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What size engine is that you have?
I have a 2006 Mazda3 sedan i touring with 2.0 engine.
I love this car. I have had zero problems.
What were you averaging in the Protege in city driving?
p.s. The Mazda3 is heavier than the Protege which may explain part of the difference in fuel economy. Consumer Reports rated the Protege5 at 25 mpg for mixed city/highway.
I travelled 222.4 miles on 11.550 gallons for 19.26 mpg, slightly less than last tank.
I averaged around 24 - 25 mpg in my last car, and I am hoping to average at least 25 mpg in the 3. Hopefully mileage will improve as the engine gets broken in.
When do most people see their mileage begin to peak in their 3s?
'07 Hatch 5AT
It seems like some Mazda3's - more with the auto tranny - get low MPG. Our Mazda3 is getting between 16-18 MPG in mostly city driving. About the same as our SUV (Tahoe 15-17 MPG) and less than the Acura TL my wife drives (last tank was 21.5 MPG mostly city).
I have always read about cars increasing their MPG as the engine gets broken in. Personally I have never experienced this - and wonder if it is just another auto myth. But some will claim that after xx,xxx miles they started seeing better MPG. I always thought it was just a way for the service manager to deflect a complaint about a new car getting low MPG. After you put 20K on the odometer you have gotten use to the crummy mileage and its normal. I have read that Honda and Acura use a break in oil - and you can expect to see a small increase in MPG after your first oil change.
This is definitely true with some cars, as I have experienced the phenomenon myself. Maybe not with the Mazda3 though.
I know - I know - most cars with a manual get better gas mileage - but not DOUBLE. BTW - We never use the Mazda3 on long trips - so these miles are all city.
I am due for an oil change - maybe I will ask the service tech to check it out. Its been a while since I heard - its operating as designed!
What mileage have you gotten with other small cars you have owned? It will be interesting to see how the Mazda fares in the '08 more stringent MPG test.
I also have the jerky 1-2 shift when cold.
I wonder if I complained enough, the dealership would replace my car with one exactly the same except manual transmission. The car has depreciated, but the manual model costs $1000 less, so shouldn't that make up for most of the loss?
I love the car except for the mileage.
thanks
What do you expect to get? City/Highway/Overall?
If you are truly wanting better mpg's, consider the Corolla or the Civic, as you won't be disappointed. The 3i should get somewhere between the mid to high 20's in the city and about 30 or so on the highway if memory serves me right.
The Sandman
Have owned the Tahoe since 2001 and it was our daily driver until we bought the Mazda3. So it was driven on the exact same trips / same traffic / - the Tahoe was almost always 15+ mpg - if we did any highway at all the MPG would jump up to 17. If we were on vacation - so all highway the Tahoe would be closer to 19 - but don't recall ever getting 20.
The other way to compare is the Acura TL we just got - replaced the Mazda3 as my (and my wife) daily driver. We normally get 21-24, this compares with 16-18 for the Mazda3. (again these miles would be a direct comparison)
I don't care all that much about MPG - since we don't drive that many miles - but there is no doubt that our Mazda3 is not as efficient as it should be. If I would have bought this car for a long commute - so in hopes I would get close to the EPA numbers - I would have been disappointed.
My mix of 50/50 city/highway should, according to the EPA, get me 28 mpg. Also consider that the 'city' driving I do is not in an actual city, it is mostly rural areas where the speed limit is 30-40 mph and infrequent stop signs/lights.
I was expecting to get 25 mpg in my mix of driving.
I certainly didn't expect to get 19 mpg. For 19 mpg to be acceptable to me, I would have to have a lot of stop and go and long idling periods. In my commute it is wholly unacceptable.
I wavered on whether to get another manual transmission car or go to automatic when I was considering the purchase of the 3. It seems I made the wrong choice.
I think I am going to give the car 2500 miles to see if anything happens, and if it doesn't, I will be the squeaky wheel and see if I can get my car replaced with one the same but the trans.
I offered the MPG of my other vehicles as a way to compare.
The Tahoe is EPA rated 14/18 - normal daily driving we are at 15 MPG
The Acura is rated 20/29 we are getting at least 21 MPG - sometimes more
The Mazda3 (2004 auto) is rated 24/29 - we get 16-18 MPG.
IMO - doing this type of comparison means more - than just saying - I get XX MPG.
I can go all the way back to the 1980's - every vehicle (except the Mazda3) has been right at or slightly above the EPA CITY number. No magic to the EPA method - but because this has been my experience I sort of expected the Mazda3 to be around 24 MPG. Getting 30% less than EPA city is significant. Will Mazda do anything about it? I doubt it - but I don't think any other car company would do much about it either.
People just need to be aware - if you buy a Mazda3 with an automatic tranny you have a chance of getting an "economy" car that sucks gas like a full size SUV.
Thinking about the MS3 to replace my 5 speed 2.2L Alero that has been 100% trouble free for 70,000 miles so far...gets 30+ MPG always!! But is no rocket. Want rocket...
It's pretty certain that you will not be getting 30+ mpg from a Mazdaspeed3; my guess: between 20 and 25.
I did notice that Consumer Reports still got pretty good mpg with the automatic (not too much worse than Corolla) so I wonder why the issues.
Didn't somebody recently trade from an automatic to a stick 3s? I wonder how that turned out mpg wise? That would certainly be comparing apples to apples - same driver and conditions.
I can say this. If they made the 3 hatch with the 2.0 liter engine I would snap one up in a second. Less expensive, lighter and better balanced, better gas mileage, and still plenty peppy.
Class action suit...doubt it. Go back and read your Mulroney sticker and see what it actually says. If you wanted stellar mileage, why on earth did you get the 2.3 liter engine? A Corolla or Civic is more of a car for someone like you. And really, all this information is out there on the web...maybe some more research on your part would've helped!
And yes, I know of what I speak. We own the Mazda 3s and the Civic and to be honest, our 3 is mid 20's in the city and about 32 on the highway.
The Sandman
Disappointment is based on expectation. If you expect to get an unrealistically high number (based on EPA figures) you will be disappointed. I have found that Consumer Reports is more accurate. CR numbers are usually 10% to 30% lower than those of the EPA. Also, one should look for an average over a long enough period (e.g. a year) in order to avoid mixing up winter figures (normally the poorest) with summer figures. I have tracked my vehicles mileage over four years and the CR overall average of 25 mpg for the Mazda Protege5 is dead-on.
Moral of the story: Good research can be useful for predicting fuel economy.
Yes, you're right.
I'd say it was 80% city, mostly short <5 mile trips, One trip over the mountain with fairly spirited driving. 20% highway which consisted of one round trip of 40 miles (20 each way).
171.1 miles on 7.412 gallons for 23.08 mpg.
I am thoroughly satisfied with this mileage considering the low miles of the car and the small percentage of highway miles. I'm already getting 3 mpg more than I was in the 5AT 3+ on mostly highway. Once the engine gets broken in, I expect the mileage to increase to at least 25 mpg or more with more highway miles.
The service manager said - he knew of "a few" cars with the same complaint - and they could not figure out what the problem was - UNTIL a mechanic determined one of the cars had a defective intake manifold.
He said they have replaced the intake manifold on THIS ONE CAR only - but it solved the clicking noise and also improved the MPG. He said the owner was getting 17 MPG before they replaced the intake manifold - but did not know what they were getting now - only that the owner had said - he was getting much better mileage.
I will not be able to let them check out my intake until March - so I do not know if this is even valid - but thought I would pass it on.
If your car has low mileage - and sometimes makes a clicking noise - it may be worth a shot.
It was just interesting that the service manager actually KNEW something. The service department was pretty busy (Saturday morning) and the employees were swamped - so I did not get a chance to ask what exactly the problem was with the intake and why this would cause a clicking noise / reduce mileage. I did ask how would you determine if the intake manifold is bad - he said - low gas mileage is one clue - the clicking sound confirms it as a problem.
My daughter needs the car for school - she gets a week off for spring break - starting March 10th. So I plan to have them look at it then.
I also got 19 mpg in that car. I also read of people getting the purge valve replaced.
Perhaps it's not as we originally thought that the JATCO 5AT was at fault, but something in the intake/exhaust system.
There is definitely something wrong with some 3's and Mazda needs to find out a fix.
I think, we as a forum, are closing in on a cause of the problem. Something Mazda should have easily found before we do. If we do indeed pinpoint a cause and a fix, we need to all contact Mazda with the information.
Luckily, my 5MT 3 is doing great, and is even more fun than the 5AT 3 was.
Interesting approach. The difficulty of multitasking doesn't seem to prevent many out there from trying. Attention deficit (also known as distraction) is likely the cause of a huge percentage of accidents these days. Personally, I'd go for a safe second hand car for a young driver; the learning experience is less painful.
claudius753- "I too noticed a weird sound. I thought it sounded like valve tap at first, but standing outside, it was coming from the front passenger side and sounded almost like an exhaust leak or something"
That is the sound!
I believe this fuel issue may have something to do with the period stalling and rough idle. NOt everyone may encounter both or either symptom. A computer (PCM) update failed to remedy or improve the mileage in my 3.
Although I intend to keep my Mazda a long time (I have the extended warranty) I will not buy another Mazda again. Personally, I think Mazda is too similar to Ford in every way.