Plan to purchase MAZDA 3 S. Any comments?, advice?. warnings?

[andresx]

Planning on getting a mazda 3 s to replace my problem prone VW. Anyway,
to the point, I am looking for advice/warnings from owners or people
who work on these cars.

How's the reliablity of the cars? specially the newer mazda 3's? Anyone
around here has one with lots of miles on it and a recent model? Say a
Mazda 3 2004 with 40k+ miles or something like that?.. Any common/major
complains about the car? Are they manufactured in Japan or America?.

Any quirks about the car? are parts and accessories relatively easy to find?. I read that the oild filter is hard to finds on the Mazda 3 s (2.3) is this true?.
How's the warranty on the car?. Recall's or TSB's?

Anyway, looking for help and/or direction to find resources on mazda
3's. Specially trying to find out problems with this car.

thanks.

 

[mobomelter]

the 3s is manufactured in hiroshima, japan.
1. Reliability according to Consumer Reports is above average. I currently have 11k on my 3s 5-door and i haven't seen a problem.
2. No recalls on the 2005 as of yet. (according to mazdausa.com owners section)
3. As every newer car some people will always find something to complain about
4. Has bad wheel hop but thats not a problem if you don't ever burn out
5. Parts are relatively easy too find although not all performance parts have been made for it yet.
anyone have anything else to add?

 

[wongpres]

Mazda3 is manufactured in Hofu, Japan (a small town around 150km from Hiroshima), the MX-5, RX-8, MPV, and Mazda5 are assembled in Hiroshima.

 

[Mazda3ofKent]

the 3s is manufactured in hiroshima, japan.
1. Reliability according to Consumer Reports is above average. I currently have 11k on my 3s 5-door and i haven't seen a problem.
2. No recalls on the 2005 as of yet. (according to mazdausa.com owners section)
3. As every newer car some people will always find something to complain about
4. Has bad wheel hop but thats not a problem if you don't ever burn out
5. Parts are relatively easy too find although not all performance parts have been made for it yet.
anyone have anything else to add?

the stock tiers are not so great

 

[tsunami]

the oil filters as of now have to come from the dealership, though there are a couple places on the web with them, but the shipping to me doesn't make it much of a deal... can't get them in a napa or auto zone type store as of yet....????.... other then that and the damn wheel/engine hop i am a very happy customer... with 10000 miles on it

 

[goldwing2000]

20,000 miles on the clock, no major complaints. Converted mine over to the 3i spin-on oil filter, so now I have a zillion options (or at least a dozen or so).

Poke around the site. Do some searches. You'll find a LOT of opinions about stuff.

 

[GimmeA3S]

Prepare for an irritating, metallic vibration noise in both front doors....seems to be fairly common. Also get into the habit of cleaning brake dust off your rear wheels, as I haven't heard anything about the '05 pads being any different than the '04. Other than that, it's a helluva ride for the money.

 

[mobomelter]

i haven't noticed that vibration, but then again its never quiet in my car.

 

[tsunami]

yeah brake dust is an issue i am taking care of once the weather gets warmer, going ceramic all the way around... according to the info they are pretty much as low dust as you can go... i should hope so for 69 a pair...

 

[hworth18]

I have 13,000 miles and so far no real complaints.. I had a couple of warranty repairs for a window weatherstripping, sqeaky front brakes and a recall on the airbag sensor, but the Dealer seems to have taken care of the problems..
I will say that for a sub $20K car, it is a GREAT deal and well worth it, as a matter of fact, I'm VERY happy with it..

 

[Lord_Nycon]

No complaints about mine, 15,000 on it. Only problem is brake dust on rear wheels. But a great car.

 

[goldwing2000]

Unrelated posts moved to a new thread here.

 

[SMOKEATR]

Soon to be ex-VW owner also

Hey,

I have a 2004.5 Passat B5 GLS that I bought new approx. 4 months ago. I already put 17k miles on it and want to get something cheaper and better on gas mileage. I'm looking into a Mazda3s sedan. I'm going to the dealership tomorrow.

The crappy thing about my VW..retail new was 32K, according to NADA guide its now worth 21K..!!! 4 months and 17k miles, holy crap! (boom02)

 

[Tricked-Out-Toy]

8mo old 22k on my 3s and here are a few issues, small rattle by the defrosters, sunroof when open at highway speed is the loudest ive ever heard, the wind noisewas painfull! i had to ad and wind visor. if you use your defrosters at all you have to pull air from the ourside, it wont let you recirc the inside air, which pisses me off cause i have allergies and pulling outside air kills me this time of year. oh ya and the biggest complaint is that it the worst car ever in the snow with the stock all seasons, and even after i upgraded to some better tires it still wasnt as good as my MX6 with nearly bald tires. other than that i love the car and plan on keeping it for a very loooooog time

 

[theice]

if you use your defrosters at all you have to pull air from the ourside, it wont let you recirc the inside air, which pisses me off cause i have allergies and pulling outside air kills me this time of year.

Don't all cars NOT let you recirc. defroster air? It defeats the purpose of defogging or something. Also, the a/c comes on when you turn on the def. in most cars I know.

use your other vents.

 

[mobomelter]

most cars won't let you recirc when you have defrost on. at least every car i've drive doesn't. (lexus, ford, mazda, toyota, honda etc.) although with the defrost/feet on you can recirc. doesn't the 3 have a cabin air filter?

 

[wongpres]

doesn't the 3 have a cabin air filter?

The only N. American-spec Mazda3 with a cabin air filter from the factory is the US-spec SP23.

 

[mobomelter]

damn. is it possible to install your own? (i know the focus isn't even close to the same, but my focus had the spot for a cabin air filter you just had in buy and install it yourself.

 

[Tricked-Out-Toy]

I know on my old mx6,626 and my camaro that i can recirc the inside air. Im not sure on this but i thought hot air takes the frost of not cold air? I know ive tried it both ways. I dont know about you but personally when its 5degs out and theres frost on the inside, im using the heat not AC. my GF's forester kicks the ac on when the defrost is on but you can turn it off and switch to inside air. I just feel i should be able to control the cabin conditioning!

 

[theice]

I know on my old mx6,626 and my camaro that i can recirc the inside air. Im not sure on this but i thought hot air takes the frost of not cold air? I know ive tried it both ways. I dont know about you but personally when its 5degs out and theres frost on the inside, im using the heat not AC. my GF's forester kicks the ac on when the defrost is on but you can turn it off and switch to inside air. I just feel i should be able to control the cabin conditioning!

See this thread: http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55382(RTM)