So I have a 2004 Mazda3 2.3L 5 speed. I rarely drive this car anymore because it sucks gas and runs bad. Here is a quick history on the issues...
It all started with fueling up. After getting gas, my car would stall out. It would take a few times to crank and then it would act weird, low idle, etc. Before long it was getting worse and killing my gas mileage. I took my car to the dealer and they said one of my fuel injectors was stuck open. I allowed them to replaced the fuel injector and then paid the total sum of ONE MILLION DOLLARS (*pinky at my mouth). I picked my car up and then proceeded to stall out in the dealership parking lot, luckily for them they had just closed and paid no mind to me. They later explained it wasn't their doing, but that the fuel lines were "gunked up", there was carbon build-up in the intake manifold, and that this was a "common problem" with the 2.3L.
They recommend a $500 fuel cleaning service which I declined. I used lucas Intake Manifold cleaner and cleaned it myself. When that didn't work I had it taken apart at my local mechanic and blasted clean. A little improvement, but not much. I cleaned the whole system with the seafoam treatment, again, not much improvement. The air filter is relatively clean and I'm not getting any leaks.
It feels sluggish until about 5500 rpm. If I open it up to 5-6k, it starts to pull like before but then I shift and it's sluggish again. I replaced the spark plugs in it tuesday and that pepped it up a bit, but it's still not as good as before.
As it sits, It has a CEL light on. I need to replace the Thermostat. The CEL hasn't been on the whole time i've experienced issues. I managed to make the light go away for awhile, but for $45 I can buy a new thermostat assembly and install that myself. I need to clean the MAF also.
Anyone experience similar problems? Anyone know a fix? Will cleaning the MAF make that big a difference?
It all started with fueling up. After getting gas, my car would stall out. It would take a few times to crank and then it would act weird, low idle, etc. Before long it was getting worse and killing my gas mileage. I took my car to the dealer and they said one of my fuel injectors was stuck open. I allowed them to replaced the fuel injector and then paid the total sum of ONE MILLION DOLLARS (*pinky at my mouth). I picked my car up and then proceeded to stall out in the dealership parking lot, luckily for them they had just closed and paid no mind to me. They later explained it wasn't their doing, but that the fuel lines were "gunked up", there was carbon build-up in the intake manifold, and that this was a "common problem" with the 2.3L.
They recommend a $500 fuel cleaning service which I declined. I used lucas Intake Manifold cleaner and cleaned it myself. When that didn't work I had it taken apart at my local mechanic and blasted clean. A little improvement, but not much. I cleaned the whole system with the seafoam treatment, again, not much improvement. The air filter is relatively clean and I'm not getting any leaks.
It feels sluggish until about 5500 rpm. If I open it up to 5-6k, it starts to pull like before but then I shift and it's sluggish again. I replaced the spark plugs in it tuesday and that pepped it up a bit, but it's still not as good as before.
As it sits, It has a CEL light on. I need to replace the Thermostat. The CEL hasn't been on the whole time i've experienced issues. I managed to make the light go away for awhile, but for $45 I can buy a new thermostat assembly and install that myself. I need to clean the MAF also.
Anyone experience similar problems? Anyone know a fix? Will cleaning the MAF make that big a difference?
