Question About My 2009 Mazda 6i Grand Touring

[PJM]

Hello, brand new to this forum and hope someone out there can address my question.

I live south of Boston, Massachusetts and purchased a beautiful Mazda 6i Grand Touring 4cyl in January of 2009. I now have a little over 7000 miles on the car.

Love the car but at about 3000 miles I noticed a vibration began to occur when I was idled at a light. I would feel it in the steering wheel and then the break pedal. Occasionally, it would feel as if the transmission was shifting even though I was at a complete stop.

I took the car back to the dealer and they thought it might be the front break pads that they said were rusty from sittling on the docks before delivery and they replaced them at no charge. But the problem continues to this day.

I have brought the car back to the dealership at least four times - the last beeing the end of January and I was now told it was the result of having an 'internal combustion engine' and I was hearing the cumbustion of the fuel. I kid you not....

Trying to make notes of this problem it seems to occur less when I have a completely full tank of gas and when I am at half full the vibration is stronger.

There are two auto mechanics who appear on WBZ Radio in Boston on a monthly basis and I presented the problem to them. They believe it might be incorrectly set engine mountings or a vibrating cataylic converter. Think the first is possible but the second unlikely because the vibration is way up front.

As the next step I contacted MAZDA USA and they are supposed to be sending a regional rep to the dealership and they will call me when he/she is there. That was several weeks ago and when I called MAZDA USA last week I was treated bruskly by the customer service rep with a ' Don't call us. We'll call you ' attitude. They don't know me if they think that is going to work.

With the Toyota problems across page one that brewed up from customer complaints I hope the same thing is NOT happening with MAZDA. If MAZDA thinks it does not have to address this problem they are wrong. I am close to several influential Congressmen who would be very happy to add MAZDA to the Toyota investigation if need be. I hope this will not be necessary.

Again, has anyone out there experienced the same problem with their MAZDA 6 i Grand Touring?

 

[Suz]

How bad of a vibration are you experiencing? Is it enough to spill your coffee if the cup was sitting on your dash, or just enough to tip over a nickle standing on edge?
Are you sitting at the stop light with your foot on the brake, or just sitting there idling and in gear?
Could it be vibration coming from that little 4 cyl engine idling too slow and is struggling to stay running while you are waiting with the car in gear at the light?
Try putting the transmission in neutral at the light to see if the vibration goes away. Try giving the engine a little "accelerator" to see if the vibration goes away.
Does the car creep ahead at the stop light if you take your foot off the brake? Maybe your idle speed is too high and the engine is struggling.
It could be as simple as the little 4 cylinder engine vibrating as it is running. Engines vibrate unless you own a Rolls Royce.

 

[PJM]

Thanks for the questions

I have had 4 other 4 cyl cars and never experienced this vibration.

To answer your questions:

Yes, my foot is on the brake.

If I put the car in neutral I do not feel the vibration

It is not enough to knock over a cup of coffee - not sure about the nickel.

It doesn't seem to want to accelerate at the light if I take my foot off the brake.


Again, it is more annoying than causing a spill and just because it is a Four doesn't explain it.

And the vibration did not start until the car had about 3000 miles on it.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

Find another dealer

Hello, brand new to this forum and hope someone out there can address my question.

I live south of Boston, Massachusetts and purchased a beautiful Mazda 6i Grand Touring 4cyl in January of 2009. I now have a little over 7000 miles on the car.

Love the car but at about 3000 miles I noticed a vibration began to occur when I was idled at a light. I would feel it in the steering wheel and then the break pedal. Occasionally, it would feel as if the transmission was shifting even though I was at a complete stop.

I took the car back to the dealer and they thought it might be the front break pads that they said were rusty from sittling on the docks before delivery and they replaced them at no charge. But the problem continues to this day.

I have brought the car back to the dealership at least four times - the last beeing the end of January and I was now told it was the result of having an 'internal combustion engine' and I was hearing the cumbustion of the fuel. I kid you not....

Trying to make notes of this problem it seems to occur less when I have a completely full tank of gas and when I am at half full the vibration is stronger.

There are two auto mechanics who appear on WBZ Radio in Boston on a monthly basis and I presented the problem to them. They believe it might be incorrectly set engine mountings or a vibrating cataylic converter. Think the first is possible but the second unlikely because the vibration is way up front.

As the next step I contacted MAZDA USA and they are supposed to be sending a regional rep to the dealership and they will call me when he/she is there. That was several weeks ago and when I called MAZDA USA last week I was treated bruskly by the customer service rep with a ' Don't call us. We'll call you ' attitude. They don't know me if they think that is going to work.

With the Toyota problems across page one that brewed up from customer complaints I hope the same thing is NOT happening with MAZDA. If MAZDA thinks it does not have to address this problem they are wrong. I am close to several influential Congressmen who would be very happy to add MAZDA to the Toyota investigation if need be. I hope this will not be necessary.

Again, has anyone out there experienced the same problem with their MAZDA 6 i Grand Touring?

I have the 6 and don't have an issue except a noisy valve train at start-up (goes away after about 5-10 minutes. I believe this is normal but will have the dealer look at it when I bring it in Thursday.

Instead of throwing threats around just find another dealer to look at it. Often is less about the car or manufacturer and more about the dealer's abilities/incompetence. The Toyota issues are different and being blown of out proportion IMO.

 

[PJM]

No Threats About The Dealer...Yet

The problem is MAZDA USA who seem to have an attitude problem.

Don't like Customer Service People who take out both "Customer" and "Service" when dealing with their customers.

My dealership - Quirk Mazda - are very nice and think they will help eventually.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

If dealer was good why did you call Mazda?

The problem is MAZDA USA who seem to have an attitude problem.

Don't like Customer Service People who take out both "Customer" and "Service" when dealing with their customers.

My dealership - Quirk Mazda - are very nice and think they will help eventually.

OK, if Quirk has been OK, why did you call Mazda? Quirk should call Mazda for consultation on an issue.

Did you buy the Mazda used or new?

I understand. I've dealt with poor cs people myself. Sometimes there is a bad apple or the person has a bad day. The trick is to keep trying. But I would use Quirk as your go-between.

 

[PJM]

Called MAZDA USA

BEcause Quirk Mazda could not solve the problem with the information they had a hand.
Now, I see this is a more universal MAZDA problem.
Just like the Toyota dealers Toyota did not share critical information with them. So, they could not address the problems.
Let's see if MAZDA USA is more responsive than TOYOTA?

 

[626gt]

Mazda & it's dealers

I have to support PJM on this because I'm running into the same scenario with Mazda & the dealer. I'm one of the folks who is experiencing a hiccup when on light throttle since I bought the car in Nov. Mazda repair & regional rep have driven car and verified that it's a real issue. Several other folks with the manual have the issue as well. I contacted Mazda corp. about this and two other warranty issues. Mazda said "since we (corporate) can't inspect or drive your car, you have to deal with the dealer, don't call us" but like PJM says the dealer can't solve the problem for at least two reasons:

1) Mazda does not have an tried, true & tested fix that they have authorized to dealer to do under warranty.
2) Dealer will not be paid by Mazda for exploratory work to find/solve the problem short of a test drive.

So the result is a perfect catch 22- we're at the mercy of the regional mazda rep who it appears to be in short supply here in New England. They tried a fix on my car - did not work. Then tried a fix on a car in CT - did not work and I'm now almost 4 months since I first told them about it. Customer service attitude is horrible.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

One thing to remember/consider

I have to support PJM on this because I'm running into the same scenario with Mazda & the dealer. I'm one of the folks who is experiencing a hiccup when on light throttle since I bought the car in Nov. Mazda repair & regional rep have driven car and verified that it's a real issue. Several other folks with the manual have the issue as well. I contacted Mazda corp. about this and two other warranty issues. Mazda said "since we (corporate) can't inspect or drive your car, you have to deal with the dealer, don't call us" but like PJM says the dealer can't solve the problem for at least two reasons:

1) Mazda does not have an tried, true & tested fix that they have authorized to dealer to do under warranty.
2) Dealer will not be paid by Mazda for exploratory work to find/solve the problem short of a test drive.

So the result is a perfect catch 22- we're at the mercy of the regional mazda rep who it appears to be in short supply here in New England. They tried a fix on my car - did not work. Then tried a fix on a car in CT - did not work and I'm now almost 4 months since I first told them about it. Customer service attitude is horrible.

People who haven't worked on consumer products may not realize that companies only have a limited number of resources to root cause issues. Every company has to triage problems with respect to severity. In the case of automobiles my guess is that safety and reliability are the most critical of issues to cover (e.g. Toyota current set of recalls), while other issues related to fit and finish and/or comfort are less severe within the context of ALL the issues that companies need to address across a large customer base. I can understand how the CS response to your needs is frustrating. Personally I think this is more an issue with messaging/CS training than with Mazda NOT wanting to help you. Remember you're not the only individual out there, of course each one of us consider our problems to be the most important from an individual point of view. But manufacturers have to take a more general view of issues while sorting out the legitimate issues (design/manufacturing flaws) from user-inflicted issues (improper maintenance/modding). How many people do you think Mazda has looking at the hundreds of inquiries that come through their tech support and dealer network every day? I'll tell you the number of inquiries isn't small. Add to that the sematics in terminology and description of reporting those issues. ONe person's "hesitatiation" is another persons "hiccup" is another persons "lag". People seem to think manufacturers have a crystal ball that immediately tells them EXACTLY what an issue is as well as every variation of a particular issue. They don't. They have to drive every issue they hear about to root cause otherwise the fix they implement may not FIX the problem. And they can't drive EVERY issue they hear about to root cause becasue it's expensive AND in most cases the informtaiton they receive from cusotmers and dealers lack detail or reproducibility.

I would guess that based on your descriptions, the issues you're having with engine roughness and throttle response is classified as fit and finish/comfort rather than safety. Has the car stranded you? Have you felt unsafe driving your car? Well those are the same sort of qualifiers that every company needs to balance when they allocate resources to fix an issue. It's unfortunate but Mazda, like every other auto manufacturer is probably dealing with reduced resources (less money, less people due to layoffs etc) to cover the same number of issues.

Like I said I think the only problem Mazda maybe having at the moment is messaging. They shouldn't be rude or communicate an attitude that makes you feel like your being blown off. Having worked in the consumer goods industry and in technical support I know how hard it is to find good people to man phones. In many cases you can only choose from the bottom of the cadidate barrel. And when you're fishing in the mud it's tough to find people who actually have the ability to communicate professionally and clearly to customers, while at the same time empathizing with them.

It's a sad fact but in a way consumers have done this to ourselves. We expect inexpensive products that arewell-designed, well-engineered and well supported. But the fact is that all of that costs money- money that smaller and smaller profit margins cannot support effectively. Something has to give. Unfortunately, in some cases that means compromising on the the quality of people who man the phones or the quality of parts.

Humans have grown to expect that they can get something for nothing- in fact we demand it. Problem is you either make money one of two ways in business- volume or margin. When companies need to reduce margin to support the lower prices that consumers demand then they need to sell more of that product to stay alive. When they sell more manufacturing demand goes up and parts/assembly quality can go down. Look at Toyota's situation. They admit that they grew too fast. Faster than their infrastructure could support. When that happens quality goes out the window.

Sorry to hear about your issues, but the answers are not always so simple. I'm not looking to give Mazda a free ride here, just offer some insight into the "why" behind it all.

 

[Suz]

I have had 4 other 4 cyl cars and never experienced this vibration.

To answer your questions:

Yes, my foot is on the brake.

If I put the car in neutral I do not feel the vibration

It is not enough to knock over a cup of coffee - not sure about the nickel.

It doesn't seem to want to accelerate at the light if I take my foot off the brake.


Again, it is more annoying than causing a spill and just because it is a Four doesn't explain it.

And the vibration did not start until the car had about 3000 miles on it.

First off, I'm not a mechanic but I would like to suggest that you are having a problem with the transmission not shifting down when you decelerate or stop. The fact that you say the vibration goes away when you put the transmission in neutral and is sluggish when taking off suggests to me that the transmission is stuck in a higher gear. If the transmission is not in a low gear or in neutral the engine is struggling and thus vibrating.
BTW, do you have the "manual" option on your transmission like I have in mine? If you do, see what happens if you shift it manually.

Having said that I realize how frustrating it can be when dealing with "dealers" and their lack of enthusiasm when it comes to solving your problems. This is one reason I hate the large "shopping mall type dealers" verses the small dealer who will do everything in his power to keep a customer happy. The big dealers don't give a rat about the customer once they have your money and you are stuck with one of their "lemons". At least in Wisconsin we have the "Lemon Law" that we can fall back on if necessary. When you threaten to evoke your rights as a customer of a bad car the dealers tend to sit up and take notice. I used this once when a dealer sold my kids a car with a cracked block. All I did was mention Lemon Law and Lawyer and within 5 minutes they bought the car back.

 

[PJM]

Thank You SUZ

Yes, I am beginning to think it is a transmission problem as well.
I have the Manual Shift option and I have used it but I will try it again at a traffic stop.

My dealership is medium size - well maybe not since they have Mazda, Ford,Nissan, Mitzubishi at different locations. But the Mazda dealership is fairly small in an older building without a lot a glitz that I saw at the Braintree Toyota dealership near me. They were vultures at Braintree, Mass. [Tufanksian Toyota] that is why I did not buy a Camry which I intended to do. Guess, with all the recalls I was lucky that Braintree Toyota saleswhores were so obnoxious.

Talked to MAZDA USA yesterday and they still do not have a set date for me to meet the area MAZDA Rep at my dealership - Quirk MAZDA.

 

[PJM]

Finally ! Going to meet with the Regional Mazda Rep tomorrow - August 3, 2010, at the dealership where I bought the car.
Had to go to use some outside influence to get Mazda USA to pay attention.
Will let you know what the MAZDA Rep says tomorrow.