After 14500 miles and 11 months of ownership it finally happened...

[VRMS6]

Got my car Sept 23, 2007 and have put approx 14500 trouble free miles on it in 11 months. Minor mods (TXS BOV and a SU test pipe) and loving it.Factory oil changes every 5k miles as recommended and while I drive it spiritedly I dont abuse the car...
Today I went to lunch and got back to work with 25min left. Didnt want to go back to work early so I stayed in my car listening to Howard Stern... Weather today was a bit chilly temp in the 70s and rainy...
After about 15min of idling I noticed a huge cluod of smoke from the back of my car. I got out n looked and sure enough it was coming out of my cars tailpipes....Sigh... Guess I will reinstall my stock cat and BOV tomorrow and recheck to see if it still occures....(pissed)(pissed):'((bang)(sad1)(sad2) :mad:

[pmh67]

This sounds like a tsb I had read about 3 weeks ago about black smoke during prolonged idle. I'll try to track it down

[amp]

its a recognized turbo seal issue.. you should have no problem getting it covered under warranty...
make sure you head to the dealership with your oil receipts...

[tunersteve]

How long have you ran with the test pipe on? I'm worried mine might do the same, since my mods are similar to yours and I'm at about the same mileage.

[VRMS6]

I've had the SU test pipe for about 2 months now. No issues till just last week.
I have a copy of the M-tip that I will bring with me to the dealer.

[tunersteve]

I've had the SU test pipe for about 2 months now. No issues till just last week.
I have a copy of the M-tip that I will bring with me to the dealer.

Ok, I'll keep an eye out on mine when I idle for long periods. Can you post that M-tip up here so I can get a copy?

[VRMS6]

SMOKING FROM EXHAUST HOT ENGINE AT EXTENDED IDLE

Applicable Models

Model
Starting S/N
Ending S/N
Model Spec

MAZDA3 2007-2008
000000
ZZZZZZ


CX7 2007-2008
000000
ZZZZZZ


MAZDA6 2006-2007
000000
ZZZZZZ



Related Category/Subcategory/Symptoms

ENGINE / MECHANICAL / WHITE SMOKE,BLUE SMOKE
ENGINE / EMISSIONS / EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION
ENGINE / EMISSIONS / BLACK SMOKE

MTOL - 5505 Dealer Repair Information

Symptom and Conditions

Vehicles equipped with DISI engines may experience a hot engine extended idle smoking out of the exhaust condition. This condition may also occur while driving in traffic at very slow speeds.

Repair Procedure

To correctly identify this concern have the tech drive the vehicle to insure it is fully warmed up a road test of 5 miles should be adequate.
Once the engine is fully warmed up allow it to idle for an extended period, this could take up to 30 minutes to produce any type of smoke from the exhaust. Once the smoking has started shut down the engine and perform a compression test and a cylinder leak down test. If both tests results are ok, have the tech remove the precat from the turbo outlet and inspect the exhaust impeller in the turbo for any signs of oil on or around the impeller. The removing of the cat should only be done with a cold engine. Quiz the tech as to the oil change history (time & mileage) what weight oil is being used during vehicle services on vehicles with DISI engines. If there is any sign of oil in the turbo, have the tech replace the turbo, and recheck using the same procedure to confirm the concern is gone.



Standard compression is 185PSI @ 250 RPM
Leak down less than 10%
DISI Engines require 5W30 weight oil.

[Rutedown]

Got mine replace after 18K. Supposedly their are turbo replacements with improved seals because of this issue.

[tunersteve]

From what I have been told mine is one of the last MS6's to be built, so most of the recalls/TSBs don't include my VIN. I'm hoping that this will keep me from having to worry about an excessively smoky exhaust.

VR - is yours an '06 or '07?

[VRMS6]

mine is a 07 Speed6 purchased Sept 23, 2007 with 8 miles on the clock.

[kenpo1441]

The new turbos aren't any better or different than the original ones. I had a new one installed about 6k miles ago and started seeing smoke within the first 3k miles driven. I really think the only way to fix this issue is to either always run a stock exhaust or buy a better turbo (which equals no warranty).

1 question...why would he need receipts for oil changes?

[tunersteve]

The new turbos aren't any better or different than the original ones. I had a new one installed about 6k miles ago and started seeing smoke within the first 3k miles driven. I really think the only way to fix this issue is to either always run a stock exhaust or buy a better turbo (which equals no warranty).

1 question...why would he need receipts for oil changes?

The dealer may try to argue that it hasn't been properly maintained.

[VRMS6]

The dealer may try to argue that it hasn't been properly maintained.

Ding, Ding, Ding!!! Give that man a cigar....
Proof of proper maintenance is required. If oil not changesd at proper intervals/proper viscosity it may cause sludge buildup/undue wear on the turbo seals as the oil breaks down and doesnt do its job protecting the engine/seals...
Luckily ALL my LOFs are done at the dealer with me keeping my reciepts in a maintenance binder for just this kind of issue....

[tunersteve]

Ding, Ding, Ding!!! Give that man a cigar....
Proof of proper maintenance is required. If oil not changesd at proper intervals/proper viscosity it may cause sludge buildup/undue wear on the turbo seals as the oil breaks down and doesnt do its job protecting the engine/seals...
Luckily ALL my LOFs are done at the dealer with me keeping my reciepts in a maintenance binder for just this kind of issue....

This is what concerns me. I do all my own oil changes and keep a record (excel spreadsheet) if they would honor that. Nowhere does it state how it has to be kept, but it must be kept. Also, the supplier keeps records of when I order it from him. I'm using Total Excellium NF 5w-40 btw. I checked mine yesterday during a long idle and didn't see any signs of smoke.

[m4tic]

my dad noticed my car smoking the other day sitting idle for a bout 10-15min, a nice big cloud of smoke, almost like i just seafoamed my car. all i have is a txs test pipe and cpe single catback, only mods. I have my oil changed every 3-5k with receipts. i have about 26k on the clock.

[06_AtenzaKid]

lol im at 14,500 have CPE cai, FMIC and SU Testpipe, smoking like a chimney 24/7 and have CEL for bad cat/02 sensor...

[tunersteve]

How bad was your smoke VR? I was at Sonic in the drive-thru and saw a white cloud forming...pulled over and noticed it was smoking a decent amount. Imagine what exhaust looks like on a cold morning when you goose it. I think I'm just gonna play it safe and take it in.

[VRMS6]

looked like a old chrysler minivan with worn rings. smoke was very noticeable. Installed the stock cat and havent had time to let the car idle n recheck....
On a positive note I ordered the COBB Accessport today :) ....

[tunersteve]

looked like a old chrysler minivan with worn rings. smoke was very noticeable. Installed the stock cat and havent had time to let the car idle n recheck....
On a positive note I ordered the COBB Accessport today :) ....

First off, I'm jealous for you ordering the AP, but I need tires more than I need more power.

Second, I'd say mine wasn't quite that bad, and mine only did it after a short drive and a little idle time. I drove to school on the highway and left it idle for 5 minutes and it didn't smoke. Any suggestions?

[VRMS6]

Sat/Sun when your home sit in car n let it idle for bout 30 min. If no smoke then your golden. If it smokes then to the dealer you go...
As for tires I have a winter set of wheels/tires so my summers are only on for 8months a yr so they should last me thru next summer...

[tunersteve]

Sat/Sun when your home sit in car n let it idle for bout 30 min. If no smoke then your golden. If it smokes then to the dealer you go...
As for tires I have a winter set of wheels/tires so my summers are only on for 8months a yr so they should last me thru next summer...

Ok, I'll do that and see. I may be jumping the gun.

My stock Potenzas are 16,000 miles old and pretty bald. I'm picking up the PZero M&S all-seasons for now, then I'll pick up some new rims in the spring with tires and run two dedicated sets.

[wannabe]

i'm gonna have to test mine one of these days...

oh, and i always do my own oil changes, but i think that i can actually argue a point. the dealer did the first oil change, and they put in 5w20, as it shows on the service record. i can pull the whole "well you did it wrong, so why would I back to you" thing.

[Otacon_X]

I am taking mine down next week to have them diagnose it. We will see how that goes.

[tunersteve]

I sat in my car for 25 minutes after driving it 12 miles and the engine at normal operating temp. A/C on, reading a book while waiting for my tire guy to get back. No smoke. My only concern is the smell of burning oil when sitting at a light, but I've checked my dipstick frequently this week since the first sight of smoke and found no change (or none visible). I'm still thinking of doing this again, but I'm starting to think I may have had moisture in the tailpipe or something to that effect.

[tunersteve]

Update:

Last night I drove, then idled for about 45 minutes, and noticed when I pulled away that there was smoke in each of the gears. When I got home I let it idle again, no smoke, but the smell of oil through the exhaust. I'm not taking a chance anymore, and I'm heading to the dealer Monday.

[DenverSpeed6]

The smoke issue sounds like my spped6 i put in 0W-50 oil in my car and i ran 100 octain and OMFG white white smoke like no other , i went back to 93 and it was fine , can i not run 100 oct ? Not to mention , im starting to smell moldy egg smell out of my pipes hehe

[m4tic]

stinky egg smell is when your cats are burning an excessivley rich mixture, like from running 100 octane and not being tuned for it. (100 has a higher resistance to burn/detonation, so you have lots of unburnt fuel)

[tunersteve]

Back to stock for me today, tried to take pics of the smoking, but haven't uploaded them yet. I'll post them later hopefully. After 10 minutes doing the 'M-tip' test, it started smoking.

[gte024h]

nm

[tunersteve]

Can anyone confirm this...doesn't Mazda have a revised part # to fix this problem? I believe I heard that somewhere.

[wannabe]

Can anyone confirm this...doesn't Mazda have a revised part # to fix this problem? I believe I heard that somewhere.

thats what i have heard as well.

[tunersteve]

I have an appointment at the dealer tomorrow at 7:30 am to address this and a few other issues, I'll keep everyone posted on my findings.

[tunersteve]

UPDATE:

I got a call from the dealer a little bit ago, and after attempting to do the test 3 times, they have been unable to get the car to smoke. They are going to try it again, and if they can't get it, they'll leave it as is. I still need to post the video of the smoking, and that might be my only way to get it worked on.

[JaxJeff]

I finally noticed mine smoking also after sitting for like 10 min . But mine goes away almost immediately after I start driving. I'm just wondering if a little smoke necessarily means turbo seal ? It seems like people who smoke with the bad seals smoke all the time when hot ? BTW I've only noticed mine smoke twice so far over a 2 week period

[coyfish]

Why are test pipes causing so many smoking problems? Its just a tube that replaces a bent tube. Is it because you lose 1 cat that absorbs all that smoke so you cant see it with stock exhaust? I just installed my test pipe a few weeks ago and I dont want any smoke :(

[tunersteve]

I finally noticed mine smoking also after sitting for like 10 min . But mine goes away almost immediately after I start driving. I'm just wondering if a little smoke necessarily means turbo seal ? It seems like people who smoke with the bad seals smoke all the time when hot ? BTW I've only noticed mine smoke twice so far over a 2 week period

You have the exact same scenario I have. If I drive it while its smoking, it goes away, but if you let it sit, it's just faint enough to see. Here is all the info I can try and provide, it's not much, but its what I've got:

(for some reason it won't let me upload the movie)

[tunersteve]

Dealer called today, couldn't get it to smoke. Asked me about my oil changes, told them I was using 5w-40, they said that shouldn't be a problem, but to try 5w-30 and see if it goes away.

[suffolkspeed6]

lmao wow these k04's blow the big one because i have the same problem ive got 13k miles and put my dp and full 3" exhaust and no faster was it in did i find i was smoking like that and smelling oil it sucks but the only fix is a better turbo and if u dnt want problems or worries just go spend the money on a garret gt28 series turbos there better then the crappy borg and warrner k04 we have stock but wont damage internals like th 30 series

[tunersteve]

Mine still smells of oil from time to time and barely puffs smoke, but they won't do anything about it...

[bova80]

lmao wow these k04's blow the big one because i have the same problem ive got 13k miles and put my dp and full 3" exhaust and no faster was it in did i find i was smoking like that and smelling oil it sucks but the only fix is a better turbo and if u dnt want problems or worries just go spend the money on a garret gt28 series turbos there better then the crappy borg and warrner k04 we have stock but wont damage internals like th 30 series


the only fix is not a bigger turbo. try a heavier weight oil. 5w40 FTW.

[Afroman]

Good Luck on your repairs.

I have an 06 Speed6 which started smoking at 25k. I didnt have very good oil change records since I did them myself. Just a few reciepts from Autozone and my credit card statement showing I made the purchase. I never thought something like this would happen, I figured if I kept it bone stock it would run great. My mistake.

I argued for months with the dealer to get my car fixed. I finally called Mazda USA and lit a fire under thier butts. 10 minutes after that phone call the dealer wanted my car to fix it.

Everything was done under warrenty and I didnt pay a dime. Now I have no more smoke (hoorrraaayyy). They completely replaced the turbo and sent it back to Mazda. Dealer had trouble getting the smoke as well. Sometimes for me it would be minor then it would billow out like an old clunker.

They were very adiment (spelling) about oil change reciepts! I also noticed that the recommended oil for the car on their service sheets was 5w-20... which is of course WRONG.

Keep on top of it. I argued that although my documents werent stellar, why not pull off my valve cover and look at my engine. I only use 5W-30 Mobil 1 super synthetic. You could eat off my cams if you wanted to.

[TX Speed 6]

You could eat off my cams if you wanted to.

No I would not like green eggs and ham on your cam

Sorry, had to do it.

[tunersteve]

On my way home between shifts I noticed puffs of smoke once again. I'm thoroughly pissed. Got home, let it idle, and could smell oil around the car. Checked the dipstick, no problem there. Dealer is getting a call tomorrow morning and I want the turbo replaced.

[cprtrainer]

tunersteve-
Are you noticing any oil consumption? Does it smell like oil or worse?

I always smell smoke (never see any)- smells "heavy" like burning gear oil- the undercarriage is clean and dry. I dropped about 1/2 quart after 2500 miles. Mines an 06 w/ 35k.

[tunersteve]

tunersteve-
Are you noticing any oil consumption? Does it smell like oil or worse?

I always smell smoke (never see any)- smells "heavy" like burning gear oil- the undercarriage is clean and dry. I dropped about 1/2 quart after 2500 miles. Mines an 06 w/ 35k.

I will smell oil, but not see any change in the dipstick (check it every 2 weeks) and see smoke at idle and under moderate acceleration, but not all the time. I'd like to see if theres any shaft play or something else wrong with the turbo at the dealer.

[cprtrainer]

Okay thanks. Keep us posted!

[tunersteve]

I'm debating on whether or not to take my turbo inlet off. Thoughts?

[ringolake]

You're thinking the inlet is adding to the problem?

[tunersteve]

No, I'm debating about taking it off when I take it back into the dealer to have it looked at.

[VRMS6]

lmao wow these k04's blow the big one because i have the same problem ive got 13k miles and put my dp and full 3" exhaust and no faster was it in did i find i was smoking like that and smelling oil it sucks but the only fix is a better turbo and if u dnt want problems or worries just go spend the money on a garret gt28 series turbos there better then the crappy borg and warrner k04 we have stock but wont damage internals like th 30 series




You may want to fix your keyboard. Seems your "." key, "shift" key and "," key do not work.....;)

[tunersteve]

Here's mine, it's currently at the dealer:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4809691720003977225&hl=en

I will start a thread documenting this phenomenon after I get more info. Keep an eye out for it.

[Kitus66]

Yap! Same problem here! I've got the smoking issue at about 30k,brought it to the dealer and they fixed and replaced the turbo seal under warranty, did'nt pay a dime.
I bought extended warranty up to 75k, so if it happens again, i'm up for a new seal again or new turbo.

[tunersteve]

Got the call from Mazda earlier, the turbo is being replaced.

[sykopat]

It's nice to hear that Mazda is replacing the turbos on these issues. I experienced the issue only once, a couple of months ago, and as far as I noticed, never happened again. I guess I'll have to wait for my turbo to fail while I still have that extended warranty before I start modding it too much. I wanted so much to put a Corksport exhaust on it, but from my past experience, the dealers will blame it on the mods, for sure.

[tunersteve]

Well, it's known that Mazda has come out with revisions on the turbo already. From two sources of mine, the 'C' revision has an updated turbo seal design that should allow reduced back pressure and not blow oil past the seals. I've found it in use as far back as Sept. 08, but it might have been installed prior to that.

I'm going to try and post more info as I get it, stay tuned.

[sykopat]

Great, let us know!

[wannabe]

Well, it's known that Mazda has come out with revisions on the turbo already. From two sources of mine, the 'C' revision has an updated turbo seal design that should allow reduced back pressure and not blow oil past the seals. I've found it in use as far back as Sept. 08, but it might have been installed prior to that.

I'm going to try and post more info as I get it, stay tuned.

good info.

[tunersteve]

Here's the thread I created specifically for this. I will sticky it as more info is generated:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123738005

[jville]

Yea mazda replaced my turbo at about 18k miles, but when i went to put my DP and Manifold on there were ALOT of loose nuts and bolts. Like barely fingertight. You could see on the stock manifold where the exhaust was creeping to the one corner where it connects to the turbo! Kinda pissed me off. And now that my block is holy i'm nervous about them putting in an engine, that is IF they do it.

[tunersteve]

Yea mazda replaced my turbo at about 18k miles, but when i went to put my DP and Manifold on there were ALOT of loose nuts and bolts. Like barely fingertight. You could see on the stock manifold where the exhaust was creeping to the one corner where it connects to the turbo! Kinda pissed me off. And now that my block is holy i'm nervous about them putting in an engine, that is IF they do it.

Go post your info in the other thread.