silver storm
Member
- :
- 2003 P5
New P5 owner here. Former E36 M3, S/C M1 miata owner, and current B13 Sentra SE-R owner. The P5 is a great car. Different than the others, but very fun and practical all at the same time. The handling and brakes rock!
So here goes. 2 months ago, I bought a used 2003 P5 from a private party with 47000 miles on the clock and 2 months left on the 4/50 warranty. Car is in wonderful shape, no damage, amsoil since new, not even a scratch on the cross brace under the engine. Meticulously maintained.
I get it home, notice a loud brief noise right after a cold start if it's been sitting around for 8 hours or so. After about 2 weeks, I take it to the local dealer, John Finger Mazda in Greenville, SC. They take a look into the noise. First thoughts are the VICS / VTCS issues. No luck. Run some intake cleaner in it, again no luck. Can only do one thing a day due to needing about 8 hours between diagnoses. Start getting the regional rep involved. Try draining 5w30 and replacing with 10w30, no luck. Replace oil pump, no luck. I'm starting to feel bummed out, having not had the car for 2 weeks now, without resolution. I truly believe that all involved were at a dead end in terms of figuring out what is going on. Dealer is calling me daily with updates.
Finally, after some good discussions with the dealer, they get approval to drop the oil pan. I get a call from the dealer while at the beach on vacation. "We found some abnormal wear on one of the rod bearings. Your car will be out of service for about 4 more days while we get a new engine on order. It will be fully covered under warranty" I was thrilled. They ended up getting a new long block from Mazda, and got it installed no questions asked. I had them replace the clutch, PP, TO bearing and pilot bearing, along with getting the flywheel resurfaced, all at just the cost for parts. In addition, they evacuated and recharged the AC system and put in a new dryer too. At the end of the day, I got a new engine, clutch, and AC recharge for $330.
The amazing thing about all of this is that I emailed the prior owner, a good guy from Atlanta. He told me he had taken it to his dealer at around 20k miles, and it was promptly dismissed as "normal". He didn't think any more of it after that. I truly believe him, as it was consistent with his maintenance records.
Bottom line - big thumbs up for John Finger Mazda here in Greenville for actively listening to my concerns and getting it fixed right, period.. Thought I'd spread some good dealer news where credit is due.
Now that the engine has 1000 break-in miles completed, now I'm really enjoying the P5. What a great car!
So here goes. 2 months ago, I bought a used 2003 P5 from a private party with 47000 miles on the clock and 2 months left on the 4/50 warranty. Car is in wonderful shape, no damage, amsoil since new, not even a scratch on the cross brace under the engine. Meticulously maintained.
I get it home, notice a loud brief noise right after a cold start if it's been sitting around for 8 hours or so. After about 2 weeks, I take it to the local dealer, John Finger Mazda in Greenville, SC. They take a look into the noise. First thoughts are the VICS / VTCS issues. No luck. Run some intake cleaner in it, again no luck. Can only do one thing a day due to needing about 8 hours between diagnoses. Start getting the regional rep involved. Try draining 5w30 and replacing with 10w30, no luck. Replace oil pump, no luck. I'm starting to feel bummed out, having not had the car for 2 weeks now, without resolution. I truly believe that all involved were at a dead end in terms of figuring out what is going on. Dealer is calling me daily with updates.
Finally, after some good discussions with the dealer, they get approval to drop the oil pan. I get a call from the dealer while at the beach on vacation. "We found some abnormal wear on one of the rod bearings. Your car will be out of service for about 4 more days while we get a new engine on order. It will be fully covered under warranty" I was thrilled. They ended up getting a new long block from Mazda, and got it installed no questions asked. I had them replace the clutch, PP, TO bearing and pilot bearing, along with getting the flywheel resurfaced, all at just the cost for parts. In addition, they evacuated and recharged the AC system and put in a new dryer too. At the end of the day, I got a new engine, clutch, and AC recharge for $330.
The amazing thing about all of this is that I emailed the prior owner, a good guy from Atlanta. He told me he had taken it to his dealer at around 20k miles, and it was promptly dismissed as "normal". He didn't think any more of it after that. I truly believe him, as it was consistent with his maintenance records.
Bottom line - big thumbs up for John Finger Mazda here in Greenville for actively listening to my concerns and getting it fixed right, period.. Thought I'd spread some good dealer news where credit is due.
Now that the engine has 1000 break-in miles completed, now I'm really enjoying the P5. What a great car!
