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Mazda5 Owners Care & Maintenance
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Comments
This sounds good and dandy, BUT the thing is that I am nervous that they won't do a proper job. I mean, it's a WHOLE DASHBOARD!!! Isn't this something that is built at the factory? Will they get all the cables connected right? Will all the lights on the gauges and various controls work properly like before? Will they make the dash fit properly and perfectly alligned? I'm very anal, and I worry about this. So, I'd like any advice I could receive from you guys. Should I let them do it? Or, should I live with this rattle for the rest of the car's life? :confuse:
Also, something that has me annoyed, is the fact that the glove box door no longer goes down smoothly. Before, it was dampened and when you opened it, it went down semi-smoothly and definitely not with a clunk. It was smooth. Now, though, it just PLOPS down with no resistance whatsoever. I hate that. The fact that it was dampened before, crazily enough, was one of the reasons why I bought the car since I hate glove boxes that just PLOP down. Dempening it gives it a quality feel.
Also, I had an iPod Integration thing put in. I love the fact that I can hear my iPod in the car now. They put the cable that connects the iPod inside the glove box. When you connect it, the Mazda emblem appears on the iPod screen. You control it thoroughly through the stereo and NOT the iPod itself, which is convenient but has its cons, too. Anyway, they left two GAPING holes in the back of the glove compartment. I feel, now, that I can't put stuff in the back of the huge glove compartment for fear that things will fall through the dash and into that inaccessible space in the dashboard. SO frustrating! Also, though they put the dash back together ok, they scratched my steering wheel in the process (the hub? the place where the airbag comes out and where you press to honk the horn) and the seem on the driver's side that connects the dash to the A Pillars seems semi uneven, whereas the passenger's side is perfect. UGH!
And, like I said, I have all these changes now on my car, but that DARNED noise is STILL THERE! What do I do?!? I mean, I don't want to seem like an anal, annoying customer since the service team has seen me MORE than enough times and have been very nice to me. But, these things really bug me. Should I calm down, or do you think I should go ahead and bring it back and tell them to address these issues? And does anyone out there know where the heck this tapping/popping/rattle thing is coming from and how to get rid of it? The crunching noise in the suspension that doesn't go away is bad enough!!
P.S. - We had just traded in a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe after its 4 year lease to pick up the Mazda. In 4 years I never, ever had a problem with it. Not a squeak, rattle or even a loose screw under the dash!
I don't know if the annoying tapping sound you are hearing is the same as what I had, so I will describe what mine was like. The tapping sound came from what sounded like behind the dash in the area of the firewall. It was most evident at startup, when it would rattle like mad when the engine first turned over and fired. Other times it would happen are when I would let the clutch out to take off or at times when shifting gears (I would suspect that with an auto trans it would make the noise when putting it into gear, perhaps). It would also make the noise when hitting bumps on occasion and when letting off the throttle abruptly while cruising.
I drove with a technician at my local dealer and he was able to hear the noise (as well as the huge suspension noise, but that's another story). I told him that I thought it seemed to be coming from something that connected from the engine to the firewall, because it seemed to occur at times when the engine would either shake or rock on its mounts. The next day, when I picked up my vehicle, the tech said that he had tightened some apparently loose item/items under the windshield header area. This did not get rid of the noise, so I decided to take a look for myself.
When I started poking and prodding and tugging on various items that connected from the engine to the firewall, I suddenly heard what I thought might be the source of the noise; it was a braided black hose that is routed from the right side (as you face the front of the car)of the engine and takes a curve to the left right near the firewall, where it passes through a grey plastic clamp/grommet thing that snaps into a heat shield mounted on the firewall. This grommet thing moved a little and made a noise much like what I was hearing from inside the car. I tried to pry it out, but couldn't get it out without prying harder than I wanted to. So I instead slightly pried out the top edge of this grommet thing were it meets the firewall/heat shield and wedged in a folded up piece of index card between the top edge of the grommet and the mounting surface. I got in the car and started it: no noise. I moved the car around a bit using the clutch: no noise. Bottom line, the noise is gone after 8 months of tolerating it, and all it took was a kitchen knife and a piece of paper! Sweet relief!
You know, I can't imagine why the guys at the dealership would miss that; they seemed not only to know what they were doing, but also to care a little. Maybe they are too busy.
By the way, that seam on your dashboard is also on mine, yet I NEVER NOTICED IT until I read your post. I am very in tune with my car, yet I never knew it was there, despite having cleaned the dashboard on more than one occasion.
Best of luck with your problems!
Some people have been told crazy things by service managers but if you know your rights and aren't afraid to exercise them, you'll be fine.
thanks
1. romove the battery cover
2. disconnect the negative battery cable
now inside the car
it is on the left( drivers side i think)
3. remove the under cover
4. disconnect the evaporator temperature sensor connector
5. disconnect the power MOS FET connector (Full-auto air conditioner)
6. remove in order a) cover(in the pic it looks like it is on the side b) air filter (1)-bottom one) c) air filter (2)top one
Hope that helps. let me know
1. change oil as per maintenance schedule
2. yearly inspection/checkup of brakes
3. and other maintenance listed in the book.. supposedly we needed to do to satisfy warranty conditions.
We find the above can be quite expensive. I can definetely do the above myself (have the necessary tools..skill set) etc..
Is there anyone doing these maintenance themselves? and how do you 'prove' to mazda that you are doing the scheduled maintenance? Do you show receipts? etc..?
Thanks.
BTW, do you find it strange that the recommended oil change interval is 8,000 km (= 5,000 miles) rather than 5,000 km (= 3,000 miles)? My 2002 Honda Accord is on 3,000 mile oil change frequency.
The 3000 miles/3 month cycle is recommended mostly by garages like Jiffy Lube who simply want the business.
And, apart from the business, think about the recycling factor, the more frequent oil recycling is needed, the more pollution. It adds up at the end.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/22/ford-officially-extends-oil-change-interval-o- t-7-500-miles/
You must drive in some pretty harsh conditions! I change mine every 5-7000 miles. On my Fit there's maintenance computer that identifies when service is needed. The first one was at 9000 miles and that was the only one I've had so far. But if people want to do more that's fine, even if there's really no need for it under normal driving conditions.
Funny thing is that while I've never known anyone to have engine problems caused by infrequent oil changes, I have known people having problems with stripped oil plugs and filter threads. My brother had a Subaru with over 250,000 miles on the same engine (car finally rusted out) and he changed the oil about once a year, or about every 15,000 miles. Subaru's have great engines, but I wouldn't recommend that!
According to my Mazda Full Circle service report, my brake pads are at "yellow", which means about half or slightly more of my brake pads are worn. They do not, necessarily, need to be replaced until I reach "red" status. Anyway, I recently had my tired aligned, but at about 60 mph on the highway I hear, more than I feel, a slight shimmy. Before the alignment, I slightly FELT the shimmy through the steering wheel, but after the alignment, I just hear it - no feeling. So, I think I may need tire balancing, as well.
In any case, my Full Circle Mazda dealer quoted me a price of $100 for a 4-wheel tire rotation and balancing. They also quoted me a price of $200 for replacing the brake pads in the front, and another $200 for replacing the rear ones. If I want my rotors "shaved", then they would add another $100 to the price of each set of brakes ($200 more for both front and rear). So, getting my tires rotated and balanced, and getting my brake pads change would cost me anywhere from at least $500 to $700 (should I choose to get my rotors shaved). What do you all think of this?
I, most likely, WON'T get my rotors shaved, since I don't see a need for that. So, it would come out to about $500 plus tax for brake pad service and the tire rotation and balancing. Is that a fair price? Should I shop around? Please advise. Thanks.
BTW - I have almost 25K miles on my 2006 Mazda 5 (that I bought in July 2005) and my tires are just fine.
Anybody know the procedures for pulling it out to check? This is a 2006 Touring model.
Thanks.
have you gotten this fixed or had mazda take a look at it? I seem to be having the same problem. It only happened to me a couple of times, so don't know if I could get mazda to fix it if they can't see it. I just adjusted the dimmer and the problem went away. :confuse:
Sounds like 1 of 2 things:
#1. Bad thermostat. My old Mercury Sable seemed to eat thermostats, ans 1 time I bought the cheapest thermostat and it was bad out of the box. You can test by boiling it in a pot on the kitchen stove to make sure it opens properly. Also, the more expensive thermostats have a small hole to supposedly help with air lock or something to that effect.
#2. Air in the cooling system. My old Sable also tended to have this problem. I would get no heat unless I drove for like 20 minutes. This can usually be fixed by letting the car idle and squeezing a radiator hose to burp water out with the radiator cap off. You have to be careful, because you won't get all air out until the thermostat opens. Also, when it opens, you tend to get a surge that can overflow out of the radiator cap.
I ended up having a water pump going bad, letting aid into the system. But I learned that most any car should put out heat in just a few blocks, and it not, there is either a bad thermostat or air in the system.
I am currently in the process of purchasing an '08 Mazda5 sport with MT. Since reading the previous threads about the complication in oil filter change, I am wondering if anybody here has sent their 5s to local shop for the services and any experiences on that.
I have had luck doing that with my previous and current vehicles. So I only save the major maintenance for the dealer.
By the way, I am located on the peninsula just south of San Francisco. If you happen to be in the same area, where will you go for your 5's autocare?
thanks.
min
I can't directly answer your question very well, but I have owned a 2006 5 since new, and I have done all the oil changes (7 so far) myself in the driveway. It isn't bad at all once you've seen it before. It helps a lot to remove the big plastic undershield. You are supposed to separately remove the little aluminum drain plug first, but I'm finding that this doesn't want to come out anymore and the whole filter wants to unscrew all at once. This is OK if you have a coffee can ready to catch all the filter oil that will come out. I believe that all current 2.3 Mazdas (6, 5, 3) have had this kind of cartridge filter for at least a few years, so you can be confident that experienced service shops have seen them many times before. Just maybe not the 17 year old they hired last week. It would be an easy question to check in advance, to ask and make sure they know. I am a picky customer, and I have other complaints about the 5, but I'm definitely not disappointed by the oil filter (note, I didn't say I'm not confused, just not disappointed).
The hand-hold on the door of the 5 is just a vertical slot you have to pinch between your fingers and thumb, not something you can really grab. I fretted about this all year, and finally decided to do a modification that was suprisingly easy. First, I roughed-up the plastic inside the finger slot with a bit of sandpaper. Then I glued in (epoxy) a 3 inch length of half-round wood, that I made by sawing a dowel in half lengthwise. I used a one-half-inch diameter dowel. Be sure to try out the feel of the dowel in advance before glueing, so you place it at the best depth inside the slot.
The other half goes in the passenger door, of course. Now, your fingers have something to grab onto, and can hold onto the door better. Because the wood is down in the slot, it is practically invisible. (And fooey on silly Mazda interior designers who didn't think this thru better to begin with!)
What you described is exactly the difference between throttle-by-wire vs wire systems. Part of the solution to lower emission and fuel efficiency is to minimize sudden throttle change, and by golly, throttle-by-wire is a great place for manufacturer to do this. It happens in BMW, it happens in Mazda.
There isn't much you can do other than adapt your driving style. Make sure your engine rpm dropes to the matching car speed before engaging your clutch should minimize upshift jerkiness. As for taking off, you can always try keeping a constant throttle and play with the clutch release to get a smooth start.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for your greeting in mandarin.
Since you have an integra, may I ask how would you rate the MT in your 5 against your GSR besides the throttle response inconsistence?
I drove my friend's prelude (type SH) before only to get the feel of manual trans. Therefore, Mazda5 will be my first manual car, and probably my last one since I cannot afford to buy anything other than minivan due to increasing family size.
I would really want to enjoy the zoom-zoom provide the 5's manual trans can deliver that.
thanks.
min
the Mazda clutch is better. engagement is smoother and less abrupt, and not any heavier pedal effort even though 5 has a bigger torquey-er engine. the Integra has a nicer shift linkage, smoother lighter and more precise. the 5 shift lever feels rubbery and vague in comparison. But overall, both are just fine as MT vehicles, no way would I want an auto, and I say that living in Seattle, a bad traffic hilly city. I think the MT is a good deal in terms of getting good performance out of the 5. Ours climbed I-90 Vantage grade in mid-WA-state last summer at 85mph in 5th with 5 people and cargo box. That sounds better than Consumer Reports saying the auto version "lacks reserve for passing and hills".
I am thinking about buying a 2008 or 2009 Mazda5 Grand Touring, also (depending on how long either my car or my wife's car wants to keep running smoothly). I would be interested to know how your first year goes. Do you think you could provide some periodic updates with things you like or don't like about it? Thanks.