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Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair
4533 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 6:27 PM
You are in the Mazda3 Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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I am finally moving my CEL story to the appropriate thread: As some of you know, my check engine light came on about 2 weeks ago. The car appeared to be operating normally, but the CEL would not turn off. I took the car to the dealership and they said that the code indicated that the thermostat was stuck open. They replaced the thermostat and the light went off. This morning, 500 miles later, the check engine light came on again. I called the dealership and they said that the problem is not the thermostat. They just learned about the software bug in the engine computer. This software bug was mentioned some time ago by everfeb and fowler3. My dealer says that there are no mechanical problems and that the car is okay to drive. The software will take about 2 weeks to arrive and they will flash my computer then. My dealer doesn't know exactly what causes the bug to rear its ugly head or what the mechanical effect is on the engine itself. Sure, there might not be any mechanical problems now, but what if the computer glitch is causing my engine to do something damaging to itself that will cause damage before I get the software update, like running rich? Since they don't know what the software bug's effect is on the engine's operation, I can't find justification for them to say that it is okay to drive it. Canadians on the forums are having this problem, and so are Americans, so I assume that every North American Mazda3 so far has been shipped with the same buggy software onboard. |
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Thanks! So the bug is just confirmed. Actually I'm the one who brought the bug issue into the attention: bluong1 "Mazda3" Dec 4, 2003 3:57am |
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Keeping my fingers crossed and everything is honkydory.. My 3 is singing happily everytime I take it out. On the power steering whine story, I couldn't help but to make a link to aviation hydraulic systems... I just hope the "whining power steering" system has a fail-safe operation, meaning that if that whining thingmabob was to fail, that you can still steer. In a helicopter for instance, if you lose your hydraulically-assisted flight controls, you can still land, albeit with much stiffer controls. Full hydraulic hardovers have happened where the controls jammed totally and human force could not prevent the subsequent crash. Hopefully the sophisticated power steering in our 3's will allow us to steer safely should it fail. Pet
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I know no one can tell me specifically about the 3, but do Mazdas in general last long? Can they be compared to say a BMW in terms of longevity?
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slash... This will generate lots of opinions, but it all depends on how well you care for your vehicle, and also where you live. Older BMW's are very expensive to maintain by the way. I see old Mazdas regularly, such as Mazda 323's and 626' in particular. If you stick to regular maintenance and protect the body from rust if you live in salt-infested roads, you will be fine. In then end, a Mazda will cost you a LOT less than any BMW, in terms of initial costs and long term costs. |
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| I had a 86 Mazda 626 that I drove 244000 miles over 14 years. | |
| I had a 90 Mazda MX6 that I drove for 260000 miles... | |
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I just took my mazda3 in because the rear wheels showed much more brake dust than the front. Since this was opposite from the way it should be, I was concerned. The dealer said that there was a bulletin (whatever that is) related to this problem. However, when they went to install this part they found that the rear rotors and pads were worn and had to be replaced. They did all of this work under warranty, but first tried to say that we had driven the car with the handbrake on. I responded that the handbrake had never been used as the car is automatic. Then they said that they were going to fix it all under warranty anyway. I just wanted to know if anyone else had noticed this problem(with the brakes, not the service dept)? matt |
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