I have the exact model you are looking at, a 2001 P. Mine now has 14000 troublefree miles on it except for the knock sensor which was replaced under warranty.
My experience causes me to feel that with it being in "excellent" condition you are getting an fine car. They are also offering a very good warranty, because the factory warranty expires at 3 years or 39000 miles. If you like it as well as I do mine, you can't go wrong. Be sure you do a good test drive though, because there are some here that complain the P is low on power. Personally I consider that rubbish, but you should decide for yourself.
Take it man. That is a good deal, especially with the GM warranty included. Any issues that might come up (o2, knock sensor) will be replaced under warranty. The car has great reliability, as I think anyone in this forum would attest to. Mazdas in general are well-built cars. The car is not quick off the line, but it gets the job done. Take it for a 30 or 45 minute test drive on both highway and city. You will notice it is very quiet and stable at high speeds. You may notice a rough transmission shift from a rolling stop. This is normal on all MM's and you will get the right "pedal-touch" after a little bit of driving. Keep us updated.
I'd definitely recommend it. Factory warranty is 3 years / 50K miles. Make sure tires are in good condition and not underinflated (common mistake in this fairly heavy - solid! - vehicle) which can cause premature tire wear. Tomek
Alright, what I am doing wrong?? I have a 2001 MMS with 7500 miles. This morning I pull away from a stop sign, proceed up an overpass, and decide to pass a tractor-trailer to get up and over the overpass quicker before the road becomes a single lane. So at about 20 mph I mash the accelerator to the floor. I might as well have put the car in park. I feel nothing. No rapid acceleration, no pulling g's and being driven into the rear of my seat, nothing. The rpm needle reflects high revs, but the car is not moving. Finally the car begins to accelerate, and I barely pass this lumbering truck. What is going on here? Is this the "s" in supercharged? My 1983 280z takes off faster than this. I am beside myself. Absolutely zero low-end. My experience alone? Is something wrong with my car? I do accelerate quickly onto on-ramps and such, but when I need to go from 20 mph to 60 or 70 quickly, nothing.
I think that most people here have complained about the low end acceleration of the MM. As a little bit of an experiment you might want to try and turn off your Traction Control System the next time you try to pass someone and see if that makes a difference.
Quick note to update my prev. posting regarding the 2001 Millenia P w/20k mi.I have been considering. Was able to keep car for 2 days to try out and was reasonably impressed. Completed deal w/dealership at 13k purchase price with 3yr/36k mi GM warranty incl. Factory warranty due to expire soon so timing was good. Knock sensor already replaced under warranty and had tires & pressure checked out (thanks tomekk). Appreciate input from all who participated to my inquiry. Was informnative and helpful. Thanks Much
You definitely need to have it checked out - is this something you can reproduce at will?
You did not have the Hold (gear) button depressed, did you?
I can't say that my '01 MM S is a Porsche, but acceleration is not lacking and more than decent. It'll downshitf and GO when you mash the pedal on the right ... that's the one you pushed on, correct? :-) just kidding
Last weekend I had it up to 110 on Mass Pike (love those new tires - sooooo smooth).
Fwatson, you have the P model right? When I replaced mine I got some Continental Contitrac (or whatever they are called) in the same size as OEM. H rated to 121mph I think. I like them alot. Very quiet and smooth.
Tomekk, do you have radar detector or something? or just some balls to be going 110. seems like you post 100+ speeds frequently. haha.
I did stick to OEM Dunlops - SP5000 215/50-17 VR if I remember correctly. Reasons for this: - VERY durable sidewalls comapred with Michelins, those Dunlps take the pothole licking and keep on ticking - pretty good in snow - quiet - $109 @ tirerack, dealer quoted $267 per (!!!)
I used to have Nissan Stanza that came with Bridgestones, replaced them due to wear with Contitouring CH95. Theye were OK, but I liked the Bridgestones better. The Contis were good in the wet/snow, but had kind of strange, heavy feel and - despite being fairly quiet (on par with the Bridgestones) they made rather loud thumping noise over bumps.
The worst tires in the wet - by far - were Goodyear Eagle GAs on Passat GLX. Awful in the snow, in rain they felt "greasy". Not recommended.
Oh, one more thing: why was I enthusiastic about those new tires? My old ones were pretty worn and noisy - left rear was making noise due to uneven wear (no alignment since new...), so 4 wheel alignment + 4 new tires + 4 wheel high-speed balancing = really smooth, quiet ride.
Just wanted to post some info that might help someone. On my 97 Mil-S, at about 82,500 miles, I got a check engine light. AutoZone read the code as P0420 Catalytic Effenciency Below Threshold. So, I take it to the Mazda dealer for a more complete ($70) diagnosis using the diagnostic plug under the hood instead of under the dash (better?). They get the same code and say it is set by the rear bank 1 O2 sensor. They recommend replacing that ($275) and if it still sets the code, replace the catalytic converter. ($$-I don't want to know) My converter is just out of warranty (8/80,000 on Millenia cat).
Stay with me ... I'm almost to my point. As an afterthought, the Mazda tech says, oh by the way, your battery is weak at only 375 amps and Mazda recommends 575.
I did a little research and found that the Millenia can set an O2 code (or others) when there is low battery output. I hope this is true. I replaced the battery today. The check engine light is out. Mazda tech said if O2 sensor is bad it should reset the code in 'a few' starts.
Better to replace a battery than an O2 sensor and the catalytic converter. I'm betting that the O2 sensor is OK since I've seen quotes from some Mazda techs that a high percentage of the O2 sensors that they replace are actually good. Watch this space for results of my theory.
I like it! After having both my O2 sensors replaced (out of my pocket) because of the Check Engine light and the catalytic converter (dealer replaced), I soon had a battery failure which I replaced. Perhaps there is merit to the theory - anyone else have this experience? If this is the case, perhaps the alternator is underrated and unable to maintain proper voltage levels when facing charging a bad battery. Prolonged drops in system voltages could definitely cause false sensor readings. Did not help me, but hopefully this will help the next guy because those parts are not cheap; I spent over $500 just for R&R of the O2 sensors.
Everything is still OK. CEL is out and my 97 Mil-S is running great. Looks like a low battery may indeed trigger check engine light codes to be set. I sold my Millenia today to a fine gentleman and I will refer him to this board for great information. Thank you all for your input.
O2 & catalyst 'failure' occurred around 65k miles on my 1998 s. More relevant is that the battery was about 4 years old when the failure occurred and then the battery failed soon afterwards. Now, this is the second battery we've replaced and I don't remember this happening before. Perhaps the sensor/catalyst are more susceptible to the 'failure' at higher miles? Let me say also that an o2 sensor failure at 60k is really not that atypical, although a catalytic converter failure is less likely (may have something to do with the fact that the federal govn forces manufacturer's to warranty the convert to 80k miles )
I have replaced several cats on millenia S models that had failed (usually around 50-70k miles). Mazda had some o2 issues as well, but not as common as the cats. Low battery voltage can be a factor with codes in the pcm, but usualy their are several codes that come up when it is a battery issue, not just o2 sensor codes.
Just replaced brake pads on my Millenia S for the first time after 80k miles. Rotors still in great shape. Dual piston front calipers, ceramic pads from the factory - these are well engineered brakes. I am still surprised about how tight the car feels. Has anyone upgraded their suspension to aftermarket shocks? The existing dampers have always been a little on the soft side and I want to use something slightly more agressive.
Holy cow! You got 80k out of your brakes? You havent needed to replace pads or anything until now? I have 65k and am about to replace brakes for the second time soon.
On an unrelated note, this thought popped into my head today. Everyone on here complains that the MM is not fast enough right? I assume most people use the auto climate control, which has the a/c on all the time. Could the a/c use be causing the dip in power from the engine? I know this happens in four cylinder cars, but with the MM with only 180hp and around 4100lbs, the engine has a hard enough time as it is. Any thoughts on this? I am going to try and keep the a/c off for the next week and see if it makes a difference. Could this also lower gas mileage a bit?
Since the Millenia S is the wife's car, I have to credit her driving habits, although she does drive aggressively. As for the brake pad material, Pep boys listed ceramic as OEM. When I priced pads from the dealership ($100+ ouch!), they did not know whether they were ceramic or not. A/C does sap power and mileage if you are running the compressor, so switching it off might give you a slight gain in both. If anyone is concerned about performance, this can easily be addressed by getting the S model. Handling is great, accelleration is awesome except from a dead stop (only 2.3L displacement), and ride on the interstate is smooth. The only driving characteristic that sucks is the turning radius is horrible on this car making parking in tight spots a chore. Has anyone reached 150k miles on their Millenia S - what are the long term maintenance issues?
If you get into NAPA online they also list ceramic brakes as $68. Autozone is listing ceramic brakes as original equipment.
Curb weight for the vehicle is 3358 lbs. for the P and 3488 lbs. for the S. This is according to the 2002 Mill brochure. I am sure these weights do not include options.
Fairwood it is good to see that you are back with us. How has your car been since your last problems?
I thought that you were still lurking around in the background, any way it is still nice to see you come back. I understand what you are talking about.
Just a note regarding dealer prices for front pads. This kit will include all shims and clips. I am most certain that the part from Pep Boys will not. I have only had good luck with OEM pads on my Mazda and Toyotas.
The kit I purchased had the pads, shims, and caliper pin lubricant. The only pieces missing were the wear indicator clips which I possibly could have reused from the old ones, but I opted not. I'll keep the $30 difference and skip the wear indicator clips. I just have to say I am glad the Mazda is such a reliable car, because the dealers really gouge you for these parts. I spend less money repairing my BMW M3 buying parts at the BMW dealer!
We leased a new Millenia in 1999 and loved it. We ran the lease out and didn't buy the car but leased an Accord instead. It was a nice car but certainly a step down. We have been shopping for another car now and want to move up again. We looked at the Lexus ES330, a very nice car but really expensive for what you get, same with the Acura TL. Nissan and Mitsubishi styling leave me cold (my opinion of course). We started looking for used Millenia's and found a 2000 near us that looks EXACTLY like out old one except for the wheels which are not chrome and a stripe which is a different color. It only has about 21,000 miles on it and it checks out clean in Car Fax.. My question is: Is $15,999.00 a decent price for this car? It sure is tempting and the dealer won't move from that price.
While you are waiting for some input here, you might want to drop by our Real-World Trade-In Values discussion and ask there as well. Those folks are right on top of what used vehicles are going for.
I think that $16,000 is a little high for the car, but that will also depend what else it has on it, such as four seasons package, etc.
I went to a car show this weekend and was talking to the Mazda person there and he was saying that Mazda has no new cars coming in at least the next couple of years. He said that the Tribute and the MPV will be redesigned over the next year to year and half. He also said that Mazda will be bringing out a new SUV, such as the link that fwatson showed a month or two ago. But as of now there is no replacement for the Mill. He also said that a commercial was being made of someone that did have 300,000 miles on their Mill. When I asked if it was a S or P model he said that he did not know. I do not know if this is going to be a local or regional or national commercial or if it will even come to see the light.
Man listen, I just bought a 96 Millenia(L) for 3800. I LOVE IT. It has 107K miles and drive incredibly smooth. There have been numerous owners in the past so I am unable to determine if the "major" maintanence has been done. I will probably do it to make sure it is up-to-date. I have done a couple of upgrades to the car: wires and plugs, shocks and struts, and a performance mod for the intake. The lower suspension dropped my car by about 1.5" and is nice. The only problems that I have encountered on this car are: 1. The guy that had the car before me CUT the springs to lower the car. VERY IMPORTANT---DO NOT CUT THE SPRINGS TO THIS CAR TO LOWER THE HEIGHT. spend the $200 to get the lower springs. I had to replace the springs, struts, and bushings for the middle rod. 2. I have a very minor oil leak, not sure from where.
Otherwise everything is perfect (knock on wood).
I have noticed that there are not many performance parts for the millenia. I was told to get the engine code for the car and that would help me with getting compatible parts. Where can I get the engine code for my car? Is there anywhere to get performace parts?
We need to know which engine you have to help with the performance parts.
The 2.5 is essentially the same that the Ford Probe used, and is discussed on other forums. Unfortunately Edmunds gets perturbed if anyone posts links to other forums, so I can't give you a link. But the name of one is ProbeTalk.com Forum. Try google to get you there. They can probably point you to other help for performance on the KLZE engine. It was also used in the MX6 and 626. You might also try the Probe/MX6/626 Edmunds forums. They might have some performance discussions.
If it is the S, the oil leak is probably coming from the supercharger. Otherwise most likely a gasket.
Quote freebird: "Just wait until you have to pay for that 60,000 mile service - $600 or more....
Quote cappetta: "It has 107K miles and drive incredibly smooth."
Looks to me like it's a little late to worry about a 60,000 mile service, it already has 107,000 miles on it. Maybe you are thinking about the 600,000 mile service.
My brother is considering a used '95 or '96 Mazda Millenia for his daughter, and asked me for help on research, since he's not much of a car guy. It seems like a pretty good buy considering how inexpensive they are, and seems to have good crash test scores, and is CR recommended for reliability.
My question is for Millenia owners, what are things to watch out for?
Dude, you have to perform the 60,000-mile service every 60,000 miles. It is expensive. So the new buyer would probably want to look into whether the timing belt was changed as well as the other items serviced EVERY 60,000 miles.
Here would be the recommend mileages for the 60,000 service:
60,0000 120,000 180,000 240,000
And so on. Just use a calculator and add 60,000 to the previous number.
I think that you are confusing the 2.3L engine with the 2.5L engine. You are correct on your service for the timing belt for the 2.3L but not on the 2.5L. They are talking about the 2.5L engine, the L, M, P or whatever other letter Mazda used for this model. I thought that the 2.5L engine was around the 100,000 mile mark for the timing belt. The cost of this would be no different then any other car that needed this done. Your price of $600 + sounds more like the expense for the 2.3L miller engine.
kcm is correct. On the non-supercharged model, the timing belt is suggested at 105K, but can most likely go longer. Eeven if the belt does break, the engine is a non-interference design, which means no damage will be done to the engine. 60K tune up is no big deal with this model. I just turned 60K a couple of months ago, and all i had done with tranny flush and serpentine belt change. Everything else was fine. Couple hundred bucks, and i was outta there.
If I remember correctly, the 95 Millenia had some reliability issues due to being the first model year. I think CR even says to stay away from it. However, 96-02 gets all Red in CR and a recommended in their used car guide. Just make sure you stay away from the Supercharged engine (2.3L, badged S model). As miles get higher, supercharger can have problems with leaks and such. Since the engine is very unique and rare, any repairs are usually costly. Stick with the 2.5L engine (badged L or P) and you should have no problems. The car should easily last well into the 100K's judging on Mazda's reliability.
Take out your trusty little calculator and divide $600 by 60000 miles. That comes ot ONE PENNY per mile even if your $600 figure was correct. My recommendation is that if you can't afford a penny a mile for that service on a $20 some thousand automobile, don't buy one. The expenses for my '95 Oldsmobile 88 have far exceeded that $600, by a multiplier of about 5. And it just now turned 85000 miles. High maintenance costs are far from a Mazda exclusive.
From what I have seen, the big replacement item on '95 and '96 Millenia's was the spark plug wires which run about a hundred dollars plus labor to replace. The reason that knocks down the '95/'96 models in the CU reliability ratings, is because it happened to a lot of them. In other words "high frequency" of repair. Unfortunately CR doesn't take repair cost into enough consideration in their ratings.
Overall, CR rates the Millenia "Outstanding" in reliability.
For the early models, the timing belt is scheduled at 60,000 miles. I owned a '95 model. This is what it had in the book. In later years, they increased the interval. The original poster bought a '96 L, with the 2.5L.
$600 for timing belt, water pump and the rest. Call a dealer and ask their price - probably over $800. I only had mine serviced at “Mazda only” shops that used OEM parts. Another joke - $900 for a power steering pump! The list goes on. That was my gripe with my car - the parts were too expensive. A timing belt on my Toyota is $209.
If the spark plugs were replaced by the dealer for free it was because they did you a favor for all the extra cash you paid them by only doing repairs at their shop. Just my .02 -- Those service bulletins are not required repairs, just a heads-up for dealers or repair shops for frequent problems.
Comments
My experience causes me to feel that with it being in "excellent" condition you are getting an fine car. They are also offering a very good warranty, because the factory warranty expires at 3 years or 39000 miles. If you like it as well as I do mine, you can't go wrong. Be sure you do a good test drive though, because there are some here that complain the P is low on power. Personally I consider that rubbish, but you should decide for yourself.
Factory warranty is 3 years / 50K miles.
Make sure tires are in good condition and not underinflated (common mistake in this fairly heavy - solid! - vehicle) which can cause premature tire wear.
Tomek
You did not have the Hold (gear) button depressed, did you?
I can't say that my '01 MM S is a Porsche, but acceleration is not lacking and more than decent. It'll downshitf and GO when you mash the pedal on the right ... that's the one you pushed on, correct? :-) just kidding
Last weekend I had it up to 110 on Mass Pike (love those new tires - sooooo smooth).
tomekk
I have given a lot of thought to replacemant tires, although that is a long way into the future from the look of my OEM's.
What tire did you end up with that you seem so enthusiastic about? What speed rating on them?
Tomekk, do you have radar detector or something? or just some balls to be going 110. seems like you post 100+ speeds frequently. haha.
- VERY durable sidewalls comapred with Michelins, those Dunlps take the pothole licking and keep on ticking
- pretty good in snow
- quiet
- $109 @ tirerack, dealer quoted $267 per (!!!)
I used to have Nissan Stanza that came with Bridgestones, replaced them due to wear with Contitouring CH95. Theye were OK, but I liked the Bridgestones better. The Contis were good in the wet/snow, but had kind of strange, heavy feel and - despite being fairly quiet (on par with the Bridgestones) they made rather loud thumping noise over bumps.
The worst tires in the wet - by far - were Goodyear Eagle GAs on Passat GLX. Awful in the snow, in rain they felt "greasy". Not recommended.
And Michelines... well, one word: overpriced!
Hope this helps,
Tomek
Stay with me ... I'm almost to my point. As an afterthought, the Mazda tech says, oh by the way, your battery is weak at only 375 amps and Mazda recommends 575.
I did a little research and found that the Millenia can set an O2 code (or others) when there is low battery output. I hope this is true. I replaced the battery today. The check engine light is out. Mazda tech said if O2 sensor is bad it should reset the code in 'a few' starts.
Better to replace a battery than an O2 sensor and the catalytic converter. I'm betting that the O2 sensor is OK since I've seen quotes from some Mazda techs that a high percentage of the O2 sensors that they replace are actually good. Watch this space for results of my theory.
On an unrelated note, this thought popped into my head today. Everyone on here complains that the MM is not fast enough right? I assume most people use the auto climate control, which has the a/c on all the time. Could the a/c use be causing the dip in power from the engine? I know this happens in four cylinder cars, but with the MM with only 180hp and around 4100lbs, the engine has a hard enough time as it is. Any thoughts on this? I am going to try and keep the a/c off for the next week and see if it makes a difference. Could this also lower gas mileage a bit?
Curb weight for the vehicle is 3358 lbs. for the P and 3488 lbs. for the S. This is according to the 2002 Mill brochure. I am sure these weights do not include options.
Fairwood it is good to see that you are back with us. How has your car been since your last problems?
I went to a car show this weekend and was talking to the Mazda person there and he was saying that Mazda has no new cars coming in at least the next couple of years. He said that the Tribute and the MPV will be redesigned over the next year to year and half. He also said that Mazda will be bringing out a new SUV, such as the link that fwatson showed a month or two ago. But as of now there is no replacement for the Mill. He also said that a commercial was being made of someone that did have 300,000 miles on their Mill. When I asked if it was a S or P model he said that he did not know. I do not know if this is going to be a local or regional or national commercial or if it will even come to see the light.
The only problems that I have encountered on this car are:
1. The guy that had the car before me CUT the springs to lower the car. VERY IMPORTANT---DO NOT CUT THE SPRINGS TO THIS CAR TO LOWER THE HEIGHT. spend the $200 to get the lower springs. I had to replace the springs, struts, and bushings for the middle rod.
2. I have a very minor oil leak, not sure from where.
Otherwise everything is perfect (knock on wood).
I have noticed that there are not many performance parts for the millenia. I was told to get the engine code for the car and that would help me with getting compatible parts. Where can I get the engine code for my car? Is there anywhere to get performace parts?
The 2.5 is essentially the same that the Ford Probe used, and is discussed on other forums. Unfortunately Edmunds gets perturbed if anyone posts links to other forums, so I can't give you a link. But the name of one is ProbeTalk.com Forum. Try google to get you there. They can probably point you to other help for performance on the KLZE engine. It was also used in the MX6 and 626. You might also try the Probe/MX6/626 Edmunds forums. They might have some performance discussions.
If it is the S, the oil leak is probably coming from the supercharger. Otherwise most likely a gasket.
I'm glad I am rid of mine.
Quote cappetta: "It has 107K miles and drive incredibly smooth."
Looks to me like it's a little late to worry about a 60,000 mile service, it already has 107,000 miles on it. Maybe you are thinking about the 600,000 mile service.
My question is for Millenia owners, what are things to watch out for?
Here would be the recommend mileages for the 60,000 service:
60,0000
120,000
180,000
240,000
And so on. Just use a calculator and add 60,000 to the previous number.
From what I have seen, the big replacement item on '95 and '96 Millenia's was the spark plug wires which run about a hundred dollars plus labor to replace. The reason that knocks down the '95/'96 models in the CU reliability ratings, is because it happened to a lot of them. In other words "high frequency" of repair. Unfortunately CR doesn't take repair cost into enough consideration in their ratings.
Overall, CR rates the Millenia "Outstanding" in reliability.
$600 for timing belt, water pump and the rest. Call a dealer and ask their price - probably over $800. I only had mine serviced at “Mazda only” shops that used OEM parts. Another joke - $900 for a power steering pump! The list goes on. That was my gripe with my car - the parts were too expensive. A timing belt on my Toyota is $209.