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Mazda MPV: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
I'm completely pissed off at the moment.
After waiting in the guest room for a half hour, the service writer came out and said that "We've started the day out with a BANG". Chuckling and not really knowing what he meant, he details for me that my SIDE AIRBAG went off while the joker tech was trying to replace the retractor!!! Ok, so my van will be in the shop until eod Monday and they gave me an IMPALA to use for the weekend with an empty tank to boot!
I think I'm doomed too! Poor tech probably has the $400 replacement taken out of his check!
Oh yeah, they confirmed that the fix is coming for the tranny in January and 'I'm on the list!
Tj
To get the warranty we are meeting with him next week for some paperwork to fill out. I think they will probably just use their contract paperwork for when you purchase a warranty, but it will be at $0 cost.
Oh, and I believe the warranty is transferrable if we would have PURCHASED it, but since Mazda is giving it to us it may not be, don't know for sure. But, we really don't give two hoots if it's transferrable or not, because all we care about is that this van holds up while we own it. We aren't paying for the warranty, it's just our assurance that if the trans falls out of the car several years from now because of this defect, Mazda will have to replace it. The rest of the bumper-to-bumper coverage on the warranty is just icing on the cake!!
We bought a 2004 MPV and at 3000 miles, no problems with the tranny. The drivers side power door doesn't close completely sometimes and the sulfer smell comes and goes.
***Hint - Try talking with the dealers GM, not the SM or anyone else. The GM has the ability to make the decision and consult directly with the owner(s). Document everything, the conversations, service, time spent waiting on replies and anything pertaining to your issue. If you've only had it a month or so, tell them you want to rewind the deal.
If you really want to know why it takes so long for a correction, take a look at the 16MB document for the Acura's tranny issue and pay close attention to the tests the engineers ran. You certainly wouldn't want a correction that fixed the problem temporarily and have a failure later. It's all about how much it'll cost.
That 7yr/100mile warranty is the same "good faith" offer that Acura offered to owners covering multiple year and makes. It is only worth it if you can get beyond the problems you have and dismiss the inconvenience it may cause. The next offer will be taking your current vehicle back for trade on another vehicle on their lot.
Our states Asst. Attorney General and several local friends in the car business really helped during our troubles. I only hope this 04 MPV we bought doesn't start having issues.
If your not sure about your purchase and have any reservation, hold off or find something else. Spend your hard earned money wisely!
Happy New Year!
Dano
Anyway, my airbag should be fully assembled tomorrow and have my MPV back tomorrow evening or Saturday AM. I guess they had a devil of a time figuring out why the airbag light on the dash kept blinking after they had fixed the seat...evidently, since there was no collision to cause the deployment, they didn't realize the sensor still had to be replaced. So they figured it out after a half day and ordered that now too.
What a messy expense for them AND inconvenience for me. I figure, this is costing the dealer about $1K total; Van rental from Enterprise for 3 days plus fixing the side airbag which is not cheap!
Plus the tech. got the brunt of the bang and had quite a chaffed face from the explosion. Lessons to be learned.
Alf928: I wouldn't hold your breath about a buyback of your van, Mazda told us they will NOT do a buyback or swap under any circumstances and we'd have to sue them. They probably filed your letter in the circular file. They are really wonderful, aren't they??!! I think the worst part about this whole thing is that Mazda just doesn't give a d***. Maybe a letter from a lawyer would work?
As for a buyback, it is not going to be an option easily attained. I'm sure it depends on each case. Whether Mazda or any other manufacturer cares or not isn't factored into the decision. How many owners would return their purchase if it were as easy as taking something back to Wal-Mart.
The fact remains a dealer and the manufacturer should stand behind their product.
Why threre're so many transmission problems? It seems pretty hard to find a mini-van without tranny issues.
So far I'm pleased with the MPV and only miss some minor features that the new Sienna has. For the money though, I think it to be the best choice available.
I think the Japanese transmission company, The JATCO is main cause. Any car using JATCO's tranny has the potential tranny issues.
mike
How about GM? Or BMW?
For do-it-yourselfers, the original filter has a somewhat unusual shape and requires an oil-filter wrench to put on. I found that a universal oil filter wrench found at Wal-Mart (orange color) fits perfectly. Please note you do have to tighten the canister 1 full turn after hand-tightening.
How about ZOOM BANG BANG ZOOM
OR CHITTI CHITTI BANG BANG ZOOM (lol,, lol)
Tj
I've been fairly lucky to drive several vehicles from different manufacturers in the past 15 years and only until the past two years have I ever been reading about or discussing tranny issues. Every manufacturer has had problems so none are immune to this topic. I'd have to say that most older style trannys are better so leave this electronic control out of the mix. Or at least run them through the QA department before releasing them and see what happens.
Has anyone verified that the Jatco tranny is used in all these makes having issues? This is the first mention of this I've seen, but I really haven't been looking for it either.
My Theory is that the so called smart trannies were invented not for the customer but, to enable the car to pass the enviromental and milage requirements imposed by the government..
Like anything the government gets into, it doesn't work.
The problem as I see it, is that the software control program is designed to keep the power train in a narrow range of parameters to meet government requirements.
But, humans being what they are, operate the car outside the limited parameters and thus "confuse" the dumb software. So the next step is for the government to create a mandatory training program for all drivers to "learn" how to drive government controled cars...
If that fails then raise taxes so high no one can afford a car and must use government mass transit, which nobody in their right mind will use unless forced...
Problem Solved....
I prefer "Chitti, Chitti, Bang, Bang, Zooooom"
Or look at it this way, the Bang, Bang keeps you awake... Better than mass transit.
That is my guess why Mazda is having a hard time changing the software. They don't want to P--- off the government if the car falls outside of government requirements...
Tj
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission8.htm
Tj
Tj
The battery ground should run to the engine block close to the starter and another cable should run to the tranny frame and a third cable to the car body..
My MPV runs good because of the dry desert where I live. Plus the big battery doesn't fume as much as a smaller one..... biomed_eng has hit on a very good possible solution..........
Back on subject...marketers call it HyperGrounding but in all reality it is merely fixing the poor grounding that Mazda provides.
As any electrical engineer knows, "good" grounds are EXTREMELY important for low noise logic performance (i.e. computer controlled shifting), high current actuation (i.e. transmission solenoids), and reliability and consistency in design and performance.
Ask your dealer if they have pursued this avenue.
a. hearty connection from the transmission to the chassis (at least 6 ga).
b. hearty connection from the battery to the chassis (at least 4 ga).
c. from the transmission ecu (location??) to the chassis (at least 10 ga).
2. If you are an EE or tech and have an o-scpoe or digital voltage recorder, drive around and monitor the voltage between the above three suggestions one at a time and see which fluctuates or if there is any correlation between shiting moments and ground potential shifts or spikes/drops. Troubleshoot from your observations.
Collect many happy smiles from MPV owners when you find the offending ground point or points.
YMMV,
Michael
Steve, Host