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Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair

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#4137 of 4532 Re: Mazda 3 Sputters and Stalls [lh180001] by 2006m3 Jan 07, 2008 (2:49 pm)
Replying to: lh180001 (Nov 14, 2006 1:36 pm) i bought my m3 2.3 (AT) in late 2006. i get horrible MPG. city and highway i get 18MPG. Highway i get 20MPG, and city i get no more than 16MPG. had the dealer do some firmware updates...it did not work. recently the car would not start. finally when it did, it would sputter and inside the car would be full of fumes. and if put in reverse the RPM would drop suddenly and turn the car off...if put in Drive, the car would shake suddenly. had it towed to the dealership, where it was turned on by the mechanic...he could not believe the fumes! from the day i bought the damn thin, i have had nothing but headaches. whenever taken to the dealer for problems, "problem not found". dealer mechanics are only good for oil changes and ripping customer's off, by offering services they are unable to perform. dealer mechanics hardly focus on the prolem at hand. they never pay attention to what complaints are and their work-orders do not include customer's complaints...only their own simplified-language...."engine problem"...okay.. perhaps they get paid by the number of cars they services, i.e. they just claim "no problem found" I never imagined a mazda would have so much problems...
#4138 of 4532 Mazda3 Gas Mileage I know how to improve it!!! by mariod Jan 08, 2008 (11:49 am)
Be sure to keep your left climate control setting on Face or Face and feet.... If you turn that setting over to right, feet etc.... you WILL TURN ON YOUR AC Compressor....   It's a real stupid design, BUT it you turn the setting past 12:00 (feet) or any other setting to the right of that your A/C compressor will turn on and REDUCE your gas mileage. big time....   Help me spread the news, not many people know this.   Otherwise it's a great car! Replies to this message: scwmcan (Jan 08, 2008 2:02 pm) mariod (Jan 08, 2008 3:18 pm) autonomous (Jan 08, 2008 4:04 pm) scwmcan (Jan 09, 2008 5:42 am)
#4139 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 Gas Mileage I know how to improve it!!! [mariod] by scwmcan Jan 08, 2008 (2:02 pm)
Replying to: mariod (Jan 08, 2008 11:49 am) My guess is at least 99% of other cars with air conditioning act in the same way. The defrost setting activates the A/C compressor to dehumidify the air and make your windshield clear up faster, regardless of the a/c switch being on or not. The A/C doesn't seem to affect my mileage that much (but it is mostly highway) but if you are in town then yes it could hurt more. That said don't drive around with your windows fogged up either (depending where you line that can be a big issue). All the cars I have ever owned with A/C operate the same way, so maybe there is a good reason for it, don't you think? Anyway it is definitely not a Mazda specific design, you should never drive around in any modern car in a defrost position all the time, the air conditioning will be operating. Scott Replies to this message: mariod (Jan 08, 2008 3:18 pm) autonomous (Jan 08, 2008 4:04 pm) scwmcan (Jan 09, 2008 5:42 am)
#4140 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 Gas Mileage I know how to improve it!!! [scwmcan] by mariod Jan 08, 2008 (3:18 pm)
Replying to: scwmcan (Jan 08, 2008 2:02 pm) You're partially correct.... But you're wrong too...   Most cars do NOT turn the AC compressor ON when you select the foot position (floor). This is usually the position that MOST people keep their air flow on.............. This means that many Mazda 3 owners will experience lower the normal gas mileage, for sure. Replies to this message: autonomous (Jan 08, 2008 4:04 pm) scwmcan (Jan 09, 2008 5:42 am)
#4141 of 4532 Mazda3 AC by nsbio1 Jan 08, 2008 (3:53 pm)
Another "feature" of Mazda3 A/C is that if you switch the airflow to your face or feet and turn the temperature knob to the coldest setting, the A/C automatically, forcefully comes on AND the air, forcefully, switches to recirculated, without my intending to do so.   This is a completely useless, stupid, and unacceptable blunder on the part of the car designers. If I want an A/C on, I am capable of pushing the button. If I want recirculated air, I can do the same just as easily. At least the A/C and recirculated air both can be manually turned off by pushing the buttons, but watch out - the next gen cars might not allow you to do even that.   This is my only gripe with my new 2008 Mazda3i so far. Otherwise, the car has been great - I just do not understand why Mazda designers decided to deliberately put a piece of turd on an otherwise exceptionally well thought out dish....   On a separate issue, automatically turning the A/C on when the airflow is directed to the windows is a useful feature that might potentially improve safety. If weather conditions are "right", flow of air suddenly directed at the windows can fog them up in seconds, which could result in disaster.. I read some time ago about this feature in a Toyota owners manual. In case of Corolla, the A/C automatically switches on in reduced power mode and the A/C indicator light does not come on. I am not certain, but I suspect that Mazda's implementation is similar. Replies to this message: networkguy (Jan 08, 2008 8:41 pm) nsbio1 (Jan 09, 2008 5:35 am) scwmcan (Jan 09, 2008 5:50 am)
#4142 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 Gas Mileage I know how to improve it!!! [mariod] by autonomous Jan 08, 2008 (4:04 pm)
Replying to: mariod (Jan 08, 2008 3:18 pm) when you select the foot position (floor). This is usually the position that MOST people keep their air flow on   Really? I am surprised that you think that would be the most common position.
#4143 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 AC [nsbio1] by networkguy Jan 08, 2008 (8:41 pm)
Replying to: nsbio1 (Jan 08, 2008 3:53 pm) Maybe it's different in my Mazdaspeed 3, The climate control does all the things mentioned here, but only when in Auto mode. Whenever I change any setting but temperature, the system kicks out of auto and it's back to full manual control. I can also turn off the auto with a button press. It does indeed turn on the AC whenever I select auto, even if I want heat. That dries the air nicely before heating it. I usually just hit the AC button to disable and go the old school route. Replies to this message: nsbio1 (Jan 09, 2008 5:35 am)
#4144 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 AC [networkguy] by nsbio1 Jan 09, 2008 (5:35 am)
Replying to: networkguy (Jan 08, 2008 8:41 pm) Yes, it is different in some Mazda3S and Mazdaspeed 3, which have automatic climate control. The Mazda3i, which I was sort of ranting about, has manual A/C.
#4145 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 Gas Mileage I know how to improve it!!! [mariod] by scwmcan Jan 09, 2008 (5:42 am)
Replying to: mariod (Jan 08, 2008 3:18 pm) I don't know about your 3 but mine doesn't turn on the a/c in the floor position, when it is in the defrost/floor (mixed) yes, and my grand am did the same thing as have my volvos and every other modern car I have seen, as soon as any air goes to the windshield it engages the a/c (and yes I would suspect it is not at full power) Scott
#4146 of 4532 Re: Mazda3 AC [nsbio1] by scwmcan Jan 09, 2008 (5:50 am)
Replying to: nsbio1 (Jan 08, 2008 3:53 pm) If I am understanding you correctly you are saying the A/c is automatically turning on and going into rec when you turn the temp to full cold even on the foot only and foot and dash vents only (no air to the windshield)? I know mine doesn't do that at all, so either things are different in the states or yours is programmed differently, mine is a 2007 base hatch (gs sport in Canada) manual A/C, I see yours is a different year. It sounds like they may have changed something for the worse (in my opion as well as yous from the sound of it). I don't know why the A/c would operate in the manner you are describing, sounds weird and wasteful to me. I can understand the A/C coming on in defrost automatically but not in any non defrost mode. Is everyone else with a manual a/c 2008 3 experiencing the same thing? if so it sounds like a bad move on Mazda's part. Scott   Scott (P.S. sorry if I misunderstood what others were complaining about in previous posts)

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