Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Question for readers: I have 40k miles on the OEM Goodyear tires and need to replace them. Any suggestions? I am looking at Continental CH-95 and some Michelins. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.
The top 3 overall in order are the Dunlop SP Sport A2 at $70, Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus at $120 and the Continental Conti Touring Contact CH95 at $70.
I am seriously considering the Conti CH95 which they rate best in handling. It's only caveat is wet braking if you don't have ABS. Our MM's do, so that seems to be a non-issue in our case.
They were tested on an Accord with P195/65R15, but according to their judgement the ratings should also be good for 14, 15 and 16 inch sizes. It didn't state if all these models are available in 17's since you have a MMS.
As for the drivers seat position, I finds out that most Mazda sedans tends to have the drives seat lower than most other sedan in its class, which I like. I always thought that they're trying to make their cars feels more sporty by having the seats lower than its competitors(which works for me, yes, I'm wierd), plus you get more headroom that way :-).
Now, about tires. My car came with Dunlop SP Sport4000 A/S, which last until about 36000 miles, then I replaced it with sets of Falken Azenis ST115 same size (215/50/17). Both are V-rated (up to 149Mph), while Falken claimed that the ST115 is a "quiet performance tire", noise level is about par with the Dunlops, maybe a tad noisier, but when the car is loaded, the tire noise is much more noticable compared to the Dunlops. Performance wise, the tire is great, I've had no problem with it at all in dry or wet condition or at high speed. However, now I'm ready to replace it at 67000miles. I'm trying to find a quiter tires, but I don't think I can find a quiet one that's a V-rated, like fwatson said earlier. I'm looking at Falken Ziek ZE512 (V-rated), which has both 215/50/17 and 225/50/17 size and hoping that it would be quiter than the ST115. Well, according to the Falken sales rep that I contacted, the ST115 is actually a quiter tire than the ZE512, but the ZE512 gives you better comfort than the ST115. He mentioned that even a 215/45/17 ZE512 would be comfier than the 215/50/17 ST115, eventhough the later has a thicker/higher rubber. So now I'm still confused as to which one to get. I'll let you all know what I decided to get in these next few weeks.
fwatson: How does your Mill handle on I19?
Finally: when I checked the tire pressure the day after I picked car up the tires were about 40psi. I dropped them back to manual setting of 32 front/29 rear but have since upped that to 34/31. What settings do the others here find is best for ride/comfort/economy? fairwood
Finally: when I checked the tire pressure the day after I picked car up the tires were about 40psi. I dropped them back to manual setting of 32 front/29 rear but have since upped that to 34/31. What settings do the others here find is best for ride/comfort/economy? fairwood"
Sorry, you lost me on the I19 question. If you are referring to interstate highways, I think the MM was born for highway cruising. My only wish is for quieter tires than the V-rated MX4V OEM's. I will go "down" to H or lower speed rating in that quest when it comes new tire time. That looks a long way off at the rate of 6000 miles a year though.
My dealer also delivered my MM with way overinflated tires, 35-36 all around. I at first thought I had made a sad mistake in buying the Millenia until I deflated to 31X29 as called for by Mazda. That made a huge difference in noise which was horrible, especially from the rear tires with the 35 psi setting.
Again, the temperature readings both inside and out appear very close to correct but I don't know about the 99 degree limit referred to above. The autoair is the best I have had in any car and very quiet even when it calls for high fan speed. I have the electric tilt turned off and prefer it that way. The only reason I can see for it is as a "luxury" feature. I find most of those a waste of time and money anyway, including the autodim mirror and headlights I have seen others complain are missing from the MM. I have had them on other cars and found them a major nuisance. And I prefer a roadmap to navigation system. Guess I'm kind of a regressive sort.
At any rate my MMP has 17 inch 55 series tires, and these MXV4's do whine on concrete as well as rumble on coarse pavement. I've never had a lower profile tire than these but would think the ride would get progressively harsher (bumps) as the profile gets lower. I wouldn't call the ride of my MM harsh but it is definitely firmer than my "95 Olds 88. In a way I would like to replace the tires now to know how a different tire will affect road noise. That is out of the question though until they need replaced. Not enough money in retirement to justify unnecessary $500 purchases.
'95 S 85,000 miles.
Noop. That should read "16 inch". I am running the OEM's.
I've been having the same problem on my '97 S. It started at around 50k. Usually it happens when the CC is on, at speeds of 75-80 mph (although the last time it happened, it was while turning into a garage as I turned off the CC.
I've noticed that when it happens, the trans seems to go into Hold mode -- the RPMs, normally at around 2500 at that speed, jump up over 4000. It lasts until I turn the engine off. When I turn the engine back on, the Hold light is no longer flashing, but the Check Engine light is still on. After a day or two, that light will turn off as well. This has happened maybe 6 or 7 times over the space of 10k miles.
I've got 58k miles on my '97 S. I know that the timing belt is supposed to get replaced around 60k miles. When should I have that done? As close to 60k as possible? As soon as possible? Also, anyone know about how much it's going to cost?
Thanks!
I posted a similar message back in March when I got my 99 MM P. It is a knocking noise sort of? Someone replied that it is a bad fan bearing. Apparently it is a common problem and a quick fix. Might be something to check out. I have not bothered to get mine fixed, I just deal with the noise. The radio usually drowns it out.
Since there is no different part number for belts sold in California, the 60K number is very conservative and the worst that will happen is the belt will break and no damage will occur (non interference design). So I would not sweat the mileage until you approach 100K miles then look for a deal on belt replacement and you might as well replace the water pump at the same time and save some labor dollars.
Mazda will charge ~$500 to replace the timing belt.
P.S. Could you also provide programming instructions for remote and fob just in case if somebody needs it in the future, including me (honestly, I am not sure what fob is):-)?
1. Open the driver's door and then press the lock button (on the door) so ALL the doors lock. The security light should come on (upper left dash).
2. Unlock the driver's side door by turning or pushing up the switch on the door so the security light now turns off. The other 3 doors remain locked.
3.Insert your key in the ignition and turn to the ACC position - then take out the key. Remove the key entirely, not just back part way out. Repeat this THREE times. (Remember to take key completely out).
4. Close and open the driver's door THREE times.
The car should now beep once.
5. Press ANY button on the remote TWO times. The car should beep ONCE again.
6. Wait five seconds and then the car should beep FOUR times and your remote is programmed.
If that isn't a strange procedure I don't know what is. This is for Mazda Millenia S 2000 and I believe it is valid for most MM's with a 4 button remote. Stay out of the bar when doing this!!! Apparently you can program up to 4 remotes at the same time or within minutes of each other. Not sure what happens if you have a 3rd one to do later. Time for a drink folks, my head's spinning. fairwood
Back to tires decision for me, looks like I'm going to buy another set of Falken Azenis ST115 in 215/50/VR17. This set seems to be one of the quietest V rated tires our there, especially for the particular size that I want. The only other tires that I believe is quiter than this one are Yokohama AVS db S2 (only have 235/45/VR17) and Dunlop SP5000 (standard on 2001-02 Millenia S), both are about $160 each compared to about $100 for the Falkens. The main reason I like the Flaken is that not only it's cheap, kinda quiet, and good traction, it also looks very cool. the thread looks very nice and side profile is one of the best. Yes, I know it's only tires, but I do like the way it looks on my Millenia better than any other tires out there.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/52003/__hr_FalkenAzenisST11- 5B_2.jpg
BTW, has anyone or know anyone that puts a 235/45/17 on their 17x7 Millenia rims? All I know is that the overall diameter would be about the same, but the width of the tires is like .7 inch wider, don't know how it will fit and look.
Happy Friday to all!
I'm in the market for a 2001S. Since your flag indicator is the'leaf' and you seem to have done a lot of research on the car , what would be a fair price from the local Mazda dealership in Vancouver, with 19K miles on it. Is the 2001 a lot different from the 2000 ? The dealer is asking for 24K Canadian ($ 17,400 US). Thanks
I followed phatpat's instructions 4 times with no success whatsoever. So I e-mailed the seller and he provided what he says is his programming info.
This is somewhat similar to what phatpat gave but close doesn't count does it? What surprised me was that the "new" remote now worked but the original no longer worked! Upon careful reading I realized that you have to repeat step 6 for each remote within seconds of each other. Apparently this will work for up to 4 remotes at one sitting.
Also what was referred to as beeps is actually the chime that sounds when you open driver's door with the key still in the ignition or if you don't buckle up with engine running.
1. Turn the ignition key to ON (not to ACC as previous instructions directed).
2. Turn ignition back OFF.
3. Remove key completely.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 twice more, for a total of 3 times, removing key completely EACH time.
5. Press the light switch at the lower back corner of the driver's side door jam THREE times, making sure the interior lights flicker. (This is similar to opening and closing door three times from previous instructions.).
5. Wait several seconds and the car should chime.
6. Hit the LOCK button of the first remote being programmed TWO times, wait for the chime and repeat for the other remote(s) being programmed.
7. Wait for the final chime or chimes after programming the last remote and test the functions of all the remotes.
My apologies for passing on erroneous information a number of postings back.
Hope this helps,
Tomek
The cabin filters on my 01P are located under the passenger side dash. If you pull down the plastic cover under the dash you will see a 13mm nut. Unscrew the nut and remove the bracket. One filter falls straight down, the other you have to slide towards the back of the car and it falls out the same hole as the first. I was able to clean both filters of dust and leaf debris by tapping on the ground and I re-installed them. You may have to replace you're because of the smoke residue.
See my previous post regarding the fan blower motor if debris is built up there:
dominick33 Apr 8, 2003 12:56pm
I think you better pass over this "perfect" car. If all that is bothering you, you will hate the car from the beginning. I love my '01 P, but if it was plagued by all that I wouldn't use it.
I will give you one point though. The transmission shifting is a little harsh at time. That car sounds more like my '57 pickup than my Millenia.
If you mean Camry (Campy?) then go with the Camry if you want to sqeal the tires at startup. With all those problems how can your mechanic tell you with a staight face that the car is in perfect condition? Steering is hard, air conditioner is noisy, brakes require a lot of hard pushing, shifting is harsh (this is normal especially or only when cold), noisy interior and on and on. But it looks great! If it only looks great and has no other redeeming qualities then walk or better yet, run away as fast as you can. fairwood.
The start of the car is pretty low in contrast with Toyota Campy V6 >> it is lower than the camry, it's much sportier and look better too.
The auto transmition can be feels when the speed changes from 1 to 2. Is this is normal? >> it's notmal when the engine is cold, after about five minutes, transmission is smooth, could be jerky sometimes, but it never bothered me in anyway.
I heard that this transmition problem in every Mazdas cars. >> The 1993-1995 Mazda 626's with 4cyl engine got some transmission issues, but no other mazdas that I know of in the past ten years or so has much transmission problem at all. My 2000 Millenia S has 68000 miles now and has zero problem.
Steering wheel turns pretty hard in contrast with Camry >> yes, steering wheel is not as light as camry or accord, but that's the way Mazda designed it. You get better feel for the road that way and very stable at high speed (I mean higher speed than any any camry or accords can ever do)
Air conditioner works loud >> I have to agree with you on this, especially at #2 and up. At #1, it's pretty quiet I think.
brakes requires big push on pedal >> maybe just need a new brake pads. >> mine is fine.
Sound in the cabin something high and when the car is on neitral position I can feel some vibration in the cabin >> I don't feel it on mine, but ask your mechanic friend to look at it.
Suspansion is a little strong in contrast with the Camry >> because it is, remember that this is not a family car, this is a near luxury sport sedan, expecially with it's 17" low profile tires, you won't get as boaty ride as in a camry, but you can alway fix this by getting a higher profile tires or replace the rim with a 16" from the regular millenias
Now, what about the gasoline >> always use premium, it's a Supercharge V6 engine, it needs the premium fuels.
why Millenias so unpopular in US >> because it doesn't have a lexus or acura badge and because when mazda introduced the car in '95, they priced it too high.
My suggestion, look for a 2001 model, which you can get for about $16K has more new featured that you might like or get another grand off the price of this one. It's not that easy to sell a Millenia, so you have the edge there.
Good Luck
I agree that the price was quite decent based on my observations over the last six months. The prices here have dropped about 6-8 grand since Jan. The last deal that I checked out was thru Budget Rent a Car. The listing for the 2001S was $ 27K Canadian, and sold for $ 25K approximately 18K miles. Maybe the prices are lower in the West coast, don't really know. Cheers