Heat Shield

[switek]

Anyone have a problem with the insulation/heat shield under the car coming loose? It's the one directly under the front seats and covers the exhaust.

Mine has fallen out and is banging on the exhaust pipe. Sounds like aluminum cans dragging behind the car. I didn't run over anything and even the dealer doesn't know why. They're covering it under warranty.

Just wondering.

 

[cumarako]

Heat shield

Same problem here with the insulation/heat shield under my Mazda 5 coming loose and fallen out around a week ago, have you get an answer on this from anybody?

 

[SuperJETT]

2 year old post...

 

[Silentnoise713]

2 year old post...

Nothing wrong with bumping old posts if the issue is still outstanding. I also find a lot of the older posters seem to be much more hands on with their car. The new wave of car owners seem to be point A-B owners and not as mechanically inclined.

Fail on cumarako for not mentioning his year and mileage...

 

[Robotazky]

LOL, it's his first post guys. Be easy.

I'm fine with reviving dead posts if it's technical in nature. I've seen a lot good results from revived threads about issues that were never resolved.

OP, I have no clue what to tell you other than heat shields are tacked on with tiny welds. Ours must have a particularly weak welding procedure.

 

[thaxman]

Besides, this gives me something to watch for...

 

[Silentnoise713]

OP, I have no clue what to tell you other than heat shields are tacked on with tiny welds. Ours must have a particularly weak welding procedure.

^Sigh…

The OP and cumarako don’t have as much to worry about since they are in warmer weather. Corret me if I'm wrong but my understanding on the purpose of heat shields are 1) to help build up and retain heat in the exhaust system. This provides better flow (negligible power gain) but more importantly heating up quickly to keep emissions down. The other purpose is to keep out the elements (salt) that us north and northeastern folks have to deal with.

 

[flcruising]

Actually, a heat shield is a reflector to keep the radiant heat (in this case, from the catalytic converter) away from the cabin floor. Doesn't do anything to keep it retained in the exhaust.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Actually, a heat shield is a reflector to keep the radiant heat (in this case, from the catalytic converter) away from the cabin floor. Doesn't do anything to keep it retained in the exhaust.

You are correct! How did I forget that -doh! This is one of the primary intended purposes of heat shields but guess I was thinking about alternatives positive aspects that have been brought up. Heat shields should exist on the car all the way from the downpipe to the exhaust, not just on the CAT. Its purpose have been a debate on many car forums. Bottom line you don't ‘need’ them. Even without them, exhaust pipes do not radiate enough heat to affect cabin temp. I had them come off on some cars and took them off on others (for aftermarket pipes). I will say the pipes are more prone to rusting without the shields! I now know better and will never buy aftermarket steel pipes, stainless steel is the way to go for not much more money, unless you don’t intend on keeping the car for a long time.

 

[Robotazky]

^^ It would depend on the specific car as to whether or not you would "need" it, IMO.

 

[Silentnoise713]

^^ It would depend on the specific car as to whether or not you would "need" it, IMO.

I agree with that. Also where you live plays a role too. In this case, the Mz5 does not need it, IMO.

 

[the_saint]

The heat shields are probably related to this: Mazda5 exhaust fire recall

 

[flcruising]

That recall was for idiots.

 

[Robotazky]

That recall was for idiots.

LOL, yes. I can say though that I have left it in manual mode with the radio blasting and looked down at 4,000 RPM on the tach. It's smooth and quiet so it can happen, but you're right about idiots burning the car up doing it.

 

[the_saint]

Yes, it was idiots who caught their 5s on fire...it was also idiots who programmed a transmission computer that could hold 2nd gear long enough that the exhaust could get hot enough to start a fire.

But hey, it afforded me a Mazda6 to beat the crap out of while they figured out a fix (lol2)

 

[Robotazky]

^^ True about the idiotic engineering. Very true.

 

[flcruising]

When the car was programmed to give a driver an experience resembling a manual transmission, I don't see how it's any different than a person driving a manual in 2nd gear? I guess the obvious answer would be that people who drive an m/t are "aware" of their vehicle, but then there's nothing the PCM could do to force the vehicle to upshift for them.

Although the 5-speed manual transmission equipped cars would seemingly not need to be recalled, Mazda chose to retrofit all Mazda5 versions with the new parts and software.

 

[Robotazky]

When the car was programmed to give a driver an experience resembling a manual transmission, I don't see how it's any different than a person driving a manual in 2nd gear? I guess the obvious answer would be that people who drive an m/t are "aware" of their vehicle, but then there's nothing the PCM could do to force the vehicle to upshift for them.

I think one could figure out a way to limit idiocy with programming. It already stops the manual mode if it gets too hot. I understand what you're saying though. The computer interfering would bother me, but I drive a manual Civic Si as my DD.

 

[Silentnoise713]

I don't the history of this recall but you guys really need to think outside of a person who knows a car as a intricate/complex machine and put yourself in the shoe of someone who looks at it as an appliance -without reading instructions. If the manual mode auto allows this behavior, then it should support it being used in such a manor. There is no owner fault here.

 

[thaxman]

I don't the history of this recall but you guys really need to think outside of a person who knows a car as a intricate/complex machine and put yourself in the shoe of someone who looks at it as an appliance -without reading instructions. If the manual mode auto allows this behavior, then it should support it being used in such a manor. There is no owner fault here.

Disagree. If I was unfamiliar with anything but vanilla-American-automatics, and I put the car in manumatic mode and suddenly realized that it wasn't shifting, I would abandon manumatic mode from then on. I mean, why does the car have this really big gauge in the instrument cluster that seems to climb when the engine develops a higher pitch? Is it to let you know when to shift the manumatic?

Now, since I have never driven an AT Mz5 in manumatic mode (just the AT at the dealer), I cannot claim knowledge of how easy it is to slip into manumatic mode. Perhaps the answer to the real root of the problem was to make entry into the mode more deliberate?