Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair

almatti · May 2009

Just got a new 2008 M3 s Touring. Settled on it although I was shopping for a new 2009 s GT 4 dr sedans. None left in my metro area. Anyway: Should I apply commercial Scotchguard to the "premium sport cloth"? I had a 2005 Mazda 6 with the cloth interior (it was totalled in an accident in 2007) that was not wearing to well. Anybody have thoughts on this. Does it help?

autonomous · May 2009

Should I apply commercial Scotchguard to the "premium sport cloth"?
It could help resist stains and spills; I sprayed my 2002 Mazda Protege5 seats and they still look new. Test it first on a part of the cloth that is not readily visible to ensure there are no surprises.

halser · May 2009

I have a 2006 Mazda 3 S. It has 44k with the 2.3 and a manual transmission.
I changed my oil 2 times using Mobil 1 synthetic oil 5w-20. I just came across
instructions for a 2004 Mazda 3 with the 2.3. It mentions replacing the oil pan drain plug crush washer. I don't remember the washer. The instructions that I used did not mention this. Does this apply to the 2006?

igozoomzoom · May 2009

The '07-'09 cloth pattern is different from my '06 s Touring 5-door (the '06 and before had black with blue checks or black with red check pattern). The material is almost like a nylon, not very plush but holds up VERY WELL. Any stain (so far) can be removed with a wet cloth and a tiny bit of Dawn detergent, if the damp cloth alone doesn't work.

If the '08 has a similar type of material, I wouldn't waste my time/money Scotchguarding it. It looks better than any of my Hondas did at 3yrs and 70k miles!

The carpeting is a different story...at least on my model. My heel wore a hole thru the floormat and then thru the actual carpeting underneath (to the metal/insulation on the floorpan) within two years. I just bought the "Premium" floormats and they're holding up much better...but there's still a hole underneath the driver's mat....irritates me a little... :mad:

igozoomzoom · May 2009

Just curious, have you changed the oil/fluid in your manual transmission yet? I think it's "recommended" at 45k miles. I went to 50k or so before I got around to it, though.

halser · May 2009

I have not changed the oil/fluid in the manual transmission yet. I have been changing the motor oil and filter every 7500 using the Mobil 1 5w-20.

igozoomzoom · May 2009

I've only owned Hondas (and Acuras) in the past. They were all manual transmissions and I used the same motor oil in the transmission as in the engine (Castrol Syntec for the past 12 years). But the Mazda manual transmission requires 80-90W Gear Oil...I'm not sure why the difference?

autonomous · May 2009

I wouldn't waste my time/money Scotchguarding it
I did not regret my $8 investment in money and 10 minute investment in time (interior sprayed once in 2002 and again in 2005) when the occasional accident happened (as when my dog got car sick). Cheap insurance.

roadburner · May 2009

But the Mazda manual transmission requires 80-90W Gear Oil...I'm not sure why the difference?

It depends on the design of the transaxle. I change the transaxle oil in my MS3 every 30K because it sees the track every now and then.The cars that are street driven only get an oil change every 60K.

igozoomzoom · May 2009

For the first 20-months and 48k miles, I commuted 70 miles daily in Atlanta gridlock. One day, I counted the number of shifts I made one-way to work- 217 shifts in 35 miles!

I try to follow the "Schedule 2 (extreme conditions)" maintenance schedule whenever possible. Thankfully, the car (and the driver) have a much easier commute now!

roadburner · May 2009

All is well...

ahightower · May 2009

Ditto on the crappy floor mats and carpet. I've got a hole in the floor mat after 22K and there would probably be one in the carpet as well if I hadn't moved the mats back a couple inches. I'm planning to get some Weathertech Floor Liners one of these days. And a set for all three rows in the Suburban too. I keep seeing them advertised in the print mags and like the idea of the coverage all the way up the sides of the footwells. I did finally get one for the rear cargo area and it's great. Spilled half a jug of laundry detergent last week. Still got a few lbs of sand to vacuum out from the carpet from the beach trip.

igozoomzoom · May 2009

I love the WeatherTech mats! I bought my dad a set for his Accord and my mom a cargo liner for her Explorer. Both fit perfectly and hold up very well.

They have the regular all-weather rubber mats for the Mazda3, but they also have the "Floorliner- Digitalfit". It covers more area than the mats, which I like. The Floorliner is $99 for front-only, which is all I'd need. I thinking about ordering it....

I currently have the "Premium Carpet Floormats" which are a Mazda Accessory. It looks like '06 was the last year they offered them (coordinated to the Blue/Black or Red/Black interior). They were only $10 more than buying another set of the crappy standard mats and these are like heavy-duty berber carpeting.

gamerguy73 · May 2009

Hi,

I've posted before and was so happy with my 2010 3 s sedan until now. There was a recall you probably have heard of; my car was one of those under the program. No big deal right? In the dealer shop a few days and got a rental car. was serviced. Anyway, I can live with that happening but now I'm concerned that this Mazda could possibly be a lemon. The car was immobilized, all lights, keyless entry, push button ignition not working. Is this a security/anti theft problem? Called Mazda roadside assist and will be towing to dealer shop tomorrow.

bamc288 · June 2009

mkelly 7,

Have you found a solution to these problems? I drive a 2007 mazda3 sport GT and have experienced almost the same sequence of events. I first noticed that my radio would reset by itself. This has happened both when I am driving and when I am idling in a parking spot. For example, while idling in a spot, I am pretty sure I heard the engine kind of skip a beat, and then the radio would reset. And more recently, when I was turning right, the steering wheel locks (power steering loses power?) completely (engine stays on though).

Hopefully someone has a potential solution to this, the sudden loss of power steering can be quite dangerous.

thanks to anyone who responds

sonnyrocker · June 2009

Roadburner,
How did you post a picture in a post?

sonnyrocker · June 2009

Anyone experiences that?
When AC is on, there is a noticeable loss of power in 1st and 2nd gears. The car just won't pick up. That's one of my complaint with 2.0L. How about 2.3? do you have that problem too?

roadburner · June 2009

I uploaded the picture to my CarSpace page and then I linked to it using the IMG button.

igozoomzoom · June 2009

In my '06 MZ3 (2.3L, 5sp. manual), the A/C compressor kicks off whenever I accelerate quickly. I'm not sure what the trigger or threshold is for this to happen (whether it happens at a certain rpm or based on the position of the throttle)? But there's a noticeable boost when it kicks off...

mariod · June 2009

This is kind of crazy, but for whatever reason on all Mazda 3's if you have your air dial on anything BUT face or face and feet your AC compressor turns on...

Hence, less gas mileage and loss of power.

So ALL Mazda 3 owners if weather is nice or cold be sure to keep your dial on face or face and feet. Any other setting will turn on your compressor.

scwmcan · June 2009

I think you will find that almost all modern cars have this "feature", it is to reduce the humidity in the car (I can see why the defrost settings but still don't get the floor only one, but apparently the manufactures know best), it is not really just a mazda thing.
Scott

jeffyscott · June 2009

When on feet, there is always some defrost air going to the widshield as well. So that is probably why the A/C is on, though I never knew that in some cars the A/C would be on for that setting. I'd alway thought A/C only went on with defrost mode.

czielinski · July 2009

I'm wondering if anyone else out there has had a problem with this dealership?

I've been waiting for over a month to get our warranted car repaired.

The original issue was a bad alternator. Alternator was replaced from the New York dealership that we purchased the car from, two days later the car caught on fire in Pittsburgh.

Here I am a month later and the dealership still has the car and is basically unapologetic for the delay in service. We were promised that the car would be finished over two weeks ago, so I purchased a plane ticket, flew in and I've been in Pittsburgh ever since... waiting...

I've searched the Forum for other alternator problems.. but would love to hear about any experiences with an engine fire? The entire wiring harness had to be replaced.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to keeping you all posted on any "success" I have in getting my car back.

By the way.. Mazda3, 2007, about 30,000 miles and it is a manual transmission. Other than this, the car has had not one single problem. But this one incident has completely turned me off of the brand.

Best,
Cass

autonomous · July 2009

two days later the car caught on fire in Pittsburgh
Wow! Could you provide some more details?
Were you driving the car when the fire occurred?
Was the cause of the fire determined?
What was the extent of the damage to the car?
Was MazdaUSA contacted by the dealership?

selectrick · July 2009

I had the same problem and disconnected the positive battery cable and it seems to reset the system and voila .... no more CEL!!

paj22 · August 2009

I accidentally posted this on the Mazda 3 speed site and was asked to bring it over to this board.

Two weeks ago the power steering pump blew. I was out of state, it was 98 degrees, sitting in the car with the dog waiting for my passenger to return and the steering light comes on. No warning other than that. I put the car in reverse to get out of the parking lot in the strip center and it locked while trying to get onto the street. Here I am stuck now. And there I sat for 5 hours waiting for the Mazda Emergency (under warranty) Tow Service come to pick up the car. After an awful day waiting for a tow truck, the Mazda dealer out of state quickly fixed my car with what he claimed to be a reconditioned pump, per Mazda's Policy and I was able to return home the following late afternoon. They claim to have had a pump available for one of their own customers and used it in my car to get me back home. No charge other than awful towing services that lie to you. Mazda needs to try to find a better way to deal with that service. I am annoyed though that i was told they were having problems with the pumps and yet no recalls took place, nor did my dealer contact or let me know about it when the car was in for servcing less than 3 mos prior. Apparently, my warranty is based upon the one year that is left on my original car warranty. This experience has left me feeling most uncomfortable and has left me with a feeling of distrust for Mazda. PAJ22

shipo · August 2009

I believe I posted a response to your original, and beyond that I'm not sure what else anyone can say. Long story short, Mazda did exactly what they should have and could have done for you, and you're upset and feeling distrustful; unjustifiably so in my opinion.

Said another say, your car broke, the local dealer bent over backwards to get you back on the road as quickly as possible; be happy and enjoy your car.

autonomous · August 2009

I am annoyed though that i was told they were having problems with the pumps and yet no recalls took place, nor did my dealer contact or let me know about it when the car was in for servcing less than 3 mos prior.
We empathize with your case. Who gave you the information about the pumps and what exactly did they say? As you can imagine, auto manufacturers would not want to do recalls unless they were necessary. Regarding the dealer servicing three months prior, was the service more than an oil change?

shipo · August 2009

The power steering pump is a known issue for the 2008.5 cars, however, when I say a "known issue", I started reading sporadic reports of failures on dedicated Mazda web sites earlier this year, and based upon those reports, Mazda didn't initially recognize a wide spread problem. By early to mid Spring it was quite clear that the issue needed to be dealt with, and Mazda needed to identify the failure point (apparently something to do with the interior of the hoses coming apart, circulating through the system and destroying the pump) before they could offer a long term fix.

As I understand it, they redesigned the hoses, rushed them into production, and then upped the production of power steering pumps to meet the expected increase in demand from the failures in the field. Once the production came on line, they then needed to get the replacement parts into the distribution channel from Japan and out into the field here in the States. Per the reports on the other forums, the supply of pumps and new hoses started reaching the dealership base in volume in mid July or so, and while there seem to be enough to go around for the moment, the supply is still quite tight.

All in all, I believe Mazda did a pretty good job of reacting to an unexpected problem in the field and got their act together to remediate the problem rather quickly given that they're a half of a world away (meaning that I suspect that the initial supply of pumps and hoses were sent via air from Japan).

Best regards,
Shipo

autonomous · August 2009

By early to mid Spring it was quite clear that the issue needed to be dealt with
Is that March / April 2009?

shipo · August 2009

Yes.

mazdazed · August 2009

Shipo,

Are you aware of any 2009's that have had this P/S Pump failure or was it resolved on 09's? I have close to 13k on my 09 3i and so far it has been flawless. The Goodyear tires appear to be wearing well believe it or not too.

shipo · August 2009

No, I haven't heard of any 2009s going down yet due to the power steering issue, but then most 2009s don't have all that many miles on them at this point. My 2009 Mazda3 i Touring has almost 19,000 miles on it, however, the first 15,000 or so were nearly all highway, and there's been a reasonably high mix of highway usage since that time, so my car may not be the best example. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything.

As for the tires, my Goodyears lasted 714 miles before I pulled them off, and the car is much more of a joy to drive since I did.

Best regards,
Shipo

mazdazed · August 2009

So far I have 19,000 miles between both the 09 3i and the 09 3s. Not a problem with either one. I do prefer driving the "i" more. Probably because the exhaust is more audible on the "i". My guess is that the shorter stroke engine is the cause. Same gear ratios on both cars so the rpms are the same. I did buy some OE 16" wheels off ebay so come time for tires I will be getting the General Altimax's. Hopefully that will reduce the road noise. I'd like to know why Mazda uses two different oil filters between the 2.0 and 2.3. I'm running 100 miles a day on the "i" so the miles are adding up quick. The A/C clutch and or compressor makes more noise on the "i" when engaging?

smallcar1 · August 2009

Even after the fix the A/C in the 08s was still poor in very hot weather. How is the A/C in hot weather in the 2010 Mazda3?

mazdazed · August 2009

I have read where a lot of Mazda 3 owners have complained about the performance of the air conditioning. I can honestly say that in the 2009 Mazda 3 it works great. I have never had to run the fan on full speed even with the high heat and humidity we have had in recent weeks. However, in our fleet at work we just got a 2009 Chevy Malibu Hybrid with terrible air conditioning. It works ok when you are driving but as soon as you stop with the car at idle it starts blowing warm air. There are several other very disappointing things about the car but I don't need to convince Mazda owners about how much better their cars are than most Chevy's.

chefjd · September 2009

I have a 2005 Mazda 3 that has developed a knock or clatter sound in the upper engine compartment. It sounds like it is coming from the passenger side upper end and only happens at idle speeds. When driving it has no noise at all. The car runs great it does have 120,000 miles on it all highway. I have a good mechanical background but am concerned about breaking open the top of the engine on a japanese car. I am short on money so any advice would help as I would rather not take it into the dealer.

mariod · September 2009

Most likely your engine mount... easy fix. There's an issue with these on Mazda3...

mazdalemon · September 2009

My 2004mazda3 had defective butterfly valve(s) in the intake manifold. I was difficult for dealership to diagnose.

custadvocate · September 2009

:mad: I just took my daughter's 2007 Mazda 3 in today with the same symptoms. The diagnosis was "warped rotors" reserfaced at a cost of $195.00.

The service technician said, "this happens all the time, we see it frequently." Well if that's the case then I consider it a design defect and something that should be covered by warranty.

He indicated that they may have addressed this in the 2010 redesign, but there were no plans to address any existing issues. No service bulletins were ever issued concerning warped rotors.

Not the customer experience I would have expected from a culture that is supposed to incorporate Kaizen.

energyzer8 · September 2009

my advice to you is report the car as a "Lemon". I did with mine. Good Luck

darthvada · October 2009

CAN!!! anyone help me i've taken my car IN recently to mazada dealership...for a 30,000 mile checkup....everything was fine.... until then...now the engine light is on and now they are telling me its the o2 sensor and a valve cleaning needs to be done...i just took my car to them on sept 1,2009..and now they are telling me its going to cost 660.00$ to fix this new issue...and i'm asking my self how can my car be running perfectly until...i brought to you guys...and now this is going on...they only gave me a sorry reason..."things like this can just happen"
so can anyone give advice because i feel i am being scam/hoodwink...???

autonomous · October 2009

now the engine light is on and now they are telling me its the o2 sensor and a valve cleaning needs to be done...i feel i am being scam/hoodwink...???
Sorry to hear that. Why not get a second opinion about the cause of the check engine light from an independent garage? The car is almost 6 years old, so a faulty O2 sensor is possible. You mention "valve cleaning", did you mean a fuel system cleaning? If so, I'd recommend having the fuel system cleaned if you have not had that done since 2004.

nsbio1 · October 2009

Guess what - my rotors that had been resurfaced earlier this year are warped again! I am not driving the car super hard: I also drive my wife's corolla and the rotors there are just fine. Seems like my car's rotors are junk, but the dealer won't fix that for free because it is almost impossible to prove that rotor warping is not because of abuse...

shipo · October 2009

Please understand that when you have old rotors resurfaced, you are having a significant amount of metal removed from the rotors, and that makes them more susceptible to warping. That is the single reason why I NEVER have rotors resurfaced, they're cheap to buy (even top quality units should be less than $50 each), and easy to replace.

Best regards,
Shipo

autonomous · October 2009

old rotors resurfaced... makes them more susceptible to warping ... I NEVER have rotors resurfaced, they're cheap to buy
Agreed on both fronts: 1) resurfacing is only a stop-gap before the inevitable and 2) the cost of rotors has dropped significantly over the years.

sawolf · October 2009

Would like to get recommendations for what services I should get for my Mazda that just hit 50,000 miles. It still runs great although it isnt whisper quiet anymore. Thanks

shipo · October 2009

Does your Owner's Manual spell out any special services for the 50,000 mile mark? If not then there's nothing you need to have done, errr, that is unless you've skipped some of the service events that were perscribed by Mazda for the pre-50,000 mile threshold.

Best regards,
Shipo

ashmr20 · October 2009

I had the same noise on mine diagnosed this week as a bad throtle butterfly. They took 3 weeks to figure it out and I still can't believe that's what it was; I was convinced the engine was about to throw a rod. at any rate, it was covered under warranty.

zippy12 · October 2009

Hi light is on car is running fine what could it be? I just bought car and had it checked out by garage had to get a new battery and smog check but that is it. I am now freaking out! help :shades:

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