In the winter

[Red Baron]

I've had the P5 for almost 3 years now, and here are a few things that only appear or happen in the winter :

Front coil springs make a hell of a noise when I drive over a speed bump.

Little light over the ignition doesn't work.

This morning, -20C, driver's door did not unlock until the car was warm.

First gear is a pain to engage until transmission is warm (worse with the B&M)

Winter salt has been horrible with both hatch cylinders, had to be replaced twice (I now applied Vaseline to protect them).

And try to lower the sun shield wearing gloves!

 

[VPower]

Weird LOUD CRACK noise when I turn (left or right) when it's very cold outside and the car asnt warm up
or
Weird rattle noise when I turn (left) when it's very cold outside and the car asnt warm up.

LOTS of frost inside the car (when it's snowing or rainning).. I just cant believe it!!

When it's cold: it's like there's no suspension/spring on my car...

Car doesnt start as fast/smooth as my bro 2001 cavalier (sad2)

 

[Red Baron]

Weird LOUD CRACK noise when I turn (left or right) when it's very cold outside and the car asnt warm up
or
Weird rattle noise when I turn (left) when it's very cold outside and the car asnt warm up.

LOTS of frost inside the car (when it's snowing or rainning).. I just cant believe it!!

When it's cold: it's like there's no suspension/spring on my car...

Car doesnt start as fast/smooth as my bro 2001 cavalier (sad2)

Frost in the car : do not use the recycled air button (light turns amber colour). Should not be able to turn it on when you are set to defrost though... Only thing I can suggest if this is not the problem, crack open a window, should let the humidity out.

 

[VPower]

no...mine is a BIG problem.... I swear...you have to see it to believe it!

do you turn the heat on? or keep it cold?

 

[Red Baron]

no...mine is a BIG problem.... I swear...you have to see it to believe it!

do you turn the heat on? or keep it cold?

Heat is ON. Are the carpets wet?

 

[VPower]

heat is on... carpet no wet

maybe I should go to the dealer.. (yuck)

 

[Newf]

here's my problem

Ice builds up behind the front wheels, close to the door right. no big news there. Well, the little crease where the hinges for the door are, near the bottom next to the skirt, water gets in there, turns into ice....door won't open. You have to move the door back and forth sometimes to crack the ice enough so the door opens enough to get in, or get some water and melt it. This was a problem with my mp3 as well.

If your not careful, and open the door quickly when there's ice there, you'll bend the corner of the door out, and you can crack the paint on the very corner of the door....trust me, mine is cracked...thanks to the woman. You have to get on your knees and look up under the door, but it is cracked.

 

[Red Baron]

here's my problem

Ice builds up behind the front wheels, close to the door right. no big news there. Well, the little crease where the hinges for the door are, near the bottom next to the skirt, water gets in there, turns into ice....door won't open. You have to move the door back and forth sometimes to crack the ice enough so the door opens enough to get in, or get some water and melt it. This was a problem with my mp3 as well.

If your not careful, and open the door quickly when there's ice there, you'll bend the corner of the door out, and you can crack the paint on the very corner of the door....trust me, mine is cracked...thanks to the woman. You have to get on your knees and look up under the door, but it is cracked.

I installed cheap Canadian Tire ($6) mud flaps in front when I bought the car, never had that problem. Maybe you could try it.

 

[Red Baron]

heat is on... carpet no wet

maybe I should go to the dealer.. (yuck)

Just thought of this : maybe the vent baffles are not in the right position and you are ALWAYS on recycled air... Won't hurt to ask the dealer.

 

[Newf]

only mud flaps around here are too ugly to put on car

no doubt that it might help though.


this is the area I'm talking about.

 

[VPower]

Thanks newf, I will check that out...

 

[Red Baron]

only mud flaps around here are too ugly to put on car

no doubt that it might help though.


this is the area I'm talking about.

Try this, won't hurt : once all the water/ice will be gone (may warm up a bit), spray some WD-40 in that region. WD-40 is NOT a lubricant, it's a water dispersant (WD = Water Dispersant). Keep some there for a while, to test, and give us the results.

 

[snooky]

sum times my doors unlock but the rubber atound the inside of the door is frozen to the body of the car!!!

 

[Red Baron]

sum times my doors unlock but the rubber atound the inside of the door is frozen to the body of the car!!!

Spray some "Jig-A-Loo" or other brand liquid silicone on the door gaskets. You can get it cheap at Canadian Tire. It will solve your problem.

 

[snooky]

Spray some "Jig-A-Loo" or other brand liquid silicone on the door gaskets. You can get it cheap at Canadian Tire. It will solve your problem.

thanks man ill do that!

 

[Red Baron]

thanks man ill do that!

No problem

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

The car that has so much frost inside, is prolly the weather stripping around the doors...if there is alot of windnoise when you are driving, it will confirm this...there is a TSB for it. The suspension squeek/crunch from the front is a normal sound for all proteges in the cool/colder weather...atleast the nonMSP/MP3' don't have a clunk. ALso, I found that yesterday in the -27*c everything was rattling, and when I turned my heat on, it was making a funny noise...but I think that may have just been some moisture in the vents that froze...also, the first gear was beyond stiff..like, at one point, I just had to start from second, because first was too stiff to engage...it was horrible...I might get that checked out..I felt like I was gonna bend the shifter if I put any more omph into my push into first...I tried it a few different times to make sure I wasn't hitting the gate or anything...but once it warmed up, it loosened up, so maybe it was just the cold...but the rattles where HUGE...like, my entire dash sounded like a morroca or something, I need to take my car in to get some things done, I know theres a TSB for my loose weather stripping, and the rattles in the dash they can easily fix, the suspension can't be fixed, there is nothing wrong, it's just when it gets cold it's noisey, but the bushings in the rear are extremely shot again, so I'll need those refilled..errr..replaced..lol. Meh, atleast my heat was working for me...I couldn't beleive how cold it was here...-27C man, like, the second I breathed in the air, the small amount of Mucus in my nose, froze instantly...and my de-icer washer fluid was even having problems working...oh well...it was warm inside...but it's a reason why I want a remote starter soon..really help with some things.

 

[snooky]

guys i need to change my windshield wiper because the tread is finished, do you guys know wat size i should get?

 

[Red Baron]

guys i need to change my windshield wiper because the tread is finished, do you guys know wat size i should get?

Just go to your dealer and get new refills. Don't throw away the wiper "frames", just replace the rubber strip, cost is about $15 for both...they usually last 2 years or so.

 

[snooky]

Just go to your dealer and get new refills. Don't throw away the wiper "frames", just replace the rubber strip, cost is about $15 for both...they usually last 2 years or so.

thanks, but i went to canadaian tire and bought a new pair of wipers for cheapper, and they're much better than the stock ones.