DooMer_MP3
Member
Here is the email I sent to the two Mazda engineers at Mazda USA. I don't care if they get pissed, this is ******* ridiculous. We shall see, they've been responsive in the MSP hesitation issue, so maybe they'll be responsive with the clunk:
---------------------
Hello to both of you,
First off, let me apologize for sending email to both of you. I realize that email directly from a customer is the last thing you want, and I would feel the same way as well. But after dealing with this issue for two years, I have finally decided to send it to those who might give a darn.
For two years now, I have sincerely enjoyed my Laser Blue 2001 Mazda MP3. Its looks, style, and handling are simply incredible. This was my first purchase of a brand new car, and I was sincerely looking forward to it. However, for the past two years, there has been a problem.
About three months after I began driving my new car, I noticed a weird noise coming from the back. I first thought it was a blown strut or loose spare tire, but it was instead the now infamous clunk (at least infamous to us owners). For two years, I routinely go to my dealer every couple of months and get my bushings replaced. I am not sure if all new cars require this amount of service, but I doubt it.
The reason I am emailing is to ask about a fix. I understand that Mazda USA has nearly completed a fix for the Mazdaspeed Protege "hesitation" issue. It annoys me to see a fix come out for a car months after it was released, while those of us with our two-year-old cars have been left on the backburner. Also, every time I contact Mazda USA to make an inquiry about a fix, I receive canned replies of "We are not aware of this situation". This makes me nervous.
Mazda has come out with two revisions of the rear swaybar bushings that are now being used to replace our bushings. These are also the same bushings that come on a Mazdaspeed Protege. However, several Mazdaspeed owners are now becoming all to familiar with a strange sound coming from their trunk. Please realize that this noise isn't the only problem. The back end becomes noticeably loose when the problem occurs; the car does not handle as advertised when the problem occurs!
I could bore you with an attachment of a couple of hundred un-satisfied people who have the same problem I speak of, but I will not put you through that. Believe me, we exist, and we're getting irritated.
A lot of us have come to believe after getting tidbits of information from a certain company who designed the prototype MP3, that the problem really isn't in the bushing itself, but the use of Mazda OEM endlinks on a suspension that is so much stiffer. A simple look at Racing Beat's description of the prototype MP3 on their website shows that they designed a much beefier endlink setup than Mazda decided to use.
I am not a car engineer. I do not claim to know what I'm talking about, but I'm starting to crave an answer, and I'm hoping we'll get one soon. Its been two years. Our warranties are disappearing. What happens when our warranties are complete, and we go in every two months to pay for replacement bushings? Well, I sure don't want to think about that.
I appreciate the time from both of you. Again, I apologize for contacting you directly, but desperate times call for desperate measures! Take care.
Sincerely,
Chris Sobotkiewicz
2001 Mazda MP3
Madison, WI
------------------------------------
---------------------
Hello to both of you,
First off, let me apologize for sending email to both of you. I realize that email directly from a customer is the last thing you want, and I would feel the same way as well. But after dealing with this issue for two years, I have finally decided to send it to those who might give a darn.
For two years now, I have sincerely enjoyed my Laser Blue 2001 Mazda MP3. Its looks, style, and handling are simply incredible. This was my first purchase of a brand new car, and I was sincerely looking forward to it. However, for the past two years, there has been a problem.
About three months after I began driving my new car, I noticed a weird noise coming from the back. I first thought it was a blown strut or loose spare tire, but it was instead the now infamous clunk (at least infamous to us owners). For two years, I routinely go to my dealer every couple of months and get my bushings replaced. I am not sure if all new cars require this amount of service, but I doubt it.
The reason I am emailing is to ask about a fix. I understand that Mazda USA has nearly completed a fix for the Mazdaspeed Protege "hesitation" issue. It annoys me to see a fix come out for a car months after it was released, while those of us with our two-year-old cars have been left on the backburner. Also, every time I contact Mazda USA to make an inquiry about a fix, I receive canned replies of "We are not aware of this situation". This makes me nervous.
Mazda has come out with two revisions of the rear swaybar bushings that are now being used to replace our bushings. These are also the same bushings that come on a Mazdaspeed Protege. However, several Mazdaspeed owners are now becoming all to familiar with a strange sound coming from their trunk. Please realize that this noise isn't the only problem. The back end becomes noticeably loose when the problem occurs; the car does not handle as advertised when the problem occurs!
I could bore you with an attachment of a couple of hundred un-satisfied people who have the same problem I speak of, but I will not put you through that. Believe me, we exist, and we're getting irritated.
A lot of us have come to believe after getting tidbits of information from a certain company who designed the prototype MP3, that the problem really isn't in the bushing itself, but the use of Mazda OEM endlinks on a suspension that is so much stiffer. A simple look at Racing Beat's description of the prototype MP3 on their website shows that they designed a much beefier endlink setup than Mazda decided to use.
I am not a car engineer. I do not claim to know what I'm talking about, but I'm starting to crave an answer, and I'm hoping we'll get one soon. Its been two years. Our warranties are disappearing. What happens when our warranties are complete, and we go in every two months to pay for replacement bushings? Well, I sure don't want to think about that.
I appreciate the time from both of you. Again, I apologize for contacting you directly, but desperate times call for desperate measures! Take care.
Sincerely,
Chris Sobotkiewicz
2001 Mazda MP3
Madison, WI
------------------------------------
)
