No engine rattle fix?

[rodslinger]

I posted this on the 'other' board and brought it here. Not sure of how many of you have the problem or even your level of concern.

...I don't know at what level your problems are with your 2.0 cold engine rattle related to the VCTS system but my particular car sounds like the motor is about to come out. For whatever reason it sounds worse than other cars I have heard. I received no help from Mazda customer service either. Out of frustration I was able to locate some e-mail address of persons in the MazdaUSA corporate office and made a few inquiries. To sort through the rubbish and get to the point, the last official statement I received was

"...there is unlikely to be a 100% countermeasure at any time..."

They are basically telling us that we need to just deal with it. My personal opinion is to let them know your feelings.

 

[rodslinger]

Well it looks like there might actually be a fix. Customer service called today after I had been bombing everyone in corporate and engineering with e-mails for two days about the problem. They informed me that there has been a design change and that they would send the updated components to my dealer for install. I'll probably open the hood to find the VTCS solenoid disconnected. :mad: But either way, I'll let you know what happens with it. As a courtesy, I pulled the e-mails. But I'll keep them handy just in case.

 

[blynzoo]

God, how long have we been hearing "there's gonna be a fix!" I still say we should do a mass mailing to Road and Track or some such mag, and let them know. Mazda would fix it real quick. As long as the cars are hot sellers, they dont give a Sh*t what it sounds like cold. Some jackass at Mazda told me IN DECEMBER that they'd have something out to the dealer by March. In march, they told me for sure something by may, then something for the 2002.5, then.....get the point?:bs:

 

[nramsey]

In all honesty, this is a very minor problem. 1) it doesn't hurt anything supposedly, 2) it is only an audible problem (ie doesn't affect drivability) and 3) it goes away once the car is warm. I am not saying Mazda shouldn't fix it, but I don't think this problem warrants mass mailing Road and Track or anything like that. If this was causing irreperable engine damage, or causing severe driveability problems and Mazda wasn't doing anything about it maybe then it would be worth a huge hubub.

Take a look at some complaints other car makes are having...this is small beans in comparison.

 

[blynzoo]

Your abfab right, nramsey. This is a small thing. But I just love my baby so much, and usually the rule with a motor is that if it doesn't sound good, it isn't good for you. Pinging sounds bad, is bad. Throwing a rod sounds bad (and smells bad), is bad.
And while we have a response for the problem from mazda (its the ULEV rules), do we really know that it wont cause a problem down the road? Again, sounds bad, is bad.


(side note: turbo: sound good, is good...LOL )

 

[nramsey]

On the other hand, Mazdas (Miatas, MX6s etc) equipped with HLAs (hydraulic lifters basically) tick often on startup or after hard driving. Sounds horrible, does no harm.

 

[taylor5]

Cold Noise Response from Mazda.....

Hey Man,

You are not alone,,,,check out the AutoWeek "owner- file" review a couple of months ago....It was mentioned by many owners...So the magazines know! Here is Mazda's official statement to my dealer ......

"This noise is currently believed to be the result of the timing between VTCS plates "opening" and the Ignition spark advance command. Although the noise is present only during cold start-up and disappears once the engine coolant reaches 149 degrees, Mazda realizes that it is an annoyance. Its engineers are investigating this for future repair".

I feel your pain dude, I hate noises too. And this one sucks!


Sincerely,

taylor5
Greensboro, NC