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Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazda3 Care and Maintenance
203 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 6:06 PM
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Discuss Mazda 3 routine maintenance and other care issues here.
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I went against my dealer's advice, and had them change the oil, at 2000km. Why? Mostly paranoia. We've had such cold weather in Toronto (-22C/-8F), that the hard starts were horrible. Not only that, but everyday I have been revving this engine "high" at times, approaching 3500rpm gradually, holding it, and then varying the speed to break-in the motor. The oil was being consumed slightly, and getting brown. Of course, this is all normal...but being me, I did an oil and filter at Mazda anyhow...and it could be my imagination, but the car LOVED it...it's purring now. Revs are noticeably smoother, and it seems quieter. I won't do a change now until I hit the regular 4month maintenance interval (or 5000mi/8000km). Cheers, folks. |
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Just before doing my early oil change... I kept asking the service guys at several dealerships if there was a special "break-in" oil put in by the factory, and nobody would definitively say. Like trained seals, they all just said, "We recommend following the maintenance schedule outlined in your vehicle manual". No variation. Word for word. It was like they were following a playbook. That's fine. I know it's probably sound advice. They all acknowledged though, that changing the oil and filter at my mileage (2000km/1240miles) certainly would not HURT the car. I'm glad I did, because the engine sounds and feels better. They did tell me in no uncertain terms though: 1) DO NOT use synthetic oil until the engine is at the very least 10,000km (6200miles) old. 2) after 10,000km, stick with the SAME oil for the life of the car (whether it's Castrol Syntec, Quaker State, or Mazda's own oil, etc. **The reason is certain additives may not mix or behave very well with additives from other oils. It depends on what's being mixed. This is why Amsoil, for example, tells people not to mix their XL-7500 series oils with other oils. (Amsoil says for their other oils, one can mix and match) 3) If you change oil brands, do a flush first (to stop different oil brand additives from mixing) The same advice goes for the tranny fluid. Mazda's tranny fluid is compatible with any "Type 3" tranny fluid, but one should NOT just add a bottle of synthetic tranny fluid to "top up" levels. Replace the old tranny fluid completely, using a good flush first, IF you are changing brands. That seems to be the general rule. Toyota has given similar advice to their mechanics when using synthetics. |
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How often do you guys wash your cars in winter? I have to resort to street parking, and for various reasons, can't wash it by my house. So I have to go to the touchless car wash (either do-it-yourself or gas station one). When I had a black honda accord coupe, I was doing it 2-3 times a week...but with a silver car, just once a week...although the road salt here cakes on.. Any prefs as to how often? Also anyone waxed theirs yet? |
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We've been washing our silver hatch about every week or so - at most every other week. I try to have it washed if there is no impending snowfall. If it's going to be clean, it would be nice to keep it reasonably so for a day or two. I figure at least twice a month is good enough to keep the salt rinsed off. Just my opinion though. |
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This is why I love the silver colour. It just hides the "incidental" salt a lot better...i.e. streaks of salt that are ugly on a very dark car but that warrant a full wash. I'm telling you, when I had a black Honda Accord coupe, in winter I was washing every 2-3 days at times. Even though, I loved that car, I really learned my lesson. For places like New York/Toronto...I'll now only purchase a silver or gold vehicle...if I lived in Florida or LA or a place without salt, I'd go for a darker color...but then you have to fight the dust in summer... |
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I know exactly what you mean. I used to wash my black crx si every other day, but damn it looked great when it was clean! We have a black envoy that looks really cool when it's clean, but absolutely terrible when it's dirty. Black cars, black cars...look better when they're clean! lol Luckily I enjoy cleaning my cars...otherwise I'd never buy another black one. I will probably steer clear of black for my next 2 or 3 cars, but you never know after that...? For now, I have a silver GTI, silver Mz3, and will probably be buying a silver Volvo V70R to replace the Envoy in a year or two. Hmmmmm, a whole fleet of silver cars... lol |
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X-typer, The other downside to black was the swirlmarks. They'd develop no matter how careful I was with my waxing/drying cloths. One article I read even said swirl-marks can develop just by going through a strong wind?!? So to hide them, I'd have to buy a glaze, and that added to the paint maintenance process. A lot of work. One thing I have noticed just from drying my hatchback...one of the quarterpanels up front is prone to "buckling". If I lean against it, I hear it buckling in, and then when I step back, it buckles back out. No dent left or anything, but it's something to be wary of in the future. |
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I had that on all my japanese cars... crx integra type r 4runner My crx and integra both developed a residual 'dent' (not really a dent, but the light reflected funny) from bouncing in and out repeatedly. This happened on the front fender of both cars actually, on the driver's side. Be careful... The sheet metal they use for their stampings seems to be significantly thinner than european and us manufacturers. This would be from comparing the above noted cars to... pontiac sunbird eagle vision volvo v70t gmc envoy Yeah, the swirls... Our black Envoy had them after 3 weeks - My wife the brain surgeon took our new truck through a 'soft-cloth' car wash, and voila! Oh, well... |
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I will do the first oil change at 3,000 miles then will change every 4-5 months which for me should be about 3,500 miles. Since I do alot of short trips, in hot weather, stop and go Houston traffic I will go more by time than by miles. I have always said - I would never buy a 4 door car, never buy a car with 4 cylinder engine and would never buy a black car. Since I just bought a black Mazda 3 4 door sedan I guess I will need to rethink my position. We started off wanting white, then silver then blue then gray and finally went with black. So much for trying to get my wife and daughter involved in the selection! The way I look at it - compared to my full size X-cab pick up and Tahoe the Mazda 3 will be easy to wash - I can even reach the top of the car without using the step stool! |
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