what problems have u had?

[OompaLoompa]

im looking to buy a used 03.5 msp but im iffy about whether or not its a good buy. Now i know u'll be bias, but just tell me what are the various problems youve had with ur msp. the thing that scaring me now is the fuel cut off problems i read about, now u are saying it happens when its cold, and i do live in florida, but im still gonna be driving this at 6:30 in the morning so... and this will be my daily driver and my first manual and its unlikely there will be mods. Should i really be careful about these problems or is it no worse than any other car.

 

[ND4MSP]

fuel cut is not really a problem unless you are searching for more power. Yes, some even get it a stock boost pressure with an intake as you prob read, so it can actually be a nusanse to some.(spell check) It is really there to protect your engine as the maf senses a certain amount of air going through which translates into voltage readings. Too much causes "fuel cut". Running more boost than usual or overboosting for the unweary mazdaspeed owner can cause fuel cut to happen. So fuel cut can actually save your engine from overboosting and possibly blowing. I'm not quite the tech head so I hope that explanation makes sense.

Now, in my opinion my mazdspeed has been a great buy for the money. Fun factor is high for the money aswell Some may beg to differ. Short of a coolant leak(common for some) and rear lower skirt drooping(common also) I have had no other problems. Welcome to the board. Do some searching and check the archive section and stickies at the top of the page also. There are plenty of informative threads on the mazdaspeed.

 

[jonbig]

You shoukd not have to deal with fuel cut unless your turnming the boost up. if you do, just get a fuel cut defenser..and crank the s*** haha

 

[orng1]

I love the car, only problem I've had is the coolant leak from the reservoir.

orng1/Bob

 

[kicker22705]

major problem: hessitation

just nusance: coolant leak, front sway creeking, rear clunk, blown sub, notchy shift to 2nd gear, hard time gettin into reverse.

the rewards of the car still greatly outweight the little problems.

 

[OompaLoompa]

thnx for the info, and thnx for clarifying the fuel cut off.

 

[FlyinMSP]

No serious probs so far except for the dreaded clunk! That drove me nutz 'till Mazda put in the new bushings, but I know it will start again Fortunately, Delsing Motorsports has a fix for that!

 

[YuYuRena]

It's a good car. Not too much power to learn a lot about shifting techniques and stuff. No fuel cut unless u turn up boost and since u'r not planning to mod, hehe, then you should never see it. Plus since it's relatively new, it'll have warranty to cover the problems of clunk and blown woofers.

The latest E bushing will fail. Mine has just started to clunk again last week. Replace them about a year ago. Just to let everyone know, the E clunk isn't the solution.

 

[Wha'Happened]

let's see here. where do I begin? 1 month into ownership the two rear 6X9's stopped working and the dealer wouldnt cover them. Rusty-ass rotors since day 1. Had to have turbo replaced at 10k because a bolt was stripped somewhere, which led to a huge oil leak, both problems were covered under warranty, unlike the speakers and rotors, so I can complain too much about those. Front lip sagging on driver side, Squeaky ass interior. Motor mount shudder (or maybe clutch chatter, I dunno). but the biggest headache....the CLUNK!!

 

[2K3 MSP]

It has it's little quirks like any car, but any of the little problems I had were fixed under warranty.
My problems: Blown sub, coolant leak, hesitation(all fixed by the dealer under warranty), bad thermostat(cost me maybe $10), clunk, rusted rotors. Only things I can think of off hand, and none of them exist anymore. I've upgraded the rotors and the suspension so I have no more rust and really no noticeable clunk(still on the stock bushings too).
My biggest complaint is probably the little rattles I get from in/around the dashboard, and something is misaligned on my glovebox, so it never closes right. Other than those minor issues, I still love my car as much as the day I got it. And that's hard for a lot of people to say 2 years later.

 

[OompaLoompa]

well my bro has an 02 sentra ser and hes had no problems with it. There were some dealer recals for random parts but we experienced no problems. The only thing i could possibly mention is a little rattle somewhere in he door when the bass what on, and this noise only came occasionally too, and he definitly beat the hell out of the 26 thousand miles hes put on it. now im reading about blown engines on a nearly stock car? did i just join the board at the wrong time or is it time to buy a used rsx-s?

 

[JDM Sam]

let's see here. where do I begin? 1 month into ownership the two rear 6X9's stopped working and the dealer wouldnt cover them. Rusty-ass rotors since day 1. Had to have turbo replaced at 10k because a bolt was stripped somewhere, which led to a huge oil leak, both problems were covered under warranty, unlike the speakers and rotors, so I can complain too much about those. Front lip sagging on driver side, Squeaky ass interior. Motor mount shudder (or maybe clutch chatter, I dunno). but the biggest headache....the CLUNK!!

We dont have rear 6x9s. all our speakers are 6 1/2 inch mounted on the doors.

 

[JDM Sam]

If you fix the driveability problems, you will enjoy the car more.

Here are some mods to improve driveability:
Kartboy shifter bushing - improve shifting
AWR front and rear motor mounts - fix wheelhop, drivetrain lash
Synthetic gear fluid - smoother shifting
Iridium spark plugs - better spark to ignite the rich a/f ratio
Bypass the pcv return line - helps fight hesistation some
Hard pipe for hotside charge pipe - fix glued plastic fitting on stock pipe
K&N drop in filter - more air flow without worrying about water or hitting fuel cut
Cut off and remove a small section of the weatherstripping on the front of the hood by the stock airbox - lets some cool air into the engine bay to fight heatsoak
Remove the light bulb rubber caps on the gauge cluster so they illuminate brighter