Official 'Smoking Turbo' response from Mazda

[MSP300]

its kinda like that when i start the car and it get lighter and when it fully warmed up it goes away.

I dont know if it matters but i also do my own oil changes and so far my car dose not burn any oil, currently using mobile one full synthetic but next oil change changing to amsoil full synthetic.

 

[keymaster]

My car will have a bit of smoke coming out of it sometimes when it first starts, but that always is very light and goes away. You'll see that just because of condensation in the exhaust system; it's steam, not smoke (with maybe a bit of other junk mixed in). I've seen a bit of condensation a couple of times driving on cold nights, but I have yet to notice any real smoke...but I haven't really done the "idle for 15 minutes" test either.

My car is one of the last few hundred cars made...I'm hoping that might keep it from having the really bad smoking problem, but I guess I'll have to wait and see if I start to have any problems.

 

[RaddRide]

This Should Be a Recall.......

Seems to me that this engine will eventually smoke no matter what. And who knows how much life we are loosing on our 02 sensors and cats because of all the oil running thru the exhaust. This should be a recall or maybe enough of us can get together to make it a Class Action Lawsuit to force a recall ???
In my experiences, once a seal starts to leak it is always going to leak till it is replaced. And it seems this PCV fix is just going to be a band-aid to get our cars past warranty. Which is coming up for some of these cars.
Has anyone ever contacted Mazda Corporation directly about this issue ?? Because it seems some dealers are helpful but some are not. And if one dealer is doing something they all should be.
I am just wondering because I am starting down this road and even though my dealer has done the TSB I wonder what is going to happen the next time it smokes badly again. ( It already smokes lightly once in a while) Any way sorry for the rant but this is really bothering me.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Rant on my friend, you have every right to. I think I am going to call Mazda directly just to see what they say. The dumb asses at my local dealer keep telling me they have NEVER seen this k04 have ANY smoke issue and mine is the ONLY ONE. That's ok, now I know they are COMPLETELY dishonest and can't be trusted even with an oil change.
Thanks guys... at Sesi Mazda!!!

 

[tunersteve]

Rant on my friend, you have every right to. I think I am going to call Mazda directly just to see what they say. The dumb asses at my local dealer keep telling me they have NEVER seen this k04 have ANY smoke issue and mine is the ONLY ONE. That's ok, now I know they are COMPLETELY dishonest and can't be trusted even with an oil change.
Thanks guys... at Sesi Mazda!!!

Go to Gorno in Woodhaven and talk to Aaron, he's been helpful in taking care of both my issues with turbos.

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[tunersteve]

Thanks for the tip!

Let me know how things go, PM me if you've got any questions.

 

[MSP300]

today after work my friend was following on the highway, when i was doing 5ft gear pull he said that my car smoked blue, so i checked my oil and it doesn't look like my car is burning oil. could it be the turbo or am i just running rich??????????????????

 

[ericrapp]

if it is blue it is oil, but it is probably blackish just very rich in the fuel versus air mixture. Also you will smell it (oil smoke)when you are idling after a hard run. always remember to warm your car up well before running hard and more important maybe even, let her cool down gently. You probably already know this but i wanted to mention that is the best way to give turbo a long life.

 

[MSP300]

i let it warm up in the morning for about 5 min before i go to work and for cooling down i have my turbo timer set to 2min, i dont know if its enough tho. it is blue smoke and i do smell oil smoke when i start it up. so if its oil than what should i do about it, should i take it to dealer anyways just to get it checked out?

 

[ericrapp]

i let it warm up in the morning for about 5 min before i go to work and for cooling down i have my turbo timer set to 2min, i dont know if its enough tho. it is blue smoke and i do smell oil smoke when i start it up. so if its oil than what should i do about it, should i take it to dealer anyways just to get it checked out?

Well i guess it depends on your Service tech. i have heard crazy stories about being voided for a boost gauge. i had good luck with a heavily modded car once though. I would take it in, just my opinion. I hope it goes well.
Just to mention.. I let my car warm up for a rather long time last summer. phone call or something and i came out to the garage after a good ten minutes and she was smoking like a chimney. And it did not stop for quite awhile once i started driving even. I was very sad but not surprised. I bought the PT performance PCV fix. It did seem to stop the oil smoke but i do not know the downside. I am not willing to recommend it but, the theory might be close. Pressure equalization. I can rebuild the turbo for cheap if she started to smoke alot. And i will at some point. But i am kind of hanging around and waiting for a good deal on something bigger with ball bearings!
Take it in and see how they respond, try to talk to the mechanic though before and after if you are able. The dealerships sometimes are politics and not always serving our best interests. again i hope it goes well. honestly

 

[MSP300]

thanks man. i hope it goes well to because its a new car i only have 6,500 miles on it so they better change my turbo. I was talking to my friend today, he knows more about turbo cars than me, so he was telling me that it most likely the bearing. and i checked my oil again today it looks like my car is burning some oil. so im going back to stock and back to mazda

 

[MSP300]

just dropped off my car at mazda and they said that they r going to check my car but if the problem is the oil, they r going to charge me for that inspection.
just to make sure, our cars use 5w-30 oil right?????

 

[Hank3]

Yes...owner's manual calls for 5W-30. You might want to try Rotella 5W-40 as they should have it at your local Walmart. I've had it in my MS3 for almost a month now and I haven't seen smoke since.

 

[MSP300]

thanks. i gotta see what mazda gonna say about my problem first and then i might try it. one thing i know for sure, im definitely getting a oil catch can, i heard it helps

 

[ericrapp]

Jeebus, why does this have to be so hard?
Why are we having to out think Mazda dealerships. And i do not mean Mazda NA. Maybe we should write the to the turbo manufacturer? They did not have these problems with the Audi and the K03 did they> maybe they have an opinion. Shoot it seems Mazda probably lost sales because of this dark cloud hanging over the car. It is such a great hot rod besides. Dealerships seem to make or break an opinion on very a good Car maker. After reading this stuff about the turbo smoke for a couple years it just saddens me

 

[MSP300]

Jeebus, why does this have to be so hard?
Why are we having to out think Mazda dealerships. And i do not mean Mazda NA. Maybe we should write the to the turbo manufacturer? They did not have these problems with the Audi and the K03 did they> maybe they have an opinion. Shoot it seems Mazda probably lost sales because of this dark cloud hanging over the car. It is such a great hot rod besides. Dealerships seem to make or break an opinion on very a good Car maker. After reading this stuff about the turbo smoke for a couple years it just saddens me

i actually think that writing a letter to mazda or turbo manufacturer(or even both) is a good idea, so they can understand how big of an issue this is. i see more and more people having this problem, i think its ridicules (pissed)

 

[MSP300]

just got a phone call from mazda, they said that the reason why i have blue smoke coming out of my exhaust is because I have too much oil in there( they said over 1qt.). before i dropped my car off i checked the oil level and it was fine, maybe just a little over the max line but definitely not a quart.
so i was thinking that it could of been mazda that added that extra quart just so i leave them alone

 

[SomnoSpeed3]

just got a phone call from mazda, they said that the reason why i have blue smoke coming out of my exhaust is because I have too much oil in there( they said over 1qt.). before i dropped my car off i checked the oil level and it was fine, maybe just a little over the max line but definitely not a quart.
so i was thinking that it could of been mazda that added that extra quart just so i leave them alone

Wow, Mazda blaming you for their mistake... how nice. I'm not shocked, it's actually just what I expected.
Look people, check the dates on these smoking turbo threads. You will see some go back to 2007-8. Mazda is well aware of the problem and have been for quite a while. They are NOT working on a fix. They are working on excuses until everyone is out of warranty and then you will here nothing but that. "Sorry, you are out of warranty."
Do something about it yourself. If you are lucky enough to get a decent dealer to help you, you got lucky. But even then I hope you didn't change the oil yourself...
If you want your turbo fixed, fix it yourself. That's what I'm gonna do and I don't even know how to. Time to learn!

 

[Newf]

Wow, Mazda blaming you for their mistake... how nice. I'm not shocked, it's actually just what I expected.
Look people, check the dates on these smoking turbo threads. You will see some go back to 2007-8. Mazda is well aware of the problem and have been for quite a while. They are NOT working on a fix. They are working on excuses until everyone is out of warranty and then you will here nothing but that. "Sorry, you are out of warranty."
Do something about it yourself. If you are lucky enough to get a decent dealer to help you, you got lucky. But even then I hope you didn't change the oil yourself...
If you want your turbo fixed, fix it yourself. That's what I'm gonna do and I don't even know how to. Time to learn!

and this is the single reason why I will not be keeping my car at the end of the lease. They will not fix the problem, as they never did with the clunk years back as well. I got 4 months left with this car. Shame,as I do love it. Killer is, nothing else mazda has interest me. MS3 - same turbo ugly smile. CX-7 - same turbo same issues and i need AWD here so the FWD is a no go. CX-9 to big and hard on gas,M6 gutless and not AWD. I have no idea what to get next...none