check engine light, after 2 weeks 1100 miles

[Daotan]

6i, yup thats right. took it in on Saturday, hoping its something minor, i stayed well within the break-in limits, not going to make any judgements until i find out what the problem is, got it back last night and, took the car home, sat around for a while, took my girlfriend home and on the way back home guess what? CHECK ENGINE LIGHT!!!! taking it back in obviously, i will keep you guys posted

i am going to research it myself but if anyone knows the lemon laws in california, i would appreciate your opinion on wether or not it is applicable in my case, i dunno, it hasn't come to that yet, i just wanna drive my car!! this is seriously degrading my enjoyment of the vehicle, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE DARN THING!!!

thanks!

[JunkPunch]

You said "got it back". Did you have it in the first time for a CEL? If so, what was the problem then?

[Daotan]

Originally posted by JunkPunch
You said "got it back". Did you have it in the first time for a CEL? If so, what was the problem then?

first time was the CEL also, the said they reflashed the ECU, gave me a song and dance about the gas cap not being on properly or maybe i hit the remote too many time in quick succesion, bah

i had to drive a Focus for the weekend! i had a trip to San Diego planned so i drove it (the focus), no choice, well at least I got to put the miles on some other car instead of the 6

[JunkPunch]

Well, it could be the gas cap. A lot of cars throw a CEL if the gas cap is not on right. Some auto stores (like AutoZone) will scan the car for free when you have a CEL, and tell you the cause. That doesn't fix it, but if you are near one and can stop by quickly, you can save yourself the hassle of going to the dealer. Most of the time a CEL will be completely harmless.

[Daotan]

agreed the check engine light may be harmless right now but it still needs to be fixed, if i just let it stay on how will i know when there IS something seriously wrong

i am more upset about the time wasted, extra miles driven, and not being able to drive my car

thanks for your replies!!

[azeli73]

I would take Junks advise and hit a autozone or checker. That way if the dealer trys to dick you around again you'll know what is causing the CEL.

[Daotan]

why wouldn't the dealer just tell me what the code was? its not like they are making any money on me at the service counter, i would think they would want to get rid of me

i actually asked him what the code was the first time and he said he doesn't remember, is he a liar? this time i will insist he tell me

but yeah, if it happens again, its off to autozone for me, and the kid-gloves come off

[t3ase]

A CEL came on on my M6 loaner car this last weekend. I called the dealer and they told me it was a known issue with all Mazda6's. Just take it to the dealer, they should be able to reflash the ECU (again) or something.

[Daotan]

update: the dealer says that the codes were different from the first time, i am picking it up today

[JunkPunch]

Ask the dealer for a printout from the scanner on what the codes were. If you keep getting random codes, you might just have a grounding/wiring problem with the ECU. I've seen that happen a bunch of times.

[Daotan]

turns out the charcoal canister in the fuel tank is filled with gas, this is what the guy told me

he asked me if i top-off the tank when i fill up, i said no, not usually, i have only filled this car up 2x and both times i know i didn't top off

he kept saying newer cars have this problem when people top off at the pump, and gas gets into the charcoal canister, the charcoal canister is there to control emissions

conincedently thats what he said about the a/c, he said 'newer' cars' a/c doesn't get as cold as the older ones

i say BS, i have had plenty of 'new' cars, and the a/c isn't as bad, furthermore i have never had this 'topping off' problem he is describing

i am so pissed, i haven't seen my car since fri, they also had my car all day yesterday and when i called at 4pm he said the mechanic is just now looking at it, if they are that understaffed they need to hire more mechanics, now they say they have to order the part and i don't get my car until fri (tomorrow)

i dunno, i have been more than patient, its time to make some noise

[JunkPunch]

New cars AC is NOT as powerful as older cars, that is true. Some new cars have ice cold AC but a lot of them are underpowered. My 91 Audi would nearly freeze me to death but my Protege5 and my 03 Jetta just get cold enough. If it is REALLy bad, ask them to recharge the system just to make sure there isn't a leak or something.

The charcoal canister thing sounds strange to me. I haven't heard of that problem but maybe it is a design problem and not just you doing something wrong.

Good luck with all of that, I would make all the noise you can!

[Midnight22]

i top off my P5 all the time, never had any type of problems with my car, might be design, or it might be the dealer, g'luck with ur car tho

[mason448]

my check engine light came on about the same time....turns out I hadnt clicked tight the gas cap!.....the engine management computer is that sensitive

[NYYDYNASTY]

good to know about toping of though....lol

[n8dawgg]

The problem is an improper programming of the powertrain control module. causing a trouble code to be stored. You should recieve letter from mazda explaing a recall.

[Mazdaspeed6S]

Another recall? Damn I already have to take it in to 2 recalls taken care of...

[NYYDYNASTY]

what was the other one?

[Mazdaspeed6S]

One - Fog Light Recall (Could catch fire)
Two - Brake Fluid Reservoir (Could cause the sensor for the fluid to malfunction)
Third - Powertrain Control Module (this thread)

[NYYDYNASTY]

cool....nothing MAJOR, I see lol :D

[n8dawgg]

3 different recalls sooo soon, hmm..

[Mazdaspeed6S]

The foglights affected quite a few Miata's & MPV's as well. This is just a common part that Mazda uses on quite a few vehicles. The brake reservoir deal is just a possible bad sensor for the fluid. Nothing is set in stone about this 3rd recall. I have never heard of it before this thread. I would say none of these recalls are that big of a deal.

[NYYDYNASTY]

I hesitate, though, listening to the many minor problems the plague the 6. makes me think twice about buying it

[Mazdaspeed6S]

Originally posted by NYYDYNASTY
I hesitate, though, listening to the many minor problems the plague the 6. makes me think twice about buying it

I would drive it before making your ultimae decision.

Fortunately I have not been affected by any of the problems. I consider the recalls an inconvienance, but both fixes take less than 2 hours. I would ask your dealer to go ahead and fix them before you take ownership if you end up buying it...

[Rampage]

I have a Mazda6S I bought at the end of March. The Check Engine Light has come on 6 times between then and today and I only have 7200 miles on it....The first time it came on was May 27th at around 4100 miles.

After the dealer performed the 2 recalls I got in July (Something with the Brake Fluid Resoivoir and Check Engine Light Software update), it still didn't work.

It gives a fuel/emissions error code of P0456

We sent off paperwork to Mazda Corp in CA instituting the Maryland Lemon Law last Monday (28 Jul). The car was in the shop at that time....we just got it back Wednesday and they said there is another computer update coming out in August 2003 that SHOULD fix my problem.

We'll see....if it doesn't Mazda is going to have to give me a new car according to the Lemon Law. We don't want to get a refund and turn it in cause we LOVE this car....we just want Mazda to fix it NOW or give us a new 6 exactly like the one we have now.

BTW...My Charcoal Canister is also saturated and Mazda Tech would not send the part to my dealer to fix that until they fix this problem forst.

[Jer]

Ummm yeah that makes sense cause they are related issues right, I suppose if it's going back anyways I could see it, but if there is something coming that's supposed to fit it?? geez

[Mazdaspeed6S]

I have to take mine in for the recalls tomorrow, while I am there I am going to ask about the other recalls and the ECU flash... I will let you know tomorrow what I find out.