i went to get my car inspected today and the mechanic said i need new front tires. which i thought i would. even though i rotate them at every oil change. and its only been 20k miles. any ways i went home and just threw my snow tires and rims on. when i took off the dunlops i noticed that both front inside were extreamly worn out. like as if it was rubbing on something. in was like there was a gouge all around the inside of the tires. i think i remember someone mentioning this before. and every time i take my mp3 to the dealer (sadly to many times) i always tell them my allingment is screwed up and my car pulls to the right. so how didnt they notice this??? also my tranny is grinding 2nd to 3rd again after having my sychros replaced twice!! and also sometime goin in to second it hard to get it into gear. i ve had 2 car that are manual previous to my mp3. and i shift very smoth and gentle at all times. also when my car is still when i start it sometimes wont go into 1st or reverse with out rolling foward first. Im getting so frustrated with this car. I love it to death but it is really getting to me!!! Is it only MP3's with this tranny problem?? Sorry i just have to let off some steam!!!!
Dunlops wearing wierd, tranny grinding
- Thread starter PaulMP3
- Start date
Well the un-even wear on the inside or your tires means that your alignment is messed up. I had that problem and got my wheels aligned and tires roated.
Second i have been hearing alot of people saying that their mp3 tranies are having problems but, thank god my has not had any. Would i do notice is that the throw from first to second is tough. I think that is due to the short shifter we have. (That is my opinion. but then again i'm no car expert.) See a short shifter makes the throws shorter but the amount of force need to make those throws increase. Hope that makes sence.
But once again this is my opinion and i have never heard any one else say it. hope that helps
Second i have been hearing alot of people saying that their mp3 tranies are having problems but, thank god my has not had any. Would i do notice is that the throw from first to second is tough. I think that is due to the short shifter we have. (That is my opinion. but then again i'm no car expert.) See a short shifter makes the throws shorter but the amount of force need to make those throws increase. Hope that makes sence.
But once again this is my opinion and i have never heard any one else say it. hope that helps
Today..... Dunlops makin thumping noise. Went to Discount tire... Said inside of tires are badly worn and need to be replaced.( 18,000 miles ) Have rotated and balanced as scheduled. Tires have great tread except the inside 3/4 of an inch. Am going to climb down Mazda dealers throat tomorrow. The alignment is fine ($97.00 later ). My problem is the camber..... Better be covered under warranty ( tires and all ), as I havent even touched the suspension areas. If I get that wear and tear cock-n-bull story its gonna be postal..... Ill write you from jail to tell you the results and to ask you all to take up a collection to post bail..(guns)
on the tires...
I had noticed the same type of wear a while back, and looked around the board...I ended up increasing the psi in the tires and since then, the wear has been much much more even, not to mention a more responsive ride. I'd search around for some posts on tire pressure, and give it a shot...I'm running 36-37psi up front and 32 psi in the rear. Back end may get a little squirrley in off ramps if you're too fast, but otherwise, its been the right move. MUCH better and more even wear.
My alignment feels off as well, and has since i've had the car, there are several posts from way back regarding that too, still a debate, I don't think anyone has had a good resolution (even an alignment usually doesn't work
)
Good luck.
North Penn Mazda...my new dealer. They're good.
I had noticed the same type of wear a while back, and looked around the board...I ended up increasing the psi in the tires and since then, the wear has been much much more even, not to mention a more responsive ride. I'd search around for some posts on tire pressure, and give it a shot...I'm running 36-37psi up front and 32 psi in the rear. Back end may get a little squirrley in off ramps if you're too fast, but otherwise, its been the right move. MUCH better and more even wear.
My alignment feels off as well, and has since i've had the car, there are several posts from way back regarding that too, still a debate, I don't think anyone has had a good resolution (even an alignment usually doesn't work
)Good luck.
North Penn Mazda...my new dealer. They're good.
every time i take my car in i mention the allingment and they always say its fine. although it always pulls right. they say it pulls both ways. they just checked my allingment 1 month ago and they said it was ok. they also mention one time before they had to get special specs form mazda for the mp3 allingment since it is different form a protege. they tryed that but it still didnt fix it. Now i need new tires just cause they are worn un evenly. i know i need tire soon any ways now i just need them to pass inspection. i wanted to just get them in the spring when i take my snowtires off. im gonna call mazda dealer tommorow.
saided18:
Tire Camber refers to the angle of the tire with respect to the body of the car. ( you ever see the low-riders where the top half of the tire is tucked under the wheel well and the bottom half is sticking out, riding on the inside of the tire, where it looks like the axl's going to bust due to the weight. That is a negative camber problem ) Camber wear problems can be traced to spring fatigue, which causes the vehicle's frame to ride closer to the road. ( in which our springs are not factory as the car body and frame is ) Once the vehicle is below the manufacturer's height specifications, it is not possible to achieve the correct camber change ( unless they add a camber correction part ) designed into the suspension without replacing the springs. The vehicle also experiences excessive camber change as the suspension travels through jounce and rebound, again causing abnormal tire wear........ BTW I have to re-turn to Mazda tomorrow so I may speak to the service manager ( who of course was not there ) becasue the service rep looked confused as a mofo and had no idea which way to talk, turn, run, etc... I tell ya I was talking about the camber of the tires and he thought there was something wrong with the engine. Oh well......
Tire Camber refers to the angle of the tire with respect to the body of the car. ( you ever see the low-riders where the top half of the tire is tucked under the wheel well and the bottom half is sticking out, riding on the inside of the tire, where it looks like the axl's going to bust due to the weight. That is a negative camber problem ) Camber wear problems can be traced to spring fatigue, which causes the vehicle's frame to ride closer to the road. ( in which our springs are not factory as the car body and frame is ) Once the vehicle is below the manufacturer's height specifications, it is not possible to achieve the correct camber change ( unless they add a camber correction part ) designed into the suspension without replacing the springs. The vehicle also experiences excessive camber change as the suspension travels through jounce and rebound, again causing abnormal tire wear........ BTW I have to re-turn to Mazda tomorrow so I may speak to the service manager ( who of course was not there ) becasue the service rep looked confused as a mofo and had no idea which way to talk, turn, run, etc... I tell ya I was talking about the camber of the tires and he thought there was something wrong with the engine. Oh well......
Same tire problem
My MP3 pulls right quite a bit too. I had the car for roughly a month now, second owner, and at 4k+ miles only. But it has been pulling right from day one I got the car. Thought the alignment was off at the time, so I brought it to the nearby Mazda to have an alignment service (covered by warranty if your car is under 12k miles/1 year old). Didn't fix the problem one bit, even though they said they have a thorough check on the alignment. So I brought it back for a second time days later, and they re-did it again, but the car still pulls right
Luckily, the guys over there seem nice enough to spend some time on finding out the problem rather than just give me bull crap and brush me off. They said my alignment is perfect, but the issue is in the tires. Since the Dunlops are directional tires, they can only be rotated from front to back or vice versa, but not from left to right. They told me that they actually take off the tires from the rims and switched side. And the weird thing is that the car start pulling left after the switch 
So I am assuming the tires are already quite uneven to begin with(even though they have only 3k+ miles), and tire rotations just doesn't solve the problem. So at the end, my car still pulls right, but the problems are more likely from the tires, rather than from the alignment...assuming those Mazda guys are correct. They did adjust the camber setting for me slightly so that the car pulls less now. Its a little better, but still pulls right nonetheless. They did suggest me to drive with slightly softer left front tire(lower air pressure) to ease out the pull. So right now, my left front tire is a few lb less than right, and the car drives much straighter now. I am sure the tire wear will end up quite uneven, but it is pretty bad to begin with. And the problem should be fixed by the time I get a new set of tires (probably Yokohama Parada 2). I don't know if this solves the problem of some of you guys', but this is what happen to my MP3.
Oh, about the tranny, I got that notchy 1st to 2nd gear too. But the notchy feel has been very consistant, and the tranny doesn't feel like it has some problem. I didn't get any grinding or anything. And I read many people had post this notchy 2nd gear before. I think its just a common factory flaw on the protege trannies.
If any of you guys find out more about these problems, or solutions even, please post
My MP3 pulls right quite a bit too. I had the car for roughly a month now, second owner, and at 4k+ miles only. But it has been pulling right from day one I got the car. Thought the alignment was off at the time, so I brought it to the nearby Mazda to have an alignment service (covered by warranty if your car is under 12k miles/1 year old). Didn't fix the problem one bit, even though they said they have a thorough check on the alignment. So I brought it back for a second time days later, and they re-did it again, but the car still pulls right
Luckily, the guys over there seem nice enough to spend some time on finding out the problem rather than just give me bull crap and brush me off. They said my alignment is perfect, but the issue is in the tires. Since the Dunlops are directional tires, they can only be rotated from front to back or vice versa, but not from left to right. They told me that they actually take off the tires from the rims and switched side. And the weird thing is that the car start pulling left after the switch So I am assuming the tires are already quite uneven to begin with(even though they have only 3k+ miles), and tire rotations just doesn't solve the problem. So at the end, my car still pulls right, but the problems are more likely from the tires, rather than from the alignment...assuming those Mazda guys are correct. They did adjust the camber setting for me slightly so that the car pulls less now. Its a little better, but still pulls right nonetheless. They did suggest me to drive with slightly softer left front tire(lower air pressure) to ease out the pull. So right now, my left front tire is a few lb less than right, and the car drives much straighter now. I am sure the tire wear will end up quite uneven, but it is pretty bad to begin with. And the problem should be fixed by the time I get a new set of tires (probably Yokohama Parada 2). I don't know if this solves the problem of some of you guys', but this is what happen to my MP3.Oh, about the tranny, I got that notchy 1st to 2nd gear too. But the notchy feel has been very consistant, and the tranny doesn't feel like it has some problem. I didn't get any grinding or anything. And I read many people had post this notchy 2nd gear before. I think its just a common factory flaw on the protege trannies.
If any of you guys find out more about these problems, or solutions even, please post
i just got off the phone with the service manager and he said since it is the 3rd time there gonna have to fix my tranny they have to have a mazda rep meet me and look at it. and same with the tire problem. they also said they are gonna bring an engineer from mazda take a look at it.
i just got off the phone with the service manager and he said since it is the 3rd time there gonna have to fix my tranny they have to have a mazda rep meet me and look at it. and same with the tire problem. they also said they are gonna bring an engineer from mazda take a look at it. they said they will call me in 3-6 weeks and tell me when he will be in my area. so untill then ill still be grinding third if i shift over 4k!
Ahhh the run-around.... Now I have an appointment to put the car on a lift next Wednesday. The service manager stated that if the problem is from the camber it MAY be possible that Mazda will be responsible for replacing the tires as well. Interesting because this same dealership sent an auto glass company to my house to re-seal my whistling windshield, courtesy of Mazda. Keeping the ol' fingers crossed......
I go to Hamilton Mazda and VW since i live right on the delaware across from trenton so that is the closes dealer. im about the same distance to faulkner mazda also. im thinking about taking it there if my problems dont get resolved soon. i talked with some guy who has an mp3 round me and he takes his there hes having more problems then anyone ive heard he said hes got court in dec. for a lemon law. Also the service manager also said they may replace my tires because of the groove worn around the inside. also my windshield whistles but only when going 100mph+ how do you tell your dealer that?????
wow, Faulkner is huge...
Anyway, if its worth anything, I go to North Penn Mazda. Its probably pretty far west from you, but they do a good job. One of the service guys owns an MP3 so he knows what is going on everytime I've talked to him. I called about the noise in the backend and right away he's like oh you probably need bushings then....brought it in, fixed. (that was after bringing it 3 times to the first dealer that Ibought it from with no fix)
His name is Derek. Good luck.
Anyway, if its worth anything, I go to North Penn Mazda. Its probably pretty far west from you, but they do a good job. One of the service guys owns an MP3 so he knows what is going on everytime I've talked to him. I called about the noise in the backend and right away he's like oh you probably need bushings then....brought it in, fixed. (that was after bringing it 3 times to the first dealer that Ibought it from with no fix)
His name is Derek. Good luck.
