2008 Changes - Specifically Motor Mounts

[I vtec, do you?]

Well I finally convinced my bro he needs a new car. He's 28 years old and has a high-paying job, and he drives the 1997 Buick Century that he got when he graduated high school.

Anyways, hes never been too much into cars, so I've been teaching him to drive a manual on my SI sedan. Hes gotten the hang of it pretty well, and he's interested in the mazda3 sedan, but I'm more or less forcing him to buy a speed3 instead because I want to putz around in that car from time to time (wiggle)

Right now he refuses to buy the speed3 because of the motor mount issues. We test drove one and he LOVED the car - the interior quality alone I think is what sold him.. but I'm sure the power over his buick century didn't hurt either. The only problem is he doesn't want to have to worry about fixing the car when it's out of warranty and the motor falls out.

What I'm wondering is if there is a definite fix for this in 08? I reallly want him to get this car (maybe a little for me), but I can't suggest it to him knowing his motor could just fall out when he's going 80 mph down the highway.

[clos561]

not even sure the car will be 2008 but if it does there shouldnt be a problem...the only cars on here that have had problems seem to be late 06 really early 07 production dates...i bought mine last year and no problems...there is already a aftermarket transmission mount upgrade which helps stiffen the car up but nothign so far on the side mount which cause the cars engine to drop to the side. He should worry about the motor mount because when he buys it it will have warranty for a few years.

[Hikaru9]

Okay... so how many MS3 owners do you personally know who have had the motor mount issue? Frankly, I'm quite tired of hearing about it. This is my very first Mazda, so I can't say I have much experience with them; however, I do give the automakers a little more credit than to say, "gee~ I wonder if my engine will fall out tomorrow." God forbid such thing happens to my car, but that's what the warranty is for, right? *^_^*

I'd say if he likes the car, then let him buy it. Just say no more of the motor mount issue when you in fact have had no such experience yourself.

[ptperformance]

Well I finally convinced my bro he needs a new car. He's 28 years old and has a high-paying job, and he drives the 1997 Buick Century that he got when he graduated high school.

Anyways, hes never been too much into cars, so I've been teaching him to drive a manual on my SI sedan. Hes gotten the hang of it pretty well, and he's interested in the mazda3 sedan, but I'm more or less forcing him to buy a speed3 instead because I want to putz around in that car from time to time (wiggle)

Right now he refuses to buy the speed3 because of the motor mount issues. We test drove one and he LOVED the car - the interior quality alone I think is what sold him.. but I'm sure the power over his buick century didn't hurt either. The only problem is he doesn't want to have to worry about fixing the car when it's out of warranty and the motor falls out.

What I'm wondering is if there is a definite fix for this in 08? I reallly want him to get this car (maybe a little for me), but I can't suggest it to him knowing his motor could just fall out when he's going 80 mph down the highway.
I will have a fix for you all on the MM issue this weekend. I have been working hard away at it.

[ptperformance]

Okay... so how many MS3 owners do you personally know who have had the motor mount issue? Frankly, I'm quite tired of hearing about it. This is my very first Mazda, so I can't say I have much experience with them; however, I do give the automakers a little more credit than to say, "gee~ I wonder if my engine will fall out tomorrow." God forbid such thing happens to my car, but that's what the warranty is for, right? *^_^*

I'd say if he likes the car, then let him buy it. Just say no more of the motor mount issue when you in fact have had no such experience yourself.
One person that I know has had this happen, no damage since it dropped when the car came to a stop. The real problem will be what starts to happen when the HP gets bumped up. That is what we are taking a look at now. I already have an issue with the dual mass FW but that could be from the slicks we tried running on the car or just a bad unit.

Either way the MS3 is a much better car then the SRT4 or the Caliber we have worked on. It drives better handles better and the power is right there with other stock performance cars. If you want a car that is fun to drive, get the MS3. If you want a car you throw $20k at in mods, get an EVO.

[clos561]

keep us updated on the side mount..

[dread]

Mazda is issueing a tsb for the motor mount very soon, so I am sure all of the new models will have it done already.

[Akaveli]

Regular Mazda3 FTW :) Sorry I just had to throw that in there. lol

[Revenant]

First year models are usually a mess with problems. After the second year they've got most of the stuff fixed.

[Mocoso]

First year models are usually a mess with problems. After the second year they've got most of the stuff fixed.

Agreed and given we are soon into 2nd year production (actually there already) the motor mount issue shouldnt stop him from buying the car... if he didnt buy based on what is posted on a car forum he isnt going to buy ANY car - ALL cars (dont care what make and model) will have "oh sh.." issues posted on their respective forums....

[redspeed]

There is a recall in japan for the trans mount, so the 08 models will have the problem solved for sure.

[TorqSpeed5252]

I was just perusing the Mazda website and noticed they are touting the benefits of the 3 point "pendulum" engine mount system. It's under mazdaspeed-driving technology-driving refinement.

I may be wrong but I don't remember seeing this on the website when i was researching the car back in April. If this wasn't on their website back in April, could it be up as a result of the recent mount problems? Am I completely or only slightly insane? (crazy)

[I vtec, do you?]

Okay... so how many MS3 owners do you personally know who have had the motor mount issue? Frankly, I'm quite tired of hearing about it. This is my very first Mazda, so I can't say I have much experience with them; however, I do give the automakers a little more credit than to say, "gee~ I wonder if my engine will fall out tomorrow." God forbid such thing happens to my car, but that's what the warranty is for, right? *^_^*

I'd say if he likes the car, then let him buy it. Just say no more of the motor mount issue when you in fact have had no such experience yourself.

Considering I've only seen ONE mazdaspeed3 being driven in my life so far.. it's not likely that I know of any. But considering the fact that I skim these forums briefly, and I've seen two cases of it so far.. bite me.

Why worry about it? Maybe because that would be an expensive fucking fix once the warranty runs up..

Not only that, but my bro is still choppy with the manual, so who knows what could happen. Motor mounts that actually do their job would be a good start..

I know all first year models have their problems, but motors falling out shouldn't be one of them.

[CTGrey02]

Considering I've only seen ONE mazdaspeed3 being driven in my life so far.. it's not likely that I know of any. But considering the fact that I skim these forums briefly, and I've seen two cases of it so far.. bite me.

Why worry about it? Maybe because that would be an expensive fucking fix once the warranty runs up..

Not only that, but my bro is still choppy with the manual, so who knows what could happen. Motor mounts that actually do their job would be a good start..

I know all first year models have their problems, but motors falling out shouldn't be one of them.

While the attitude is completely unnecessary, your brothers concerns are valid. That said, I have yet to see a car built after February 07 have a failure in this way, and as such I ordered one that was built in April. The vast majority of us have not had this problem, but the number that have (lets face it, there's not all that many on the board and the last thread had 14 of us with failures... that's a pretty high sample rate right there). I'm hoping they release a better mount system for the cars, but until then I'm happy with everything it offers short of the complete lack of MP3 compatibility. That right there is my biggest gripe.

14 Failures out of 181 US MS3's on this board. That's an effective failure rate of 7% on this board alone.

[dread]

most of those failures are from another board, so you need to include them in the sample. Also people who have this problem are more likely to post.

[CTGrey02]

They were what ever was listed in Voicekoils failure thread. 14 of em. There's a list of MS3 owners on this forum and that's where I got the 181. A lot of those people post on both boards. Wouldn't you be likely to post if yours failed? What about the people who aren't on the board but have this happen? Who do they gripe to? Numbers are always skewed. Those were just the sample numbers available to us here.

[sierra248]

I hope they do make the mounts a TSB and if there really are no changes at all, there's enough 07's on lots aroung here that maybe I can get a deal on an 07. The wait for the 08's is killing me. I sold my HARLEY months.ago and had planned a new 07 speed3 GT. Now I'm just waiting for a road test by the mags on the 08 WRX, and unless its really great an 08 speed3 is my next car. The wrx interior looks good, the sedans exterior is ugly in pics and will prob be about 3 grand more, though I can buy wrx at invoice. I just need a reputable magazine to test the wrx before I go get the Mazda.

[Antonio DiMarco]

not even sure the car will be 2008 but if it does there shouldnt be a problem...the only cars on here that have had problems seem to be late 06 really early 07 production dates...i bought mine last year and no problems...there is already a aftermarket transmission mount upgrade which helps stiffen the car up but nothign so far on the side mount which cause the cars engine to drop to the side. He should worry about the motor mount because when he buys it it will have warranty for a few years.

Mine is coming in late August.

[Antonio DiMarco]

Okay... so how many MS3 owners do you personally know who have had the motor mount issue? Frankly, I'm quite tired of hearing about it. This is my very first Mazda, so I can't say I have much experience with them; however, I do give the automakers a little more credit than to say, "gee~ I wonder if my engine will fall out tomorrow." God forbid such thing happens to my car, but that's what the warranty is for, right? *^_^*

I'd say if he likes the car, then let him buy it. Just say no more of the motor mount issue when you in fact have had no such experience yourself.

The motor mount issues has been beaten to death. I don't even think the Pinto had this much press and that car blew up! :-)

[AeroSquid]

I will have a fix for you all on the MM issue this weekend. I have been working hard away at it.

unless it is covered by my warranty i'll pass.

[Hikaru9]

The motor mount issues has been beaten to death. I don't even think the Pinto had this much press and that car blew up! :-)

... and you're still in one piece! =P

(what's a Pinto anyway? o_O)

[Antonio DiMarco]

... and you're still in one piece! =P

(what's a Pinto anyway? o_O)

A Ford two door hatch from the 70's that would blow-up/catch on fire when rear-ended. There was an issue with the gas tank. It was well publicized.

[CTGrey02]

(what's a Pinto anyway? o_O)


Did you REALLY just ask that? Where you serious??????? In my opinion the motor mount issue needs to be beaten to death. I have yet to see it even mentioned in the press, and thats pretty much the only publicity that matters. A bunch of tools bitching on a message board is a common place occurrence and expected.

[Hikaru9]

Did you REALLY just ask that? Where you serious??????? In my opinion the motor mount issue needs to be beaten to death. I have yet to see it even mentioned in the press, and thats pretty much the only publicity that matters. A bunch of tools bitching on a message board is a common place occurrence and expected.

Of course, I'm a very serious person even if my apperance may suggest otherwise. I don't recall seeing them (Pinto?) in Asia when I was little, so that's my excuse for the ignorance. *^_^*

[CTGrey02]

Ahah! Azn Syndrome! heheh Yeah really though, Ford engineered them and knew that this would happen (fires from rear collission and the doors would jam locking people in the car) and just didn't really care. It was kinda like the Mustang II's lame cousin at the time. Gas crisis car. Now a days, people toss bad ass small blocks in em like they did the old Chevy Vega's and drag race em. They're good at that.

Here's a quick wiki recap on em.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto

[Hikaru9]

Ahah! Azn Syndrome! heheh Yeah really though, Ford engineered them and knew that this would happen (fires from rear collission and the doors would jam locking people in the car) and just didn't really care. It was kinda like the Mustang II's lame cousin at the time. Gas crisis car. Now a days, people toss bad ass small blocks in em like they did the old Chevy Vega's and drag race em. They're good at that.

Here's a quick wiki recap on em.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto

You bet! I thought my nick and my second nature usage of the smilies would have been a dead giveaway. *^_^*

Pinto sounds like a neat car... if I were suicidal. -_-;;

[CTGrey02]

Thats what made it fun!!! That said, I knew you were of Asian decent, just didn't pick up on the fact that you lived there for some time. I was just bustin your balls, lol

[Hikaru9]

Thats what made it fun!!! That said, I knew you were of Asian decent, just didn't pick up on the fact that you lived there for some time. I was just bustin your balls, lol

1/2 of my life. It's fun to be able to insult someone subtly in two languages. Not that I'd do that since I'm a friendly guy. ^_^;;

I will need those b _ _ _ s for my children, btw.