Common problems with the Mazda3

5 monthes old 5300 miles no problems at all besides a lil rattle in the right side of the back seat. and for paint chips screw the paint. 5 monthes old and i got like 5 chips. my lancer had better paint LOL and mitsu quality is pretty crappy to start with besides the evo but thats my own opinion. but i still <3 my mazda 3.
 
From what I read, it's about a 50/50 split that those have problems with their A/C and those that don't.

BTW, was at my dealer the other day and they did an indepth A/C check which required them to "dump" the coolant and to weigh it. The coolant was a little low and it shouldn't be. They re-filled it and also added a dye to show if any leaks would turn up. We'll see what happens this summer.
 
has anyone else been having trouble with cats? i already had to get one warranteed and now i am getting horrible gas mileage which makes me think the ones after the sensor that won't throw a cel are bad. but now i'm at 36,000 so i don't think it will still be warranteed so i'm just waiting for a catback that isn't noisy as hell to be created.
 
I dont know if this has been discused but i am about to go to work and to lazy to check the whole thread......but i have had my 3 for about 7 months and I have about 4900 miles on it (hehe 17 year old here!).....well about 2 months ago i started to notice a rattle comeing from the belts on the left side of the engine. its bad when its cold and get a LITTLE better when it warms up. but its is still a squeel. I took it to the dealer and all of a sudden it wouldnt squeel for anything (what my luck)....any ideas?
 
no civics, ZOOM ZOOM!!

blondee_yvr said:
(eyeballs) <sigh> <SIGH>, I guess the Mazda 3 is out for me then. I suppose it's gonna have to be a Toyota or the cheap plasticy looking Civic.
Ive had my Mazda since they came out, I've got over 18kmiles.The only problems I have with the car is the passenger door rattles a little To much BASS i guess . other than that not one single performance problem at all.

If I just had enough $$ to get the few parts I want All the civic owners would pee their pants,,,LOL LOL
 
blondee_yvr said:
NewjerseyDV, get your car to the dealer asap. You only have a 12 month rattle warranty.

lol are you shitting me! Mazda has a rattle warranty haha thats awsome! Should I get my flux compasitor checked while im there too?
 
I got my Mazda back from the dealership Friday. They said the problem was that a wiring harness was pulled loose out of the PJB Box. They said they couldn't find a reason for the other warning lights to come on and they couldn't recreate it in the shop. I drove it home Friday and it sat in the driveway all weekend.

This morning (monday) when I was ready to leave for work, I got in and it wouldn't start. I had power, my lights, radio, and all instruments seemed to be working fine but the car would not start. I had to call my mother-in-law for a ride so I could pick up her car and leave her stranded at work. When we got home, we were able to get the car started, but all of the warning lights came on and stayed on again. By the time I got it to the dealership for repairs, only the engine light was still on. They put me in a rental, my only requirement was that the rental not be a Mazda and said they would keep it for a few days and see if they can get to the root of the problem. I told them they had better get Japan over here soon.

Okay, you might want to stop here but if you'd like to read the funny story about my ill temper, read on...

Here's the kicker. The technician at the dealership recognized me from Friday and said, "what's wrong with your car now?" I reminded him that I told him on Thursday that it was a piece of crap. He asked if the same thing was wrong and I said, "yes, I told you it was a piece of crap and I'm not back here because it suddenly isn't." Okay, that was a little rude but then he had the audacity to suggest that the problem might be the key and I should bring both keys in. He wanted me to bring the other one in tomorrow. I informed the dear man--and I use the term dear man only because the correct term wouldn't be appropriate--that the same key that wouldn't start it this morning was used to drive it in this afternoon. He said, "well, I need both keys." That's when I kinda lost it, because when I made the appointment no one suggested that I bring both keys in. I made no little show of my disdain as I told him that if he needed another key, he could very well make his own as I would not be driving the hour through traffic to bring another one up there and if that was not sufficient, he could pick it up at my house before I leave tomorrow morning.
 
Oh, I forgot to add. I'm at almost 3900 miles and "NO PAINT CHIPS." I'd better knock on wood. Also the A/C seems to hold up fine to these warm Texas winters. Can't wait to see how it handles August. Assuming I still have the car and haven't made Mazda give me my money back so I can go by another Nissan. Hmmm someone mentioned the Civic. I owned one of those once it got (and this is no lie) 40 miles to the gallon and didn't give me a lick of problems. I only traded it in because it was getting old and I wanted something new.
 
i have an 06 5dr. 1 month 1380 miles and no problems yet and hopefully it will stay tht way
 
I have a new rattle coming from my LF wheel area. Started yesterday. Sounds like a sway bar link.

The car just clicked over 36,000 miles... :rolleyes:

I don't know if I should waste my time taking it in or not. They replaced my strut mounts under the TSB but I think they may tell me to get bent on this one since the Eibachs probably caused the thing to go bad. I may be able to guilt them into fixing it since they were the last ones to work on it (only 5,000 miles ago).

I'll get a price on the links from the cap'n, just in case.
 
now that i'm too lazy to find it again, what causes the hissing? (i finally turned my stereo down so i could hear it...)
 
My Mazda 3 has been in the shop since last Monday. That's 10 days this time by my count and a total of 12 days. Friday they called and said they were removing the instrument panel and putting it in the freezer over night, today they said a new speedometer just arrived and they were going to install it tomorrow. Maybe I'll get it back before I make my 4th payment.

I wouldn't recommend a Mazda to my worst enemy. Okay, well maybe to my worst enemy but not to a friend. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, boughta Honda. Live and learn huh.
 
I just purchased an 06 Mazda3 right after X'mas, and 3 months down the road my car won't start. a few of my buddies had a similar issue, going to take it to the dealer and find out WTF is wrong w/ it. wish me luck, from what I gather it is electrical problems.

*update*

went to Agincourt Mazda, I like their service area, its BIG.. so they can accomodate more vehicles at one time. anyway, found out that the Main Relay isn't working well, minor problem. they tweaked my car till the part arrives in a few days. dang... new car, n' this? hoho... I still love the Mazda3 regardless.
 
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crazy, i got my endlink replaced under warrenty, and i dont have stock suspension anymore on my protege.
 
blondee_yvr said:
If you didnt have a diffuser to begin with, it will make a difference. But many people with an 05 do have a diffuser and the A/C is still weak. You need to have it on level 2. The compressor also cycles on and off every 10 seconds. During this time, only warm air is blowing, hence the poor cooling.

Currently have 05 Mazda 3 5d with ~8k mi. I did notice the weak A/C when I bought the car late summer. It is capable of cooling but it would just guzzle a lot of gas as you'd have to turn it at a pretty high, 3 or 4.

In preping for this summer, I thought I'd charge it with more refrigerant. It is colder now. But I'm still not sure though if this will hold as the days here on the midatlantic coast are still pretty cool.

Charging is kinda' tricky as I had to make sure I don't overcharge. Venting refrigerant is illegal too.... And when you do put slightly too much, you'll notice that your compressor won't come on for longer periods and will also cut off at shorter periods, than it was originally. Soo I did end up charging slightly more so coming from the slightly too much (though in the gauge, I'm still in the "Fill ok" band), I decreased refrigerant to a point where my compressor would cycle on for at least 40s then cut off for 2s-5s (no more than 10s), then repeat cycle. On the gauge, I was reading on the 26-27 psi. Originally operating at 25 psi (which on my guage is borderline between "Add" and "Ok").

The fact that the car is new, I assumed that I have no leaks and my car was initially filled that is slightly low in refrigerant. I will check A/C again next year, and if I lose pressure, I'll have it serviced.
 
mjeriko said:
Currently have 05 Mazda 3 5d with ~8k mi. I did notice the weak A/C when I bought the car late summer. It is capable of cooling but it would just guzzle a lot of gas as you'd have to turn it at a pretty high, 3 or 4.

In preping for this summer, I thought I'd charge it with more refrigerant. It is colder now. But I'm still not sure though if this will hold as the days here on the midatlantic coast are still pretty cool.

Dude, I wish you would've seen this thread here. We're all waiting for someone to test their A/C and post the results. The instructions are near the end of the thread. See here: http://www.autoacforum.com/messageview.cfm?catid=2&threadid=14994
 
does anyone believe that the dealership will fix my carpeting. My original warranty is up but I have the extended warranty to 100,000. Im sure their are others that have had the carpeting problem seeing that it is very cheap carpeting. It is wearing on the inside edge of the dead pedal area, here your right heel is positioned, and where the floor mat connector is.
Thanks
Anthony
 
splitvizion said:
does anyone believe that the dealership will fix my carpeting. My original warranty is up but I have the extended warranty to 100,000. Im sure their are others that have had the carpeting problem seeing that it is very cheap carpeting. It is wearing on the inside edge of the dead pedal area, here your right heel is positioned, and where the floor mat connector is.
Thanks
Anthony

That's a crap shoot, I just passed my one year mark in mid Feb. I once again complained about the crappy wiper blades and how it's not cleaning properly. The blades were replaced in November for the same problem. Now, they wouldn't replaced the blades....and what do they cost, maybe $12? They said it's out of warranty. (ughdance)
 

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