2014 Mazda MAZDA3 S Long-Term Road Test

Comments

• caramelo91 Member Posts: 13

  February 2014

  It gives a lot of peace of mind to know that it was simply a loose battery cable and not a mechanical issue with the transmission itself.

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• s197gt Member Posts: 486

  February 2014

  CEL/SEL lights are so archaic. We have NAV, backup cameras, radar blind-spot monitoring, TPMS, satellite radio, 10+ airbags, etc etc etc.... and yet these dummy CEL/SEL lights remain. Why is it when the transmission module detects a problem does a "check engine" light illuminate? Two entirely separate components. Why not a simple "Service Required" light? Why this archaic "Oh no my engine is going to blow!" warning? Infuriating...

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• mieden Member Posts: 75

  February 2014

  s197gt, MIL's are federally mandated. When and why they come on is strictly regulated. With that in mind, most people who have the luxury of living in states with no emissions tests dont pay them any mind when they illuminate. The only time they actually mean "oh no my engine is going to blow" is when they are flashing.

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• reminder Member Posts: 383

  February 2014

  I'll take a full compliment of gauges thank you very much. Pressures & temperatures mean a lot more to me than an idiot light. Lights have a place, but are by no means a substitute for the data that can be gleaned from an instrument cluster.

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• noburgers Member Posts: 500

  February 2014

  a few years ago the tranny on our Odyssey failed. After replacing it, the same thing (code) I think happened--there was a bad pin on the wiring harness to the transmission and it went into limp mode.

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• pezzy669 Member Posts: 4

  February 2014

  You will probably have a Mazda Connect update every visit moving forward. Luckily Mazda is rolling updates out quickly in relation to Ford, unfortunately Mazda is a dealer only update. My first and only update took ~1.5 hours, next update can wait for an oil change and they better start updating as soon as they start draining the oil.
  
  Mazda, send them on USB sticks please! Most of your consumer base can and would prefer to do this on their own time.

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• allthingshonda Member Posts: 878

  February 2014

  Check engine lights should be supplemented with a message detailing the problem. My Acura will use the Acura Link system to display the actual trouble code and brief description of the problem. Thankfully I have never needed to use it. GM usually gives a more specific message in the information display along with the check engine light, such as "SERVICE TRANSMISSION"

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• allthingshonda Member Posts: 878

  February 2014

  Gauges are going the way of the manual transmission and becoming obsolete. You would need many gauges to give you the same information as one reconfigurable display. Usually there is an oil pressure gauge but a display can give you oil pressure, oil temperature, and oil level. The display allows the driver to see the information they want when they want it. If there is a problem it can also highlight the problem and replace irrelevant information. Very similar to how modern jets have a glass cockpit with few actual gauges.

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• hybris Member Posts: 365

  February 2014

  @allthingshonda I just wish I could get that level of information in the first place. Just giving me a single light is not cutting it anymore and especially we as more intelligent then average drivers want to know more about why our car is failing.

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• noburgers Member Posts: 500

  February 2014

  I agree with you all. I just wish my wife would even bother to tell me a light came on at all--she "forgets". Fortunately, it is typically low tire pressure warning when the winter weather gets colder, and that's my fault sometimes for not checking every week.

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• trarmstrong86 Member Posts: 46

  February 2014

  First year blues.

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