Funny Issue with MS3

M

MS3_Kendall

Member
:
2007 Mazdaspeed 3
I have been running my car normal, not over doing it with running the car hard. Actually, I am just boosting normal PSI, about 15 PSI. So, getting too what happened to me yesterday morning before going to work. I needed to put gas in my car, so I went to the gas station, duh. Put 93 octane gas and filled it up to about 13.2 gallons. After taking off from the gas station, I would say 5 miles down the road my AFR readings were hitting 10.0, 11.5 at barely half throttle. Also, the car felt weird from starting at 1st gear, it felt like the car had a hiccup going through my rpms slowly. I shifted around 3k to 2nd gear and the car started to bog down. Like if the car was choking or did not have enough to push through the gear. I stopped in a complex to check my vaccume hoses, cupplers and everything was fine. Can the gas have something to do with the issue???? Not really sure. What are the chances of someone getting bad gas into the tank. Oh, I assumed it might of been the gas, so I bought some octane booster, but so far no luck in solving the issue. What do you guys thing it can be?????
 
What are you boosting since the problem started? I would start there, see if you have a pressure/vac leak.
 
Something just like this happened to me with my '04 n/a 3. Turns out that it was a bad PCV valve. The dealer replaced this piece twice actually. Fixed the bogging down issue. Where do you get gas at?
 
Kain said:
What are you boosting since the problem started? I would start there, see if you have a pressure/vac leak.
Click to expand...

I am boosting 15 PSI... I generate boost fine.. The build up does not taper down or hesitate while rising. It is a smooth transition in build up. I checked most if not all vaccume hoses...
 
lucaspl88 said:
bad batch of gas ?
Click to expand...

That's what I think... The car has been running with no issues until I put gas that morning. The problem occured like 5 miles of riding the car on a full tank.. It is strange to me because I had never experienced any issues with that before...
 
Mz3Hatch said:
Something just like this happened to me with my '04 n/a 3. Turns out that it was a bad PCV valve. The dealer replaced this piece twice actually. Fixed the bogging down issue. Where do you get gas at?
Click to expand...

Well, I did do an install of a catch can on my car. I had used a new PCV valve on the install.. It has not given me problems after the install. But the install was a while ago... I usually use BP gas.
 
Chances are very high that you got bad gas. Not necessarily low octane, but some kind of contamination, possibly water or trash or both. If the pump you used was connected to a tank that was almost empty, it could have picked up some of the junk that settles to the bottom.

The cheapest way to be sure is to simply drain the tank as much as possible and then refill with gas from another station you have purchased good gas from. Losing most of 14 gallons of gas is the cheapest peace of mind you can have.
 
Now that you know where NOT to get gas from, tell your friends. Make sure they don't get it there either. (If that is the problem.)
 
MSMS3 said:
Chances are very high that you got bad gas. Not necessarily low octane, but some kind of contamination, possibly water or trash or both. If the pump you used was connected to a tank that was almost empty, it could have picked up some of the junk that settles to the bottom.

The cheapest way to be sure is to simply drain the tank as much as possible and then refill with gas from another station you have purchased good gas from. Losing most of 14 gallons of gas is the cheapest peace of mind you can have.
Click to expand...

Most of the time, chances of bad gas getting into the tank are actually pretty darned slim. But it does happen. And since the trouble started just a few miles after filling up, 2+2= possible bad gas.

I'd second the motion to drain the gas from the tank if you can. If not, try getting a bottle of "Drygas" to help offset any moisture that may have gotten in there. "Drygas" is basically just ethyl alcohol, so if your area runs an ethanol blended gas already, then you can skip the Drygas suggestion.

If you do add Drygas, run the car gently and get that tank as empty as you can before filling up again.
 
Well, last night.. The car decided to shutter in first gear and shut off.... I then started the car and the AFR's read 10.0 at idle and finally a CEL came on. Which I did not have before. I took it to an auto parts store to get a reading on the CEL and I got a P2178 (Idle speed too rich, bank #1). The idle speed too rich is obvious, my AFR's have been telling me that, but bank #1 not sure what it is! Can that mean a vaccume leak, bad reading on O2, or maybe the MAF? I have not moved the car since last night and will probably not do so until I fix the issue a.s.a.p....
 
Get some MAF cleaner while at that auto parts store and start by cleaning that. I have heard/seen bogging from a bad MAF sensor. That or go back to stock and get it to the dealership... Call 1-800-Mazda to get a free tow there.
 
mazdaspeedster3 said:
Get some MAF cleaner while at that auto parts store and start by cleaning that. I have heard/seen bogging from a bad MAF sensor. That or go back to stock and get it to the dealership... Call 1-800-Mazda to get a free tow there.
Click to expand...

Yea, thanks for the info. I actually have some MAF cleaner here at home. I will try that out now. Hopefully that will solve my issue. Cross your fingers...
 
MS3_Kendall said:
Yea, thanks for the info. I actually have some MAF cleaner here at home. I will try that out now. Hopefully that will solve my issue. Cross your fingers...
Click to expand...

So I used my MAF cleaner and the car seemed to respond well. I disconnected the negative terminal of the battery before disconnecting the MAF wires and cleaning the MAF sensor. After I finished, I connected everything back and turned on the car.. The idle was fine, the AFR's at idle were reading normal at 14.2 to 15.0., and the CEL went away. I left the car on for 10 min. to see if anything changes in the AFR's and the car maintained normal. I revved the car a couple of times and it was still normal readings. I drove the car around my area and it seemed to be running better, but obviously after resetting the ECU, the car takes a couple of miles to re-adjust itself.. One thing I did notice, when I have my AC on and at a dead stop the idle goes down to normal, but the vaccume readings on my PSI gauge tapers up and down twice while the car feels like it is adjusting the RPM's at idle. What can that be?
 
Sounds like a vacuum leak, its getting plenty of fuel according the the AFR but theirs not enough air getting in. Check your piping, retighten clamps, my guess would be post-turbo piping since its already been accounted for by the MAF and its expecting and not getting it.

The car sounds like its going into limp mode which it will do when somethings really off (like a big leak) and its just trying to "limp" home.

All it takes is a silicon coupler to slip off when you boosted it a little bit (maybe out of the gas station) and is just a coincidence you got gas before hand.
 
The shuttering of the vaccume readings on my boost gauge went away already (with A/C on). I think it had too do with the reset of the ECU. The car has been riding good so far. Yesterday after the MAF clean and today still running smooth. Let's see if that was all I needed. Thanks everyone for your posts and helpful information.... (2thumbs)
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lavishauto
Can you check my Versatune log?
Replies
2
Views
576
lavishauto
lavishauto
R
  • Question
Major Problem (2018 Mazda CX-5)
Replies
5
Views
865
Conrad 16.5
Conrad 16.5
acidbug
    • Like
CX-5 Turbo: 87 vs 91 vs 93
Replies
5
Views
2K
N7turbo
N7turbo

Latest posts

Back