TSB 01-004/10 (8/18/2010) Smoking Turbo (Speed 3)

[AutotownMazda]

Hi Everyone,

Just so that you guys know, dealers WANT to change out your turbo's but the powers that be (aka the person footing the bill, Mazda Corporate) don't like paying all that money. Here at the dealer we get to charge Mazda full retail for all warranty parts. So it's usually not the dealer saying no to the repairs, it's Mazda saying no. Now with that said, and having experience in both parts and as a tech at Mazda, some techs and service-writers are indeed just jerks about it.

Well my '09 was built on 7/2008, so how do I know 100% I got the "good" turbo?...

If the TSB says "...vehicles produced before July 1 2008..." that means they started using the updated turbos on all speed3's stamped with a production date of 7/2008 and later, so your turbo won't qualify for this specific TSB....but I'm sure there will be another eventually (wink)

Chris
Autotown Mazda

 

[kvndoom]

Hi Everyone,

Just so that you guys know, dealers WANT to change out your turbo's but the powers that be (aka the person footing the bill, Mazda Corporate) don't like paying all that money. Here at the dealer we get to charge Mazda full retail for all warranty parts. So it's usually not the dealer saying no to the repairs, it's Mazda saying no. Now with that said, and having experience in both parts and as a tech at Mazda, some techs and service-writers are indeed just jerks about it.



If the TSB says "...vehicles produced before July 1 2008..." that means they started using the updated turbos on all speed3's stamped with a production date of 7/2008 and later, so your turbo won't qualify for this specific TSB....but I'm sure there will be another eventually (wink)

Chris
Autotown Mazda

Hey thanks for chiming in Chris! I know from threads I have read here and at M3F that it's almost always a call to MNAO that kills these kinds of warranty requests, but that puzzles me. With all the problems the Series 1 RX8 had, MNAO was glad to give people new engines AND extend their engine warranty to 8/100... they even opened a plant here in VA exclusively to rebuild RX8 engines. (hand) Why on earth do they not want to extend that level of support to DISI owners?

 

[sick_role]

Partly because the rx-8 was a flagship vehicle with very high visibility to the general public. Average joes/janes knew something about it. If it did well the rx-7 was sure to follow lol. the ms3 is just a car that most ppl can't tell apart between a reg 3...and most ppl don't know anything about the reg 3 anyway. My theory at least.

 

[kvndoom]

a) The 3 sells over 6000 units a month (granted, I don't have separate 3/MS3 numbers) and the RX8 sells around 100

b) The Mazdaspeed 3 is the only Mazdaspeed vehicle to run 5 model years (and counting)

c) The MS3 is the only Mazdaspeed vehicle to be kept after a redesign

d) The 2011 RX8 is the last in the US. Not sure about the Speed3 (though I doubt it), but the 3 is Mazda's #1 selling vehicle and most definitely not going anywhere.

what was that about visibility again?? (rofl2)

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mazda-finishes-2010-on-a-high-note-112889159.html

 

[AutotownMazda]

I would guess that you guys are both right. The rotatory engine is one of the accomplishments Mazda is known for and it's important to keep that image as clean as possible. They made a couple HUGE mistakes with the RX-8. Yeah, it sucks that the speed3's smoke, but the RX-8's didn't even start up often! I remember we were replacing the RX-8 engines left and right when the problem first started, but then Mazda got very strict and actually didn't want to replace them anymore. We actually had to start clearing all replacements with the regional rep. So the RX-8 love from Mazda did die down a little as far as engine replacements went.

I would also say that the speed3's don't "need" as much attention from Mazda because of the fact that they are selling so well.


Chris
Autotown Mazda

 

[sick_role]

a) The 3 sells over 6000 units a month (granted, I don't have separate 3/MS3 numbers) and the RX8 sells around 100

b) The Mazdaspeed 3 is the only Mazdaspeed vehicle to run 5 model years (and counting)

c) The MS3 is the only Mazdaspeed vehicle to be kept after a redesign

d) The 2011 RX8 is the last in the US. Not sure about the Speed3 (though I doubt it), but the 3 is Mazda's #1 selling vehicle and most definitely not going anywhere.

what was that about visibility again?? (rofl2)

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mazda-finishes-2010-on-a-high-note-112889159.html

perhaps "visibility" wasn't the right word. Clearly the 3/ms3 is going to outsell the rx-8. I wasn't trying to associate visibility with sales; but more with brand image/flagship technology that avg people know about.

The Carerra GT would not exist if it wasn't for the sales of the Cayenne (&boxter, to a lesser extent); porsche will definitely take care of their flagship wonderhorse before giving too much of a crap about "minor" problems the cayenne would be having, even if those issues affect more vehicles. That might be apples to oranges mostly, but I think the idea is roughly the same...lol. Or I could just be at work and not totally focused on trying to prove a point.

"I would guess that you guys are both right. The rotatory engine is one of the accomplishments Mazda is known for and it's important to keep that image as clean as possible." - agreed

 

[kvndoom]

Ah I was just ribbin, man. I had an RX8 for 2 years and I might get another one for a weekend toy down the road. I hope Mazda doesn't give up on the rotary, even though the climate isn't favorable for it right now. I wish they had decided to put the DISI (in some variant) in that chassis though, and not let it go to waste. Ok you lose the 50/50 weight, but you've got a lightweight 270HP RWD beast in a proven handling platform. Dream on...

 

[DarkAngel]

Iv'e had the same problem although the service guy was not rude about it but he of course told me he couldn't see it. Well for one he doesn't drive the car. I reported this back when I had about 40K on the clock. I now have 50K and still get a smoking turbo. I am about to give up on this car if they dont show some love here. Its been dealer maintained and service by them for any and all recalls. I have maintenance for life so they take care of whats covered there. I have the highest warranty available to include extended warranty and still nothing. At this moment Mazda is just rubbing me the wrong way. Its sad to want to trade in the MS3 but I may just do it if they dont honor the TSB. Mine is a 2007.

Funny I had the VVT TSB ( SB-01-028-10 ) done to it already and it still does it. They tell me its the injectors making the noise now. I LOL'd and walked away.

 

[drledford93]

Ok, so I bought my second MS3 (first one died in an accident), a CMB '08. This one definitely does have smoking turbo issues but it's out of warranty (42k miles). So, am I SOL on getting a new turbo or since it's a TSB, will they replace it? FWIW, I also have a few pre-turbo goodies (SRI, TIP) and a test pipe. Thoughts?

 

[kvndoom]

Ok, so I bought my second MS3 (first one died in an accident), a CMB '08. This one definitely does have smoking turbo issues but it's out of warranty (42k miles). So, am I SOL on getting a new turbo or since it's a TSB, will they replace it? FWIW, I also have a few pre-turbo goodies (SRI, TIP) and a test pipe. Thoughts?

Isn't the powetrain warranty 60k?

 

[Hank3]

Yeah...you should be good since the PT warranty is good up till 60K. As far as the mods go, proceed at your own risk with them being on when you bring it in. It all depends on how cool your local dealer is. And be prepared to show maintenance records.

 

[speedi3]

I got 80,000 miles and it just started smoking in the last week. I too purchased the best extended warranty at the time of purchase I think I'm covered unitil 100k miles. I know more next week. Thanks all for your posts. It was informative.

 

[drledford93]

Yeah...you should be good since the PT warranty is good up till 60K. As far as the mods go, proceed at your own risk with them being on when you bring it in. It all depends on how cool your local dealer is. And be prepared to show maintenance records.

Well, I bought the car used and had no maintenance records. It's quite obvious that it's the same "smoking turbo" issue that many here have had (starts to smoke after 30 sec or so when warmed up). Will most dealers not even look at it if there are mods? I can have them put back on, but it's just a b*tch and will cost me some $$.

What about raising the idle? Is there a way besides an AP to raise it? Can a mechanic do it? Or, is it in the ECU?

 

[MS3 Swag]

I wonder if ill have issues getting this done without an oil change history. I have always done my own oil changes every 3500 miles. : (

 

[GSXkiller]

So I posted a while back that I was getting a turbo replacement at 40k. I now have 48k and the new turbo is smoking. The dealer ordered some new hose that is suppose to be another update from Mazda to relieve oil pressure on the turbo. The guy was suppose to call me 3-28 but I guess he forgot and I was just to busy to follow up on it. I will contact him this weekend to see what he says. If they put in the new hose I will let you know how that goes.

 

[kpuser1]

So I posted a while back that I was getting a turbo replacement at 40k. I now have 48k and the new turbo is smoking. The dealer ordered some new hose that is suppose to be another update from Mazda to relieve oil pressure on the turbo. The guy was suppose to call me 3-28 but I guess he forgot and I was just to busy to follow up on it. I will contact him this weekend to see what he says. If they put in the new hose I will let you know how that goes.

Hmmm...interesting...i wonder if they meant the valve cover...keep us posted...

 

[Kindred]

So I posted a while back that I was getting a turbo replacement at 40k. I now have 48k and the new turbo is smoking. The dealer ordered some new hose that is suppose to be another update from Mazda to relieve oil pressure on the turbo. The guy was suppose to call me 3-28 but I guess he forgot and I was just to busy to follow up on it. I will contact him this weekend to see what he says. If they put in the new hose I will let you know how that goes.

He was probably talking about the new TSB (Bulletin No. 01-002/11) that was released at the end of February (2/23). There's a revised valve cover & TIP that get's installed and the breather hose gets relocated from the intake tube down to the TIP.

I had this done last week and so far so good, no more smoking.

 

[kvndoom]

Wow, that's a pretty big repair job. Maybe that finally will do the trick? So how can I get this done, without going to the dealership multiple times and hoping it smokes at that exact moment? I don't have the time to keep "crying wolf" until they actually see what they want to see. I think I'll take the PTP pill off and see what happens.

 

[Kindred]

So how can I get this done, without going to the dealership multiple times and hoping it smokes at that exact moment? I don't have the time to keep "crying wolf" until they actually see what they want to see. I think I'll take the PTP pill off and see what happens.

Best bet is to take the PTP Pill out and see if you can get it to start smoking on a regular basis and then take it to the dealership and leave the car running while you go in and talk to the service dept. and then have somebody go outside and witness the car smoking and go from there. It's probably not a bad idea to print out the image I posted and take it with you in case they claim to not know about the new TSB. The service guys at my dealership hadn't seen it yet, so I showed them the print out and they made a copy of it and checked the computer and came back a few minutes later telling me they ordered the parts and they'd call me to bring the car in when the parts arrived.

 

[RedKatanax9]

After 14,000 miles, my 08 MS3 started to smoke as well. I took it in this morning. They asked to see oil change records so I showed them two latest ones that was changed with 5W-30. They said they will start with "a kit change" first and see if it fixes it. I assume that's the ventilation kit. If that doesn't fix it, they will go the turbo replacement route. We'll see...