CEL Came On and Car not performing right...

[lisevolution]

Sorry to post this as I'm sure it's been covered, but I'm new to this car and to this forum and have been unable to find my answer's searching...

Anyway, I just picked up a titanium 3.5 MSP on Monday and have only been driving to and from my trainstation until today and the car has been driving beautiful. It has an injen CAI and a bov that I can't locate but I know it's there as I hear it.

So this is the problem, today was the first time I've driven the car for a significant amount of time and I was going to pick up my friend to show him the new car. I'm on the highway and the car is fine then it feels like it's bogging a little bit and the CEL comes on. For the rest of the night unless I was a WOT the car just didn't feel right and the light never went off. I've been reading about this hesaitation and the "Flash" that was supposed to fix it. My guess is that due to the fact that the car is used it has probably been done already. I just turned 14K on the ODO today so this seems abnormal to me. Any help anyone can give me is greatly appreciated

[yesiownaskyline]

1) welcome
2) your "BOV" is not a BOV... Its a BPV, bypass valve. It kinda sounds like a loud turkey... This came stock.
3) It isnt mandatory that your car was flashed, so it may be worth checking out at the dealership that you bought it from. However, I am leanign toward something a bit more problematic only becuase you just bought it... Are you sure the guy you bought it from wasnt trying to take you for a ride???


This is what i would do: go to the dealership, ask them for a reflash and run the CEL code. they'll know what it is after that. It is most likely a MAF problem or leak of some sort, but get it checked out soon.

[lisevolution]

I appreciate the detail, to give more insight into my background. I come from a 93 MX-6 with a mildly worked FS-03, jdm intake cam, custom CAI etc... I'm just new to the MSP and to FI. Out of curiousity, does the FS-DE happen to have the same weak top-end that the 03 has? I had to replace my valve's and lifters at like 40K in that car which was a big pain in the ass...

As far as the dealer taking me for a ride, who the heck knows, it's a used car... the only thing that can be done is get the car fax and hope there's no real issue. I knew getting into this car that it had definitely been "driven" because of the nature of the vehicle. Also does that CAI void the warranty? I've been reading mixed things thus far... seems like it depends on your dealer. Also I bought it from a Nissan Dealer that also happens to own a Mazda dealership this car was just at that used car lot, so I would think they would have flashed it. I am definitely going to get it checked out asap as I don't want anything major to break that would be a real pain in the ass

[yesiownaskyline]

weeeeeeeelllll, weak top end, not really that i have heard... weak rods, however, yes...

You should be set on the motor unless it was beat to hell and the boost wasnt played with. People get into a lot of problems when they get greedy with increasing boost. anything over 9-10 psi will turn your rods into bananas. Top end though has not been a big issue that i am aware of...


Take it back to the dealer you bought it from IMMEDIATELY. If they pull some BS on the warrantee, just start ranting and threaten to return it (assuming you just bought the car less than a week ago). regarding the CAI, it really depends on the dealer, some can be bitches. What were the terms of sale? As-is, or remainder of warrantee given? They legally need to specify which in your contract. good luck with it though, and sorry for your slight misfortunes. hopefully its something sensor related and easily fixed..

[lisevolution]

that's good to know, because there was insessant ticking on my mx-6, didn't really affect performance too bad, but it sounded horrible and was really annoying. Basically the hydraulic lifters in the engine blew ass and would go bad quickly...

[BOOSTR]

Get the CEL read by AutoZone or a similar parts store that does it for free. Many possibilities exist and that is the only way to know for sure. I would contact the dealer as stated previously after you know what the trouble code is all about. Good luck and enjoy your Mazdaspeed.

[lisevolution]

Ok, I'm just hoping it's nothing big, I really, really, really want to keep this car and not have to slap the shit out of the dealer. I appreciate the info and help guys, I'm sure you'll be hearing from on some more positive notes in the coming future

[Shadow102]

Take the car back to the dealership you bought the car from immediatly (not the mazda dealership) most dealerships included a very low milage/time warrenty as a piece of mind however they do not rly tell you about it. Luck may have it that they sold with just the CEL cleared it is technically illegal to sell a car with a CEL on. Have them check it. If you get now where with them take it to a mazda dealer (not the one associated with them) and have them check it out under warrenty (5years or 50,000 bumper to bumper on a MSP) if they give you a hassle about the intake i hope you have the stock airbox to put on however explain to them that the INJEN is CARB legal and hopefully they will still cover the CEL underwarrenty cause most dealerships will charge a diagnostic fee.

[BlkZoomZoom]

Sounds like an egr problem.

[lisevolution]

well I took it to autozone to get a quick diagnostic, and it came up 131 which according to his little guide book could be as simple as an 02 sensor or as bad as a fuel pump...is this related to the flashing?

[slug420]

where are you from? maybe the previous owner is a member and can tell you what theproblem is :)

[lisevolution]

Good point... I'm in NY and the original owner was from NJ. whoever it was put a KDC-X959 in the dash with a piece of junk monitor underneath that no longer works... so anyone from New Jersey who sold a Titanium MSP in April I believe this car may be yours so let me know what you broke on it before getting rid of it! Haha, I just want to get this thing working right so I can really find out what I'm working with to start the new project that my mx-6 never got to be...

Oh and what is EGR? and as a note even with the light on today, it drove pretty well, some minor hesitation at half throttle but nothing drastic, though I only drove it basically from Autozone and back which is about 5 miles or less

[BOOSTR]

<TABLE borderColor=#0000ff width=420 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>P0131 </TD><TD vAlign=top>O2 Sensor Circuit Low Voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

this link will provide some possible causes:
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/june/Tech2tech.htm

Pick up some SeaFoam from AutoZone to lessen the carbon buildup in your engine. MSP's are pigrich and full of carbon. Just take a look at your exhaust tip.

[lisevolution]

Thanks for the help everyone, I appreciate it. I get in my car this morning and the light goes off after starting and it is driving like normal... such a weird freaking thing! I'm going to get it checked out just to be safe, as I can't afford a real serious issue at this point.

[yesiownaskyline]

bad gas maybe... you need to put name brand super unleaded... at least 91... our cars can be cranky sometimes if they get crap gas.

[lisevolution]

Yeah, I thought of that, because I definitely don't think I put in the right shit when I filled up, and then yesterday when I got gas and did fill it up with 93, the light came back on. Making me think that it was pressing the rest of the gas out of the tank, but who knows. I'm getting it checked out begining of next week as all appointments for this week and weekend were taken. Freaking dealerships!

[lisevolution]

Ok, So here's a little update since this initial post: Almost two months has gone by, took the car to a different Mazda dealership to have it checked out, and of course when I brought it in, the CEL was not on. They checked everything and said that everything checked out ok and that all the 02 sensor's were functioning properly. The light still comes on and the car feels like it's driving on 3 cylinder's instead of 4 and then within a couple of days turns off and drives normally, then goes on again and doesn't feel right. When I did bring the car into the dealer of course he told me that next time it wouldn't be covered under warranty because of the Injen CAI. I am making an appointment with the mazda dealership I bought the car from as it is now right before there 90 day warranty runs out and they will have to fix it under warranty regardless of CAI because they sold it to me with it on there. But does anyone have any suggestions as to what this might be? I'm really thinking that it might have something to do with the CAI, perhaps something is connected right? Any help is greatly appreciated...

[ca_deal1]

Get a OBII reader first, at least you you can check what'd problem is and clear CEL. I got one after install the CAI, it helped me.

[lisevolution]

It comes up as something to do with the o2 sensor's or fuel system or something like that. I've had it checked numerous times... any other suggestions? I still don't know what the EGR is so any help with that might help. Also, a thought came to mind today when noticing that the car has compressor surge sometimes even after releasing pressure through the BPV, is it possible that the car is sucking in too much air and the BPV isn't letting enough out?