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Mazda MPV: Problems & Solutions
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If you scroll back 1000 messages or so, you can find a couple dozen messages related to shifter issues.
http://www.mpvclub.com/index.php?action=showtsb;TsbNo=23
One of these days I'm gonna sue a local telemarketer and explore small claims court myself (just as soon as my wife lets me file the paperwork, LOL).
Steve
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SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Today I took our MPV into the dealer to get the power window fixed (ref: post 2179). I got the call stating that the van was done, but they had to order the parts and I'd get another call in about a week when the parts came in. So after I wasted the time to drive to the dealer, drop off the van, pick up the loaner car and get to work (and then the reverse of that in the afternoon), they basically tell me the exact thing I told them.
Does this happen to anyone else? I'm shocked that the dealer doesn't keep some parts on hand, and I'm even more shocked that it takes a week to get the parts in. And I know that once the parts come in, I'll have to wait another week to get a service appointment. It seems the dealer is pretty busy with service. Maybe it's because they have customers bring their cars in twice as often as they need.
And then, just to ice the cake, nobody in the service department had the foresight to disconnect the power window motor from power. We'll get to drive around for 2 weeks or so hoping that we don't take leave of our senses and put the window down. No drive-thru windows until this thing is fixed. (Fortunately if there's someone in the 2nd row, we can still use that power window *G*)
-Dave
Now that I have offended all the dealers and doctors out there, let me move on to firmer ground.
My dealership (which seems all and all to be very competent) has a lifetime service plan for the MPV which costs about $350---it includes oil changes, oil filter and the usually 17 point checks up to 4 times a year for ever. All fluids get topped off and general safety of vehicle gets checked, a report generated, and a car wash to boot. Seems too good to be true, I guess the statistics show it works, but I am the kinda guy that just might keep the MPV for 20 years because of the service plan lol. Anyone have similar offers from their dealers?
I don't know if this is just my dealership (my wife's Sienna) but sure beats the Jiffy boys (and girls). Plus, I don't have to drive miles upon miles to a Mazda dealership from where I'm located.
I used to change all oil myself but age and "gut" prevents me from "gliding" under the cars now. (I'm still carving 10 year old grease from under my nails)
You just need to get your head under there. The filter is in the front and you can reach the drain plug at the back of the pan with a 15mm combination wrench.
TB
I'm not fat and bald, I'm too short for my hair and weight
)
When you receive your permanent plate, make sure you slide it into the two tabs on the plastic frame. The plate and the frame will work together just fine and be noise free. I see a few people complain about this and they end up putting foam tape on unnecessarily.
As far as the tag, I hate dealer advertisements, so I don't have a tag cover. I just took the temporary paper tag and flipped it around and screwed the metal tag over the top. No rattles, and nothing sticking to my van. Cheap too...
Mazda should have gone with four holes, each with a lip to make sure the plate sits off the hatch.
RBB
"Right now I'm still using the cardboard 30-day tag, but I want to fix it right when I put the permanent tag on.
When you receive your permanent plate, make sure you slide it into the two tabs on the plastic frame. The plate and the frame will work together just fine and be noise free. I see a few people complain about this and they end up putting foam tape on unnecessarily. "
The O/D light should not be lit unless you've disengaged the O/D. So, no O/D light means you're going to be in O/D on the freeway.
I had the tire guy check the balance of the tires this morning, and he said that the front left tire was out of balance by 35grams (1.25 oz), so he balanced it better. Test drive revealed no vibration all the way to terminal velocity.
So I got a couple adhesive rubber feet (or maybe I had them laying around the house somewhere) and stuck them to the hatch behind the license plate. No more rattle.
-Dave
Regretfully modules either work or they don't...There is no way to determin that it might fail or when it might fail....so unless the trouble light was blinking from the get-go there would have been nothing to fix or check.
Any flashing light gets my attention, I start reading the manual yet again to tell what's up.
I recently (about 2 days ago) picked up a new MPV. Yesterday, my wife was getting out of the parking lot when the OD light started to blink. Then it hit me that there was complaint of transmission module and did notice that my van fell in between the VIN number of the affected cars.
However, to my relief, I found out that most likely my wife did not put the car into "D" correctly (slightly over to 3 side or slightly not enough to "D" side) and when she did put it into "D" flashing dissappeared. When OD started to flash, did your gear selector display had box around "D" showing? When this happened to my wife, there was no box around any of the gear selector display. There was no mention of this may happen in the manual except dire warning about the transmission.
By the way, I did check under the hood and my van does have "Rework" sticker that some people mentioned in MPVclub board.
It appears that the gear selections are not very precise...I have had it in between 3 and D and it still ran fine, I just happened to hit the shifter and heard it click into place.
The first couple of days I owned the van I noticed the same thing...the O/D light flashing. I had it in between neutral and D, I just clicked it into place, and the light went off.
Be careful shifting your automatics out there...if I had a manual, I wouldn't be worrying about it!
It has 3 seats in the middle row, and two in the rear...seems a bit silly to me (actually I would love 3 in the middle, if they left 3 in the rear...then all of my friends with 2 kids could ride with me instead of taking 2 vans!!)
I digress...the most interesting thing is that there was a manual transmission shifter sticking up between the two front seats...hey the Mazda 6 5-speed V6 uses the same engine...why can't I have a 5-speed? Mazda needs to make a MazdaSpeed MPV with the Duratec 3.0 from Jaguar and the 5-speed from the 6. I would actually consider selling my beloved 2002 for that!
Bean, two words: Perceived Market Demand
Okay, it was three words. "Everyone" in the US wants automatic transmissions. Well, except you and me that is. Besides, a manual transmission would hurt the MPV's resale value. ;P
On 28/9/02 morning (Saturday), the OD OFF light flashed again and I drove it the the Dealer direct. In the afternoon, the Dealer called me and said they found a 'code' (problem?) but they didn't know the exact problem. They kept my van there and would check it thoroughly tomorrow (9/30/02, Monday.) Are there a lot of MPV had the same problems?
I'm guessing this is what happened on the 1st event (8/26) since after you shifted to Park and back to Drive, the blinking went off.
However, I'm not sure this is the case with the 2nd event (9/28) since the dealer found a code.
-Brian
DW says she was barely moving and the damage seems to bear out her story. The Miata suffered some trunk lid damage while our MPV. "Zippie" received some scratches on the bumper.
What concerns me is that I cannot easily inspect the internal bumper without pulling the cowling off. What I could see, surprised me - the bumper is either totally encased in 2 half pieces of a thick plastic material or is composed totally of a plastic material I have never seen anything like it. I don't want the repairshop to needlessly run up the bill by unnecessarily replacing good parts, so how do I know if the bumper is "good?" The other thing I noted about the bumper is that it has several pieces of cloth tape wrapped around it. Could they indicate damage - i.e., if the bummper had been compressed in that spot, the cloth tape would go slack?
RBB