Official 'Smoking Turbo' response from Mazda

Thanks for the reply, like you said I dont know anyone on my side either that can proof the 3" theory for the simple reason that they have upgraded their turbo's after they fitted a complete 3" system. Now I am faced with a battle to proof this fault to my local Mazda dealer as they have never heard of this problem! This thread is a life saver!
 
I would like to mention my experience here. Although it may be no help it is what i know. I am at about 52000 miles. i installed all the boltons to increase the air flow by 20k. I ran into many issues, that i am sure stressed my turbo and engine too. More recently i had smoke after a long idle. all oil. it burned off and did not return. I purchased the PTP pcv fix and the car seemed ok. no smell no smoke. Then while tuning and running higher boost i had smoke again at idle.
I am going to rebuild the turbo this off season (winter) to learn and check the tolerances. I will post what i can. I hope that i have something to offer at that point. I am going to move on to a slightly larger ball bearing unit now that we can tune it. The car runs quite hard now but the oil seals are surely shot. I made it an awfully long time without issue. Built 02/07. The Corksport 3"tbe and a 3.5 ets were the early installs, and had the MScai right away. Did not smoke.It is interesting that Audi and Neuspeed use the k04 without these smoking issues. But i have abused my car severely so think it only fair at this mileage a rebuild is in order. I wish you luck with Mazda Dealership. I have had great luck and then not so good also. Unfortunatly i can not go back to them anymore, i am too far gone!
 
Thanks for your reply, guess if we want to play and make more power there will always be a risk.Hopefully they will agree with the the design flaw pointed out. Thankfully this post was on your Forum and it would have been a mission to found out what the problem was unless a person had a bit of guidance.
 
Stock exhaust here and I smoke like a chimney. So much for the 3" theory. Bigger exhaust makes the problem more visable no doubt but it is not the cause of it.
Don't see too many CX7 with 3" exhaust but see plenty of them smoking.
 
Guys Mazda replaced my Turbo and they are aware of the PCV problem by us, been driving the car for +- 250 miles no smoke.
 
Is this official mazda response a tsb? I asked a dealer near me about the smoking turbo and they hadn't heard of anything yet... If I print this out and show them, will that give me legitimacy?
 
Is this official mazda response a tsb? I asked a dealer near me about the smoking turbo and they hadn't heard of anything yet... If I print this out and show them, will that give me legitimacy?

I'd print it and take it with you. Chances are most bigger dealers have heard of it or can find out about it if you inquire about it.
 
there's no reason for a car to smoke after idling for extended periods of time (like 15 minutes) unless there's a problem.

Ah ok.. I thought you said you were revving for 15 minutes at 3000 RPM is all. My bad. Yeah there is no reason for smoke after idling for ANY amount of time.
 
My Experience (For those who may care):

52,000 mile 2008 Sport MS3 My car smokes after a hard drive and sitting idle for 5 minutes or more...

Took it to the dealer to get a second key made/programmed. While I was there I mentioned the odd smoke and smell after sitting from idle (I acted as if I hadn't done ANY research on it at all). They took a look at it and here is what I was told:

They knew it was the PCV valve and could order me a replacement. They would not say if the replacement part would fix the problem (since Mazda has not revised it yet). They checked to see if it would be covered under the 60,000/6 year Powertrain warranty, but it was not. They said it was under the 24,000/2 year Emissions tag...cost out-the-door for the new PCV and labor was just shy of $300.

They did not mention anything about a turbo replacement, but I have no proof of oil change history or anything since I bought the car used at 45,000 miles anyways. I guess I will wait until Mazda is sure of a fix, then I will spend my dough on it. Until then, PT-Performance fix, here I come!
 
Hang on there. do not be shy. ask them some of the details of what the pcv fix actually is. You might be a saviour to many. i think the ptp is the right direction about pressure balancing but does it not allow enough to pass the vent? Boy, if you could just see the part Mazda wants to install that would be huge! the labor for the PTP install is very little time and even an Eric could do it. So what actually is 300 smackers for? It ain't the labor i'm thinkin'. good post thanks. And nice job getting as much info as you got.
 
First off, switch to 5w-40, see if that helps. If not, try the PTP fix. It might save you from smoking, and it's cheaper than what they claim.
 
Steve, we have discussed this on occasion. I really have not felt the root cause has been found. and we are not trying to solve the potential faulty turbo seals and or design. The k04 has its limits but is not afaulty design just limited. If they had a bad run of parts, well that is another thing. But (solveable? ha) I have the ptp fix. i have all the mods that might cause smoke i suppose. but switching to a barely thicker oil seems silly to me. I do not know enough to criticise anybody, it's just my two cents. A pressure balancing issue, as relieving the it from the valve cover, is different than blow by on the seals or ring tolerances. I realize that it is more complicated than that but it amazes me that we do not have the answer to this yet and folks still stress over buying any aftermarket part because the turbo will go bad. I am just observing this and not trying to talk poo. i wish we could help potential mazdaspeed3 enthusiasts feel that they are buying some quality. Heck. we all did. Me personally, i am Mazdafied and i was not before this car. I ramble but..
 
I think Labor was actually a hug part of the cost... I'll ask my dad again, but they said it was a 3 hour job, with labor well over $50 an hour! I might consider doing the job myself, I have the resources needed.

But what is the point if it is the same part as what currently causes smoking?

Steve, I switched to 5w-40 Rotella Shell Full Synth at 50,000 miles and still smoke, although it is not as bad as it was.

Hope we can figure this out. I too believe the Mazdaspeed is a high quality car with just a few issues. Thanks guys!
 
jri4 - just curious, is your car stock? Sorry if I missed it in your post. I'm trying to keep track in my mind a rough estimate as to how many people are getting the smoking turbo with or without mods.
 
I'd print it and take it with you. Chances are most bigger dealers have heard of it or can find out about it if you inquire about it.

I thought the TSB dissappeared, is it disavowed, back shelved, still real, if you have a hard copy ??
 
I thought the TSB dissappeared, is it disavowed, back shelved, still real, if you have a hard copy ??

Well, the MTOL paper that was posted has since 'disappeared' from what I've heard, but taking this in and showing that you know something was done at one point is worth doing, that way they can't try to bulls*** you otherwise.
 
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