Engine Failure... I think

[Antonio DiMarco]

This whole situation is weird

As I've said before in this thread, I'm completely sympathetic to your situation, which also scares the hell out of me as the owner of a Speed3. This statement confuses me, though. They are not saying you did anything wrong and yet they maintain they have no responsibilty under the warrenty. What are they claiming that it was an act of God? I believe there is a clause in the warrenty that exempts natural disasters, acts of war and so on but short of that I don't see how they can say it is not your fault and is not the result of a defect.

SOmethijng else must be going on here. Probably miscommunication within Mazda or maybe Mazda is looking for the dealer to take the hit. Of course based on what I'm reading it sounds like the dealer who botched the oil change is gone.

Yet another reason why people should really vet their dealer before buying. In two separate cases my dealer had to pay for replacing a MZR engine (not mine) because their tech messed up the oil change. I know this becasue I saw two new engines on palettes on two different occasions within the same 6 month period. Needless to say the tech was fired but in both cases the service advisor said to me that "yep we screwed up so we have to foot the bill." This is one of the reason I love my dealer- they're accountable and don't shy away from it. They also know how particular I am and don't let anyone except their best master techs touch my car.(yes)

Unfortunately I think Mazda is caught up in some sort of beauracratic BS. Do they know that the dealer you got your oil changed at is now out of business?

My sympathies. In this case I think Mazda is probably not getting the whole story.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

Mods?

keep up the fight. I'm sure at least 1/3 of the people reading through this thread have had similar issues with warranties and their MS3/6's. I know I'm one of them and was without a car for 2 months thanks to Mazda NAO. They will find any excuse to place the blame on the customer, even if it's complete BS. If you ever decide to take some sort of action that would require more people with similar stories please do not hesitate to contact me.

Exactly what was your failure? I'm curious.

 

[michniz83]

If I were You I would try to contact Mazda in Japan there have to be someone who speak English and try to explain them every thing
Keep your head up.
I wish you luck.

 

[s-retire]

Yes, This whole situation is weird. You should be standing here!

SOmethijng else must be going on here.

I'm not sure what it would be. You seem to consider yourself a smart guy, perhaps you can explain it to me!

Probably miscommunication within Mazda or maybe Mazda is looking for the dealer to take the hit. Of course based on what I'm reading it sounds like the dealer who botched the oil change is gone.

Of course Mazda NAO is looking for the dealer to take the hit, if not them then my accident insurance carrier or failing either of those, ME, just as long as they don't have to accept responsibility.

Yet another reason why people should really vet their dealer before buying. ... .

and how do you accomplish that? The dealer had no complaints listed and they handled my car purchase openly and proffesionally.

They also know how particular I am and don't let anyone except their best master techs touch my car.(yes).

Boy are you good...

Unfortunately I think Mazda is caught up in some sort of beauracratic BS. Do they know that the dealer you got your oil changed at is now out of business?

The bureaucratic BS is related to the hope that I will give up and go away. and yes they know Modesto Mazda is out of business. (they are NAO)

My sympathies. In this case I think Mazda is probably not getting the whole story.

You do not appear very sympathetic. And yes Mazda NAO has gotten the whole story. They just have chosen to ignore any and all relevant issues that don't support their abdication of responsibility.

If you want Ill send you all I've written on e-mail. If you have a fax machine, Ill also send you the weak response from Mazda NAO and anything else I only have in hard copy.

Now should we chat about the WAY IT IS?

 

[s-retire]

As I've said before in this thread, I'm completely sympathetic to your situation, which also scares the hell out of me as the owner of a Speed3. This statement confuses me, though. They are not saying you did anything wrong and yet they maintain they have no responsibilty under the warrenty. What are they claiming that it was an act of God? I believe there is a clause in the warrenty that exempts natural disasters, acts of war and so on but short of that I don't see how they can say it is not your fault and is not the result of a defect.

Thank you.
There is no allegation of act of God!

Mazda NAO is saying that the engine failure was the result of dealer workmanship; the engine was out of oil due to the oil drain plug falling out. Call the dealer for resolution.

The dealer is saying the failure was due to an internal engine issue and not a result of oil starvation, so they are not legally liable for my damages.

Im saying that without regard to whether the oil drain plug fell out prior to or after the engine going pop, the warranty manual provides that defects of workmanship at an authorized Mazda dealer are covered under the replacement parts section of my new car warranty. Therefore Mazda NAO has a responsibility to honor my warranty.

Im saying that without regard to the fact that close inspection of the motor may not support a theory of systemic oil starvation, the owners manual provides an express warranty of fitness for dealer service. Therefore the dealer has a responsibility to see that my warranty claim is not denied based on an allegation of defect in dealer workmanship.

As much as Mazda NAO would like me to accept their oil starvation theory, it isnt my responsibility to pick sides. If they want to pursue a course of action against the dealer it is up to them to prove. Neither the dealer nor Mazda NAO seems the least concerned that Im the one left with a significant loss.

 

[Yamasaki]

This concerns me

I spent about an hour of my day yesterday reading through this entire thread. For a long period of time I thought is was possible that s-retire was leaving a key piece of information out (such as the fact that he really did the oil change himself or something along those lines). The reason I thought that was because I could not understand how Mazda, a company which I am new to but has been nothing but good to me so far, could screw somebody over so bad.

Usually when I read posts like this, the posters have usually modded their cars all to hell and their rants make me loose all interest in their case. S-retire seems to be very rational and lucid. This scares the hell out of me... I really don't get how Mazda can be denying this claim...

I wrote an email to that Paul Winovitch yesterday outlining my concern. Here was the response:



Thank you for your interest in this case.

Unfortunately this case is between Mazda and Mr. Fisk.

Sincerely,

Paul Winovitch

Paul Winovitch | Manager, Customer Mediation
Mazda North American Operations
7755 Irvine Center Dr. | Irvine, CA 92618
T 949.727.6879 | F 949.727.6592

I own a 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 and although I have zero problems in 10000 miles I a still concerned.

I will be following this case as you get further developments. I would be curious what your insurance company was able to do for you. Did you file a claim? Did they deny it? Let us know, I am curious.

 

[s-retire]

I spent about an hour of my day yesterday reading through this entire thread. For a long period of time I thought is was possible that s-retire was leaving a key piece of information out (such as the fact that he really did the oil change himself or something along those lines). The reason I thought that was because I could not understand how Mazda, a company which I am new to but has been nothing but good to me so far, could screw somebody over so bad.

Usually when I read posts like this, the posters have usually modded their cars all to hell and their rants make me loose all interest in their case. S-retire seems to be very rational and lucid. This scares the hell out of me... I really don't get how Mazda can be denying this claim... .

I understand that people will question if I provide complete information. I'm trying to be as fair and honest as I can. The reality is strange enough.

I wrote an email to that Paul Winovitch yesterday outlining my concern. Here was the response:



Thank you for your interest in this case.

Unfortunately this case is between Mazda and Mr. Fisk.

Sincerely,

Paul Winovitch

Paul Winovitch | Manager, Customer Mediation
Mazda North American Operations
7755 Irvine Center Dr. | Irvine, CA 92618
T 949.727.6879 | F 949.727.6592

There is no surprise!
Thanks for the effort.

I own a 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 and although I have zero problems in 10000 miles I a still concerned..

Good luck to you. I hope the motor failures are fairly isolated, but from what I've read there have been many. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

I will be following this case as you get further developments. I would be curious what your insurance company was able to do for you. Did you file a claim? Did they deny it? Let us know, I am curious.

My car insurance carrier would total the car as if it were in a comprehensive type loss. The result value is based on used car class and I'd lose my deductable. Between those two issues, I'll take a few thousand dollar hit.

The whole insurance claim through my carrier is something of a stretch anyway. Ordinarily they don’t cover mechanical failures. The only reason they’ll look at this case is that when the rod poked the hole on the block, the expanding gasses caused an engine compartment fire. Fire is covered under my comprehensive insurance, but with a known cause the liability still rests with the entity responsible for the mechanical failure that caused the fire.

They wrote a letter to Mazda that they would seek recovery if I went that route. If Mazda NAO ever paid out, it would be more advantageous for NAO because the payout would be smaller.

 

[tunersteve]

This is the first time I've seen your situation, and man, I give you props for sticking it out and not backing down. You definitely sound sincere and that you were without fault, and the local dealer (and now MNAO) is trying to really stick it to you for this. I wish you the best with this issue, and hope that they'll eventually get you back on your feet and on the move with your MS3.