Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair

kyfdx · August 2004

I guess it is possible, but that would be surprising.. Rear brakes may possibly use a different size, but a different material? Usually, excessive brake dust comes from softer, more performance oriented pads, so you would expect those to be on the front, if indeed they were different. I like my "theory" better. We may find out someday..

regards,
kyfdx

z71bill · August 2004

Mazda service claims the front and rear brake pads are the same material.

I was at a friends house last week - he had a new toy. It was a laser light (infrared ?)thermometer. It was about the size of a fountain pen. You just aim the light beam at whatever and it tells you the temperature. I had him take the temp of my front and rear brake disks - the car had only been sitting about 15 minutes -

Front was 215 degrees - rear was 155. The front are vented - so they should cool faster than the rear - I would guess that since the front disk was hotter that it must be doing more of the work.

It is hard to complain about the stopping power of the Mazda3 brakes -

mattinla · August 2004

I am now in my 3rd month. In general, I like this car.. but I am starting to have doubts about its longterm quality.

First, my seat squeaks all the time.. really annoying squeak.. nails on the chalkboard squeak...

Second, my city driving mileage is at, on a good day, 15 MPG. I got rid of my V8 Explorer to get better gas mileage. My Explorer got 12 MPG. I know the EPA estimates are not real, but this is way off.

Third, going over some city driving bumps, I get loud cracking and thudding noises coming from right front of car...

Anyone else had problems such as these? It goes to the dealer next week.

PS: My A/C seems to be working fine... we'll see how it goes when I move to South Florida next month.

gambit293 · August 2004

I already posted in the "other" forum, but anyway, the build date of the rental I had with AC problems is 3/04.

As I was driving on a hot day several days ago, I was wondering if the problem was related to heat from the engine bay entering the cabin or somehow negating the AC.

mellis · August 2004

Wow, something is seriously wrong. With the 2.0 engine I am getting 33MPG, 80% highway, 20% city.

drywall · August 2004

Yes, I'd say there's definitely something wrong if you're getting 15 mpg, even in the city. My third tank on my hatch (2.3L) got 28.6, and the fourth (more city driving) got 27.5.

I drove over a speed bump yesterday the same way I also do and was a little startled by the noise it generated -- my old car (96 Sunfire) certainly never sounded like that over a bump! But once noise over one bump isn't enough to have me too worried yet.

z71bill · August 2004

I sometimes get a strange noise when I go over the speed "humps" next to my house. Kind of a creaking sound - like a rubber bushing is rubbing - seems to be coming from the front suspension. I can go several weeks without the noise - and then it will come back for a few days.

jrct9454 · August 2004

...and it too has the noisy suspension bushings over large irregularities. Can't report on the AC yet - it hasn't been warm enough here to test it - but it is forecasted to become hot again on Monday and Tuesday. If I still have the car then, I'll report back.

This one has an April build date. Odo reads about 3700 miles.

kupper25 · August 2004

Would like to put mud flaps on my new Mazda 3 hatchback to minimize stone chips thrown up from the low profile tires. My understanding is that the standard Mazda 3 sedan REAR mud flap (available from Mazda) will fit on the 3 hatchback but the standard FRONT mud flap will not because of the 3's side sill extensions. Has anybody found an aftermarket mud flap that will work well on the front of the 3 hatch?

Also, the standard (interior) rearview mirror has a ball joint for adjusting the mirror at the point where the mirror bracket comes into the mirror itself. There also APPEARS to be a second ball joint on the other end of the mirror bracket, where the bracket fits into the window attachment mounting. On my 3 this second apparent ball joint at the window mounting is frozen in place and can't be moved. Is this normal? I wish it were a true ball joint so I could nudge the whole mirror assembly up a tad, but no luck so far.

Would appreciate any comments from those who know.

birdman579 · August 2004

I just filled up for the 3rd time and my mileage was just over 33. I was driving probably about 80/20 highway/city, but the highway was mostly 75-80 mph. Considering the size of the tank, I can get 400 miles before the light comes on. Quite impressive.

big_guy · August 2004

About the thumping noise ... there was a similar problem with the MPV. They issued a TSB for it. As it turns out, they had to trim away a bit of the plastic shroud inside the wheel well where the suspension passes through. Apparently, the suspension rubs against the plastic and it makes a pretty loud noise. I had the TSB performed on my MPV. It may be worth a look to see if this may be happening with yours.

jrct9454 · August 2004

Well, we had our 3i sedan rental out today in 93F weather, where it had to sit outside the shopping mall for quite awhile - a good test, in other words.

Using recirc and the highest fan speed had the interior in reasonable shape within a few minutes - probably not as fast as our '03 Corolla, but not unacceptable either. Went to fresh air and fan speed 3 for the rest of the trip home, and I would describe the AC performance as below average but still acceptable. Not up to Toyota / Denso standards, but not awful and not a showstopper if I were in the market for the car.

This car is an April build, and has about 3800 miles on it. My main reactions are positive - I think there is more road noise than I'd like, and the ride is still on the firm side for my taste [but a VAST improvement over the Protege], but it is quick [even with the smaller engine], fun to drive, has good braking action, and seems at least average in the interior finish dept [this one has some plastic-on-plastic noises from the area of the glove compartment that I could easily solve if it were my car].

Overall, I would say that Consumer Reports' test results and comments were right on - by a slight margin, probably the best in class right now...notwithstanding the weak-but-still-OK AC. How acceptable it would be in Phoenix or Houston is another matter, of course...

harddrivet · August 2004

Folks I found a scratch on my Mazda 3 and called the dealer and they told me to bring it in, while I was there I told them about the weak AC and Acceleration. The service manager told me that they have been getting many complaints about the AC because of the humidity this year. They tested it and said it is outputting 42 degrees and said you will not get better than that, they said that on a 100 degree day that will feel like 70 degrees but it is actually in the 40's. They also checked the acceleration and told me it was fine, they did test drive found nothing, did a computer check and there were no upgrades, they told me the car will feel it when the AC kicks in. Well, they gave me a loaner and over the next 3 days fixed the scratch and did not charge me anything. Overall I was happy with the service and did feel they did the best they could do. I am fortunate to have the moonroof and feel that helps release the hot air faster. I may do the TB Mod, has anyone had positive results from that?

lspence · August 2004

I was rear-ended the day after I bought my Mazda3 and it has been over 4 weeks and I have still not seen my car. The window on the hatch was busted in and the hatch was pretty much destroyed. The dealership where I bought it took it back the next day and said they would get the parts and fix it. Apparently parts for the Maxda3 are hard to come by. It took them over three weeks to even get the parts and at one point they were telling me that it would take 6 months to get the new hatch. I'm not sure if the dealership is just lying to me or if it is Mazda's fault for having horrible parts distribution. Has anyone else had problems?? I feel like rear-end accidents are fairly common.

kyfdx · August 2004

What does the insurance company say? Most of them would total a car before they would pay for six months of rental fees.

jschaffer180 · August 2004

I purchased a Mazda3 in early January and at this point it still has less than 5000 miles on it. My old car was a used Acura Integra that I kept up to almost 100,000 miles. I think I have brought my Mazda in more times already than I ever brought in my Acura in the 5 years I owned it.

So far I have had the fuel pump replaced because the car never started right, the glove box alignment was off and wouldn't close properly, there is a rattle coming from the back of the car whenever I go over bumps and the fuel milage is horrible. At this moment it is in the shop because the engine light went on and when I called to find out what is wrong (since they never called me) I was told that they had to take the engine apart and that they need to keep the car longer since they don't have the parts to replace.

I realize Mazda isn't known for having the same reliability as an Acura, though the Protege was outstanding, but this is ridiculous. If I could I'd ask for my money back and buy the TSX I was considering instead or one of those Scion tC's with a supercharger.

mdaffron · August 2004

And this really isn't meant to sound condescending ... but friends, please ... never, NEVER buy any car in its first months of release. I don't care WHO the manufacturer is. (Look at all the problems the last generation Civic had in its first year, OK?) Now, I know this doesn't help you who already purchased the car, but maybe it'll cool your "gotta-have-it" excitement down when it's time to trade this one.

I own a 2000 Protege ES that just rolled over to 80,000 miles last night, and I love the car. I bought it new back in May 2000, in its SECOND year since redesign. And yes, the '99s had problems the 2000s didn't have.

I plan to trade my trusty old (but still zoomin' like you-know-what) Protege for a 2005 Mazda3 next May, when I'll wager these first-year hiccups will be memories.

Meade

rayber · August 2004

My new 3 is now in the dealer again for it's 4th time because of the engine ligh that keeps coming on. Seems they had the same problem in the 6. Has anyone else had this problem and was it fixable? Seems to be some type of computer glitch that they are trying to fix and only occurs on some 3's depending on driving conditions, at least that is what I am being told.

z71bill · August 2004

I have purchased several cars & trucks in the first model year - and yes I expected (and accept) a few bugs that need to be worked out. The Mazda3 has fallen far short of any other car / truck I have ever owned. I have made 6 trips to the dealer (6K miles less than 7 months). But to make things worse they can not fix the problems. The Mazda3 is a fun little car - with a lot of good qualities - but the main problem is Mazda - THE COMPANY -could care less if you have a problem - obviously this has nothing to do with a car being a first year vehicle -

In my business experience when we introduced a new product we were far more concerned about how well it performed. If a new product does not do what customers expect word gets out and the product fails to sell - We use to say "birth is hard but it is much easier then resurrection"

rayber · August 2004

My new 3 is now in the dealer again for it's 4th time because of the engine ligh that keeps coming on. Seems they had the same problem in the 6. Have you been able to fix the problem or is it still not fixable? Seems to be some type of computer glitch that they are trying to fix and only occurs on some 3's depending on driving conditions, at least that is what I am being told. Can you help with advise?

rinebird · August 2004

"I think there is more road noise than I'd like" I thought my road nouise is from the tires( I have the 16's).Service man at Mazda told me it was the bigger tires?
I have read a service bulletin that noise from the door( as if air is coming in may be the insulation around the door).I havent' checked it yet (with the business card test).I think I have air coming in the right passenger door.

The tires still sound loud when driving.Ihave the Mazda 3Isedan 2.0

rinebird · August 2004

I had my new car(2 months old) with brake noise in the rear brakes serviced.I went to service twice in one week.I was told the Ac and the brakes are fine.I went back after reading a serrvice bulletin for the Mazda 04 about grooves in the rotors.My dealer then replaced the rear rotors amd pads( had them sent over night to fix my car).They gave me a loaner rental.I think it is because I went back twice. I told the manager I read about complaints on the NTSA site.Why would they say Monday my brakes tested fine. Then on Thursday say I needed new pads and rotors?

z71bill · August 2004

It took my dealer 3 tries to fix the CEL - the final problem:

Evap leak purge valve failure

replace F0621XRX purge valve

They had to keep the car an extra 2 days because they did not have a special tool that is requires to do a "smoke test". I do not know what a smoke test is - but it stated it on the invoice. Maybe they are just blowing smoke up my _____!

eaglewings · August 2004

Regarding petpads post #7, I'm wondering if the MZ3 has electric assist to the power steering like my MINI Cooper. It does make a whining noise, especially while making a turn or when the car pulls out from a parked space. In the MINI's case, it's normal and the noise is not loud, just a soft but noticeable high pitched whining noise.

eaglewings · August 2004

I agree with z71bill (post #151) that under normal driving conditions, your brake pads should last at least 25k miles. My current MINI Cooper, with 25.5k miles show 25-30% wear on their pads. So maybe I drive like my grandmother, although I attribute my brake wear to judicious use of my gears and anticipating slowing traffic conditions ahead.

Ironically, the MINI's disk brakes are also vented front and solid rear BUT there is far more brake dust in the front wheel than the rear. For MINI owners, third party manufacturer EBC makes the "Green Stuff" non-metallic, kevlar lined, brake pad that creates far less brake dust than the original brakes.

Does anyone know if Mazda has issued a TSB for replacing the type of brake pads? It's been several months since this question was first brought up.

eaglewings · August 2004

Re post #872 by ajtrenkle: there is a Mazda TSB addressing this. Basically they say there's nothing wrong and that the moisture will eventually evaporate. They have no plan to fix this.

eaglewings · August 2004

Re post #873 by sleeekone: glad you're happy with your A/C. Looks like the tinted windows do help. You are also wise to use your re-circulate function for short periods only. Not good for internal air quality when used for longer than 30 minutes.

With all those complaints about the A/C system, could it be a case of excessive cycling of the system? And if that's the case, wouldn't this be a rather easy ECU chip reprogram? Any HVAC engineers out there who can comment?

eaglewings · August 2004

Great post, sschaffer. That should answer all those nagging questions we all have about the MZ3's air con. Apparently it's designed to work that way. Can it be improved? Maybe.

rayber · August 2004

Re Post #958 Thanks for the update. My dealer has stated that they have ordered the part BUT that he (dealer) has seen the 3 come back even after the purge valve has been replaced. As I just spoke to him a Mazda Tech was there and it seems (they say) that they are very close to solving this computer proplem. It seems to only occur when it is really hot out and here in Los Angeles we having a heat wave. Was this your case? Strange, never had a problem in 14 years of owning Mazda products. Should have kept my 2002 PR5, oh well. Thanks for your input. Wish me luck.

eaglewings · August 2004

Peterdh2000 (post #909) makes sense about closing your moonroof when you turn your A/C on. I'm not saying whether the MZ3 has a design defect with respect to the A/C or whether it's a case of "different strokes for different folks," but the following conditions will affect our perception of sensible heat:

The color of your car (dark bodies absorb more heat); dark upholstery will absorb more heat; leather breathes, but not in the same way as cloth upholstery; whether you park under shade or under direct sunshine; whether you leave your sunroof partially open or fully open while the A/C is working (this one doesn't make sense); relative humidity (100 degrees F in Phoenix is probably more bearable than 100 degrees F in New Orleans if the latter has a higher rel. humidity); whether or not you pre-cool your car by opening windows and sunroof before turning the A/C on.

Someone already posted that the smaller evaporator of smaller cars and location relative to the engine is a major factor in cooling effectiveness. I'm inclined to believe this. But I'll bet that all the above parameters do have some influence on our perception of this car's A/C effectiveness.

I suspect that if many of us pay attention to the above precautions/tips, our perception of the effectiveness of the MZ3's A/C might change somewhat.

eaglewings · August 2004

Just like the A/C problem, there are so many parameters to mpg that I think if you post something like "I got 33.1 mpg" it isn't helpful.

First, do you drive the 2.0 or 2.3L engine? Second do you drive at sustained speeds and at what speeds and thirdly, city/highway driving percentages. OK so you gave the last two parameters, but the most important is the engine size IMO.

So, folks, when we talk about mpg, please give us those three important parameters: (1) engine size and transmission type, (2) Avg speed and (3) city/highway mix.
_______________________-

"I got 60 miles per gallon: thirty going and thirty coming home :-)"

sschaffer · August 2004

sschaffer · August 2004

Got back yesterday from my first long trip (Fresno to Sacramento, 400 mi. round trip) in my new MZ3.

We're in the middle of a heatwave that started last Sunday when I left for Sac. AC performed quite well at ambient temp of 100+ even on "Fresh". Left car parked in the sun up in Sac. for an hour at 101 F. and went for a short trip to the store--AC blew cold but trip wasn't long enough to cool the car's interior--only 5 minute drive and car is bright red with black leather interior. I would not have expected any better under the circumstances.

My car is a 2.3 stick and overall mpg averaged 28 per US gallon--mostly freeway at 70 with about an hour of heavy traffic in-town driving included in that tankful. Vehicle still has less than 700 miles on it so not really broken in, and I tend to run it up to 35-40 in second when accelerating in traffic. As with the rotary engined Mazdas of the early 70s, it's fuel economy is not tops in it's size class, but is better than anything that will keep up with it.

To give a bit of context I've never gotten anywhere near the city mpg ratings on any of the 15 or so cars I've owned since the ratings started being published, and only get the hwy mpg if I fill immediately before and after gettin on the freeway. I'm sure this is mainly due to my driving habits and fairly short commute distance as I doubt if one could actually end up getting upwards of 15 defective cars.

It was very hot for the duration of this trip and the M.I.L. (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) did not come on. M.I.L, by the way, is the official EPA name for the check engine light on a car equipped with OBD II self-diagnostics.

OBDII is a self-diagnostic protocol required on all new drivetrains starting with the 94 model year and required on all new or old drivetrains starting with the 96 model years.

Among the things monitored by OBDII is injector duration, or how long the injectors are open to deliver fuel to the engine. Injector duration is regulated via input from the Air/Fuel ratio sensors (more sensitive than the old O2 sensors), Mass Airflow Sensor, coolant temp, air temp, and throttle position sensors as well as some others. If injector duration deviates from design norms by more than a certain percentage due to lean or rich condition the M.I.L. will come on. Thus if any malfunction occurs that will significantly increase injector duration (i.e. enough to affect fuel economy) the M.I.L. will come on.

The upshot is that if your M.I.L is not on, the chances of the car having a malfunction that is causing poor mpg are about nil.

In my experience as a dealership tech for a large Japanese make, the most common cause of M.I.L. on is by far a failure to tighten the gascap, followed by actual malfunctions in the Evaporative Emmission control system. Niether of these affects fuel economy.

The Evap system is designed to eliminate pollution caused by fuel fumes escaping the tank and charcoal canister. The epa requires that this system be very closely monitored by the OBDII system on the car and even the best mfgs are having difficulty avoiding false malfunction indications due to the complexity of the system itself and the sensors and software designed to monitor it. These monitoring systems are so sensitive that a check engine light can come on due to a 1mm deformation in the filler pipe where the cap gasket contacts it (code PO-442, slow evap leak).

z71bill · August 2004

Keeping the moon roof closed would help keep the car cooler - but I just sold a 1981 Pontiac T/A that had a T-top. On hot days with the TOP OFF if I was stuck in stop and go traffic - I would roll up the windows & turn on the AC - it would blow nice cold air on the front seats so you would stay cool. The open area of the T-top is at least 5 times larger than the Mazda3 moon roof.

Lets face it - the AC in the Mazda3 is weak - using a sun shade, getting your windows tinted, not cracking the moon roof, and all the other little performance tips would not be needed if the AC did what it should do. I am not saying they don't help the situation - but the very fact that we need to do these things proves that the Mazda3 has a problem.

I was not that happy with my MPG - it has dropped from 22 down to 18 MPG - my low was 17 - but that was only one tank.

I just got back from a 250 mile (one way) highway trip. I left early and was in no big hurry - I filled up before I left - set the cruise at 65 MPH and got 29.7 MPG on the first leg of the trip. I filled up again for the trip home - set the cruise on 75 MPH - sometimes drove closer to 80 - and got 20.9 MPG.

Since the Mazda3 is rated at 29 Highway - and I got 29.7 going a steady 65 - I don't think I can complain much - obviously driving faster burns more gas - and I did rev the engine more on the return trip. But did not expect a 30% drop in MPG.

I have the 2.3L sedan.

mdaffron · August 2004

Meade

jsnschmasn · August 2004

Thank you again for contacting Mazda North American Operations. I
appreciate the opportunity to respond to you.

In regard to your inquiry, the Product Engineers in Japan have come up
with a resolution for the A/C concern. However, we are waiting for
parts to be available. We expect parts to be available in the next few
weeks. I'm so sorry for the delay.

birdman579 · August 2004

To answer your questions, I have a 2.3 sedan with 5-speed. So far, my worst mpg has been 30. That's not bad. I feel that if I take a long distance trip, I could easily get up to 35 or 36 mpg. We all need to remember that the A/C takes lots of fuel and the 3's engine loves to be revved during acceleration which also takes lots of fuel. I'd be willing to bet that if we all drove our 3's casually, we could all get over 30 mpg. Consumer reports rated the 3 as one of the most fuel efficient of all cars sold.

z71bill · August 2004

I like your last post - I just hope that the resolution is not giving owners a towel to wipe the sweat from our faces!

This is good news -

audia8q · August 2004

they have a special towel for you

z71bill · August 2004

If they do give me a special towel it should have a logo from Honda/Acura, Toyota/Scion/Lexus maybe even Nissan or BMW. That way it would be more likely to match my next new car purchase.

If Mazda really does have a fix for this problem it would be great - but even if they do fix my car it would be hard for me to jump into another new Mazda product - I know - first hand how Mazda treats its customers - by far the worst new car experience I have ever had.

rinebird · August 2004

Congratulations.I have the AC problem too.
I guess I have to recontact my dealer and Mazda.
Thanks

car manufactured date:3/04

rinebird · August 2004

I have the Mazda 3i sedan.2.0 liter:I get 24-26 mpg local driving with the Ac on at times.I just got 29-30 HW.

mazda6s · August 2004

You really can't compare Mazda customer service with that of the for the premium brands like Acura, Lexus and Infiniti. Then again, you pay for that kiss-your-butt service with higher prices. There are plenty of complaints about customer service from Toyota owners and others. In my opinion they all pretty much suck except for the luxury brands.

backy · August 2004

With Saturn the notable exception.

kyfdx · August 2004

I haven't noticed that customer service is anything but ordinary at any Acura dealer, other than the availability of loaner cars... My Honda dealer does a better job.

z71bill · August 2004

When I talk about Mazda customer service I mean Mazda Corporate. This includes both the (800) 222-5500 and WWW.mazdausa.com E-mail. If I was complaining about a dealership service department I would say "Johnson's Mazda of Death Valley" or whatever.

Every manufacturer has great, good, average, poor & horrible dealers - if the service department at your dealership is bad then you can almost always go to another one. If the car company has no level of commitment to customer satisfaction then if you have a problem you are just plain out of luck. Mazda is by far the worst company (car or other) I have ever done business with. I am not sure if they just don't care - or they care more about short term profit - or they are just incompetent fools that don't know any better. At times I think it must be all of the above!

rinebird · August 2004

This is from a site mentioned in this thread on
Mazda probloms and solutions

"09-024/03 2004 MAZDA3 - WATER DROPLETS / MOISTURE INSIDE FRONT AND REAR LIGHTS
APPLICABLE MODEL(S)/VINS
2004 MAZDA3

DESCRIPTION
After car wash or when driving in the rain, some customers may notice the outer edge of the headlights and/or rear combination lights become foggy due to water entry.

This symptom appears at the sealing location of the light unit. Water is not trapped inside the lights which does not affect its function. The water droplets will evaporate and will not damage the light unit.

DO NOT perform any parts replacement for this symptom as this is considered normal."

conall · August 2004

At about 2500 miles my engine light came on and it ran rough under passenger loads with the A/C on. The problem was that the PCU needed to be "reflashed" to match the input from the thermostat. No stalling problems, though I have had some of those in the past with some beloved VW's (a '85 Jetta GLI & a '92 GTI 16V).

No problems with the A/C out here in W. Texas, by the way. Temps have been up to 106F or about 41C. The point brought up about the matter being subjective was very good. I tolerate heat and cold better than most people. Build date of my Mz3 was 01/04.

roger341 · August 2004

Am I maybe the only one who finds the center stack uncomfortable when your right leg is resting against it on a long trip?

The way it juts out into the cabin and its hard edge makes for both a cramped and a sore leg, at least if you have long legs.

Other than this fact and the weak a/c, I like the car but I do think my 01 Pro had a better designed (ergonomic) cabin.

z71bill · August 2004

Maybe too obvious - move the seat back a notch or two - it worked for me. But maybe you already have the seat all the way back.

Around town and on short trips I never even noticed the center stack - then on a long trip - after a few hours it started to bug me.

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