Mazdaspeed3 warranty extension program (special service program 87, and ssp 86)

[jdecar]

Anyone else get this letter in the mail yet?
I just got it yesterday saying they are extending the warranty coverage for the specific repair of the vvt noise/timing chain noise concern on vehicles (cx7, mazdaspeed3, and mazdaspeed6) warranty coverage for specific repair is extended to 7 years (84 months) or 70,000 miles. whichever comes first.
also, they are conducting a special service program for the heavy white smoke from the tail pipe.

i know on the forums people have talked about the bypass to fix, correct the smoking issue. hadnt seen too much on the vvt noise at startup other than people saying that this was normal/typical with the car.
granted i have both of these issues with mine (more so the vvt noise at cold startup, but sometimes the smoke at idle). i believe the original warranty was only to 60k miles, but the 70k extension isnt a huge extension to it for a known issue. granted, i purchased my car used/out of warranty so i had no expectations of getting this looked at/repaired under warranty, but it stinks getting this letter now as i am at 75k miles on the car. has anyone else gotten this letter and been able to get the car looked at/repaired even being slightly beyond their extended covered range.

or how serious of an issue is this to the vehicle/engine longevity. the car seems to be running fine and haven't really had any other issues with it

[boosted1]

Yup! I received mine yesterday.

[khoney]

Got mine yesterday as well - too bad I'm at almost 80K. I head the turbo replaced early on due to the white smoke issue, and it is starting to reappear now.

[Haxir]

I wonder if its a faulty part or somthing? I dont even have 50k miles yet, but i wonder if i should take it in and have it checked just in case under this new warranty

[Wurf]

Got mine too. No noise from my car but I'm only at 28k and it's a 2009.
I'm probably going to unload this thing before it gets over 50K on it.
Love the car. Don't love surprises like this.

[Psycho_Maz]

I would take it in and get the turbo/vvt checked. I had a smoking turbo so I brought it in. A few days prior I got the warranty letter, so I told the dealer to take a look at the vvt too. I am only at 28K miles. They put in a new turbo and ventilation kit. They checked the vvt and there were no issues. Car is good to go.

[chuyler1]

Son of Bitch, I just had to pay to fix this last week. I'm at 86,000 miles though. I got off the phone with Mazda just now and the guy said to send in my paperwork anyway. I have never missed an oil change (all done at the dealer).

[rdaex]

Same, got the letter, bought the car used 2 years ago, now have about 77k on it.
Stupid system... lets wait until some cars are 6 years old and send out the recall.

[chuyler1]

I sent in my paperwork with proof of 100% dealer maintenance up to 85,000 miles when the problem started occurring. Just got a letter rejecting my claim because the car was over 70,000 miles when the repair was performed. Its pretty lame that they won't stand by their cars or make exceptions for loyal customers. Extending the warranty to only 70k was a joke. This was my second new-from-dealer Mazda with the first being essentially repair free up to 100k. Not may people keep all the receipts for every oil change since they bought the car off the show room floor, and when someone does, you could at least meet them half way with an expensive repair like this.

[rdaex]

You dont need dealer paperwork, thats backed up based on the VIN. Sucks they decided to do it this way though, essentially mailing letters, banking on most drivers being beyond the 70k miles

[chuyler1]

Not sure if Mazda corporate has access to VIN-based maintenance. Even if they did, I doubt the people handling the claims request would bother to look up the VIN on a computer to obtain that information.

[meicalnissyen]

Not sure if Mazda corporate has access to VIN-based maintenance. Even if they did, I doubt the people handling the claims request would bother to look up the VIN on a computer to obtain that information.

Perhaps you could point out to MNA your position with 24/7, having 12,000 posts, and your innate desire not to abuse that status by Flaming the crap out mazda every chance you get................

just sayin

[chuyler1]

That will be mentioned when I call them tomorrow (if necessary). I'm generally a nice guy but I will start by bringing up my father's example. He had the transmission on his Chevy Avalanche break at 75k. He convinced Chevy to pay half the bill. Several years later he bought another Chevy Avalanche. Could you blame him for being loyal? Sure, the transmission broke, but Chevy was nice enough to take care of him. A little goes a long way.

[chuyler1]

Update: I called Mazda last week and pleaded my case. The rep asked me some questions about my history with Mazda. When he asked if I owned any other Mazdas I mentioned that I bought the MS6 new from the dealer and also bought a Protege5 new from the dealer. I then mentioned the REPU I recently purchased. That really sparked his attention. Since another rep was assigned to my case he couldn't do anything immediately but said I would get a call after the weekend. The call just came in. They are reimbursing me for the full amount of the repair! My loyalty has paid off! Yay!

For the record, here is all the steps I took...

1) I had the repair performed prior to filling out any paper work. It had to be done so I wasn't going to wait around.
2) When I found out about the warranty extension, I called Mazda to talk about it. I was advised to submit the form even though I was over 70,000 miles (I was at 85,000 when the repair was performed)
3) I submitted the form with receipts from every oil change and scheduled maintenance (all performed at mazda dealers). I also included a letter describing my loyalty to the brand and long term participation in the online community.
4) When I was denied the claim, I called Mazda again and pleaded my case. I remained calm and enthusiastic about Mazda during all my discussions. I did not accuse them of selling me a piece of garbage or anything like that. Afterall, my Mazdas have been very reliable up until this point. They agreed to take another look at my case and got back to me within a week with their decision.

I can't promise they will come to this conclusion for everyone, but if you are in fact a loyal Mazda customer you should at least make an attempt to plead your case to them.

[jabba]

I remained calm and enthusiastic about Mazda during all my discussions. I did not accuse them of selling me a piece of garbage or anything like that. Afterall, my Mazdas have been very reliable up until this point. They agreed to take another look at my case and got back to me within a week with their decision.

Your calmness and patience probably helped a lot. Seems like a lot of people believe that he who yells the loudest gets what he wants (this also applies to she, by the way!), but really that only works at WalMart. I've been on several car forums where I've read thread like yours where the OP had basically cursed out everyone from the receptionist at the dealership to the district rep, then threatened to put negative "ads" in newspapers, then threw the word lawyer around...and this was before they even called Corporate to plead their case.

As a perfect example, I once went to court to fight a speeding ticket. In my younger days I might have put up a fuss about the officer not doing something right, blah blah blah, but this time I went in there saying that I'd loooove to pay the fine, but don't want it to appear on my insurance. The cop actually remembered me, told the judge I had been nice and didn't give him any trouble when he had pulled me over, and the judge gave me a break (well, I paid a fine, but he put the ticket at only 5 mph over so the insurance wouldn't see it, which is what I wanted in the first place). He even stated that when people come to court and act civilized, he has no problem giving them a break. It's usually the hotheads who borderline insult the officers that never get a break. So sometimes being nice pays off.