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Do anyone have a solution? need a answer the car want pass emission with the CEL on
I have a 98 Millenia S with only 75,000 miles on it. I love the car but am afraid of the future maintenance costs. It is currently in the shop because the hoses broke. It's taking almost a week to get replacements. I'm told that the timing belt needs replacing and that alone could cost $1,000!
I understand that the valves will need adjusting soon and that it costs a lot and not many places even have the equipment it takes to do the work. I was even told by more than one mechanic that a dealer might charge you for the work and not even do it!
In light of the fact that it has been discontinued, should I get rid of the car since these problems will only get worse with time?
Find a real mechanic; some shop specializing in foreign cars, maybe someone who's really into Mazda. This ain't no car for the local gas station... the 10 CEL incidents might have tipped you off, no?
Good luck,
-Mathias
Either way, let us know what happens. Good luck.
I totally feel your pain. I bought my 02'Millennia two years ago and and almost immediately the check engine light came on and stayed on for the majority of that time and the only reading (if it ever gave a reading from the diagnostic) was that there was a misfire in the whatever cylinder so we replaced that coil.
After taking it from Mazda dealership to Mazda dealership where they would resent the CEL and tell me that they couldn't find anything wrong - I finally let my nephew take it (who was in engineering school and has his own small mechanic business) to do a process of elimination. We started by replacing all the plugs and moving the coil into a different cylinder that had not previously misfired and then the misfire changed. We replaced the new coil again and finally the CEL and misfires have not lit up since. Of course, this car is just high maintenance all the time - new fuel injector, gaskets, sensors, you name it - it's been done and the repairs are not cheap.
So - if you can find a good mechanic - dealer or not, hang onto them. Just because a mechanic at a dealer is supposedly certified doesn't mean that they are good. Good Luck.
It's a shame because I love the look and feel of the car. Mine is a 2000 with about 65K and for every one thing that I fix, two more go wrong. During a recent routine balance and rotate, I was told that the rims are beginning to rust -tires constantly leak air because of the chrome cracking. I just want a nice reliable car that gets more than 15mpg of premium fuel. I agree that this will be a tough car to get out of - I still owe on mine too.
There IS a recall or TSB on that. I suggest you talk to a dealer who knows about it, but aftermarket wheels are much cheaper.
You might also check reliability sources, JD Powers, CU etc, because ALL Millenia's have a "much better than average" maintenance record and have always been a Consumer Reports "Best Buy" new and used. Also according to the diagram at the top of this page, Millenia have a 9.1 out of 10 approval by owners. Personally I'd give mine a 9.9999 seeing how my total problems with my '01P is a weak Knock Sensor at 10000 miles. Flawless ever since as well as being gorgeous and a joy to drive.
I average 20 city, 27-28 highway and about 22mpg overall. Have never had a tank below 20 and I run 87 octane. But the S does require "premium"
You should own my previous GM car if you want something to feel bad about.
From top of page, "9.1-RateIt-62 Reviews"
I love the look and ride of the car, but because of all the problems, I have not had the opportunity to enjoy it long enough before another problem occurs.
I'm sure that there is always a batch of lemons in every make and model - and I just happened to be the lucky one to buy one from that batch.
Thanks for the info on the rims. I've been looking into that too.
I doubt any manufacturer is going to do anything about a wheel problem with a 6 year old car. I have no connection with them, but Sears has a lot of really nice chromed wheels that they put on sale fequently. I'd give second thoughts to having them install them though.
We had several discussions way back about the wheel problem, and I can assure you that it definitely does have at least a TSB concerning the corrosion of the chromed wheels.
------------------------------------------------
From post #3267:
Quote: "There was a recall on some MM chrome wheels that should be available at your dealer's or online at AllData. There may be a link on the Edmunds site for that.
Edit: "Here is the recall information on the wheels for the 99S. "TSB#0200401 Wheels - Chrome Wheel Rusting"
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ee9e73d/3266
Its sad to see all the problems certain owners are having. Yes, the rims are beat up but still hold the air. Have gone through many many tires due to potholes. Use snow tires now in the winter. Have been in several minor accidents at low speeds and need $1,400 for body work to both the front and the back. Still love the car. My major complaint; seats don't go back enough .
I've had similar problems to many listed here. I've had a CEL issue that eventually was diagnosed and fixed - faulty o2 sensor. I've also had bad pulleys cause premature wear of the second timing belt after only 50k miles. Original belt was replaced at 75k & discovered that badly aligned pulleys caused belt to shave inside housing. I've had the tilt steering motor get stuck sporadically which I fixed...by never using it. I've pre-emptively replaced the distributor cap, water pump as well as changing all fluids every 30k...other than that, I just put gas in it.
However, gas mileage has gotten a lot worst as I got over 100k miles. I do only city driving now and I get only 16mpg. I'm not sure why but maybe it's a result of age, maybe the other o2 sensors are bad, CA gas being reformulated to get rid of MTBE, who knows. I know that my engine has had a lot of carbon deposits b/c I had to spend to get it cleaned last time to pass smog. I try to use gas detergents now to control issue. Any ideas would be great...to at least get it back to 20ish mpg.
If you have this fixed and find the cause, I would appreciate it if you would post the results.
asking $2000 for it
Car smokes. What is that? o rings?
Is it worth the chance?
"Car Smokes" means it burns oil, unless it's white "smoke", i.e. steam, which is normal at startup but otherwise indicates things like a bad head gasket.
With 179k, it's likely the engine is a little loose, and oil is forced past the rings. The piston rings, not O rings.
Is it worth the chance?
What chance? It's already messed up, no risk here... the question is, how bad is it? If it's just a little bit, and you odn't mind living with it, and if it passes inspection (big if), then get it if you really like it.
As far as fixing it up, no. A car like that you only do what's necessary and you cut bait before it becomes a money pit. Trust me on this.
I have a 96 Millenia L, 152k miles, $1,800 and only a good deal if something big doesn't give in the first year.
You want cheap, get a NEW Corolla LE. It'll cost you 10 to 15 cents per mile for a very very long time. The Milly will save you on insurance etc. but it will likely cost more to run.
Good luck,
-Mathias
Thanks for your response.
My 02 started hanging up and I mentioned it during a service and my writer said it is a common problem and took care of it.
Sounds like either the switch is bad or the fuse blown. And I haven't noticed a trunk pull for it. I'll check my owners manual.
EDIT: The owners manual only shows the electric switch, so I do not think there is a release in the trunk.
I still have the car however every time I start it up blue/white smoke comes out of the exhaust, then it quickly stops after the car has idled for a minute. I don't know what to do about this. This is my first car and I don't think I can affort any more repairs! Do I keep the car or do I avaoid future headaches and sell it and get somthing else? The car is beautiful and looks great but if it dosent run then whats the point of keeping it? Someone help!
Did anyone ever find out if TCS would cause engine to quit and not restart for period of time??
Perhaps more to the point: If you are going to buy a seven-year-old luxury car, especially an obscure one, you have to have a good mechanic. And you HAVE to have the car checked out before you plunk down any money for it.
I didn't, and I got (mostly) lucky.
Paid $1,800 for the car, and could easily double that with suspension work & two new axles. Did the most necessary things for $800 and been driving it for 5 months now...
A car like this, you either get it and keep it in top-notch condition -- or you get it cheap and milk it for as long as you can. And personally, I'd only buy older cars for cash. No payments when you have big repairs hanging over your head... the darned thing has 4 (four) ball joints at every corner, fer cryin' out loud!
Most of all, you'd better know about cars or have a good relationship with a competent mechanic.
-Mathias
1996 Millenia L, 152k
My '95 Millenia just turned 170K. Total repairs to date are less than $4k and included routine stuff like timing belt, cooling pump, distributor, battery, etc. Tranny's fine, engine's fine, shocks are fine....I expected it to be closer to death by this point.
It is by far the most reliable vcar I've ever had.
The one complaint is that goddamned Check Engine Light. It has been on for 4 years. I have my mechanic tweek it so that I can pass my smog check. He runs the diagnostic, it resets itself and then 30 miles later, it comes on again. I simply ignore it.
Any comments out there about the regular millenia being a great car?
cbd
CBD
I might have a lead for you if you are still stumpped.
-lambster
-lambster
I was told that there is no way the TCS (which was explained to essentially be the ABS control) could be causing the stalling, but it seems to me that the computer controling TCS is also controling the fuel or ignition or whatever is causing the thing to die.
Have you had any success getting to the bottom of this?
-lambster
-lambster
-lambster
I recently sent it into the local Mazda dealer who looked it over for about a week. They determined that it was the throttle body that went bad, caused the plugs to foul, and I should get new plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, along with the throttle body and the EGR needs cleaned.
Not wanting to "blindly" put $2k into it, I got on this site and did some investigating. I found 3 or 4 others who described the same situation and it turned out to be a vaccuum leak. I called the dealer back to see if they looked into this and unfortunately he said they tested every hose because that is a common issue with these cars. :confuse: So now I a stumped again. I am thinking it is some goofy computer issue; and others on here have replaced all kinds of stuff and not stopped the stalling.
You have any further info/ideas?