Poll 2.5T Coolant Leak/Engine Replacement

[AL Cx5]

My experience with Medical Center Mazda was positive from start to finish. Out of the three dealers I contacted when buying, this was the only dealer that offered this warranty.

I've never had a zero percent car loan before. This was offered by all the dealers in December 2023.

Only covers powertrain.

From what I've experienced, this dealer has some of the least expensive part prices as well.

It's owned by a Japanese conglomerate company.

 

[theblooms]

Only covers powertrain.

Well, I kinda see where the can do that without killing themselves. Mazda powertrains are *extremely* reliable. I'm on my 6th Mazda, and I've driven them the equivalent of to the moon 3 times. Over 750,000 miles over the time I've owned them. Other than minor oil leaks from the cam cover when they get 200,000 or so on them, each has been as reliable as a hammer.

 

[AL Cx5]

Well, I kinda see where the can do that without killing themselves. Mazda powertrains are *extremely* reliable. I'm on my 6th Mazda, and I've driven them the equivalent of to the moon 3 times. Over 750,000 miles over the time I've owned them. Other than minor oil leaks from the cam cover when they get 200,000 or so on them, each has been as reliable as a hammer.

That's amazing. A friend drove her Mazda 280k without any issues either. She got in on the 0% financing as well.

It's comforting to have the power train warranty incase the head cracks down the road.

We are not changing our driving behaviors and enjoy it. This little turbo/2.5l has just enough power to make it a fun ride....

 

[Silly Wabbit]

Until I die or no longer have possession of the car.

It's non transferable.

Medical Center Mazda

Sounds too good to be true.

 

[Tchman2016]

I'm going to say it. Those fake dealer lifetime powertrain warranties are not worth the paper they are printed on and their false promises are sales tactics. You will never get them to honor those things because they will come up with every excuse in the playbook and refuse coverage regardless if you did oil changes or not. Additionally, they require you to perform all of their bogus "recommended services" at the dealer at exhorbitant prices as a loophole to coverage. You say no or skip something that isn't even required or recommend in the owners manual for maintenance and you're done. Nothing is free and there is no way they are giving you something without getting something in return, and that is your money parting from your wallet when you bring the car in. They will find a million things that they say you should do. Its like a cell phone conpany giving you a "free" phone but only after credits to your account for 3 years at their rip off monthly prices and you are locked into a fake " contract" in order to avail your free phone.

I'm sorry to say that the only mostly trustworthy extended service plan is the oem Mazda plan.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Looks like this one anyway doesn’t cover labor but parts coverage is still good to have

Lifetime Powertrain Warranty | Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions about our Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty? We got you covered.

www.mazdaworldcar.com

Looks like based off of this

https://static.worldcarautos.com/lifetime-warranty-updated-v3.pdf

 

[Davard]

Looks like this one anyway doesn’t cover labor but parts coverage is still good to have

Lifetime Powertrain Warranty | Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions about our Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty? We got you covered.

www.mazdaworldcar.com

Looks like based off of this

https://static.worldcarautos.com/lifetime-warranty-updated-v3.pdf

Most of the cost for the head repair are labor costs. Of the $5k-7k price, only $1200-2000 is for parts. The rest is for labor.

 

[AL Cx5]

The warranty provided is from the dealer is a Fidelity Warranty Services.

Here is the required maintenance, coverage and exclusions.

If a head cracks and takes out the engine and Mazda won't fix it, this is a fall back position. It might or might not pay. My quick Google search showed Fidelity Warranty Services paid for repairs. On a Benz engine, $52k repair bill, they paid $38k. Wow 52K to replace and engine?

This powertrain coverage had nothing to do with my buying decision. I'm skeptical if this will every need to be used or if it will pay for repairs. YET the it reads like it covers drivetrain repairs.

My guess, FWS is betting I sell the car in 3 too 4 years and Mazda makes a reliable drivetrain.

 

[PTguy]

1) No dealer gives anything. The buyer pays for it one way or another.
2) Despite "warranty" in the company name not one of their products uses the word warranty, because these are not warranties. They are vehicle service contracts or vehicle protection plans, legally not warranties. Warranty law offers more protection for the consumer than contract law...these are contracts. https://www.fidelitywarrantyservices.com/#protection
3) If they find some flimsy reason to deny payment, what are you going to do? It would cost more to sue than you'd get back.

Medical Center Mazda is a good choice for discounted Mazda parts.

 

[2005mazda]

Well, I kinda see where the can do that without killing themselves. Mazda powertrains are *extremely* reliable. I'm on my 6th Mazda, and I've driven them the equivalent of to the moon 3 times. Over 750,000 miles over the time I've owned them. Other than minor oil leaks from the cam cover when they get 200,000 or so on them, each has been as reliable as a hammer.

Out of curiosity, which particular model did you have the most mileage on?

Mazda can certainly build some decent stuff, but one power train from them is not always indicative of another power train from them.

I have a 2005 Mazda 3i with a manual a transmission, pretty much a bullet proof powertrain.. the mzr20 doesn't seem to have any major issues.. however, if you got a 2005 Mazda 3s with an automatic transmission, it is most likely rotting in a junk yard (The Mazda mzr23 was a "Frankenstein" motor, larger bore, but kept some elements the same from the mzr20, rather than completely scale the whole motor up like they should have... thus there were problems with the mzr23 down the road... the automatic transmission was a 4 speed supplied from Ford, and it was a pretty bad transmission as far as reliability went) .

On topic though, hopefully Mazda owns up to this coolant leak fiasco for the 2.5L Turbo... also hope they find the root cause of the issue and hammer it out. From what I gather we're seeing this issue in some 21+ models too?

 

[theblooms]

Out of curiosity, which particular model did you have the most mileage on?

I only had 30,000 on my 92 Mazda 323 SE when it got stolen.
Replaced that one with my 93 Protege LX that had 90,000 when it saved my family from death.
Had 200,000 on my 93 B3000 when I got t-boned in the driver's door. Even though it was completely totaled and wrecked, I drove it to it's final resting spot.
My 04 Mazda3S had 230,000 on it when I sold it, and other than using a quart of oil between changes, it was solid as a rock
My 12 Mazda5 has 160,000 on it now, with no major issues at all
My 13 CX-5 has 115,000 on it, and again, no problems.

That's 825,000 miles and counting of mostly trouble free Mazda ownership. And this is my Protege. It's why I'll always have a Mazda in the stable.

 

[2005mazda]

I only had 30,000 on my 92 Mazda 323 SE when it got stolen.
Replaced that one with my 93 Protege LX that had 90,000 when it saved my family from death.
Had 200,000 on my 93 B3000 when I got t-boned in the driver's door. Even though it was completely totaled and wrecked, I drove it to it's final resting spot.
My 04 Mazda3S had 230,000 on it when I sold it, and other than using a quart of oil between changes, it was solid as a rock
My 12 Mazda5 has 160,000 on it now, with no major issues at all
My 13 CX-5 has 115,000 on it, and again, no problems.

That's 825,000 miles and counting of mostly trouble free Mazda ownership. And this is my Protege. It's why I'll always have a Mazda in the stable.

Wow! That is some wreck, glad you and your family made it out ok to tell the story! I can see why Mazda has a special place in your heart.

Nice on the Mazda3S, you must've taken really good care of it. The 12' Mazda had one of the most robust drive train combinations in Mazda's arsenal, an MZR25 with a 5speed Aisin transmission.

 

[theblooms]

Wow! That is some wreck, glad you and your family made it out ok to tell the story! I can see why Mazda has a special place in your heart.

Nice on the Mazda3S, you must've taken really good care of it. The 12' Mazda had one of the most robust drive train combinations in Mazda's arsenal, an MZR25 with a 5speed Aisin transmission.

I am meticulous in my maintenance on my vehicles. Cars are expensive, so I take care of them.

 

[tweakedxvi]

Adding another data point to yes / failure / replacement engine.
We have a '18 CX9 GT that just got approved for CPO engine replacement for what they told us was an engine overheat / failed cylinder. They didn't provide specifics but we went from a few drops on the driveway, to fluctuating coolant temp to full on overheat before we could get it in to have it looked at. Less than 50k miles on the engine and its really only used as a kid hauler and short commute car.

Reading back, we're having it serviced at the dealer that sold it to us and we take it in annually for oil changes so assume that helped our case on the repair.

Haven't asked them yet about warranty on the repair (new engine) but if this is likely to happen again in another 50k miles, not sure how long I plan on keeping the car.

 

[JPL]

Adding another data point to yes / failure / replacement engine.
We have a '18 CX9 GT that just got approved for CPO engine replacement for what they told us was an engine overheat / failed cylinder. They didn't provide specifics but we went from a few drops on the driveway, to fluctuating coolant temp to full on overheat before we could get it in to have it looked at. Less than 50k miles on the engine and its really only used as a kid hauler and short commute car.

Reading back, we're having it serviced at the dealer that sold it to us and we take it in annually for oil changes so assume that helped our case on the repair.

Haven't asked them yet about warranty on the repair (new engine) but if this is likely to happen again in another 50k miles, not sure how long I plan on keeping the car.

It'll likely go the distance with the new block. Mazda dealers are putting in the modified designs post 2021. I would bet these go over 200K without much issue.

 

[Super Upet]

3rd party "warranty" is generally a nightmare to get them to pay out for high dollar repairs.

Is Mazda giving you issue for not providing service receipts from your licensed mechanic or just because it was serviced by your licensed mechanic?

What year is your car? Did they say where the leak was coming from? Just an FYI, the water pump document is not an issue. Well actually it is an issue, the issue was people that didnt know what they were doing were unnecessarily removing and replacing good water pumps. Small evidence of coolant at that weep hole is normal for water pump with this design. Not unique to Mazda. Honda, Toyota, all Asian engines use this. But the other TSB you posted is the infamous cracked head tsb. And one more point. I try to differentiate between MazdaUSA and a lowly Mazda Dealership. The dealerships are often disreputable. Be interesting if the Stealership was smart enuf to know where your leak was coming from.

Hi, sorry for the response a year later. My car is a 2018. Mazda finally accepted liability last year. It was determined that the cylinder head had cracked which caused the coolant fluid to leak. I asked why my engine gave me no warning and they stated that the steam is not strong enough to make the sensor light turn on. The only way I was able to determine something was wrong was because my fan sound was super loud and my car wouldn't shut down immediately after turning the engine off. Once I heard that, I scheduled an appt with my mechanic immediately and a day before I could get there my engine light came on at which time I was informed not to drive and check the coolant fluid. It was completely empty. By then the damage had already been done. They replaced the entire engine with a rebuilt one. They did use my 3rd party warranty to cover the tranny and they covered the rest.

 

[Super Upet]

This isn't a stickied thread. The two threads that are stickied contain related TSBs and recommendations for actions to take if you have the issue.

While we are a Mazda-centric forum, we do not represent or speak on behalf of Mazda. We're just a bunch of people who happen to own or like Mazdas. Again, the poll is fine as long as people understand what it represents. It isn't up to us to enlighten those who don't understand, but you do make a good point. I'll try to edit the OP to include a disclaimer.




Recalls are typically only issued for widespread safety concerns. A slow coolant leak by itself would not result in any loss of power, or create an unsafe situation on the road. When the coolant gets low, there are warnings that show up on the dash. The engine wouldn't "blow"



That's interesting. What is the name of the "head mechanic"?

Kevin

3rd party "warranty" is generally a nightmare to get them to pay out for high dollar repairs.

Is Mazda giving you issue for not providing service receipts from your licensed mechanic or just because it was serviced by your licensed mechanic?

The manager literally admitted to my face that because I didn't have them service my car I was not considered a loyal customer! I did provide them with all of my mechanic's receipts for service.

Hi, I am sorry you are having to deal with this issue especially with low mileage and not getting any headway from your Dealer / Mazda. I have a 2016 CX-9 and it had 104K. It was over the extended warranty of 100k. Originally my local dealer said it would have been a sure shot to get this issue covered if I was under 100K miles, but he was going to submit it anyway. I worked with a really good service guy (luckily). I was sincere and not aggressive in my initial discussions.

My symptoms to come to the conclusion that I had this specific issue noted in this TSB were: white billowing smoke, funny exhaust smell. Then the following day overheated. Come to find out I had zero coolant with no visible leaks. So I refilled the coolant and headed over to my local dealer (San Diego area). I had to pay a non-refundable $250 diagnostic fee which would end up going towards the final bill. They concluded the leak was internal and qualified for the fix (see attachment). Initially they quoted me 11K for a new motor if Mazda was not going to cover it! I was thinking time to cut my losses, trade in and start looking for a new ride. Gratefully, Mazda agreed to cover for a replacement engine which I had to pay $1K of it (my initial $250 included). So new motor (block and head, sparkplugs, gaskets etc. Kept my original turbo and they provided a 12K mile warranty on the new motor. One thing to add is how this service guy went above and beyond was that I had a modified air filter and catch can (though I knew it had nothing to do with this issue). I told him I would swap back to the OEM parts, but he said don't worry about it and he would not mention it in his report.

From all the different post and Mazda forums I read up on, it seems to boil down to your dealership / service person and ultimately Mazda corp. I agree they should be handling this in a procedural way. I to purposely bought my car knowing it was built in Japan where quality standards are high. Car runs like a champ now and plan on driving it till the wheels fall off. Glad to provide any more information to anyone if it can help.

This sounds exactly like what happened to my car. Thankfully, they did end up rebuilding my engine and used my extended warranty to cover the tranny. I also was give a 12K warranty for the work. I had to take my car back twice for issues due to the repair but it works perfect now!

 

[Tchman2016]

The manager literally admitted to my face that because I didn't have them service my car I was not considered a loyal customer! I did provide them with all of my mechanic's receipts for service.

One word:
Scumbags

 

[Super Upet]

One word:
Scumbags

Yes I agree. I was in disbelief that he would make such a statement.