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91 Octane requirements:
2.5L DOHC V6 Reccomended
2.3L DOHC V6 Required
The 2.5L should run fine on 87 octane, but it will produce less power. The 170/160hp rating is achieved using 91 octane fuel. The Miller-Cycle 2.3L is designed to run ONLY on 91 octane or higher!
"S". This car is gorgeous, with 71,400 babied miles ~ it looks new. But after reading various publications including consumer reports, the Engine gets a big black dot for numerous problems reported as well as bad marks for the cooling system. I have read some of the previous posting and notice mention of the supercharger and the radiator. Whats your recommendation ~ the deal is set to close Tuesday so help would be appreciated from anyone out there.
Thanks, Mike
seized up or so the dealer tells me. They say this is due to not changing the oil. In their view sludge caused the camshaft to seize. I have changed the oil of course, but I cannot prove this as I keep no receipts. Does anyone know if this model Mazda has a history of this type of problem? Does Mazda have a hidden warranty or service bulletins on this issue? Any help
would be appreciated as Mazda wants $10,000 for a new engine.
cheers
I am getting ready to replace the junk factory Panasonic in my 95 Millenia. Does anybody have insight on how to do this. I haven't dived into it but did take a look. After removing the two side trim pieces there are holes similar to the way Ford has there stereos. Does it simply require some bent hanger to be inserted into these holes and bent out? Similar to the Fords? Or is there other things I need to know? Thanks ahead of time.
What engine do you have? If it is a 2.5L, I might have some insight. I recently purchases a 95 Millenia with a 2.5L and had the same problem. However, the engine didn't get to the point of seizing up. What happened was, the valve covers leaked and at one point, and the engine was starved for oil. After replacing the valve cover gaskets, it was still leaking the vicinity of the valve cover. The only thing left was the camshaft seal. After removing the valve cover and the camshaft seal, big trouble! The front camshaft on the front head had ground into the head and removed so much material that the camshaft was close to breaking. I had to replace the head and both camshafts. What a nightmare. Very expensive. However, the dealer told me that it was common. And the main reason was due to a faulty oil pressure switch that tended to blow out on the 2.5Ls. You might want to check that out. However, the 2.5L is a very intricate and complicated engine (although it may not seem like it, with no power at all!). If any of your oil passages fill with sludge, you are really asking for it! The cams ride on the heads (not like the older pushrod engines with bearings) If you are not feeding oil to these cams, forget it! I don't know what other advice to give you? I can tell you that if it is not covered under warranty, expect to pay an arm and leg to get this fixed. A new head and camshafts cost me $2600 installed!
I own a 95 Millenia with close to 88,000 miles. The car is perfect except for a transmission that isn't very smooth. Depending on how fast I accelerate, the engine often shift pretty hard into gear. Never slips, but is sometimes clunky. Looking at previous posts, it seems that this is just how the Millenia transmission are. A little clunky at times. The dealership informs me that this is very true and not much to worry. He says to worry if you slip. The transmission was serviced about 1000 miles ago. Does anybody else have anything to say about this?
I'm interested in buying a 97 s off of my boss. He wants $15,000 CAD (10,000 USD approx.) and it has 158,000 km on it. (100,000 mi) Is this a good deal? What can I expect in the way of repairs with a vehicle with this much mileage? I really like the car it looks like it's in good shape and I asked if he gets it regularly serviced and he complied of course.One thing that through me off was that he told me you only have change the oil every 15,000 km (approx. 9,000 mi) is this true?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=591997605&r=0&t=0
2000 Millenia S, still going strong at 28,200 miles.
cheers
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=592090843&r=0&t=0
I also didn't like the automatic climate control, it never seemed to do what I wanted it to do, so I always adjusted everything automatically. Granted, when I came back home and drove off in my MX-6, I realized how nice and rattlefree the Millenia was, yet, it is by no means comparable to a BMW. I know, it costs much less, but still, it should be quieter and more refined. Passing with the 170 hp engine was a pain, it felt so slow due to the automatic and the heavy weight of the car. Obviously, the miller engine is a must. Other than that, it;s a nice car but needs more refinement in wind, road noise and the auto transmission.
Compared to a Passat which is in the same price caregory, the Passat wins hands down.
Mazdas always have a nice sporty feel, they are driver cars, but they lack refinement, particularly noise insulation. This is evident in all mazda vehicles I drove, the Protege, 626, MX-6 and even the Millenia. The worst in terms of road noise was a Protege rental. Over the concrete highways in Seattle, you had to scream to your passengers and you couldn't hear the radio anymore at all. Otherwise, the Protege has a very sporty feel and upscale look for an ecocnomy car.
I own a 95 Millenia with 89000 miles. On occasion, when I accelerate, I get a slight vibration in the front end of the vehicle. The car has two new half-shafts so I've concluded that it is not them. The suspension feels tight and I don't believe it is an alignment issue. It only happens occasionally and often after I accelerate from about 10 - 15 mph. Any suggestions?
Really enjoy this site. Found interesting info here and just thought that i would share some of my info. Found a air intake mod and also replace the factory muffler with a performance muffler. Check out my webpage for more info, pictures and details:
http://www.geocities.com/kimarij/KimariHomePage.html?992361462950
There are links to some of the places that i visit and shop at the most. Take a look and sign the guestbook please.
www.geocities.com/kimarij/
Still doing some fine tuning. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Anyone have any experience on this...or any suggestions??
Thanks,
Jason
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
A friend of mine has recently purchased a very low mileage '97 Millenia L and all of a sudden it has stopped playing certain CDs. At first, it played everything. And then it began to not play certain commercial CDs, but after a little prompting it would. Well, that eventually did not work. It did, however, play CD-Rs just fine. But they, too, have stopped working all the time and now he's lucky to get any CD to play at all, no matter the type. Is this typical of that model year or all years? Is there a place he can take it to to get it quickly taken care of or is this a dealer problem that must be seen by Mazda technicians? Anything you know would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!
Installing an aftermarket unit sounds good but he probably wouldn't do that seeing as how he had an aftermarket player in last car and got this one in hopes that everything would work normally. I don't really care. It's his car but he's not anywhere near being a car fanatic but he does love that damn Millenia an awful lot. LOL
I have a 2000 millennia millennia edition and I'd like to use synthetic oil, but I don't feel like paying an additional $8 per quart at the dealer to substitute synthetic for regular.
I would also like to use the Bosch 4 platinum plugs, but the dealers said they do not carry them and they'd probably charge me $10 per plug extra if they did.
If anyone has done one of both of these things, I'd be curious to hear feedback on how difficult it was and if you realized any benefit.
Love my car and thanks in advance for any help.
Tinkachii
The base ("premium") Millenia is nicely appointed but proved a disappointment since it has the same 2.5L six as the 626, although they credit it with 5 more HP, but it weighs 223lb more than the 626. Five more hp (170) is not enough, the Millenia needs much more! Mazda claims 8.0s 0-60 for the manual 626 (close to the Honda) but only claims 10.2s for the automatic version. That suggests slug territory for the heavier Millenia, and it seemed so. The Millenia S (210hp) would no doubt be much better, but it costs significantly more than an Accord even with the rebate and it drinks premium fuel. In fact, the Millenia S is more comparable in price to an Acura 3.2TL which, among other things, has 225hp and a 5spd auto with "sportshift" which would be the "no brainer" choice for me.
I have 3 Mazdas so I obviously have no aversion to the marque, but I think the Millenia misses the Mark.
And since when is fake manual transmission a reason to buy one car over another. Believe me when I say we don't believe that your 3.-Whatever TL or your Millenia S or your Lexus IS300 will ever beat a Camaro Z28 or Porsche Boxster at any Red Light Drag Races. So get the car for the luxury and the ability to get you where you want to go in elegant style.
I now have a 2000 Millenia w/2.5L and I am extremely happy with it...it will not win any drag races, but it can get you where you want to go, and in style to boot.
I looked at Accord v6's and camry v6's, and chose the Millenia for its superior price ($19,900 after $5600 dollar reduction) and fit and finish over the other two.
I personally don't think the 2.5 engine is a slouch. I just can't understand what people are griping about. if you want out and out speed, you buy a Porsche or Viper or what-have-you. If you want to get something to haul friends and family in in style, luxury, and relatively quickly, you get almost anything else.
Yes, the car that I drove was a 2001 with the 2.5L, 170hp engine and I stand by my conclusion that it does not offer performance comparable to any number of vehicles in its price range, even with the price reduction. It IS a comfortable, well appointed car but so is the Accord and if I can have that AND a better engine then the choice is obvious.
As for transmissions, the Acura "sportshift" is not a "fake manual transmission" but rather an automatic transmission that is more versatile and allows the driver to PARTIALLY compensate for SOME of the disadvantages of ALL automatic transmissions. "Sportshift" aside, the fact that the Acura transmission is a 5 speed rather than 4 as in the Millenia is sufficient to brand it as superior.
I don't where you are, but here in San Diego, you can easily buy a Millenia S for less than an Accord EX-V6. Honda dealers here are demanding $2000 over MSRP for the EX-V6 and call you stupid for even thinking about looking at another vehicle! I was looking at them and was totally turned off when they told me I would have to pay them money to tow my RX-7 off their lot and I should get my @#% in the office to sign the contract! This is the general treatment of most of the Honda dealerships here... and I'm sorry, but the RX-7 will blow the doors off any Honda ever built!
Anyways, even without the $2k mark-up on the Accord EX-V6, you can pick up a Millenia S for about the same price ($4k rebate plus at least $1,500 additional reduction). The Millenia S comes with a lot more than the Accord and offers similar performance around town and superior performance on the freeway. However, to each their own. Buy the car you feel is best for you. BTW, why didn't you like the 626? You can pick one up fully loaded for under $23k.
(Small note - you might not like the last-place results, but no need to shoot the messenger, okay? :-))
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
The Protege ES has been rated by many, many magazines and other car-related sources as being number one in its class. However, Edmunds rated it fifth place in its comparison test. The funny thing is that the Protege ES Edmunds used in their comparison test was fully-loaded and equipped with an automatic while most of the competitors were equipped with manual transmissions and very few options. Then they go and blast the Protege for it's higher price and mediocre performance against the manual transmission cars.
Take everything they say with a grain of salt. I have found that people who have certain cars, no matter if these car critics like them or not, love'em. They could care less that anyone else hates them. I find that a wonderful thing. That just shows that fat, bald guys with wide bodies who claim that they don't get enough lateral support in a Miata aren't given too much creedance. If I was a 40 year-old fat guy, I would hate getting ina Miata too!
I have driven my friend's Millenia and I liked it a lot; it doesn't compare to my gorgeous J30t but what does? Every other friend who's seen it of late likes it and it even got them thinking they should get one too. But who wants to be a copycat?
This may sound ridiculous but I would sooner have a Millenia than a new 911 any day. The Porsche redesign of their cars has given all their cars an ugly face. Now a late model 911 and a Millenia . . . I dunno . . . It would be hard to choose . . .