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april
The only issue i've read about relating to oil loss was the PCV failing, causing rapid oil loss. That's why I check my oil level very frequently.
But it seems to run fine once you drive it around 3000 rpms when accelerating, and it is a smooth cruiser, so might be not a serious issue. I now put the music on when I am at a drive thru, to avoid hearing it.
Oh, well I have had better experiences with Korean cars before, and I do not think I will keep this one for more than the warranty period. Especially with that fragile oil canister system. It is a disaster waiting to happen. I heard that it can be changed to a normal system. If I end up keeping the car, I will look into changing it.
What makes you think the gasket of a spin on, the only thing keeping the oil in the engine, is not as much or more of a disaster waiting to happen?
I think it is a bad design because it has so many points of potential failure:
1. Main O-ring
2. Bottom plug O-ring
3. Bottom plug torqued too much or too little.
4. Canister cracking
5. Canister torqued too much or too little.
I think it is just a cheap ploy to keep you coming to a mazda dealer for service, at least while your warranty is effective, and after that, I am sure the canister has a pre-engineered life span where if you are not smart enough to replace it, and think it will live for the life of the car, you will end up paying for a new engine yourself.
I have found a used Mazda 6 2007 sedan sold by a private seller asking for 12800 with 12800 miles. The car is still under factory warranty. I would have a test drive. I have looked through the problem you have. After that, I am a little concern about mazda. But I have make an appointment with seller. So, could you give me any suggestion on test drive. thanks a lot.
Now the question, what do I do now with this information. Mazda mechanic said Mazda would not honor warranty if I am doing my own oil changes. I am thinking of using their oil simply as an engine flush, and then draining it the moment I get back from their service shop and replace it with a quality oil. However should I be worried about any long term effects to my car since I already drove it about 10,000 kilometers on their crappy oil. Is there a way for me to prove easily their oil is bad such as an analysis by a third party that can give me written confirmation that the oil they are using is no good. Then I can take them to small claims court or something.
I took it to the dealer today and they said there are no problem codes, and of course, it wouldn't do it for them.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
Thank you
Yeah, similar experience with Mazda dealer here. My understanding is Mazda (the mfr, not dealer) pays for the rental car during the warranty period, so not sure why any dealer would not provide that. They have even given me a car even to just diagnose whether or not there was a need for warranty work...when I thought something might be a problem.
Oil was changed regularly (typically 3-4K intervals, never more than 4.5K), with the 3rd oil change by 6200 miles. I would check it in between, but it was never more than a half quart low.
So getting on the highway about 2 weeks ago, I got this awful noise, the check engine light came on, and I headed to the mechanic. A few miles later, the oil light came on, and I pulled over and had it towed the rest of the way.
Mazda hasn't inspected it yet, and despite my going in to talk to the service manager at Wayne Mazda (NJ), he hasn't gotten back to me in several days with regards to results of any contact with the Regional Manager. (He was supposed to send him the maintenance records I brought in.)
I can understand an occasional fluke engine failure, but from reading this forum, it seems a little higher than I'd like to hear about, though much of it (but definitely not all) appears to be with the 4 cylinder.
Hopefully, they'll do the right thing in my case. It sounds like I shouldn't hold my breath though.
Dan
What did you end up doing?
I haven't decided yet, but some things I am considering are
1) Trying engine oil additives that claim to get rid of knocking and sludge
2) Engine oil flush
3) look online for a used engine, and get a local shop to install it
Please let me know if there is a good cheap solution
The knock intensity varies from day to day. On humid and rainy days it is almost eliminated completely. The drier the weather the more pronounced it is.
Also as you step on the gas it disappears, so to me this means it is not related to any real malfunction in the car such as bad bearings or valves or anything of the sort. I think it is basically a fuel combustion issue. It is what is called detonation, and I know that moisture (Water vapor) reduces detonation. The reason might be fuel injector related, spark plug related, or simply because the car is tuned by Mazda to run too lean at idle. This means not enough gas is being pumped into the engine at low rpm.
Now I plan to replace the plugs, but is there also a way I can somehow increase the fuel delivery at idle, such as a fuel pressure regulator, or is it all controlled by the ECU these days?
The knock intensity varies from day to day. On humid and rainy days it is almost eliminated completely. The drier the weather the more pronounced it is.
That might be the purge valve, not engine knock. That is why it goes away when you step on the gas. If it was rod knock, you would still hear it. There should be nothing wrong.
I'm assuming you showed them proof of maintenance, right?
I owned a 2004 6 wagon before and I did not have any problems. Traded it in for something bigger.
I needed another car and bought another 6 wagon. It has a tapping noise when I accelerate around 3500 rpm. No noise in park. Only under a load. Sounds like detonation or misfire to me but no error code for misfire.
So far I have been lead to check the following
Air valve, coil, spark plugs, belt tensioner, and pvc.
After reading this forum I am concerned about my worst fear, spin or otherwise defective rod bearings.
I did change the plugs but no change. I also used a higher octane gas but I am not sure if it got better. It still does it but it doesnt seem to be as bad. I will try 91 octane next tank. To relace the rest of the items will cost me around $400 to do it myself. I would hate to spend that money only to pay even more for an engine.
Does anyone know what other cars I can pull the block from? I was wondering why every mazda 6 in the wreck yards had the engine missing. Now I know.
This car is out of warrenty with 127k miles on it. I was also wondering why the asking price was $8k but they went down to $4500. I knew the engine may have some issues but didnt think it would be this bad. Even if I buy a reman engine I will still have paid less than book value. I am going to keep this car because I like it. I will figure out the engine issues. I just wish there was more information. I cant get any definitive answers. Replaceing the engine with out the root cause does not help me.
That V6 was used by Mazda in the MPV, but there are probably not too many of those around. I've no idea if it is possible, but if one from a Taurus would work, I'd guess there would be a lot more of those around.
The engines are not totally the same.
The block is the same, but, I believe they have different heads and the induction system is totally different. The MPV engines typically lasted longer.
I just had a discussion with my service manager about the differences between the engines. He assured me they are not the same.
If he meant "block" to exclude the head, could he use the MPV engine block or even one from a Taurus?
If he meant "block" to exclude the head, could he use the MPV engine block or even one from a Taurus?
I must have missed that.
I think you can use a block from a Taurus. I know you can use one from an MPV.
I have access to MVP engines and the taurus engines have to be from the SE and SEL which are still available but not as abundant as the Vulcan engine.
I have been hearing this tapping noise from day 1. I have been reading the Mazda posts on this issue and on the problem of oil leaking out, leading to blown engines. Anyone have any guidance for a Mazda newbie like me? Would changing the PCV valve help in general maintenance?
Thanks,
dan
If you're still concerned, make it a habit of checking your oil once per week, and top it off when it's necessary. Checking the oil (as well as coolant level and tire pressure) at regular intervals is still a good practice, because modern engines can lose oil just as easily as a 20-year-old engine, for any reason. Any "expert" that says otherwise is blowing smoke.
And a general note: Despite the posts on this thread, remember they are simply a small fraction of the total Mazda6 owners from 2003 to the present. I know of literally hundreds of owners from this and other forums with models with well over 100K miles with NO engine problems (or any other issues, for that matter), 4-cylinder or V6. I personally have 88K miles on my '04, and have replaced the PCV valve once, and maybe added a TOTAL of 2 quarts between oil changes, which is well within reasonable limits for ANY engine.
If you use synthetic oil, would you change it less frequently because it doesn"t break down as quickly as regular oil....
thanks,