Where did my message go?? (P5 + Cold = POS)

[jaman]

Lets try this again...

Well that might be a little harsh, but....

In cold weather (less than 0 C) the P5 is terrible (at -20 C it is ten times worse). The infamous diesel engine sounds, rattle from radio area, rattle from driver's seatbelt mount, rattle from steering column area. Not to mention the inability to engage 1st or 2nd gear unless you're at a complete stop. Meaning when slowing down in neutral (5 km/h) and traffic starts moving again I can't put it into 1st or 2nd unless I want to hear some grinding noises.

All in all, I come to the conclusion that Mazda does not do cold weather testing, when you live in a place (Toronto) that gets COLD in the winter, that is not a good thing.

However, when the car is fully warmed up it is SPECTACULAR, can't wait for the summer!!!

 

[cbcbd]

Yeah, I get the same thing.

Every morning I let my car warm up in the driveway for at least 15 minutes and avoid these problems.

 

[I_Vtec]

You want to back that up with some statements?

 

[ottawaP5]

pro5man,

don't know what your talking about, started mine at -18 degrees this morning and it ran great. No rattle. I guess I got one of the good ones.

 

[ZiO]

The 2003's do not have the cold start rattle problem. Just the 2002's ( mine does). Other than that, when its -20C over here and some wind chill to over -30, i expect my car to sound clanky and rough. Other than that, runs good as long as i take care of it.

What sort of problems are some people having in the cold other than sounds?

 

[MikeBlueP5]

it wasnt pro5man who started the thread it was someone else, i guess they deleted their post.

mike

 

[ChopstickHero]

Started my car in -35 C (windchill) weather here in Toronto. Started fine, obviously warmed it up to normal temps and then i drove off. Rattling definitely comes in IF i don't warm up properly, but that's just dumb and I would never do that.

To solve the problem, go reflash your ECU at your mazda dealership. they should do it, no questions asked and under warranty, so it's free.

 

[HADA 11]

I hadn't driven my car in 2 weeks and took it for a spin yesterday in -20c weather, it ran great!

I keep it my insulated garage, but it was still -10 in there. Started up no problem, let it run for a minute and started driving keeping it under 2k RPM. The car warmed right up and ran great.

That's more than I could say for my ex-99 Jetta POS! Phucker never ran right, and it wouldn't start if it was colder than -15c out.

 

[eMKay]

Little clarification, wind chill does not affect cars, it only affects living things.

 

[eMKay]

I have none of these problems, seems to me Mazda's cold weather testing is fine.

 

[MikeBlueP5]

I know this is off topic but....

hey Pro5Man, i see you got some HIDs I know we were supposed to meet and see each others cars. When do you plan on being out at barrett parkway again, or in the area. I just got my big shipment from meguiars today, so i will be waxing the hell out of my car on saturday, and maybe that night i will be out there again, dunno yet. Send me a pm if you still wanna meet up.
Mike

 

[StreetPreacher]

Fan Failure!?!

I've noticed that when it's cold out (-20C+) the interior fan doesn't come on right away. I haven't checked the manual yet but i'm told that this is normal on some cars.

But today the fan didn't start as normal, but when it did start it would only run when set to '4'. If I turned it back to 3,2,1 nothing would happen. No Blow.

I'm due for my 18,000 km oil change soon so I was going to just wait until then to get it looked at. Has anyone else had this problem?

Just for a little history I also had the side mirror controls go haywire on me. They were fixed about a month ago and seem to be fine so far, but I don't think these two problems are related.

Sp

 

[banned bandit]

Re: Fan Failure!?!

I've noticed that when it's cold out (-20C+) the interior fan doesn't come on right away. I haven't checked the manual yet but i'm told that this is normal on some cars.

But today the fan didn't start as normal, but when it did start it would only run when set to '4'. If I turned it back to 3,2,1 nothing would happen. No Blow.

I'm due for my 18,000 km oil change soon so I was going to just wait until then to get it looked at. Has anyone else had this problem?

Just for a little history I also had the side mirror controls go haywire on me. They were fixed about a month ago and seem to be fine so far, but I don't think these two problems are related.

Sp

er that doesn't sound normal.....
my fan run's properly at all speeds when its super cold out

 

[banned bandit]

Lets try this again...

Well that might be a little harsh, but....

In cold weather (less than 0 C) the P5 is terrible (at -20 C it is ten times worse). The infamous diesel engine sounds, rattle from radio area, rattle from driver's seatbelt mount, rattle from steering column area. Not to mention the inability to engage 1st or 2nd gear unless you're at a complete stop. Meaning when slowing down in neutral (5 km/h) and traffic starts moving again I can't put it into 1st or 2nd unless I want to hear some grinding noises.

All in all, I come to the conclusion that Mazda does not do cold weather testing, when you live in a place (Toronto) that gets COLD in the winter, that is not a good thing.

However, when the car is fully warmed up it is SPECTACULAR, can't wait for the summer!!!

let your pro5 warm up for at least 15 minutes before driving her on a super cold day...you might want to invest in a remote car starter or at least a Block Heater too, seems to help alot

 

[Red Baron]

I use a block heater, an hour before I crank the engine, and it is worth it. Of course the car's interior isn't warm so I do get all the rattles associated with the extreme cold temps we have been getting this winter (-40F), but after about 20 minutes of driving they all disapear.

My previous car was a 2000 Civic, it was much much worse. I've owned cars since 1982 and that car was a piece of junk in the rattle dept...:wtf: My 1990 Civic Si hatchback had less rattles after 10 years of driving than my 2000 Civic in its first winter...

Jaman, we've had the worse winter in what? Five years now? So don't judge your P5 on just this season, you'll enjoy next summer, believe me

My .02

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

0-30 oil and engine block heater dude...

 

[bmorton]

Mine runs fine even at -25, which we've had a couple of times this winter. I'm not a supporter of extended idling so I just get in and drive in the morning. The VTCS rattle, which I do have, isn't related to ambient temperature so I hear it year-round. No problems shifting or any interior rattles--I've had the car since Feb 02 and it's still very tight.

 

[bmorton]

Agreed; the fan problem isn't normal. I can get in and drive away at -25 and everything works, and I get heat after about five minutes of easy driving to warm up the car properly.

 

[Thunderburke]

Cold Weather

I think I may have all of you guys beat when it comes to starting in cold weather. Last week it dropped to -39 C in Edmonton without a windchill. I had just got my car a week before and the dealer told me he would include a block heater for free. I never bothered to check, and couldn't seem to find it when I thought about plugging in for the night. I'll admit I did not check very hard because I was feezing my ass off, so I left the car outside overnight without plugging it in. It started fine in the morning. Ofcourse there were some rattles and the clutch was practially frozen, but what wouldn't have the same problems in that temp? I let it warm up for 10 minutes and drove off with no problems.
The car has been great the couple of weeks I have had it (especially since it has been the coldest in years).

 

[jaman]

In my original post, I didn't complain about the car not being able to start in cold weather. It's just all the rattles. Maybe the fasteners/screws they use for the interior pieces shrink in the cold to such an extent that the pieces are "loose" and they rattle.

Like I said before, I can't wait for summer. I've never driven my car in temperatures above 8C.

So nobody has trouble has going through the gears in the cold, even my dads 2000 LX has that problem.