, and I will keep wondering until somebody proves me wrong, how many of these "defective a/c" complaints come from people who don't know how to use their air conditioning.....I can question the a/c aptitude of a group of random owners. ----Do you spend a lot of time wondering about that?
I am glad you enjoy your AC. I think my next step will be to have my AC checked by my service dept?
So, what gives? Why not? Etc.? Etc.? Etc.?
Before the "Mazda Hates Its Customers" crew starts up again ... this is not Mazda out to get you. This is the industry standard warranty verbiage.
Here's an explanation from good ol' Edmunds, found right here where they 'splain car warranties to the masses:
Rust or Corrosion: This warranty protects you from rust-through problems with the sheetmetal. Surface rust doesn't count. The rust must make a hole to be covered. Keep your car washed and waxed, and rust shouldn't be a problem.
Despite the warranty, however, I'd still take the car in and complain. That is, if you can prove that the rust was caused by a "paint flaw" and not a scrape or something else like a hard scratch from a (god forbid) nylon-brush automatic car wash -- which is going to be difficult. Painting is done in several layers nowadays, with an undercoat, the paint and a clearcoat. To have all three layers "flawed" (what does that mean anyway?), causing the sheetmetal to rust in only a year, is hard to accept -- and any kind of "paint flaw" that severe should've been apparent from day one.
...I rounded up 4 estimates all agree in writing it is a paint flaw and Mazda will not fix this problem.
I'm having trouble with the way this sentence is worded. Does this mean Mazda has looked at the car and refuses to fix it, or does it mean the four guys who gave you estimates told you Mazda won't fix it?
I am kind of wondering if there's more to this story than you're telling us. I mean, if I had a one-year-old car with rust showing on part of it, I would go right to the dealership. You went and got four estimates first, which seems like a hell of a lot of legwork to do before getting the official "no" from your dealership. Why?
And BTW, how much are the estimates?
Meade
One can only hope !
Meade
"the air coming through the vents feels warmer then the outside air"
I have another vehicle that when I put the vent only (no air) on the air feels a bit warmer than the outside air but not by much, in fact it feels cool where as the Mazda feels warm. When I have a chance I will get a thermeter and check what the temperature is coming out of the vents while driving on both vehicles. Will also check the outside air temp..will post results later this week..maybe others with the same problem can do the same and report
http://tinyurl.com/9wba6
Sounds rough. A few questions for you:
What is the build date on your car?
What type of transmission on your Mazda3 i?
Was all the work covered by Mazda under warranty?
Did you buy any additional / extended warranty?
When the transmission failed did you ask Mazda to replace the car?
Took a little trip over to San Antonio (Sea World / River Walk) - got back home late last night - left the Mazda3 parked in the garage - even if it had a good AC system we would have still taken the SUV (which BTW has an ICE COLD AC).
Taking a trip to Orlando at the end of the month (June 26th - July 2) so don't get too worried if I go a few days without posting!
Going to a 2nd or 3rd dealer is a great idea - if the problem is with the DEALER - if the problem is with the MANUFACTURER then going to a different dealer will not be of much help. That is my situation.
Maybe I have been a "little" harsh (ok rude inconsiderate sarcastic) in some of my comments - but I don't want to hurt any ones feelings - and if I have I am sorry. I guess all of the hours I spent in sensitivity training are finally paying off!
You know it's hard to enjoy Orlando with such a short trip....They have some great rates if you stay a month or so.
Daryl
The car handled the drive beautifully; I had no problem holding speed on any hill (and kicking down to 3rd if additional speed for passing required). I cruised most of the trip at an easy 75 mph, and averaged about 28mpg with the air conditioning running (BTW, my wife was constantly turning the a/c down). It's not the strongest a/c in any car I've ever had, but it's certainly more than acceptable.
The car really showed its fun spirit when I was driving home on a typical, winding two-lane 'highway' running through the hills of Mass. and Connecticut. It sat flat on the road no matter the twist or turn, and I was constantly having to check the speedometer to keep near the speed limit (so that I didn't jump over it by 15 mpt or so).
I previously owned a Mercury Sable. Driving the 3 has been so much more fun, I'm glad I purchased it.
audia8q - we could have rented a condo (in Kissimmee) for 4 weeks for what the hotel is costing us for 6 nights - but it is hard to tell what a place is like - just by looking at pictures on the net. I wanted to just do Sea World in Orlando - but some of the other couples could not make that trip.
Oil changes - I would stick to the dealer - I had a real bad experience at a quick oil change place - they put on the wrong oil filter (which came off at highway speed) - my wife got a few miles down the road and the oil change light came on - she thought - can't need any oil I just had it changed! Even though the oil change place paid for a complete rebuild the car was never the same.
I would pay the extra $10 and let the dealer do it.
I probably only save a couple of bucks that way, since they have to charge extra for the filter because they get it from the dealer (more expensive than a parts place), but it saves me 2 hours of driving, which makes it well worth it.
How much does it usually cost at the dealer? Do they do anything else besides changing the oil and the filter?
I'm a young woman who doesn't know a lot about cars and I'd like to walk into the garage and be able to tell them what is wrong and where they should look (so I don't get brushed off or taken advantage of). Can someone please tell me what to say. Also, will this repair be covered by my warranty?
Thanks! Your posts have been really helpful!
When you car sits over night the brake discs get a small amount of rust on then - if it is only one night the amount will be so small you will not even be able to see it - but it is there. The rubbing sound you hear in this rust being wiped off. Normally after a few stops this noise will go away.
If the noise is constant - then this is not normal and I would get the car in to be checked out.
If the problem occurs when you put it in reverse, then try putting it back into park then into reverse again to see if the problem reoccurs.
Also sounds obvious, but make sure your parking brake is off.
If you just purchased the vehicle it should be covered, even if it is a problem with the brakes.
Meade
I'd say it is the same sound as chalk on sidewalk SHSHSHSHSH, but much louder. (I would think that ppl outside the car could hear it as well.)
any other thoughts of what this might be? thanks.
Meade
My Mazda3 started making this noise before the car had 500 miles on it - at first Mazda told me it was normal - then SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE Mazda actually came out with a procedure to fix the grinding noise - hard for me to understand (not really I'm being sarcastic again) how a company can come out with a solution to a problem that does not exist - or why they would even be working on a problem that does not exist - but this is SOP for Mazda.
The procedure involves removing the rear brake pads from the car - and then removing some burrs from the metal part of the brake pad (actually the part that the brake pad is attached to) - they also use some special brake lube - but I can't recall exactly what they used it for. Seems like the burrs on the metal backing is coming into contact with the brake rotor and this is what was causing the loud noise.
My noise went away after this procedure was done - so it did solve the problem - but after a few thousand miles the noise started coming back - at first very slight - but now it is as loud as it was before.
The strange thing is Mazda now claims that this loud grinding noise is normal again.
So first it is normal - then they come out with a fix - so it is a problem (Mazda calls these "issues") - but now the noise has returned so Mazda calls it normal again. Unless and until Mazda has a fix for something they call it normal.
You can ask your service advisor if Mazda is still allowing this repair procedure to be done - my guess is since it did not solve the problem (it comes back) they will NOT approve this procedure. They may even just give you the - we have never heard of this before line.
If it's occurring only when applying the brakes, is it with EVERY application, or just the first few of the morning???
A little info might help answer the lady's question!
Meade
P.S. Bill -- 3,100 miles on my 2005 Mazda3 hatch. A/C still cold as ice (and we set a record of 97 yesterday, with another hot one on the way today -- 88 degrees as of 11 a.m.), and no mysterious brake noises.
Oh, and incidentally, 7100 miles on my 2004 Mazda3 hatch. Enjoying my lovely wonderful A/C during these nasty, humid, record-setting 95+ degree days here in NY state. And no other problems either.
I am glad that your AC is blowing ICE cold air - really - I would not wish for anyone to have the problems I am having. If I got pleasure from someone else having problems / or though that it was funny if someone had a lemon that would make me a COMPLETE AND TOTAL JERK.
That ain't good, or right.
Find a responsible dealer.
Meade
The temp at my house today is 97.5 degrees - in the shade - which is hot even for Houston. The heat index is 110. The AC in my Mazda3 is putting out 70 degree air. I am hoping that the AC has finally completely failed so it can be diagnosed and fixed.
The air vent temp on my drive home (in my Z-71 PU) was 42 degrees.
Meade