My last Mazda's

[jingjing]

Just want to vent my frustations with my Mazda's and my dealer, Jeff Wyler Eastgate Mazda. Already filed some complaints online and on their facbook pages.

Bought a 2014 Mazda CX-5 back in November 2013. Up until December 2014 and 33,000 miles, no issues. Second week of December, was entering the highway and decided to accelerate a bit , got up to about 80 mph and let off the gas. That's when all of a sudden the engine light, traction light and tpms came on. Car lost power but was able to pull off to the side of the highway. Sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders, pushing the gas pedal, car wouldn't go. Shut the car off and on and performed like normal. Took it the dealer to have checked out. They couldn't replicate the issue and says it was my K&N filter I had, which is false since I've had the filter for the last 20k miles on the car and another 30k on my 2012 Mazda 3. Didn't drive alot for another week and a half, sure enough did the same thing doing the same accelerating pattern. Let it go then the following did it again and but this time it happened twice in a row and the engine light stayed on. Got the code of p0301 which is a cylinder 1 misfire issue. Take it back AGAIN and they keep for almost 3 weeks. They finally got the car to do shut off. Replaced fuel injector with no luck. Ended up replacing the crank pulley and belts and say it's working. They also replaced the battery because they said it died and had a bad cell. Pick the car on a Tuesday evening and sure Friday morning did it AGAIN!! Already called Mazda Customer Support and got a case number set up. Dealer "says" Mazda wanted me to take a tech out to replicate problem, which they can, why they want me too, I have no clue. Sure enough the day I take it to the dealer, it did again on my way there. Tech scans the car, sees the same codes and prints them out. Couldn't get the car to shut off again, so I wait. The following week, call Mazda Customer Support and say the dealer said no codes were found, BULLCRAP!! Dealer is a joke! Complained to the dealer service manager and he "says" that Mazda knows the problem, software related but no release date. I think Mazda and the dealer don't want to do anything cause my car no has over 34k miles and after 36k, it's out of warranty. I'm done and fed with Mazda and the dealer. will never buy another Mazda and through that same dealer.

Also I have a 2012 Mazda 3 bought new at the same dealer. Have over 61k miles with no issues, except one. When down shifting, car wants to surge quickly. I've seen others have the same problems on forums I visit. This the other reason I won't buy another. 2 new Mazda's both with issues. The Mazda 3 isn't that big of deal, cause I can get around it, but when your on the highway and you lose power in traffic, that's life threatening.

As of today, nothing new,,,,

 

[concept]

It is well known among the Corvette crowd who own 4-6th generation Corvettes in particular that not all dealerships have top-notch Corvette mechanics. Some are much better at troubleshooting than others. When I had my 89 GT Turbo, it was just the opposite - not all dealerships had mechanics that were old enough to know how to work on a 20-something year old car. I had to find one that did, and he was about 60 years old!

Many people have similar experiences with doctors and surgeons. You must be willing to get a second opinion, even if it means driving a longer distance.
Here's what I'd do:

Call other dealerships to see if they have worked on a 2014 or 15 Mazda exhibiting the same symptoms. If one or more has, ask the service manager if a software update was required.

Keep scanning the forums to see if someone else was successful in getting the same issue fixed. Search Google and Bing, trying different word combinations.

Don't give up hope, yet. Good luck.

 

[GrasshopperCO]

Well, since you posted the exact same thing in the CX-5 forum and they're perfectly willing to jump down your throat, I'll save you the aggravation here, as much as I would like to do the same. I agree with your take on the dealer - how they're treating the issue is a bit ridiculous. However, that is not representative of the entire brand nor all dealerships. Since most franchise dealerships are run independently (i.e. they're privately owned with negotiations between owners and the manufacturer to provide stock, odds are it's just your dealer that sucks, and they can't fix the car properly, for whatever reason.

I agree 100% with concept, in that some mechanics just don't know how to work on the cars. While we're on the subject of Corvettes, if you hate your Mazda so much, trade it in on a Chevy. I'm sure, with the 80+ recalls GM has dealt with in the past year, it'll be waaay more reliable. My point is no car is perfect, and some develop their own quirks and faults. It also comes down to how you drive the car, and how you maintain (or don't maintain) it. Again, as concept said, go to another dealer. If you're willing to give up at this point, trade it in. I know you wanted to vent, but I doubt your experience is going to dissuade those of us whom have deeply-rooted brand loyalty. Same reason you can't pry Chevy lovers out of their cars, despite them being miserable, horrendously unreliable pieces of garbage (sorry, did that sound biased?).

You may encounter the same problems on the forums, but I haven't personally come across what you've described...I'm on my second Mazda now. I owned a 2012 Mazda 2 for 30,000 miles with no issues other than ones I created, and I have a 2015 Mazda 3 now...I've had it for 6,000 miles and 4 months. On the 3, I had an issue with the paint on the hood being screwed up from the factory, but my dealer took the steps to fix the problem. Nothing mechanical thus far.

As far as your CX-5 goes, there could be a multitude of reasons it doesn't run well, and I doubt most of them are due to the way it was manufactured. I'm wondering what sort of gas you treat your cars to - anything less than 87 octane will gunk up your engine fairly quickly. If you don't change your oil every 5,000-7,500 miles (depending on how you drive), inspect/clean out/change the air filter as needed, don't change spark plugs (maybe not this one, since the ones that come stock are supposed to last 50,000 miles), and run fuel system cleaner through it every 3-5,000 miles, you're going to start hitting problems no matter what car you're driving.

My dad has a Toyota Tacoma - let me repeat that, a TOYOTA Tacoma - and he's had to complain to corporate about some issues. He didn't really get anywhere, so he had to go about fixing it himself. He's having issues right now with the front differential, so it's a matter of trying to get it fixed. My mom has a Kia Sorento (which has come a long way in recent years in terms of reliability), and she had to be towed to the dealer off the side of the road due to transmission issues. Jeep has been having issues with software in its new gearboxes. How many times can I say every car has issues? Of course, they should be fixed, and I agree the car shouldn't be losing power at speed. I just can't see kicking down the whole brand until you get a definitive answer as to whether Mazda is actually responsible for the problem, or if its due to the environment or lack of maintenance. It's all too easy to blame the car breaking down when one doesn't take care of it. I'm not just pointing that at you - it's the reason I laugh at every Chevy driver broken down by the side of the road.

Apologies for the long-winded rant...guess I didn't keep my word on not jumping down your throat after all.

 

[larson701]

I cannot add too much to the above. I think the responses to the original post are well written and correct. We have had 6 Mazdas and it is our preferred brand. Second place is Subaru (4wd in North Dakota is nice but not a necessity. ) I will add tho, it is difficult for a dealer to fix an intermittent fault. The dealers follow a diagnosis tree in an attempt to determine the cause of a problem. The complexity of modern automotive computer systems necessitates these procedures. A good technician able to work outside the procedures AND work around an intermittent fault is too much to ask for. IMO. Our current Mazdas are a 3 and a CX5.

Strangely enough, I have a flawed paint job on my hood as well. Must be a 'made in Mexico' thing. Catching a little flak from Mazda but I expect to prevail. Sorry for the hijack.

Good luck! Sorry you have to go thru this.

 

[GrasshopperCO]

I cannot add too much to the above. I think the responses to the original post are well written and correct. We have had 6 Mazdas and it is our preferred brand. Second place is Subaru (4wd in North Dakota is nice but not a necessity. ) I will add tho, it is difficult for a dealer to fix an intermittent fault. The dealers follow a diagnosis tree in an attempt to determine the cause of a problem. The complexity of modern automotive computer systems necessitates these procedures. A good technician able to work outside the procedures AND work around an intermittent fault is too much to ask for. IMO. Our current Mazdas are a 3 and a CX5.

Strangely enough, I have a flawed paint job on my hood as well. Must be a 'made in Mexico' thing. Catching a little flak from Mazda but I expect to prevail. Sorry for the hijack.

Good luck! Sorry you have to go thru this.

Don't back down - make sure they repaint the hood under warranty...I had to show the car to my dealer's paint and body shop and the district manager for my dealership group wanted to inspect the car beforehand.



jingjing - sorry if that first post came off a bit harsh. I wish you luck in getting your problems sorted. I just don't want to see you or anyone swear off Mazdas as a result - I've been singing the praises these past few years and I really feel they are quality cars, despite some faults.