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Mazda3 Maintenance & Repair

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What is this discussion about? Mazda MAZDA3, Hatchback, Sedan

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#959 of 4533 Re: still no ECL light for me... [petpad] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (8:47 am)
Replying to: petpad (Jan 12, 2004 8:29 pm) Regarding petpads post #7, I'm wondering if the MZ3 has electric assist to the power steering like my MINI Cooper. It does make a whining noise, especially while making a turn or when the car pulls out from a parked space. In the MINI's case, it's normal and the noise is not loud, just a soft but noticeable high pitched whining noise.
#960 of 4533 Re: Brake dust [z71bill] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (9:28 am)
Replying to: z71bill (Feb 21, 2004 8:58 am) I agree with z71bill (post #151) that under normal driving conditions, your brake pads should last at least 25k miles. My current MINI Cooper, with 25.5k miles show 25-30% wear on their pads. So maybe I drive like my grandmother, although I attribute my brake wear to judicious use of my gears and anticipating slowing traffic conditions ahead.   Ironically, the MINI's disk brakes are also vented front and solid rear BUT there is far more brake dust in the front wheel than the rear. For MINI owners, third party manufacturer EBC makes the "Green Stuff" non-metallic, kevlar lined, brake pad that creates far less brake dust than the original brakes.   Does anyone know if Mazda has issued a TSB for replacing the type of brake pads? It's been several months since this question was first brought up.
#961 of 4533 Re: Headlight Thing [ajtrenkle] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (10:28 am)
Replying to: ajtrenkle (Jul 30, 2004 9:43 pm) Re post #872 by ajtrenkle: there is a Mazda TSB addressing this. Basically they say there's nothing wrong and that the moisture will eventually evaporate. They have no plan to fix this.
#962 of 4533 Re: [sleeekone] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (10:35 am)
Replying to: sleeekone (Jul 30, 2004 11:39 pm) Re post #873 by sleeekone: glad you're happy with your A/C. Looks like the tinted windows do help. You are also wise to use your re-circulate function for short periods only. Not good for internal air quality when used for longer than 30 minutes.   With all those complaints about the A/C system, could it be a case of excessive cycling of the system? And if that's the case, wouldn't this be a rather easy ECU chip reprogram? Any HVAC engineers out there who can comment?
#963 of 4533 Re: AC on M3 [sschaffer] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (11:23 am)
Replying to: sschaffer (Aug 01, 2004 4:46 pm) Great post, sschaffer. That should answer all those nagging questions we all have about the MZ3's air con. Apparently it's designed to work that way. Can it be improved? Maybe.
#964 of 4533 Re: rayber CEL [z71bill] by rayber Aug 11, 2004 (12:30 pm)
Replying to: z71bill (Aug 11, 2004 8:34 am) Re Post #958 Thanks for the update. My dealer has stated that they have ordered the part BUT that he (dealer) has seen the 3 come back even after the purge valve has been replaced. As I just spoke to him a Mazda Tech was there and it seems (they say) that they are very close to solving this computer proplem. It seems to only occur when it is really hot out and here in Los Angeles we having a heat wave. Was this your case? Strange, never had a problem in 14 years of owning Mazda products. Should have kept my 2002 PR5, oh well. Thanks for your input. Wish me luck.
#965 of 4533 Re: Owner Report--Excellent 3 So Far [peterdh2000] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (12:54 pm)
Replying to: peterdh2000 (Aug 04, 2004 10:13 am) Peterdh2000 (post #909) makes sense about closing your moonroof when you turn your A/C on. I'm not saying whether the MZ3 has a design defect with respect to the A/C or whether it's a case of "different strokes for different folks," but the following conditions will affect our perception of sensible heat:   The color of your car (dark bodies absorb more heat); dark upholstery will absorb more heat; leather breathes, but not in the same way as cloth upholstery; whether you park under shade or under direct sunshine; whether you leave your sunroof partially open or fully open while the A/C is working (this one doesn't make sense); relative humidity (100 degrees F in Phoenix is probably more bearable than 100 degrees F in New Orleans if the latter has a higher rel. humidity); whether or not you pre-cool your car by opening windows and sunroof before turning the A/C on.   Someone already posted that the smaller evaporator of smaller cars and location relative to the engine is a major factor in cooling effectiveness. I'm inclined to believe this. But I'll bet that all the above parameters do have some influence on our perception of this car's A/C effectiveness.   I suspect that if many of us pay attention to the above precautions/tips, our perception of the effectiveness of the MZ3's A/C might change somewhat.
#966 of 4533 Re: Mileage [birdman579] by eaglewings Aug 11, 2004 (1:19 pm)
Replying to: birdman579 (Aug 08, 2004 8:30 pm) Just like the A/C problem, there are so many parameters to mpg that I think if you post something like "I got 33.1 mpg" it isn't helpful.   First, do you drive the 2.0 or 2.3L engine? Second do you drive at sustained speeds and at what speeds and thirdly, city/highway driving percentages. OK so you gave the last two parameters, but the most important is the engine size IMO.   So, folks, when we talk about mpg, please give us those three important parameters: (1) engine size and transmission type, (2) Avg speed and (3) city/highway mix. _______________________-   "I got 60 miles per gallon: thirty going and thirty coming home " Replies to this message: birdman579 (Aug 13, 2004 2:29 pm)
#967 of 4533 AC, mpg, M.I.L. on observations. by sschaffer Aug 11, 2004 (1:40 pm)
#968 of 4533 AC, mpg, M.I.L. on observations. by sschaffer Aug 11, 2004 (2:15 pm)
Got back yesterday from my first long trip (Fresno to Sacramento, 400 mi. round trip) in my new MZ3.   We're in the middle of a heatwave that started last Sunday when I left for Sac. AC performed quite well at ambient temp of 100+ even on "Fresh". Left car parked in the sun up in Sac. for an hour at 101 F. and went for a short trip to the store--AC blew cold but trip wasn't long enough to cool the car's interior--only 5 minute drive and car is bright red with black leather interior. I would not have expected any better under the circumstances.   My car is a 2.3 stick and overall mpg averaged 28 per US gallon--mostly freeway at 70 with about an hour of heavy traffic in-town driving included in that tankful. Vehicle still has less than 700 miles on it so not really broken in, and I tend to run it up to 35-40 in second when accelerating in traffic. As with the rotary engined Mazdas of the early 70s, it's fuel economy is not tops in it's size class, but is better than anything that will keep up with it.   To give a bit of context I've never gotten anywhere near the city mpg ratings on any of the 15 or so cars I've owned since the ratings started being published, and only get the hwy mpg if I fill immediately before and after gettin on the freeway. I'm sure this is mainly due to my driving habits and fairly short commute distance as I doubt if one could actually end up getting upwards of 15 defective cars.   It was very hot for the duration of this trip and the M.I.L. (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) did not come on. M.I.L, by the way, is the official EPA name for the check engine light on a car equipped with OBD II self-diagnostics.   OBDII is a self-diagnostic protocol required on all new drivetrains starting with the 94 model year and required on all new or old drivetrains starting with the 96 model years.   Among the things monitored by OBDII is injector duration, or how long the injectors are open to deliver fuel to the engine. Injector duration is regulated via input from the Air/Fuel ratio sensors (more sensitive than the old O2 sensors), Mass Airflow Sensor, coolant temp, air temp, and throttle position sensors as well as some others. If injector duration deviates from design norms by more than a certain percentage due to lean or rich condition the M.I.L. will come on. Thus if any malfunction occurs that will significantly increase injector duration (i.e. enough to affect fuel economy) the M.I.L. will come on.   The upshot is that if your M.I.L is not on, the chances of the car having a malfunction that is causing poor mpg are about nil.   In my experience as a dealership tech for a large Japanese make, the most common cause of M.I.L. on is by far a failure to tighten the gascap, followed by actual malfunctions in the Evaporative Emmission control system. Niether of these affects fuel economy.   The Evap system is designed to eliminate pollution caused by fuel fumes escaping the tank and charcoal canister. The epa requires that this system be very closely monitored by the OBDII system on the car and even the best mfgs are having difficulty avoiding false malfunction indications due to the complexity of the system itself and the sensors and software designed to monitor it. These monitoring systems are so sensitive that a check engine light can come on due to a 1mm deformation in the filler pipe where the cap gasket contacts it (code PO-442, slow evap leak).

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