07 Mazdaspeed3 with 2 blown engines and no mods

[pointysticks]

a very good friend blew up his brand new IS350, LEXUS freaked and sent the motor off to some white coats to find out WTF. my friend was flogging it, but i think a car should be able to take a fair amount of caning. afterall, we did buy performance rides...he got a new motor after many months. LEXUS just doesnt have a supply of crate motors. they had to pull one out of the assembly line in japan somewhere.

i will come unglued if my MS3 grenades, but only because that is what we are supposed to do. sorry, you had such bad luck with your MS3 friend. i would declare LEMON!!!! and get a new ride.

 

[MAZDA_SPEED]

mechanic error? if you want to be a mechanic for a dealer, you have to go through 2 years of school, they dont hire anybody just off the streets..(friday)

 

[Super Unique]

mechanic error? if you want to be a mechanic for a dealer, you have to go through 2 years of school, they dont hire anybody just off the streets..(friday)

I had a toyota cetified Master ASE tech fail to get the seals installed correctly after a new short block was installed in my 2000 toyota avalon. He took 3 tries before it was right. And then the motor blew up 2 more times....

The toyota in question was the only engine I have ever blown. It was a luxury car and 2 pistons exited stage forward on interstate 4 @ 55 with the cruise control on. initial diagnosis was sludge due to poor oil maintenance. Rebuttal was oil changed precisely every 3k miles at the very same dealership that tried to blame me for oil change neglect LMFAO.....

 

[k2white]

When asked if the cam timing slip was anything I or they could have caused the dealer said the manufacturer sets the timing at the factory. Whether it is SOP to test, verify or validate the manufacturer I dont know. I can say that through this whole experience the dealership, Walzer Mazda in MN has been great with everything from keeping me informed, rental, follow up etc.... and as it should be. This considering I didnt even buy the car there. They also called me and told me they talked to Mazda about my situation and Mazda agreed to pay for an extended warranty on the engine to 100K. This does not regain any faith in the car, but at least I have faith in the dealer, that they will look out for me and take care me because of my history with them. Unless they tell me "you need to take that s*** back to OK where you bought it." lol

 

[k2white]

Tried lemon law, in OK, got turned down, attorney said not enough same crap and car too old (16mo). He basically told me to go blow a couple more engines and call him back. Any ideas...

 

[Super Unique]

Service departments most certainly tear engines down and fix them. Toyota did a whole new engine only after tearing it down, cleaning it all out, replacing all the valve guides, head gaskets, rings, and misc stuff when it started smoking the first time, when the engine grenaded they replaced just the short block, and then finally the replaced the entire engine. 1 1/2 years later (again exactly @ 30k miles) KABOOM, AGAIN. the second time around the engine had seen nothing but mobil 1 full synthetic changed @ 2,000 mile intervals by the dealer. Once this engine was replaced I drove it for another 25k and traded it in before the kaboom happened again.....

 

[MSP #167]

Service departments most certainly tear engines down and fix them. Toyota did a whole new engine only after tearing it down, cleaning it all out, replacing all the valve guides, head gaskets, rings, and misc stuff when it started smoking the first time, when the engine grenaded they replaced just the short block, and then finally the replaced the entire engine. 1 1/2 years later (again exactly @ 30k miles) KABOOM, AGAIN. the second time around the engine had seen nothing but mobil 1 full synthetic changed @ 2,000 mile intervals by the dealer. Once this engine was replaced I drove it for another 25k and traded it in before the kaboom happened again.....

i was talking about mazda, not toyota. Mazda does not tear down engines in warranty.

 

[trufanatic]

Tried lemon law, in OK, got turned down, attorney said not enough same crap and car too old (16mo). He basically told me to go blow a couple more engines and call him back. Any ideas...

That sir is absolutely bulls***! go find a new attorney. By law if your car has recurring major failures 2-3 in the space of factory warrany the car can be classified as a lemon. I wouldnt deal with it anymore. my advice, especially since your dealer has been so cooperative, setup a meeting with the regional and branch manager and propose a buy back, or ask they give you an 08 for what you currently owe the bank on your car, i would also bring an attorney but first i'd get all the print outs if you dont already have them from when the first engine blew, starter going out and now your going on your third engine on stock car because i've had the situation with dodge where all my record disappeared out their system and said my car never came to their dealership. If you cant find a competent attorney thats willing to work mazda(ford) for the money which if he's smart enough is a guaranteet win, take them to court yourself and a judge with any common sense will award you the case. Sometimes in situations just like this, the little guy can win.

Good luck.

 

[SPEED3TYPE2]

This is preposterous, especially considering the kind of situation the car faces in 1st and 2nd gear in this car.

Based on the chain of events it sounds like the replacement engine wasn't properly installed. The setup of the engine was taken at face value and basic installation methodologies like checking timing were not done before the car was returned to the customer. I'm not sure what he means by the starter blew up but this could easily also be an installation issue.

This is crap luck and the engine blowing at 15K is concerning but I suspect one issue came from the factory and the other came from the dealer. I'm certainly frustrated for you.

it is not preposterus its true! in the upper gears 27-3k under part throttle there is alot of load especially if you have a sri-cia and get boost spike. If you do'nt get fuel cut you may get boom.. thats why just about everyojne who has blow mototr under this similar curcamstance...

 

[trufanatic]

it is not preposterus its true! in the upper gears 27-3k under part throttle there is alot of load especially if you have a sri-cia and get boost spike. If you do'nt get fuel cut you may get boom.. thats why just about everyojne who has blow mototr under this similar curcamstance...

i concur. it seems that majority of the folks that blew was from engine load and part throttle boost condition. I have a general rule when driving my car, do not go WOT under 3k rpms. but i do hope everything works out for this guy, and as time goes by i dont see these cars holding up very long.

 

[MS3077]

i concur. it seems that majority of the folks that blew was from engine load and part throttle boost condition. I have a general rule when driving my car, do not go WOT under 3k rpms. but i do hope everything works out for this guy, and as time goes by i dont see these cars holding up very long.

If want you say is true I see a S2000 in my near future (after warranty is out)

 

[wolverine_man]

I lemon-lawed my '07 Jeep Wrangler for a leaking soft top. You have to read your state's lemon law statute very carefully. MI uses a formula to arrive at a buyback figure unless you want a new replacement vehicle. Anything over a certain mileage in MI (I think it's like 20K), and you receive less money for the buyback. It also has to be 4 repair attempts for the same issue within the first year of ownership on a brand new car. I handled my claim all by myself and didn't even go to court. I'm an attorney, though.

 

[trufanatic]

I lemon-lawed my '07 Jeep Wrangler for a leaking soft top. You have to read your state's lemon law statute very carefully. MI uses a formula to arrive at a buyback figure unless you want a new replacement vehicle. Anything over a certain mileage in MI (I think it's like 20K), and you receive less money for the buyback. It also has to be 4 repair attempts for the same issue within the first year of ownership on a brand new car. I handled my claim all by myself and didn't even go to court. I'm an attorney, though.

do you mind pitching him some free pointers thru a PM? i really do think he can get his car either replaced or they buy it back from him. Again i dont know his state's lemon law but when i use to live in VA, the severity of the failure and the frequency came into a account. i think going on your third engine in 16 months would really make him a shoe in...even if the dealer gives him flak, this is something he can definately win thru court.

 

[wolverine_man]

Sure, K2White, hit me with a PM and let me know some basics: 1) purchase price and date; 2) accessories installed (in MI you get paid for any accessories but I'd have to check your state's law); 3) Number of repair attempts and dates; 4) current mileage; 5) any rental costs incurred. Also, you should be keeping a log of what is said any time you bring the car in and/or speak to the dealer or Mazda on the phone. Also, what state do you live in? I couldn't find one on your profile.

I can take a look at this for you sometime this weekend. I am kinda swamped at work. Always glad to help out a fellow Mazdaforum member.

 

[k2white]

i concur. it seems that majority of the folks that blew was from engine load and part throttle boost condition. I have a general rule when driving my car, do not go WOT under 3k rpms. but i do hope everything works out for this guy, and as time goes by i dont see these cars holding up very long.

I guess Im not understanding what you and speed3type2 are saying, what do you mean by "do not go WOT under 3k rpms"...................driving a stick doesnt require mechanical background or understanding, it requires hand eye coordination. 90 percent of Germans drive stick and Im pretty sure that most of them too are like me and dont have clue about the internal workings. I understand enough to know when Im suppose to shift without even looking at the rpms, I dont race it, I drive it and I've driven many sticks from my x3bmw to pappy's tractor. I think if it had anything to do with how I drive a stick I would have ****** up a few others by this point.

 

[trufanatic]

this car compared to others in my opinion..again i've owned 13 turbo cars is by far the most poorly designed. We use a cam driven fuel pump that doesnt really start spinning up and delivering ample fuel until 3500-4000rpm, so anything below that with boost = leaning conditions but i wouldnt go as far as saying detonation becuase these motors were designed for lean conditions but a major issue we do have is insufficient fueling and how and when the ecu is taking in readings vs targets or open vs close loop ecu monitoring

plain and simple, below 3000rpms at 60+mph in high gear and you get into boost or part throttle boost that might be unintentional, the ecu and pump does not provide enough fuel to be 'safe'. this is fact and unarguable

 

[pointysticks]

mechanic error? if you want to be a mechanic for a dealer, you have to go through 2 years of school, they dont hire anybody just off the streets..(friday)

i disagree. i had a chevy truck motor grenade. it blew up right outside of another chevy dealership. i chugged/rattled over to the shop, tossed my keys to them and told them to figure it out. they called me, and told me i spun bearings because i let metal brush fragments fall into the oil during a gasket change. they thought i used a metal brush attachment on my drill! they found actually strands of brush! i said, "no, i have a receipt that shows my local chevy dealership did the warranty work". i got silence, and then, "huh, mr law, a new crate motor ok with you?". i said yes.

 

[Super Unique]

plain and simple, below 3000rpms at 60+mph in high gear and you get into boost or part throttle boost that might be unintentional, the ecu and pump does not provide enough fuel to be 'safe'. this is fact and unarguable

Sorry, but I have to call you out on this one. Do you have proof of this since it's an unarguable fact?

Show a data log proving that the a/f mixture is leaned out under boost with rpm under 3000....

If this was true, there would be LOTS of discussion about this among the various tuner threads here and elsewhere....

 

[matsuda]

this car compared to others in my opinion..again i've owned 13 turbo cars is by far the most poorly designed. We use a cam driven fuel pump that doesnt really start spinning up and delivering ample fuel until 3500-4000rpm, so anything below that with boost = leaning conditions but i wouldnt go as far as saying detonation becuase these motors were designed for lean conditions but a major issue we do have is insufficient fueling and how and when the ecu is taking in readings vs targets or open vs close loop ecu monitoring

plain and simple, below 3000rpms at 60+mph in high gear and you get into boost or part throttle boost that might be unintentional, the ecu and pump does not provide enough fuel to be 'safe'. this is fact and unarguable

Numbers, facts, figures, charts, or graphs please.
Making an assertion without backing it up with data doesn't carry any weight.

 

[GoFast]

to the OP good luck with everything!! to all the people saying this is the worst engine ever etc...come on get real. there are aproximately 25000 of these cars throughout the world between the 07-08.5s and we hear about maybe 30 people with some major issues. lets just say to be a bit more on the pesimistic side we hear about 500 blown engines. thats about a 2% failure rate. imho thats really not too bad. there are plenty of people just on this board with 25k+ on theres with minimal to no problems. stop focusing on all the negatives and factor in everything