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Go to Used Cars > Tips and Advice > Maintenance and you'll find recommended a schedule of maintenance that is quite useful.
I could be any number of things; it's pointless to guess. Take it to Autozone and they will read the fault code(s) for you free of charge.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
When she was having the oil changed at a "Quick Stop" Mobil 1 shop, the mechanic informed her that her transmission fluid was dirty and should be changed (flushed?) at a cost of $99. This seems far too early and, if true, seems that it would indicate a transmission problem. With this in mind, I'm wondering if it would make sense to take it to the Mazda dealer to be checked out. Since the dealer is about 30 miles away, I don't want to do this unless it's truly warrented.
I'd really appreciate your thoughts.
Thank you!
I think the quickie place asking you if you want a transmission fluid flush is like McDonald's asking "do you want fries with that?".
Also, doesn't mazda use a "lifetime" synthetic trans fluid that would cost a lot more than $99, just for the correct fluid?
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Agreed, that's what it sounds like to me. Roadburner is right also to suggest that you find a local garage/shop that you trust if you don't plan to go to the dealership for regular maintenance.
TIP: Google it! Type in OBD (On-Board Diagnostic) and then the code, example OBD P2187.
This is one of the answers about this condition which sounds reasonable to me: "lean idle condition in your bank 1 o2 sensor stream. The most common cause of this is a bad purge solenoid valve. This is emissions related and can cause poor fuel economy and lead to other problems down the road. You should have the valve replaced and get the code cleared." Here's another: "The too lean condition can be caused by any number of air leak locations after the MAF sensor."
Before replacing all sorts of parts, I'd have my mechanic narrow down the cause.
I am wondering, if the new Mazda 3 need this kind maintenance, (from the manual, seems not), and if it is good to do service in other place than Mazda dealers? Such as a Honda dealer or Jiff Lube....?
Thanks
Your dealer is ripping you off. Read your Mazda manual and just follow it My dealer never recommend all these other type of maintenance. and I believe the oil change is 7,500 miles according to the manual. I purchased mine in March, and I have had two oil changes and one tire rotation, all covered in the first year maintenance free.
They have something like 13 point inspection, or whatever, but that usually is part of the oil change package. You can do that at Valvoline for oil change, they are just as good as dealers.
BTW, the dealership is Ourisman at Laural MD. I think they are trying to sale car cheap, and try to get back from service.
Happy holidays!
I make long driving trips frequently and when I stay at a constant high speed (roughly 80-85 mph) on an open highway, everything works and sounds fine. But when I accelerate to pass a car/truck, my car starts to make a very high pitched noise, almost like a screeching/rubbing sound. It doesn't happen every time I hit a high speed, but I do hear it every so often.
Any ideas to what the issue is? What can I do to solve it?
Thanks for the feedback!
I have a 2008 Mazda 3 Hatchback automatic. The 3 is running great but I'm having a problem with the interior center console lights dimming and flickering. Specifically the lights that are dimming and flickering is the display that shows the time, radio station, temp, and also the lights that surround the power, tuning and audio control knobs. I can't remember when it started to do this. It does this year round. The lights on the dash, RPM, MPH, etc. are fine. Any ideas or has anyone else had this problem.
Thanks,
Wow, I am replying to your message from 6 years ago! I purchased a 2010 Mazda3 i touring this past November, and love the car -- except for the annoying amount of noise the power steering motor creates. It is the noisiest power steering on any car I have ever driven. The high-pitched whine is noticeable when the car is idling or in first gear. It disappears when shifted to "park," after the parking brake has been applied. I know this whining sound is "normal" for the Mazda3 because I had a brand new "loaner" for a whole day, and it exhibited the exact same whine. I am surprised that more owners have not complained about this over the years, and that Mazda has not eliminated the noise or at least reduced it significantly. I wonder if it is possible for the dealer to disconnect the power steering altogether -- my arms and shoulders could use some toning up! In any case, I would appreciate others sharing their reactions.
In the future you should test drive your next car before you buy it.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Thank you, roadburner. You are quite right about the importance of test drives. Buyers cannot discover everything about a vehicle during a test drive, and unfortunately I did not notice the power steering noise during mine.
If I may repeat, I would appreciate others sharing their reactions about the whiny power steering noise of the Mazda3, which goes back at least to 2004, according to Guskim.
The common negative thread on this forum is gas mileage. But for the price, I think I'm sold on the Mazda. Do I need a rescue team or will I be happy next week and no buyers remorse? :shades:
- Bang for the buck: the Mazda3 can be had with goodies such as rear disc brakes and leather coverings for the steering wheel and shifter that can only be had on the full zoot (i.e. significantly more expensive) Civic. I reasoned that for the two to three thousand dollars difference in price between the two cars, I could buy LOTS of extra gasoline for the Mazda and still come out ahead financially.
- Driving dynamics: folks have occasionally opined that the Mazda3 is a "Poor man's BMW 3-Series"; and while I certainly wouldn't go that far, as a former BMW owner who is now "poor", I feel qualified to say that of the cars in the Mazda3 & Civic market segment, the Mazda3 has by far the best driving dynamics.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Shipo
Well, I'm not sure where you found that the Honda Civic gets "much better gas mileage". The 2010 Civic is rated at 25-36 and the Mazda3 i is rated at 24-33. Not too far off considering the Mazda has more power.
As far as reviews go, the Civic will have an advantage is long term durability because the Civic has been around for over 20 years. The Mazda3 has been around since 2004. It was the Protege before that.
The Mazda is a better "drivers" car. The reviews prove that. It is more fun to drive and does carry a very good reputation for reliability and longevity.
It all depends on what you value. If the prices are very close, buy the car you like more. That is the most important factor. They are both great cars.
The ~2 mpg difference, based on EPA "combined" would amount to an operating cost difference of about $60 per 10,000 miles, based on ~$3 per gallon. I certainly would not choose one car over another based on a difference, that in my case, would amount to about $4 per month.
At the time we bought it I was also considering the Civic, but after driving both I much preferred the Mazda's handling, plus it just felt more substantial and less like an economy car than the Honda. For us it was a pretty easy decision and based on our experience so far I think it was the right decision.
My suspicion is that you'll be very pleased. Are you planning to buy the sedan or hatchback? The 2.0 litre engine is better on gas than the 2.5 litre engine.
Val - Brooklyn
But 19 hwy??? Is that for cruising on non-congested freeway at reasonable speeds, say, 75 mph or less?
As far as hwy mpg, I actually haven't done a strictly hwy measurement. 19 mpg it is actually when a half of my 10-gallon fill goes for about 80 miles a round trip by IS-80 via GW bridge and the other half a week or so here in Brooklyn. Will see.
Did you get low mpg in whatever you drove before also? If so, that would indicate that the "problem" is lkely the type of driving you do, rather than the car.
Anyway, I drove my '06 Mazda3 s (manual) in Atlanta gridlock for the first three years I had it (around 55k miles). During my weekly slog thru traffic, I was lucky to average 20mpg overall! But on highway trips with the cruise set at 75mph (or 80), I had no problem getting 26-27mpg for miles on end....
100 miles @ 30 mpg consumes 3.333 gallons of fuel
100 miles @ 15 mpg consumes 6.667 gallons of fuel
What that means is that 10 gallons of fuel was consumed for a distance of 200 miles, and that in turn means that the "Average" MPG was 20.
BTW, what was your mpg with the protege? Depending on which engines each car has, it does look like the mpg should be either about the same or better in the 3, based on fueleconomy.gov numbers.
(thanks for stepping in with the mpg math, Shipo )
With my Protege 2002 (not 2000!) it was 17 city and 24 hwy, although until this year I'd driven much longer distances and mostly hwy.
Many thanks
Wow! That's incredibly low mileage (approx. 3000 miles per year). Is it cost-effective to own a car if you drive so infrequently? I'm thinking of insurance, parking, licensing fees as well as required vehicle maintenance.
I agree with you when you say: that the milage is too low to judge and the pattern of my driving may cause a low MPG.
Understood. When I switched jobs, I no longer needed to commute to work because I could walk it. In one way, I regretted that because I love driving.
Now, that you're retired and have the time, you should plan on taking that cross-country car trip that we all dream about!
I used to be a pretty active poster when I was last here a few years ago. Since
I bought a new 3s Grand Touring Hatchback about 3-4 months ago I thought
I'd jump back in the saddle and join all the fine folks on these forums.
Edmunds has changed some of the formats and I'm trying to get used to
navigating around. Maybe I overlooked it, but........is there a forum DEDICATED
to the 2010 Mazda 3 in its various trimlines but more specifically the HATCHBACK?
Thanks for any help!!
berbel
Interesting and tricky.
Who determined that the cause was the "tiny crack in the oil filter cap"?
And, did they determine that the crack was caused by negligence by someone (e.g. mechanic overtightening the cap) or was the part defective or are there other possible reasons? This could prove to be a classic case of finger pointing.
Based on other posts, it seems the cap used in 2004s is faulty, so can I get Mazda to pay for the rebuild/repair?
If these posts are similar to your situation, then definitely use them as part of your case. In those posts, it would be interesting to see how the resolution was made, for example, did Mazda issue a notice to its dealerships about the cap being faulty and in need of replacement. You may also want to consider arguing that based on their position, Mazda may lose you as a future customer if you are not satisfied with the service. If you have had your car serviced regularly at a Mazda dealership, you can argue that you have been a good customer and expect them to resolve this problem fairly. You may be able to negotiate a "deal" so that the cost of the repair is shared by you and Mazda.
This is a sad story, especially considering that the broken oil filter costs a few dollars and caused thousands in engine repairs.
Best of luck and keep posting your progress.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
The guys that found the leak were the same guys who changed the oil previously. And they are at an independent, well-regarded garage--not the dealership, but they're not jiffy lube, either. Their explanation for the crack is that as I was driving something must have hit it from beneath the car.
The thing is when I took it in back in June, they detected that the oil was pretty low. Part of the reason I brought it in was I had started to hear a bit of noise in low gears. They couldn't detect the sound and they didn't detect the leak. And sent me away saying the car was in excellent condition and I really didn't need to have brought it in for such thorough service, yet given the mileage.
I'll do more research to see if there were any notices about the caps. As I've looked around, it seems a good number of folks have posted about oil leaks in "young" Mazdas.
Interesting. It sounds like we are talking about the oil filter at the bottom of the engine and not the oil filler cap on top of it. My recollection is that Mazda switched their oil filters to a canister in 2004 which was an issue for some owners. In your case, it appears more like an accident or negligence (on the part of a technician).
You may want to contact your local AAA for some advice or to have the car inspected by a reputable garage.
We feel for you!