Wow, this was a HUGE shitstorm, I cant help but add my two cents too. First off, these are fairly basic problems, you guys are right. They are also not MAJOR problems, like the car isnt going to blow up or anything.
Has anyone seen any information on how the MSP is built?? I was wasting time at the dealership the other day waiting for some papers and was reading some crap about the MSP. Turns out, its NOT a factory built car. Mazda imports a bunch of regular Proteges with the MSP colors applied, but nothing else done to it. At the port (theres like 10 ports Mazda uses) they have a team of "specially trained" Mazdaspeed employees who actually build the car... they install the turbo, the sway bars, the spoiler and the rest of the body kit, seats, shifter, etc etc.... just like if you took your car to a local shop and had all those same mods applied. I personally dont see why its done this way, what a freakin waste of stock parts and assembly time... manufacturing economies of scale would clearly point out that this is an ineffecient way to produce a car, even a limited production car like this one. But regardless, this method is also FILLED with chances for mistakes to happen. Its like the old days of car building, where if you car was produced on a Friday or Monday it was more likely to be a piece of crap. Well, here they are only building like 1 car a day at each port, so the chances of getting one that was screwed up is HUGE. So even though your car is a "stock" car, its basically exactly like a modded car... it needs more care and attention than your normal factory built performance car. I think its similar to buying a Saleen Mustang... Ford makes Mustang GT at the factory, its got pretty good performance and also pretty good reliability, most every GT will work exactly the same due to robots performing the work 100 times a day. But a Saleen can be bought at the dealer, is covered under warranty too, but they still have a lot more problems than a normal GT. But also a lot more performance.
Also... the MSP is great, I really envy you guys for the extra performance.... but lets face it... its a cheap car. Mazda had to cut corners to bring that car to market at that price. What other manufacturer gives you a car with the same performance, all those cool "aftermarket" goodies, that "look", at that price point?? Something to consider... the RSX Type S is a great car, and no matter what you guys say, there will not be as many problems with that car if you leave it stock... probably NO problems at all in most cases. But it is not a limited production turbocharged car either, and if you do try to mod it, then you will have problems, just the the MSP. And the Spec V, I really love that car, it pulls great, its fast, and no turbo needed. But have you heard the problems they are having?? Engine failures... because the ceramic coating of the headers is flaking off and through some design flaw can be sucked back into the cylinder, scoring the cylinder walls and frying the rings or some s*** like that. Also, tranny failures... I looked at several used Spec Vs before buying my new MP5... 3 of the 5 of them had the trannys replaced and 2 had new engines... all at less that 30K miles. Thats why I didnt buy one.
As for Mazda quality, I have always been a die-hard Honda and Toyota fan... both legendary for reliability. I still stand by Honda, I never had a major problem with a Honda... I just dont love thier product line anymore. I do love the RSX, I just couldnt afford one, and a used Integra cost as much as my new P5. Our Celica is a nice car, but I have had enough niggling little issues to make me not LOVE it... just those cost saving things that allow them to sell that car as cheap as they do... same as Mazda. I havent heard of the MP5 having any suspension clunks, or coolant leaks. Of course we cant have a screeching turbo... but it seems pretty obvious that the other 2 problems are not really Mazda issues but specific problems with the aftermarket components Mazda chose to use, but didnt spend the money to re-engineer as well as factory designed parts are made. Should they have?? Yes, in my opinion, they should have. But then your MSP would have cost 3 or 4 grand more than it did... so everything is a trade off.
I just wish I had a turbo to have that problem with!
