How to keep a 2006 Mazda3 with 160K miles on the road?

[GTXT23]

The older 3s prior to the body change in 2013 are being seen less and less. Im keeping mine running @ 160K and plan on keeping it.
If anyone has things they've had to replace or repair ,, as well as tips to keep em on the road . Please chime in .
My 2010 has the 2.5 ( GT HB - AUTO) which was only in the 10-11 , but the 2.3s 2.0s and 2.3disi-T were ALL slightly different.

First the drive belt ( water pump , alt and a/c compressor) was replaced at 90K but it was not broken or cracked. Then I needed a new valve cover gasket at about 110k as I would smell oil , but not like burning , more like vaporized oil on steep long hills doing 60+ and realized they leak off the backside due to the heat rise off the exhaust manifold. So problem solved. Of course the Coolant was at 100K , ( now due again ) Did spark plugs at 115K -easy = 20 min job. I had my TCM fail on a start-up in the garage at 120K and the dash lights were - Check-eng, D-Drive and M-Manual ..it ran but needed to manual hard shift the auto trans until I replaced the TCM which is under the battery. This is a common time for this to occur. In a hot environment possibly sooner. I flushed the power steering fluid which was like swamp mud at 120K as the power steering was " groaning " and then it stopped. Like NU . Did the front struts and rear shocks at 125K , then the rear wheel bearings/hubs ( one piece ) on both rear at 130K - the front bearings are quiet - so ok there . I do the trans fluid every 30K , oil every 4-5K , I have the GT so Xenons and LEds all around - no issues except the "nagare" light filament went on the front headlight - changed it - easy - Never left me stranded , Been thru lots of tires , but no unusual wear . I lost power to all my lighter sockets and cant find the issue -- fuses are good , wires are good , I replaced the imputs with new- still no juice -- anyone ?? So other than that it has a timing chain - so Im pretty sure its going 300k - If anyone has other long life service tips --It would be appreciated- Lets keep these on the road ! Drive safe- the parts are getting harder to find and more $$.

 

[jonnymopar]

My 2007 is sitting in the driveway with 239k miles, still daily-driven. Hell, it's even got a fresh coat of wax on it! The car just does everything well: great gas mileage (mine's 2.0L MTX), smooth quiet ride, and yet it isn't bothered by 60+mph exit ramps and 6000+RPM shifts. I've owned it since it had 43k miles on it, and it has never been towed.

First and foremost tip to keeping it on the road: keep rust/rot in check. My car was garaged 365 days a year for most of its life and I've still got cancer all over it. Rear wheel wells, B pillars on the front doors, underneath front edge of the hood, and now the rockers are starting to go. It's not nearly as bad as some 1st gens I've seen, but it's not gonna last forever.

Sounds like your suspension is all set. Mine was JUNK on all 4 corners by 90k miles. All I did was put KYB stock replacement stuff in and life is good. Around 190k miles, I replaced the front control arms assemblies. It only needed bushings, but I ended up just putting in two new assemblies in.

I ditched the fluid-filled engine mounts and replaced them with solid rubber Roca mounts. Less harsh than poly and still put up with some abuse. That was at least 75k miles ago. Zero issues.

My stock alternator went around 195k miles. Fortunately I have an excellent rebuilder local, so no Autozone junk for me. The stocker was rebuilt and reinstalled.

The flex joint gave up on mine this past summer, so I had to have that welded. Other than that, the exhaust is original.

My headlight plugs became corroded over the years. Mine are halogen, so it's just an H4 plug with the center pin unused. Easy splice job.

Good luck with it! Mine's been a gem and continues to treat me extremely well.

 

[GTXT23]

My 2007 is sitting in the driveway with 239k miles, still daily-driven. Hell, it's even got a fresh coat of wax on it! The car just does everything well: great gas mileage (mine's 2.0L MTX), smooth quiet ride, and yet it isn't bothered by 60+mph exit ramps and 6000+RPM shifts. I've owned it since it had 43k miles on it, and it has never been towed.

First and foremost tip to keeping it on the road: keep rust/rot in check. My car was garaged 365 days a year for most of its life and I've still got cancer all over it. Rear wheel wells, B pillars on the front doors, underneath front edge of the hood, and now the rockers are starting to go. It's not nearly as bad as some 1st gens I've seen, but it's not gonna last forever.

Sounds like your suspension is all set. Mine was JUNK on all 4 corners by 90k miles. All I did was put KYB stock replacement stuff in and life is good. Around 190k miles, I replaced the front control arms assemblies. It only needed bushings, but I ended up just putting in two new assemblies in.

I ditched the fluid-filled engine mounts and replaced them with solid rubber Roca mounts. Less harsh than poly and still put up with some abuse. That was at least 75k miles ago. Zero issues.

My stock alternator went around 195k miles. Fortunately I have an excellent rebuilder local, so no Autozone junk for me. The stocker was rebuilt and reinstalled.

The flex joint gave up on mine this past summer, so I had to have that welded. Other than that, the exhaust is original.

My headlight plugs became corroded over the years. Mine are halogen, so it's just an H4 plug with the center pin unused. Easy splice job.

Good luck with it! Mine's been a gem and continues to treat me extremely well.

Yes - Thnx for the reminder - I did a Meguiars healight restore -- it came with a 2 stage process and low grit sandpaper -- worked well- I just keep it clean and polished