And so it begins....

[stillflat4]

Between a Subaru Forester with 60K miles and a Saab 9-2X (also basically a Subaru) with 16K miles, I have yet to need to bring in either one to the dealer for anything other than scheduled maintenance (knock on wood).

So this morning I get into the Speed6 and it's got a CEL. Lovely. Anyone else get one (this car is totally UNmodded) and what was it for?

Thanks...

[NRRfrogmanP5]

is ur gas cap securly tightend....my gram has a car and her cel was on ...and that was the problem surprisingly..lol. hopefully its something easy like that

[stillflat4]

is ur gas cap securly tightend....my gram has a car and her cel was on ...and that was the problem surprisingly..lol. hopefully its something easy like that

Filled up this morning (after I got in the car & had the CEL). Cap seemed tight. In any case, it sure was tight after I filled up (I thought that might be it too). Light didn't go off.

If the cap happened to be loose and I tightened it, will the light NOT go off because it needs to be cleared by a dealer?

And any thoughts whether or not I should ask for the software update as long as I'm bringing it in?

[NRRfrogmanP5]

as long as ur there i would get the update..the light on my grams car went off as soon as i tightend it so it shouldnt have to be cleared by the dealer

[Kansei]

Does the car drive normally though? No loss of power or anything like that?

I'd definitely take it in just in case it is something serious, but you could always disconnect the battery for a little while and reconnect it and cross your fingers hoping the light doesn't come back on.

good luck with it!

[stillflat4]

Does the car drive normally though? No loss of power or anything like that?

I didn't notice anything. Seems fine.

I'd definitely take it in just in case it is something serious, but you could always disconnect the battery for a little while and reconnect it and cross your fingers hoping the light doesn't come back on.

I think I'll let the dealer handle it. Sheesh, I hate going to the dealer. They're 30 miles away through unpredictable traffic and open at 7:30 and if you don't get there first thing, you'll be sitting a while.

I have an appointment for the 9th. I'll post the results of both the CEL and the software update... Interestingly enough, the service dept didn't seem to want to talk about the software update. I said something like, "as long as I'm in, would I be able to get the software update that came out recently for the overzealous knock sensor." He just said "huh..." in a matter-of-fact tone... Then he said, "um, we'll see you on Tuesday."

This doesn't seem like it's going to be a whole lot of fun.

I hate dealers.

[crossbow]

It's probably the purge solenoid. A very common problem on the 2.3 engines. They didn't change it for the speed6, its the same part.

Some vehicles may exhibit a MIL ON condition with DTCs P0442, P0455,
and/or P0456 stored in memory. See the following list for possible
causes.

Capture freeze frame data, then clear all DTCs. Run the WDS evaporative
system test to confirm the leak. If vehicle fails, use the Mazda
approved, EVAP Tester (Model #134-01049) to further diagnose. Activate
Mode 8 to manually close the Change Over Valve (COV). Note that
the purge solenoid valve is Normally Closed. Run the gas leak test and
the smoke test to confirm leak location.

On Mazda3, the following conditions have been found:

o STUCK OPEN PURGE SOLENOID VALVE - Confirm by removing purge
solenoid control valve hose at the intake manifold, then inspect
to see if smoke exits from the hose. If smoke is seen, this
indicates a valve that is stuck open.

Note: If hose is not removed, smoke may not be seen anywhere, and
it will appear the vehicle has no leak.

o MISSING "BASKET" SEAL - A smoke test will reveal if a basket seal
is missing from a quick disconnect fitting.

[seanmcsean]

yeah, that CEL from the gas tank is annoying.. I got a few of those.

[stillflat4]

yeah, that CEL from the gas tank is annoying.. I got a few of those.

And that's exactly what it was. Service guy said diagnostic test came back OK after clearing the light and the error code pointed to a loose cap. Also said never fill the tank while the radio is on, or the car is running because it could run a "self-test" at that point while the cap is off and you're filling.

I asked him why the light didn't go off eventually, and he said it usually takes a particular type of driving for a certain amount of time to clear the CEL. 40mph for ten minutes or something like that. Most of my driving is either local stop-and-go or highway.

Ugh... what a waste of a morning.

Can't they just have a sensor that says, "your gas cap is loose" instead of an overall CEL that requires me to drive 30 miles to the dealer and be there at 7:30am just to get it cleared?

[seanw]

[QUOTE . . . .Ugh... what a waste of a morning.

Can't they just have a sensor that says, "your gas cap is loose" instead of an overall CEL that requires me to drive 30 miles to the dealer and be there at 7:30am just to get it cleared?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's dopey. And running a self-test while the key is set to ACC is stupid, too. I gotta wonder about that one. I mean how many people leave the radio on for passengers or themselves while filling up? It's got to be a lot.

Did you try to get an ECU re-flash and get blown-off or decide against it for now? Anyway, thanks for updating us.

[DeanSweet]

drop by Autozone, they will pull the OBDII Reader out and tell you what the code is, or just buy one. they are only like $40 now... I have spent that is gas driving back and forth to the dealer having mine looked at in the MPV.

[stillflat4]

Did you try to get an ECU re-flash and get blown-off or decide against it for now? Anyway, thanks for updating us.

I haven't noticed the problem recently, so I didn't ask again. They were pretty busy this morning and I didn't feel like pestering the service guy, lest he put me at the back of the line. I wanted to get in and get out ASAP. :)

[stussy2870]

And that's exactly what it was. Service guy said diagnostic test came back OK after clearing the light and the error code pointed to a loose cap. Also said never fill the tank while the radio is on, or the car is running because it could run a "self-test" at that point while the cap is off and you're filling.

I asked him why the light didn't go off eventually, and he said it usually takes a particular type of driving for a certain amount of time to clear the CEL. 40mph for ten minutes or something like that. Most of my driving is either local stop-and-go or highway.

Ugh... what a waste of a morning.

Can't they just have a sensor that says, "your gas cap is loose" instead of an overall CEL that requires me to drive 30 miles to the dealer and be there at 7:30am just to get it cleared?


Did they update the CPU?

[stillflat4]

Did they update the CPU?

See prior post... But today, for the first time, I experienced the issue and there was no doubt it was the powerloss "feature." I use Shell 93 exclusively, so it's not the gasoline.

It's been pretty hot here on Long Island for the past few days. Today I went to Lowes to get some stuff and on the way back I was at a light and when I went to take off, there was... nothing... Felt like maybe just a little boost, but the car was absolutely not its ordinary self. I'll be putting in a call to my local Mazda dealer to get the CPU flash taken care of.

I'll have to look through the boards to see if anyone else has had this done and what the result was (haven't been here in a few weeks)...

Does anyone know if this throttle reduction is something that's noted when they check the computer for codes?

[Da 6]

obdII scanners also have the ability to datalog te vehicles behavior. See if you can find someone with one(autoxray or someting obdII can Bus Compliant) that knows how to use that feature. May help you some. When the dealer said it was the fuel filler cap, did they tell you to turn it 3-5 clicks or 10-15 clicks?

[AWD6]

i asked the dealer about that software update and they told me they would look into it and get back to me. that was about 2 weeks ago and i still haven't heard anything...how shisty.

[Da 6]

i asked the dealer about that software update and they told me they would look into it and get back to me. that was about 2 weeks ago and i still haven't heard anything...how shisty.Which dealership? I got laughed at when I asked for one and haven't got my car serviced there since.

[AWD6]

pearson mazda

[stillflat4]

Time to make my 5K oil change appointment. I am definitely going to push the issue this time and will NOT be blown off. Got a survey recently directly from Mazda about the dealership and I was not kind. First they make me wait two hours to 'diagnose" a loose gas cap, then they brush me off with the firmware update. Mazda is this dealership's only make, and they're the only ones in a very large area of Long Island authorized to work on the Mazdaspeeds (or that's what I was told at the dealer -- am I naive or what? They were the only dealership around here selling the MS6, so I believed them)...

My point with the Mazda questionnaire (it wasn't the big survey from JD Power or whatever the research group was, this one was asking purely about the dealer) was to note that if they're going to be a MS dealer, they better keep up on the tech bulletins. Was kind to my salesperson in the survey, but not the service dept.

We'll see what happens.

Why can't I find a decent service department no matter what kind of car I buy? Interestingly enough, the only common denominator would be me... Hmmmm... Perhaps I'm the problem? :)

[MS6freek]

very easy , just disconnect the negative on your batteri turn the light switch on and wait 2 min. then plug the negative of the batterie back , close the lights . start the car and voila no more check engin light :D

[stillflat4]

very easy , just disconnect the negative on your batteri turn the light switch on and wait 2 min. then plug the negative of the batterie back , close the lights . start the car and voila no more check engin light :D

How much else does that reset? Are there settings that stay persistent even if the battery dies (not sure what you'd really need to be persistent, but whatever)...

[Da 6]

Attepting to start the car after disconecting the battery also helps speed the process up.

[crossbow]

I'd heavily suggest against removing the negative battery cable. This not only resets the cel, the FFD data, and the pending codes...but it also resets your LFT's to default values, as well as killing your readiness tests for X amounts of drive cycles and Y amount of mileage. (You'd fail an emissions test).

Pulling the negative battery cable is just a cheap fix to the real problem of trying to figure out what's wrong. It's like trying to fix a wound in your leg by cutting off the leg.

The correct procedure is to get the car scanned. You can do this in the following ways...

1) Take the car to a dealership. As long as you don't have excessive mods on the vehicle, or if the problem isn't caused by a mod, you won't be charged.
2) Take the car to a local autozone (PLEASE CALL FIRST). Make sure to verify that they have a CAN CAPABLE scanner! (Tell them OBD-II isn't sufficent). They'll let you rent the tool to scan your own car.
3) Go to a mazda6 meet where a local member has a scanner you can utilize. Many 6 owners have scanners available, so make a friend!
4) Buy a scanner.

#4 I actually consider a prerequisite to modding. Before any modding on any new car, you should really have the capability to do your own diagnosis and troubleshooting...which means you need a scanner, and a workshop manual. Of course these don't look cool on mod lists, so nobody ever buys them.

Two examples of good scanners to get.

Standalone
AutoXray
http://www.autoxray.com/

Laptop Based
Autoenguitity
http://www.autoenginuity.com/

Of the two, the autoenguitity is far more advanced and feature filled...but it requires a laptop to utilize. The autoxray fits in your glove box as a standalone unit.

Remember if a cel is caused by a mod, or you're out of warranty...its about 90 dollars to check a cel. Two weekend's ago, I scanned 9 cars at the track. The Value of the unit's adds up incredibly fast.

[Kansei]

^^ very good info.

[MS6freek]

I'd heavily suggest against removing the negative battery cable. This not only resets the cel, the FFD data, and the pending codes...but it also resets your LFT's to default values, as well as killing your readiness tests for X amounts of drive cycles and Y amount of mileage. (You'd fail an emissions test).

Pulling the negative battery cable is just a cheap fix to the real problem of trying to figure out what's wrong. It's like trying to fix a wound in your leg by cutting off the leg.

The correct procedure is to get the car scanned. You can do this in the following ways...

1) Take the car to a dealership. As long as you don't have excessive mods on the vehicle, or if the problem isn't caused by a mod, you won't be charged.
2) Take the car to a local autozone (PLEASE CALL FIRST). Make sure to verify that they have a CAN CAPABLE scanner! (Tell them OBD-II isn't sufficent). They'll let you rent the tool to scan your own car.
3) Go to a mazda6 meet where a local member has a scanner you can utilize. Many 6 owners have scanners available, so make a friend!
4) Buy a scanner.

#4 I actually consider a prerequisite to modding. Before any modding on any new car, you should really have the capability to do your own diagnosis and troubleshooting...which means you need a scanner, and a workshop manual. Of course these don't look cool on mod lists, so nobody ever buys them.

Two examples of good scanners to get.

Standalone
AutoXray
http://www.autoxray.com/

Laptop Based
Autoenguitity
http://www.autoenginuity.com/

Of the two, the autoenguitity is far more advanced and feature filled...but it requires a laptop to utilize. The autoxray fits in your glove box as a standalone unit.

Remember if a cel is caused by a mod, or you're out of warranty...its about 90 dollars to check a cel. Two weekend's ago, I scanned 9 cars at the track. The Value of the unit's adds up incredibly fast.

thanks for the info , its good to know

[Chris-BE]

If you do disconnect your battery to reset, just leave your headlights on to drain any residual power in the system.

Autoenginuity is my preference for loggers. I have the Bluetooth adapter on backorder to try out on my PDA, I can't wait.

[AWD6]

yea i think im gonna have to get one of those

[stillflat4]

Just got back from my 5000 mile service (dealer recommends). Oil change, tire rotation & "check everything" = $100.97 (ugh)

They DID know all about the software update this time. The guy asks me "what kind of gas are you running?" I said purely 93. He recommended that I get Sunoco 94, but apparently didn't realize that they aren't delivering that in this area anymore. The Sunoco station two doors down didn't even have it.

I told him I use Shell, as recommended by toptiergas.com (only distributor on the list here), and he tells me, "well, we can check in the computer what kind of fuel you've been using," as if I was lying to him.

Oh well, he was otherwise pleasant, and they did perform the software update. Obviously I can't tell any difference so far, and I've only run into the issue twice. So hopefully all is well now.

[Kansei]

Just got back from my 5000 mile service (dealer recommends). Oil change, tire rotation & "check everything" = $100.97 (ugh)

They DID know all about the software update this time. The guy asks me "what kind of gas are you running?" I said purely 93. He recommended that I get Sunoco 94, but apparently didn't realize that they aren't delivering that in this area anymore. The Sunoco station two doors down didn't even have it.

I told him I use Shell, as recommended by toptiergas.com (only distributor on the list here), and he tells me, "well, we can check in the computer what kind of fuel you've been using," as if I was lying to him.

Oh well, he was otherwise pleasant, and they did perform the software update. Obviously I can't tell any difference so far, and I've only run into the issue twice. So hopefully all is well now.

Interesting link.. sucks that I don't think any of those are in this area. I'd love to get a "check everything" for 100 dollars on my car, it probably needs it at 69k miles.