The Official Story of How Mazda F**ked Me

[daedalus]

I just thought I would make a thread to tell you exactly what happened in the case of my engine warrenty claim and how the issue finally ended up. Hopefully this can be of use to someone in my position in the future.

I purchased the car in Georgia and my father drove the car 1000 miles back to me in Nebraska. I took ownership of the car and drove it for roughly 320 miles. I started the car up and was still letting it warm up (I allways would let it fully warm before engaging boost) when crusing about 40-45mph and I went to pass a car and then I heard a distinct knocking coming from the #1 Cylinder. I proceeded to immediatly shut the car off and coast into a parking lot where I got the car towed by AAA to our local dealership Woodhouse Mazda.

This happened on a Saturday night, after the service dept. had closed, so I got a call early Monday morning from a Service man named Josh. He wanted to know what happened and told me that the #1 Cylinder was definatly knocking and that they would start breaking into it to examine it. One hour later Josh called me back and informed me that my car was not stock. Please keep in mind that I purchased the car in comletely stock form, there was no visible alteration to anything in the engine bay, and the window sticker said it had a full factory warrenty. Josh informed me that the car had a Cold Air Intake installed on it at one time and that the increase in air flow to the engine probably had caused a rod to snap or a piston to shatter. I was outraged at the blatent lie and when I asked him how that was physically possible his response was that they had allready repaired 4 MSPs with cold air intakes on them that had cracked rods. This was a lie b/c there arent even 4 MSPs in town.

Josh preceded to tell me that for them to take a look inside the engine and diagnos it I would have to approve a 300.00 tear down expense. I asked why it wasnt covered under warrenty, and he told me that the tear down would determine whether or not I would have to pay for it. They then proceeded to tear the engine apart and find that the engine had been spun a bearing due to lack of oil in the engine. The regional rep for mazda voided warrenty repair on the engine due to the lack of oil. Josh then told me that it was probably someone who didnt like me and drained oil out of the drainplug causing damage to the engine. He also promptly quoted me 6300.00 for repair.

Anyone who has ever worked on their MSP knows that it is impossible to drain oil while the car is on the ground. This was lie #3. I then filed a dispute claim with mazda NA, and contacted an attorney. The final judgement was that the car was modified b/c the vacume hose clamps were not factory and therefore someone had raised the boost on the car. I talked to Chris, the Service Manager and he told me the same thing. I told him that the Magnus Moss act of 1975 states that he had to produce evidence that the clamps being altered caused the engine to fail. He said that he did not have to do such a thing, and that Mazda never followed the Magnus Moss act and could just shoot it down in court. To avoid going postal, I left.

My car sat in the air at Woodhouse for two weeks. Nothing changed, no one would help. THe car dealership in GA wouldnt buy back the car, or do anything to help me. WOodhouse wouldnt do anything to help me b/c they wanted an extra 6300.00 in their pockets. I talked to service managers in different states that told me point blank that if my car was in their shop it would've allready been fully repaired free of charge under warrenty. Finally, I picked up my car and had it towed to my buddies shop on wed after payiny my 300.00 tear down fee.

A couple things you should know, and that i learned.
(1). Mazda DOES read this forum - A LOT. They had exact transcripts of every thread I had opened in the service managers hands before i went in to see him.
(2). Dont be 18 and want your car fixed. Pay an old man to represent you when you go in there, otherwise the dealership will just push you around.
(3). NEVER EVER EVER GO TO WOODHOUSE MAZDA IN OMAHA NEBRASKA FOR ANYTHING.
(4). My car was spewing oil out the tailpipe the entire time i owned it, but never made any blue smoke. If you see black specs on your bumper you might be in trouble.
(5). Arson is a perfectly good alternative to trying to talk to someone at a Dealership.
(6). If you buy a car that is stock, the dealer says is stock, you can still get fucked over by Mazda, or a independent dealership, or in this case both.

What I really think is that we should start a list of dealerships that treat their customers like shit, and those that treat their customers good. So that members here can not only know where to go, but who to watch out for before they get fucked over. Just make it a sticky. Other forums, like evoltuionm.net do it, why shouldnt we?

[txrxs]

Classic bullshit...luckily my dealership is real nice(so far at least they have been). Good luck man, you'll rebuild it stronger and faster.

[mp3josh]

that sux! I love mazda cars, but Mazdausa sucks at life!

[Dexter]

Anyone who has ever worked on their MSP knows that it is impossible to drain oil while the car is on the ground.
Uhh, right. I can undo the drain plug while the car is still on the ground. I've done it many times.

Oh, and also: eat horse penis Mazda service/warranty reps.

[Matthew]

mazdausa, click my sig for my mods you assholes..and click into the group buys as well and buy some fucking parts so i can get some more parts to void more of my warranty.

BUT FUCK YOU ASSHOLES, BECAUSE VOIDED WARRANTY IN THE SHOP /= VOIDED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE WHICH I USE CONSTANTLY!

(dark)

[low_psi]

Damn, that really blows. I'm enjoying my warranty and I've got quite a list of work to be done by my dealership before anything aftermarket comes near my car.

[JHew84]

seriously, i dont plan on doing ANY modifications to my car until the warranty is up, is a turbo timer considered a mod??? it doesn't stress anything out, and all its really doing is HELPING the car, but i wonder if they would view it differently...

[Dexter]

turbo timer got me shot down right away for asking them to fix the subwoofer. eat me.

[Matthew]

turbo timer got me shot down right away for asking them to fix the subwoofer. eat me.
:wtf:

idiots. its pathetic we know more than them, and THEY are the techs. i wonder how their trainnig works? they give them tapes to listen to in their sleep: "you changed the brakes? that voids your radio warranty. you filled up the gas tank too full, so you flooded your pistons. you waxed your car so the shift knob is not covered."

[Dexter]

i couldnt even argue with the fuckers. they just like to play hard ass and i dont have the patience to deal with that bullshit. i dont fucking play games.

[Matthew]

id love to see a picture of you dexter. youre probably like 4'8" and 110lbs wet. lol, but you come across as such a pissed off person.

[Dexter]

im 6'1" and 150lbs. and yeah, i guess im a pissed off person...which has nothing to do with my build...

[Matthew]

thats still stupid, what was their reasoning behind the turbo timer relating to the sub?

[mp3josh]

this is why protegegarage.com closed down.

Bryan shot Ken with a flare gun!
http://mazdafamilia.com/albums/mazdateam/DSC00607.jpg

[Dexter]

thats still stupid, what was their reasoning behind the turbo timer relating to the sub?
The subwoofer and amp are part of the electrical system (no, shit?) and installing the turbo timer could have induced spikes or other anomalies in the system and destroyed the amp/subwoofer.

[Dexter]

i took ken out good.

[pdhaudio83]

bastards. i guess an aftermarket amp could cause more power in the alternator, which in turn, could spin the belts faster, in turn, making more power.
^^^
Mazdas way of thinking of things

holy shit mazda usa-- die now.

[JHew84]

ya, they seem to be even worse than subaru, and i've heard some bad things about subaru... i can say 100% for sure now, that my car is going to remain 100% stock until the warranty is up, fuck i might not even install the greddy auto timer that i bought before i even got the car :(...

has anyone had them give you greif about gauge installations?? cus if i can't install a boost gauge i'm gonna go postal on MazdaUSA...

[cvp0917]

my friend went to because he has what i think is a vacuum leak cause hes running like 10-12 psi and hes totally stock. he took it in there and they told him his boost gauge is causing the boost spikes and thus voids his engine warranty. fucking stupid if you ask me. you they would get pissed i install new rca wires for my amp if i go in to have my heater temp knob looked at?

[lasermp5]

Just take a shotgun next time and shoot them in the face for me. Thanks :D

[mspdfreak]

This ain't just Mazda, boys. They're doing this shit on EVO's, SRT's and WRx's, too. Anyone under the age of thirty is going to get this treatment. They automatically assume you're modding, and will stop at nothing to bring you down.

[Tommy1005]

good thing I have some wicked lawyers on my side, hopefully I won't have to go through all this crap.

[pdhaudio83]

I'm glad my service manager knows me on a first name basis, and that he's cool. I've also given him some gift certificates to my work because he believes me, trusts me, and doesn't give me bullshit. I also send him a lot of business- not just warranty work, either. :)

[Notorious]

Did you call MazdaUSA to bitch? When I have a problem and I get denied service I call that 800 number everyday until I get results. Without a doubt this will be the last mazda I will own.

[Bhamsan]

My question is, how did they know it was YOU on these forums? I mean, I find it hard to be able to track me down, since I don't know the production number of my MSP, and I don't have very much information posted as it is that would lead them to believe beyond a resonable doubt, that I online am really the same person who comes into the shop to make a warranty claim. I'd hate to be some poor sap who goes into some shop in San Jose and makes a warranty claim and they pull up all my posts to say that person was modding their car when in fact, they really weren't. Seems kind of fucked up to me.

Is the warranty law federal or state? If it is a state law then it would only be valid in that particular state, and if it were a federal law, it'd probably be challenged as unconstitutional because it interfered with interstate commerce. So to everyone making all these crazy warranty claims saying you know the law and this and that, make sure its the right law because in some instances, Mazda might be protected by the law, as much as a bitch as that sounds.

[JHew84]

I'm glad my service manager knows me on a first name basis, and that he's cool. I've also given him some gift certificates to my work because he believes me, trusts me, and doesn't give me bullshit. I also send him a lot of business- not just warranty work, either. :)

hm... i might be contacting you if/when i need some warranty work done :D... i've been meaning to ask anyway, where are a few authorized MS dealers in michigan? I know there isn't in lansing (and i live literally a block away from a mazda dealership, pissed me off they weren't authorized to do warranty work on MS's)...

and Bhamsan, tracking ones IP is not very hard, i believe it may even be open to the public for viewing (some forums are like that), all they have to do is cross check your IP here, with your ISP, and they've got you, then its just a matter of doing a few quick searchs of your user name and now they know everything that you've posted here, what you have purchased, what mods you installed, so on... if they tried to deny me warranty work, and showed me information posted by someone else, i would probably shove the paper down their throats and call the corporate offices, and i doubt they want that to happen, so they probably look into it a lot before the use information posted on forums towards denying warranty work... heres an idea tho, before you go in for warranty work, just go through and edit EVERY post you've made about modifications to read "HAHAHAHA, you'll never know mazda fucks!!!!!!!!" :D..

[JHew84]

Without a doubt this will be the last mazda I will own.

i am afraid you will not find any better at another car company, unless you are looking into getting into a KIA, or a Saturn, i've even heard some horror stories with them as well, but this is not a problem with JUST mazda, subaru is TERRIBLE about their warranty work, as well as volkswagen, hell even my grandma almost got denied work on her passat, the coil packs went bad (common problem with the 1.8T apparently) and after the 3rd time they said it was her fault, and they wouldn't fix it, i decided to go in with her and give them a little bit of, well, persuasion :D, and they fixed it, but still, they hassled a 65 y/o woman, how fucked is that?

[Bhamsan]

and Bhamsan, tracking ones IP is not very hard, i believe it may even be open to the public for viewing (some forums are like that), all they have to do is cross check your IP here, with your ISP, and they've got you, then its just a matter of doing a few quick searchs of your user name and now they know everything that you've posted here, what you have purchased, what mods you installed, so on...
That seems like invasion of privacy to me. Its not like its a matter of national security, so I don't know if thats permissable. I find it hard for them to be able to track me since my ISP here is not in the same address as my ISP where my car is registered for, nor are they even under the same names, so I find it hard for the to be able to track me. But those fuckers are sneaky as shit, so I don't know...

[BlkZoomZoom]

daedalus- The only way what Mazda did makes any sense to me is if you bought the car used. And more than likely not from a Mazda dealership? If so the story makes sense, if not I find it very hard to believe. The dealership gets paid to do warranty work, it takes alot for them to deny something (believe it or not).

And no there is no great conspiracy of Mazda corp. employees on this website looking to void your warranties. If they have printouts of this website then its most likely from an employee that is also a Mazda enthusiast.


jewh84- I'll give you an example of why a part of your warranty may be denied because of a boost gauge installation. (This is a true story, I had to diag. this.)

A MSP customer installed a boost gauge in his car. Two weeks later he noticed his car seemed alot more sluggish than normal and his gas mileage went through the floor. I got the car for that complaint (nothing was said about boost gauge just being installed). I found the a/c compressor staying on all the time. Long story short after 3 hrs of chasing all wires known to man I found the way he installed his boost gauge wires in a way that it supplied a constant power feed to the compressor. So I spent 3hrs. on something that Mazda wasn't gonna pay me for, thus it turned to customer pay.

[Dexter]

A MSP customer installed a boost gauge in his car. Two weeks later he noticed his car seemed alot more sluggish than normal and his gas mileage went through the floor. I got the car for that complaint (nothing was said about boost gauge just being installed). I found the a/c compressor staying on all the time. Long story short after 3 hrs of chasing all wires known to man I found the way he installed his boost gauge wires in a way that it supplied a constant power feed to the compressor. So I spent 3hrs. on something that Mazda wasn't gonna pay me for, thus it turned to customer pay.
can you explain how he managed to do this?

[BlkZoomZoom]

He basically bypassed the hi/low pressure switch. He shorted the system together in a way that he simulated the signal wire from the pcm. Then he used the feed line back to the hi/low pressure switch as a ground wire(brown and blue I think). Basically it used the 2nd. half of the a/c circuit and the a/c compressor as the ground. He told me later that he had used a test light to check for power and grounds.

[BlkZoomZoom]

Basically it was dumb luck. If someone asked me to make this happen it would've taken me hours/days to figure it out.

[pro00]

What I really think is that we should start a list of dealerships that treat their customers like shit, and those that treat their customers good. So that members here can not only know where to go, but who to watch out for before they get fucked over. Just make it a sticky. Other forums, like evoltuionm.net do it, why shouldnt we?
i'm in bro
god, i hate stealerships
i have two on my list right now
you show me the thread, heck, i 'll start it

[DigitalHeadShot]

seriously, i dont plan on doing ANY modifications to my car until the warranty is up, is a turbo timer considered a mod??? it doesn't stress anything out, and all its really doing is HELPING the car, but i wonder if they would view it differently...

mazda will void your warrenty for it, trust me they told me they would.

[stevesMSP]

That really sucks and I hope Mazda reads this thank god I have never had a problem with my car I dont like my dealership Mazda Gallery in NORWOOD MA. and dont even take my car there for oil changes because the service department are A--holes and because of that I will never buy another MADZA again!!!!! screw mazda MY FIRST NEW CAR THANKS MAZDA NA

[Notorious]

It actually goes past the warranty work. The fact they released the car with the original ecu, klunking suspension, and other defects shows that they rushed the car. I'm not sure if you read the boards a year and a half ago but mazda was completely unwilling to fix the problems with the msp. We were told time and time again "its a characteristic of the car". I agree most car companies warranty programs suck, probably because people try to cheat them and then the innocent gets screwed in the end. I'm not expecting lexus level service but there is definate room for improvement.





i am afraid you will not find any better at another car company, unless you are looking into getting into a KIA, or a Saturn, i've even heard some horror stories with them as well, but this is not a problem with JUST mazda, subaru is TERRIBLE about their warranty work, as well as volkswagen, hell even my grandma almost got denied work on her passat, the coil packs went bad (common problem with the 1.8T apparently) and after the 3rd time they said it was her fault, and they wouldn't fix it, i decided to go in with her and give them a little bit of, well, persuasion :D, and they fixed it, but still, they hassled a 65 y/o woman, how fucked is that?

[pro00]

it is unfortunate, that IMO, mazda as a car, is very nice
but having to deal with the dealership, it is like going and getting a circumcision.
it ruins the whole experience of owning a mazda

[BlkZoomZoom]

Notorious- huh? You were only told that it was "characteristics of the car" because Mazda hadn't released the needed parts for a repair therefore Dealerships had no way of fixing them. If you think those three problems are bad, try owning a VW. Talk about rush jobs. For 5 months after the release of the Touraeg no dealership could program keys for it. If you lost the keys you were screwed.

I still have faith in Mazda, as a car and company..... You should see all the programs they are starting to get more information from the customers on what they need to improve etc.

[MSPRO]

my dealership has taken care of me very well, they know that i wasn't expecting any major work out of my warrenty so they stil fixed the little things. sure when my lsd broke i was mad, but i have a modded car, if you want to play you have to pay. and now that i have over 50k i dont have to worry about mazda and warrenty anymore which is fine with me.

[txmzdspd2gen]

All these things are so scary... gives me goosebumps just reading all these. Ive owned mazda since the 80's and actually never owned anything other than mazdas. Ive never had any problem with my dealership maybe cos i didnt have the MSP then. I got my msp from a different dealership and i got screwd over, BIGTIME. With all the ist i have them to do for my car only 3 got done and all are easy ones. It took them a day and 2 hrs cos i waited 2 hours more to get the car. One tech even asked me if my car was modified cos he never seen a car like that.Told him its bone stock and hes like "WOW, where did you get that". Im up for my check again for the final time before my one year so hope my old dealership would help me out with all my problems.

I HOPE MAZDA READS THIS>>TRY TO SCREW ME AND ILL BE OWNING OTHER BRAND OF CAR>>

[Larone]

What I don't get is, some Mazda Dealerships have the Injen intakes for sale at their parts dept. (eg. Gunther Mazda in FL), and also Mazda were the ones that loaned Turbo Mag a MSP and they knew exactly what Turbo mag was going to do. Why would they do all of this if they'd just void warranty work anyway?

[girth]

Notorious- huh? You were only told that it was "characteristics of the car" because Mazda hadn't released the needed parts for a repair therefore Dealerships had no way of fixing them. If you think those three problems are bad, try owning a VW. Talk about rush jobs. For 5 months after the release of the Touraeg no dealership could program keys for it. If you lost the keys you were screwed.

I still have faith in Mazda, as a car and company..... You should see all the programs they are starting to get more information from the customers on what they need to improve etc.
Yeah but what Notorious is saying is that many of the dealerships wouldn't even ACKNOWLEDGE that the problems existed. Since Mazda didn't have a "fix", the problem didn't exist, that's the way most dealerships think. That's why people get so pissed off at dealerships too because they are our only voice to MazdaUSA -- every time we tried contacting MazdaUSA directly about the problems they'd just say "take it to your dealership for a professional diagnosis". So we'd do that and the dealership would say "could not recreate customer concern" or "that's how the car is." Ugh! I get pissed just thinking about all that BS!

[BlkZoomZoom]

yeah...I agree they should come up with better ways to relay messages. The only problem is the commnication between Mazdausa and the individual dealerships. At a couple of points you guys knew more about updated parts coming than I or the Mazda Tech support groups. That meant we didn't even know new parts were coming and when there is not many of these on the roads, we didn't even know these were wide-spread problems.

I'm not defending all dealerships, some dealerships ethics are quite questionable.

[Notorious]

The point isn't that mazda is the only car company that does this, there are others but they should be held to a higher standard. I never had a problem (warranty or dealership concerns) with my hondas or my lexus like I do with Mazdas. Don't get me wrong, mazda makes great cars but there customer service, dealerships, and problem solving techniques need significant improvement.


Notorious- huh? You were only told that it was "characteristics of the car" because Mazda hadn't released the needed parts for a repair therefore Dealerships had no way of fixing them. If you think those three problems are bad, try owning a VW. Talk about rush jobs. For 5 months after the release of the Touraeg no dealership could program keys for it. If you lost the keys you were screwed.

I still have faith in Mazda, as a car and company..... You should see all the programs they are starting to get more information from the customers on what they need to improve etc.

[JHew84]

The point isn't that mazda is the only car company that does this, there are others but they should be held to a higher standard. I never had a problem (warranty or dealership concerns) with my hondas or my lexus like I do with Mazdas. Don't get me wrong, mazda makes great cars but there customer service, dealerships, and problem solving techniques need significant improvement.

why should mazda be held to a higher standard? their cars are very affordable, since their cars are that much cheaper than other car companys they dont have the same funding going into their warranty programs, and hence can't compete with companys like lexus... and i've heard plenty of honda horror stories as well, i know a couple honda techs as well and they admit that honda is pretty tight about warranty work...

what it basically boils down to, is you get what you pay for, if you buy a car for under 20K dollars, you probably aren't gonna get a very good warranty, if a buy an expensive car, I.E. lexus, BMW, mercedes, so on, you will probably get a company that is more apt to work with you in regards to warrantys, because you are spending a lot more money with them... i just dont see holding mazda responsible for a widely occuring problem very productive, what needs to happen is an affordable way to provide a good service needs to be developed, but until then any cheap car is going to be met with resistance in regards to warranty work, it sucks, but thats just the way it is until someone changes it, buying another car other than mazda wont solve that problem, you'll just have a new car that eventually will enter you back into the same old problems dealing with dealerships...

[JHew84]

quick question for blkzoomzoom, would i be able to have a dealership install the gauge for me?? and then have it included in my warranty??? because that is DEFINITLY something that i plan on doing imediatly after purchasing the car...

[MazdaSpeedTurbo]

Magnuson moss warranty ACT 1975 look it up unless proven the part caused the issue then they cant void a warranty.. goto the site and use the numbers they give you.. The people who work for the companies do very good work..

http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/magnusonmoss.htm

GL Guys these guys helped me with my car when they told me my warranty was void.

[azian6er]

lol at the magnuson moss act. Do you think that we as citizens have the power to uphold that act if we walk into a dealership? The only way that act is being upheld is through the court system and unfortunately many people do not posess the means to pursue a legal battle with mazda. Most likely, if you are serious enough to take mazda to court, and actually get their fucking asses in court (VERY hard to do, i went through it), they really dont have to do jack shit. They know this and thats is why they are turning everyone's warranty down.

If and when a case ever got to court, mazda would most likely settle anyways.

We are the little people, but we are getting stomped. Kinda figures. oh well.

-Bryan

[MazdaSpeedTurbo]

www.prepaidlegal.com (http://www.prepaidlegal.com) 26$ a month will get you a AV lawyer at your finger tips they do what you say and you get 75 Hours of court room time. if you want to see them in person their there.. read about it they helped me out.. ALOT ..

[Puckpimp71]

I'm not really planning on blowing a motor anytime soon, but Marlin Mazda and Gunther Mazda haven't given me any problems for a boost gauge, different fluids (even with a radiator leak under warranty), Injen, mid-pipe, motor mounts, shifter bushings. My service advisor even warranteed a few things that didn't need to be. Though none of my repairs had anything at all to do with my mods, I haven't been given a single problem or asked about my mods beyond how I like them... Now Potamkin Mazda in Miami I will never, ever return to.... they're weird.

[Black Majik MSP]

I like Gunther too...they installed my rear motor mount for me. I think we should start the stickied list of good & bad dealerships as suggested. However, there needs to be a system showing how many people feel one way or another...you can't assume something is good or bad based on a single person's experience.

[JHew84]

I like Gunther too...they installed my rear motor mount for me. I think we should start the stickied list of good & bad dealerships as suggested. However, there needs to be a system showing how many people feel one way or another...you can't assume something is good or bad based on a single person's experience.

exactly, maybe have the forum mod start the thread (since they should be checking up on the forum regularly, hypothetically) and then each time someone posts a positive, nuetral, or negative response in regards to that certain dealership, or brings up a new dealership, the mod can adjust the first post accordingly, and possibly even provide a jump link to the post or something... i dunno, or set something up like the user reviews, only replace the users with the dealerships, and then let people vote on them?

[Bhamsan]

I quickly scanned that dated piece of legislation and failed to find exactly where it says a dealer can't void a warranty unless they show that part caused the defect. Anyone know which section it explicitly says that?

[MazdaSpeedTurbo]

very first sentence.

[protegeV]

Now Im glad I havent done anything to my car except the eyelids(OMG, maybe that will void my warranty(nervous))

Going in on Friday for:
Warped Rotors
Cracked Exhaust Tip
Front and Rear lip coming off
Sub deck rattling
Car pulls to the left
Bubble in Rt rear tire(have a road hazard warranty)

[Bhamsan]

very first sentence.
The first sentence is not part of the text of the Act. I want to know what section it says that aftermarket parts can't void your warranty and that the company must prove that was the cause of the failure. For all you know, someone could have mistakenly summarized it and it doesn't say that anywhere in there.

[Newf]

the thread starter's post really pisses me off. I can't see how they can get away with all this crap on a new car with that many miles on it? Like wtf? Something is not right there at all.

90% of you probably don't know anything about my run ins with mazda years back concerning the clunk( unless you've been around for a while). But, I can tell you I know all too well what's it's like to try to be heard by someone that will actually DO something. All I can say is don't give up. Someone somewhere will care enough about the company/job or customer to do something, you just got to find them.

My dealer is awesome. Whether they treat me well because they like me, or are just nice(which they are), or because they know they shouldn't fuck with me anymore :) ....I don't know. But I do really like them. But, I know a lot of people that aren't happy with them, and that seems to be the norm with many Mazda dealers, more so then some companies I have dealt with over the years. This is not good, and they need to smarten up. Mazda is a growing company, and they are trying very hard to become successful. It doesn't take much these days for word to get around that Mazda doesn't care about the customers. Once it does, their done.

I know they read these forums. Heck I pointed them to it years ago.

HEY FUCKERS!!! WAKE UP, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T............


people will buy Honda's again LOL

I know I'm considering it again.

[BlkZoomZoom]

notice he never answered me about it being a new car? I have a feeling it was used. And maybe purchased from a non- Mazda dealer.

Thats the only way this makes sense.

[rocketspeed]

It was a used car, and I think he bought a car that had been modded and abused (then returned to stock) prior to sale. Shame on him for not having it checked out thoroughly by a good mechanic.

Not sure it was a Mazda dealer, but I think so.

Mazda isn't much worse than any other company when it comes to being mod friendly. I've yet to see a carmaker that is. Mitsubishi is quickly getting a reputation for being extremely unfriendly in dealing with modded or raced evos. Dodge gives SRT-4 owners a hard time when they install even their own mopar mods. Subaru has a reputation for being very mod unfriendly with WRX's.

You gotta pay if you wanna play.

[BlkZoomZoom]

you got it.

[protegeV]

If you buy a car used, isnt it assumed it still has the warranty, unless there is documentation to say otherwise? I bought my car at a Mazda dealer and the warranty sticker says it still has the balance of the factory warranty intact, so I'll be damned if they try to tell me the previous owner did something that voided MY warranty...

[BlkZoomZoom]

Thats why I think it was bought from a non mazda dealer.

[MSP #167]

Thats why I think it was bought from a non mazda dealer.

but doesn't it still retain the factory warranty even if sold at a different dealer?

So then your saying my friend who bought a p5 from a gm dealer doesn't have the factory warranty and that mazda won't cover anything if he tries to go to them?

[daedalus]

My car was bought at a Ford Dealership with the Warrenty box checked on the window sticker, thus stating that it had a full factory warrenty on the car. But unfortunatly, the previous owner harmed the car in some way, sold it to the dealer, I bought it b/c it was stock and unmodified, only to find out that the car was completly fucked.

So yea, they voided my warrenty based on the abuse of the previous owner. It was to no fault of my own. Even Mazda, and both dealerships admit that.

[Puckpimp71]

I'd send the Ford dealership a love note from my attorney's office for falsely representing the car as being warrantied... It sucks that you're in this predicament, but I don't think this one is Mazda's bad.

[BlkZoomZoom]

So your beef is with the ford dealership and not the Mazda dealership.


Your post should be: How my Ford dealer screwed me!!!!!!

[Newf]

ahhhhh, I knew there had to be something else going on here.

So, you need to spend your energies against the ford dealer, not Mazda. Lets not forget that Ford is partial owner to Mazda.

[rocketspeed]

Anyone who buys a used car that isn't very knowlegable about cars should absolutely have that car checked over by a good mechanic. I would have noticed things like different clamps on vaccum lines and so forth indicating that the car had been previously modded. A good rule of thumb on used cars is that you don't want a car that's been modded, as even if the mods are done right, odds are the car has been driven hard. I'd only buy a modded car from someone I knew pretty well.

This applies even when you have warranty coverage, as this case shows.

[Crock]

quick question for blkzoomzoom, would i be able to have a dealership install the gauge for me?? and then have it included in my warranty??? because that is DEFINITLY something that i plan on doing imediatly after purchasing the car...
I did that very same thing with my yellow car. I brought the TT in and asked them to install it so it does not void my warranty. I also asked them to wire my foglights and mount a switch. I got a nice bill for $350 labor. Not worth it in my opinion. On my new MSP, I got the TT installed by a very knowledgable person and saved a good $300 bucks.

[INGREXCO]

park mazda in wooster ohio is fairly good about this stuff. i had to fight them on the whole limited slip thing but all in all after 2 weeks it ended on a good note and i would not hesitate to do buisness with them again

[JHew84]

I did that very same thing with my yellow car. I brought the TT in and asked them to install it so it does not void my warranty. I also asked them to wire my foglights and mount a switch. I got a nice bill for $350 labor. Not worth it in my opinion. On my new MSP, I got the TT installed by a very knowledgable person and saved a good $300 bucks.

wow 350 bucks? i can't imagine it would take more than an hr for an experienced tech, especially a mazda tech familiar with a protege's wiring, to install a TT, and i haven't met a mazda tech that makes 350 an hr... i'm heading down to the dealership this weekend, i think i might bring my TT with me and see how much they'd charge me to put it in, if its not outrageous i'll have them do it, but i definitly will not pay 350, thats just rediculous...

[boostisgood]

From all my dealings with all the new cars I have owned (Hondas, Chevys, Dodges, Mazdas, and Fords) Mazda is by far the worst when it comes to warranty work, and claims.

It is the sad truth, Mazda created a poorly designed car, and now is failing to back up its warranty on MOST :D of them because it is costing them too much money.

[Mr. 4500 RPM]

yeah...I agree they should come up with better ways to relay messages. The only problem is the commnication between Mazdausa and the individual dealerships. At a couple of points you guys knew more about updated parts coming than I or the Mazda Tech support groups. That meant we didn't even know new parts were coming and when there is not many of these on the roads, we didn't even know these were wide-spread problems.

I'm not defending all dealerships, some dealerships ethics are quite questionable.

i recently had my 15k service done at a dealership closer to home, not where i bought my car, and well speaking with the head of the parts depart and about mazdaspeed parts and the new mazdaspeed cars comming out....i knew more about the new mazdaspeed 6 then she did...im not sure if she really cared or not but i can see how you mention the communication problem since i somewhat saw it first hand...i mean its a different situation but just pointing this out to people

[benimal]

hm... i might be contacting you if/when i need some warranty work done :D... i've been meaning to ask anyway, where are a few authorized MS dealers in michigan? I know there isn't in lansing (and i live literally a block away from a mazda dealership, pissed me off they weren't authorized to do warranty work on MS's)...

and Bhamsan, tracking ones IP is not very hard, i believe it may even be open to the public for viewing (some forums are like that), all they have to do is cross check your IP here, with your ISP, and they've got you, then its just a matter of doing a few quick searchs of your user name and now they know everything that you've posted here, what you have purchased, what mods you installed, so on... if they tried to deny me warranty work, and showed me information posted by someone else, i would probably shove the paper down their throats and call the corporate offices, and i doubt they want that to happen, so they probably look into it a lot before the use information posted on forums towards denying warranty work... heres an idea tho, before you go in for warranty work, just go through and edit EVERY post you've made about modifications to read "HAHAHAHA, you'll never know mazda fucks!!!!!!!!" :D..
If i followed this logic, why wouldn't I just use a proxy server everytime I wanted to access this board? The IP tracked would be that of the proxy server and not of my ISP. Wouldn't that in theory make it more difficult to track and thus negate the possibility that MNA could find me?

Ben

[JHew84]

If i followed this logic, why wouldn't I just use a proxy server everytime I wanted to access this board? The IP tracked would be that of the proxy server and not of my ISP. Wouldn't that in theory make it more difficult to track and thus negate the possibility that MNA could find me?

Ben

if they really wanted to do it, they'd find a way, but i doubt they really do, i didn't put into account the fact that a lot of the board members have their production numbers posted up, this would be a much easier way for them to single people out, as well as their names in the profiles, the way they sign each post, stuff like that, but if they REALLY felt the need to do a background check on all your postings on this forum, they'd get someone to do it, even the best of hackers get linked to their crimes sooner or later, its just a matter of detirmination on the part of mazda, whether or not they want that info bad enough, which i doubt they do, but i'm sure its useful when its right there in front of them...

but yes, in theory, and in real world applications as well, that would make their searchs that much more difficult, but most people aren't really looking, or dont know how, to hide their IP address...

[daedalus]

They would need a warrent to get that information from an ISP... They aint the fucking FBI.

[JohnnyB]

uh oh ... sorry to hear that man.
but I just hope this isnt happening to me



ps. didnt mean to bring thread back from the dead.. it wasnt that old (wink)

[apocman]

daedalus- The only way what Mazda did makes any sense to me is if you bought the car used. And more than likely not from a Mazda dealership? If so the story makes sense, if not I find it very hard to believe. The dealership gets paid to do warranty work, it takes alot for them to deny something (believe it or not).

And no there is no great conspiracy of Mazda corp. employees on this website looking to void your warranties. If they have printouts of this website then its most likely from an employee that is also a Mazda enthusiast.


jewh84- I'll give you an example of why a part of your warranty may be denied because of a boost gauge installation. (This is a true story, I had to diag. this.)

A MSP customer installed a boost gauge in his car. Two weeks later he noticed his car seemed alot more sluggish than normal and his gas mileage went through the floor. I got the car for that complaint (nothing was said about boost gauge just being installed). I found the a/c compressor staying on all the time. Long story short after 3 hrs of chasing all wires known to man I found the way he installed his boost gauge wires in a way that it supplied a constant power feed to the compressor. So I spent 3hrs. on something that Mazda wasn't gonna pay me for, thus it turned to customer pay.
So, your saying people like you rat board members out???(protest) and how can you tell who it is other than them posting their production #? (huh)

I mean, what do you do go to court for a court order for the ISP to release the information to you???

Ha-ha just joking, but you opened yourself up and i had to take it... P.S. glad I have never modded my car; My brother won't help me do any mod's until the warranty is expired :'(

[Jgar_msp]

I'm considering going back to stock and removing my CAI after reading this thread, it just scares me on the thought about voiding my warranty which hasn't been done...........

And I've taken my car to the dealer to get worked on plenty of times, and they've all noticed my turbo timer! Some of the employee's in parts/services didn't know what the thing was or why the car would stay on after turning off the ignition and pulling the key. lol

I've only had to complain to them once about not wanting to fix the top radiator hose, I had just got the car and the thing was spitting coolant everywhere! They were blaming me for it, and saying a rock jumped in there, JUMPED! in there and knocked the hose out of place. I smiled at them and couldn't imagine the chances of a rock being able to find its way thru the engine bay to hit that hose lol.

OOPS: Thread is so old (braindead Didnt even notice the date on this motha, DIE!

[zoomzoom02]

Josh preceded to tell me that for them to take a look inside the engine and diagnos it I would have to approve a 300.00 tear down expense. I asked why it wasnt covered under warrenty, and he told me that the tear down would determine whether or not I would have to pay for it. They then proceeded to tear the engine apart and find that the engine had been spun a bearing due to lack of oil in the engine. The regional rep for mazda voided warrenty repair on the engine due to the lack of oil. Josh then told me that it was probably someone who didnt like me and drained oil out of the drainplug causing damage to the engine. He also promptly quoted me 6300.00 for repair.


Wow, never saw this thread! Same exact thing happened to me, but the engine was warantied! I had intake and exhaust on at the time, with 50,000 miles. I think what saved me is that I had every oil change done at mazda. When the put the new motor in, the service guy noticed that the clutch needed replacement, and put in a cluchmasters clutch I bought for free! I guess it just depends what dealership you go to. Just wanted to say that...now the thread can die.

[DSMConvert]

Blk...while I agree that mazda NA does not "spy" on forums I can tell you for a fact many dealerships hire people to cruise the local forums for complaints, mods, and scams. From my discussions with them most of them just cruise to find complaints as a way of "backup" customer service checks (benefit for the customer), but several said they have been asked to find modification information on service claims on vehicles brought it where they smell something fishy. For those of you who are still under warranty I'd suggest removing your sigs or inserting a legal disclaimer. Internet forums are public domain and any evidence used from them is perfectly legal in court provided the evidence can be linked to the person in question. On the dealerships still making money off warranty work, this is kinda of true. Most dealerships are strigent about warranties for two reasons. 1. All warranty work claims submited to the manufacturer are subject to routine random audits...if by some chance an audit is done and the dealership is found at fault for honoring a warranty that should of been voided they can either have the claim rejected or be subject to future penalties. 2. They stand to make a lot more money off a customer than filing for warranty reimbursement work for the same job. IT basically all boils down to the policies given out by the fixed operations manager...if hes in it for profits expect a harder time getting warranty work, if hes actually there for customer service you'll get treated fairly...

[TStar]

i know digging up an old thread is uncool, but if you do have problems with spies reading threads to find a reason to deny warranty.. i got a suggestion:

a) for guest viewers replace all the usernames with e.g. "registered user"..
b) for any logged in user, visibly place a "checksum" at the top/bottom of any post. this checksum is calced with username+usernumber of the -viewing member-, of course encrypted. whenever they try to f*ck you with a printed out log, write down the number, the corresponding user can be tracked down, the ip-range can be looked up and both can be permbanned or the screen output could be manipulated (~random names for every post~)... what about that?