Tired of blown engines/turbos? How about a CAL?

[CWPspeed3]

DONT DO THAT! All the tech has to do is plug in his obd scanner and he can see the AP is installed. Cobb's stock map is not the same as Mazda's. the only way to cover your tracks is to completely unistall and unmarry the ap from the car. This puts the original map that took 45 min to copy back onto the car and removes all of cobb's software on your ecu

Sorry about that, I do not have an AP thats what I was referring to. Thanks for clarifying that

 

[coyfish]

If the local Subaru dealer will give me decent trade value, I'm getting a new WRX. And I've only had my MS3 since March. I can't justify driving my family around in such a ticking time bomb that is also likely to cost me thousands any day now.
Congrats Mazda, you lost another one.

Its not a ticking time bomb if you take care of it. Most people blow their engines because they make mistakes.

I was thinking about getting a WRX too. Honestly though they have their issues. They have the soul of an STI but without the supporting tranny, mounts, or suspension. Realistically they are good to around 350 whp (on stock turbo) but even then your flirting with disaster. If power is what your after then I would hold off on the WRX and get something else. Much better deal to grab an STI even though they cost quite more.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Most people blow their engines because they make mistakes.

Tell that to all the blown ms3/ms6 owners. They'd like to know how their random engine failures were because of a mistake??

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

I do take care of it and monitor it as best I can. And I plan to take it in for the smoke issue and depending on how that goes might be the difference om whether ikeep it or not. If it all works out that they fix the problems that are their fault I
may keep it. If they are pricks I will wash my hands of Mazda, likely for good.

If I get the WRX it will remain stockfor the life of the warranty. Even after if I got near 300 whp I'd be happy with that. Winters are bad here and I could use the awd.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Well don't sell yourself too hard on the WRX, sheesh.

You'd have good luck with a brand new stock MS3 too if that's how you did it originally.

And winters are a JOKE in MI. We get 1 or 2 heavy snow storms a year and it lasts for 24 hrs at the most. The rest of the winter is mild and salty lol.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Eye of the beholder. I don't count my beliefs as law, nor should anyone else. I respect others' points of view even if I don't share them but I understand that is NOT thenorm for people who socialize on internet forums.
I moved here from Az and yes the winters here are still worse than probably 2/3 of the U.S... Or more.

 

[eg6motion]

People arent looking very hard if you dont see that stock motors blow (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123730901). In my case Mazda NAO wants me to believe that the first sign of a sudden loss of oil is a rod with a break in the middle. It is the people that lie down and accept an unfounded opinion from Mazda NAO that make it more difficult for the rest of us with legitimate claim.

Uh? your motor didn't pop bone-stock. Didn't you say the drain plug came out and your motor lost all oil....that's what caused it to pop. You have a crappy situation, but your motor didn't just "pop" because it's a POS, you had a POS shop was the problem, and an unfortunate situation with Mazda.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Detroit: 83" of snow in the winter months of 2008(and it didn't come 41.5 inches at a time). More where I live. Not to mention that it rains about half of the time 6 months a year.
Who wouldn't want awd for their turbo charged car in those conditions?

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Detroit: 83" of snow in the winter months of 2008(and it didn't come 41.5 inches at a time). More where I live. Not to mention that it rains about half of the time 6 months a year.
Who wouldn't want awd for their turbo charged car in those conditions?

Dude, I have yet to own an AWD vehicle. I learned to drive in FWD, I even drove a 05 GTO with bridgestone summers during a winter. AWD is not going to save you from all winter troubles. Infact, when all 4 wheels have zero traction and you start doing 360's..then you'll know what i'm talking about.

If you're that concerned, grab a set of Blizzak WS-60's and relax.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

I'm not that concerned and I actually have those tires and while I only had my car thru one good snow, i was impressed at it's handling in those conditions. I've been here in MI since 2000. I'm not saying I NEED awd, just that I want it. When I compare the good and bad of my car and the wrx, the wrx keeps winning. I have driven my buddy's wrx in the rain and it held on much better than my ms3 does. The wrx is not perfect but it is free from some of the issues I dont like about the Ms3.
I am completely unimpressed how Mazda has ignored the smoking issue for nearly three years now. They could do the right thing, they are not and I doubt they will. That tells me a lot about the company I bought from.
I will give them a chance to do the right thing before I jump ship though.

 

[tunersteve]

I'm not that concerned and I actually have those tires and while I only had my car thru one good snow, i was impressed at it's handling in those conditions. I've been here in MI since 2000. I'm not saying I NEED awd, just that I want it. When I compare the good and bad of my car and the wrx, the wrx keeps winning. I have driven my buddy's wrx in the rain and it held on much better than my ms3 does. The wrx is not perfect but it is free from some of the issues I dont like about the Ms3.
I am completely unimpressed how Mazda has ignored the smoking issue for nearly three years now. They could do the right thing, they are not and I doubt they will. That tells me a lot about the company I bought from.
I will give them a chance to do the right thing before I jump ship though.

I have to disagree with you. I don't think they've done enough, but they have done something. First, they've revised the turbos 3 times since the first MS6's rolled off the line. Second, they're working on some type of PCV fix, but who knows what the ETA is.

I still say take the s*** off your car and have a dealer look at it. I had the turbo replaced and didn't see any smoke after. The second turbo died from a bearing failure.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Ok, I will be fair. I won't say the have done nothing but will say they have not done nearly enough.
I read a lot about warranty issues not being covered but I will see for myself very soon. I plan on taking my car in within a week or two. I'll base my opinion on first hand info at that time.

 

[8.5MS3]

make sure you completely unistall the ap and unmarry it from your car way before you go in. drive 50-100 miles so that the trims can settle, otherwise they will question why the computer was reset recently...

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Thanks for the tip, I will do that.

 

[coyfish]

Tell that to all the blown ms3/ms6 owners. They'd like to know how their random engine failures were because of a mistake??

First of all from what I have seen there are only a handfull of people blowing their motors lightly modded or stock. I think I have seen 2 or 3 threads and looking at my post count . . . Ive read a lot of threads. Every car has that issue. My point was that most people that seem to blow their motors make some sort of mistake. For example I read one thread where the OP admitted to going WOT at low rpm in 5th. Thats just asking for trouble. Or people who throw bigger turbos on their cars untuned / without supporting mods.

Very rarely does a motor just decide to blow up. Usually its because of damaged internals that happed in the past. Then people are cruising on the highway and they explode and they come here and cry cursing mazda. You bend up a rod and your car becomes, as most commonly denoted, a "ticking time bomb."

Im not saying the mazda engines are the greatest by any means. But I think a lot of the blown engines come with a reasonable explanation. Sucks that the speeds are so fragile but thats the way it is. The car was obviously not designed to be modded. Please point out the many threads of people blowing their stock motors / lightly bolted.

 

[eg6motion]

First of all from what I have seen there are only a handfull of people blowing their motors lightly modded or stock. I think I have seen 2 or 3 threads and looking at my post count . . . Ive read a lot of threads. Every car has that issue. My point was that most people that seem to blow their motors make some sort of mistake. For example I read one thread where the OP admitted to going WOT at low rpm in 5th. Thats just asking for trouble. Or people who throw bigger turbos on their cars untuned / without supporting mods.

Very rarely does a motor just decide to blow up. Usually its because of damaged internals that happed in the past. Then people are cruising on the highway and they explode and they come here and cry cursing mazda. You bend up a rod and your car becomes, as most commonly denoted, a "ticking time bomb."

Im not saying the mazda engines are the greatest by any means. But I think a lot of the blown engines come with a reasonable explanation. Sucks that the speeds are so fragile but thats the way it is. The car was obviously not designed to be modded. Please point out the many threads of people blowing their stock motors / lightly bolted.

yeah, the Blown engine threads are annoying...people with mods have popped motors, but very few stock ones... and even then, Mazda is looking at less than .5% failure rate of stock engines. Smoking turbo's seem to be more common, but again, that's mainly with people with mods.

 

[tunersteve]

I've seen a lot of smoking on stock motors. I think we need to refine this more to those who have smoking turbos. the CX-7s are mainly stock and still smoking left and right. The local SM even told me that they see more of those than anything else for smoking.

Yes, those of us with mods are more prone to smoke/blowing a motor, but also, there should be some stoutness to the motor. I would only hope that Mazda designed the vehicle with a little bit of excess for that very reason.

 

[onelsono]

Lets face it the speed3/6 just arent reliable, theirs always that worry factor if youl blow or not. I would def get rid of mine for an sti if i could. Plus Subaru doesnt give a s*** about mods. You can bring em a fully bolted sti with a 35r on it and theyll waranty it (atleast around here they do).. You want a reliable car that can handle 450whp stock, figure out how to bolt a sti tranny to a evo9 motor lol

 

[eg6motion]

Lets face it the speed3/6 just arent reliable if you're modded, theirs always that worry factor if youl blow or not. I would def get rid of mine for an sti if i could. Plus Subaru doesnt give a s*** about mods. You can bring em a fully bolted sti with a 35r on it and theyll waranty it (atleast around here they do).. You want a reliable car that can handle 450whp stock, figure out how to bolt a sti tranny to a evo9 motor lol

fixed for you. Besides your intelligent argument that provides no facts, actual surveys by reputable magazines and organizations have shown the MS3 to be very reliable.

 

[coyfish]

Lets face it the speed3/6 just arent reliable, theirs always that worry factor if youl blow or not. I would def get rid of mine for an sti if i could. Plus Subaru doesnt give a s*** about mods. You can bring em a fully bolted sti with a 35r on it and theyll waranty it (atleast around here they do).. You want a reliable car that can handle 450whp stock, figure out how to bolt a sti tranny to a evo9 motor lol

There is no car company that doesn't care about mods. Mitsubishi throws evo owner warranties out the window all the time. Same thing goes for subies. There are a small handfull of leniant dealers out there but don't get the impression that only mazda has warranty issues.