Common problems with the Mazda3

[Bobospeed3]

If you like rattles, buy this car

I don't even have 1000 miles on my speed3, but already I'm starting to hate this thing. Talk about poor build quality. I've got so many different sounding rattles, I don't even know how to track them all down. Otherwise, it is a nice car. Fun to drive, economical, and sporty. I just hope you like loud music.

 

[Tracers]

Anyone had the problem where the clock starts to malfunction?

YES!
I took it back to the dealership a few weeks after I bought it in 2006, and they told me it wasn't physically possible & made me feel stupid for asking about it (NEVER go to North Shore Mazda, Vancouver) Every 6 weeks or so it goes back about 20 minutes.

Also...

-at 80,000 the transmission mounts broke (warrantied)

-at 85,000kms the front wheel bearings went- North Shore Mazda insisted there was nothing wrong with it (again) and luckily I went with my gut and got a second opinion from Metrotown because it would've caused serious damage if I didn't. ($400)

-at 90,000kms the automatic transmission computer BLEW ($1400 + 12 days wait for part!)

-and today at 101,000kms the engine light came on. If it isn't the gas cap I'm going to see about the Lemon Laws here in BC.

I used to love my car, but now I have no confidence in it at all!

 

[Google]

-at 80,000 the transmission mounts broke (warrantied)

-at 85,000kms the front wheel bearings went- North Shore Mazda insisted there was nothing wrong with it (again) and luckily I went with my gut and got a second opinion from Metrotown because it would've caused serious damage if I didn't. ($400)l!

Man, that really sucks.

What were the symptoms with your tranny mounts (auto or manual)?
The same with the front wheel bearings? What made you suspect it was the wheel bearings when Morrey didnt think so.

 

[Amemiya]

I hate to make a holy huge revive to this thread, but my 2005 3 has some annoyances of it's own. 1) Brakes squeak like there is no tomorrow whenever it is wet outside. (A known problem I believe). 2) The section of dash below the shifter rattles all the time. 3) Glovebox rattles a lot.

 

[Google]

Mazda3s love to rattle, especially around the driver's seat belt area and glove box. Looks like my drive belt tensioner is going but it never wants to mishave at the dealer unless it stays the night.

 

[meicalnissyen]

Rattles and squeaks drive me nuts.

It' interesting...does anyone feel the quality is somehow effected since Mazda is made by Ford? Are these Mazdas made in the USA or Japan?

mazda is not made by Ford (cap inserted for my canadian friend)

ford has a 25% interest in mazda

 

[my3needsaname]

You might not want to ask me but...
8 months
4,840 miles
18+ trips to the dealer service department for ONLY warranty work (of which they fixed nothing)
1 meet with Mazda North America Customer Service District Manager
and it still is crapping on me...

 

[c0de]

mazda is not made by Ford (cap inserted for my canadian friend)

ford has a 25% interest in mazda

In fact Ford has 33.9% stake in Mazda, which in Japan makes it the controlling interest.

Ford lately announced that it's to sell part of it's Mazda stocks though.

 

[dperikic]

YES!
I took it back to the dealership a few weeks after I bought it in 2006, and they told me it wasn't physically possible & made me feel stupid for asking about it (NEVER go to North Shore Mazda, Vancouver) Every 6 weeks or so it goes back about 20 minutes.

Also...

-at 80,000 the transmission mounts broke (warrantied)

-at 85,000kms the front wheel bearings went- North Shore Mazda insisted there was nothing wrong with it (again) and luckily I went with my gut and got a second opinion from Metrotown because it would've caused serious damage if I didn't. ($400)

-at 90,000kms the automatic transmission computer BLEW ($1400 + 12 days wait for part!)

-and today at 101,000kms the engine light came on. If it isn't the gas cap I'm going to see about the Lemon Laws here in BC.

I used to love my car, but now I have no confidence in it at all!

I have a problem with bearings too,
Anyone replaced bearing and wheel hub with "Timken"?

I own mazda 3 1.6 cd (turbo diesel) 2005 .
Replaced under warranty:
Clutch
Turbocharger
Clock unit


I didn' know I bought Ford untill I saw ford logo on allmost every part of engine. (the manual says that owners should use only genuine mazda air filter, oil filter ... etc. or they loose warranty. "Genuine" mazda air filter has Great BIG Ford logo on it) in fact , this engine is used in ford , mazda, peugeot, citroen, bmw, mini ...

 

[BurnoutX]

nothing as big as it was but: i had a leaky oil pan seal that had to be fixed under warrantee

 

[goldwing2000]

I have a problem with bearings too,
Anyone replaced bearing and wheel hub with "Timken"?

Timken are good bearings. You shouldn't have a problem.

 

[dimples]

My 3 issues

I've had a 2005 Mazda 3 Winning Blue 5 door for over four years now. Car only has 49,000 miles on it. It's a blast to drive and a fun little car, but it's definitely plagued with some annoying issues. It's failed to pass state inspection twice before it was three years old!

The PCV was replaced under warranty one time. Then we had a terrible gas smell because of another emissions part failure and the dealer sat on the car for almost two weeks while they replaced a number of emissions parts and the gas tank. They put one of the seals in wrong and the car had to go back all over again. It was a nightmare. The smell was so bad it made my son sick to be in the car. The parts guy told me that this happened to a number of the early cars, but was surprised it "took my car so long" to manifest the problem. (smash)

Now the car needs both front wheel bearings replaced at only 48K miles. Now I'm not letting the dealer touch the car at this point, so I went to pick up the bearings at the dealer. The parts guy told me that they have trouble keeping these on the shelf and that the wheel bearings for this car have already been re-engineered 2 x's since it was built.

The minor issues are the ones everyone complains about. Passenger Door Rattle, Clunky Power Windows, Squeaky brakes when wet, some nasty dash rattles (hopefully the bearing replacement will stop that). Also, the suspension is really noisy when you get in and out of the car (and I'm not huge), and the fuel pump is starting to sing. Glove box doesn't like to stay closed, and now the clutch is getting pretty noisy. And yes, my clock LOVES to lose time!

My father is a mechanic and has pretty much told me that the car is a piece of crap. And to you folks say that this car isn't a Ford, you are partially right. This car shares MANY parts with Ford and some safety parts with Volvo. This platform was one of Ford's first "World Car" platforms.

Now all this said, I still love my 3 for it's style and personality, but not its reliability or quality (sounds like I'm talking about my old 16v Scirocco!). I don't think it will hit the almost 200K miles my Honda Civic had at trade-in. Sure hope it stays together, though, as my son is looking forward to getting the car in about 4 years!

 

[bani]

mazda is not made by Ford (cap inserted for my canadian friend)

ford has a 25% interest in mazda

the mazda3 dips quite heavily from the ford parts bin. anyone working on the car will see plenty of FoMoCo stamps all over.

 

[my3needsaname]

I've had a 2005 Mazda 3 Winning Blue 5 door for over four years now. Car only has 49,000 miles on it. It's a blast to drive and a fun little car, but it's definitely plagued with some annoying issues. It's failed to pass state inspection twice before it was three years old!

The PCV was replaced under warranty one time. Then we had a terrible gas smell because of another emissions part failure and the dealer sat on the car for almost two weeks while they replaced a number of emissions parts and the gas tank. They put one of the seals in wrong and the car had to go back all over again. It was a nightmare. The smell was so bad it made my son sick to be in the car. The parts guy told me that this happened to a number of the early cars, but was surprised it "took my car so long" to manifest the problem. (smash)

Now the car needs both front wheel bearings replaced at only 48K miles. Now I'm not letting the dealer touch the car at this point, so I went to pick up the bearings at the dealer. The parts guy told me that they have trouble keeping these on the shelf and that the wheel bearings for this car have already been re-engineered 2 x's since it was built.

The minor issues are the ones everyone complains about. Passenger Door Rattle, Clunky Power Windows, Squeaky brakes when wet, some nasty dash rattles (hopefully the bearing replacement will stop that). Also, the suspension is really noisy when you get in and out of the car (and I'm not huge), and the fuel pump is starting to sing. Glove box doesn't like to stay closed, and now the clutch is getting pretty noisy. And yes, my clock LOVES to lose time!

My father is a mechanic and has pretty much told me that the car is a piece of crap. And to you folks say that this car isn't a Ford, you are partially right. This car shares MANY parts with Ford and some safety parts with Volvo. This platform was one of Ford's first "World Car" platforms.

Now all this said, I still love my 3 for it's style and personality, but not its reliability or quality (sounds like I'm talking about my old 16v Scirocco!). I don't think it will hit the almost 200K miles my Honda Civic had at trade-in. Sure hope it stays together, though, as my son is looking forward to getting the car in about 4 years!

I agree with that to the death...of the car, not me.
As for everything else, I agree with that too. The car is crap but it's a nice car. I wouldn't trade it for anything else in its segment but that being said it would be gone in a second if I had an opportunity to dump it for a truck, SUV, or a large sports oriented sedan. I mean there's only so much you can take when the dealer can't fix it before you just say screw this, go die car and dump it or get really close to doing so.

 

[inattika]

used to love the m3! no problems at all and i am at 38800k (07 mazda). I just had one issue ...one day my airbag deployed for fun while i was driving on the highway. (short circuit)
yeahh, im not so in love with it anymore....

 

[goldwing2000]

Awesome! That sounds like there should be a safety recall!

 

[Amemiya]

EDIT: Fixed that...

 

[bigjae1976]

Not a serious issue but I think the cloth and carpet are quite crappy. My interior is subject to abuse from my 5 y/o daughter but still. It looks like its 10 years old and my car is only a year old.

 

[Miller Time]

Rear wheel hop over broken pavement

LOL - unless you've owned a Millenia, you don't KNOW what frustration is...although Shakespeare is close (see my sig). Ever had a parts manager look you in the eye and ask for $5K for a supercharger? Then tell you it that's the SALE price...down from $7K?

Ahem...anyway -- just picked up an 07 Mazda3 Sport with a manual tranny. I just love the way this car drives...except for one thing. The car has a scary tendancy to hop its rear end sideways on uneven pavement. My wife just about lost it on some broken up pavement on the 401 last week.

I can't figure it out and am going to head to a dealer for a look. Basically it tracks great until you hit a big crack in the pavement then the rear end jumps sideways. Very much like the handling you can get on washboard gravel roads where the car just begins to drift sideways due to the constant hammering. Only with this car all it takes is a single thump. It has to hit both rear wheels at once though. As single pothole under one wheel won't do it.

After the bump and jump, you can feel the vibrations up through the steering column too and they continue for a second or two past the bump as the impact reverberates through the car's body for what seems like an extended period of time. I've driven behind the car to watch the rear wheels and bumps seem to trigger a lot of hammering up and down. It feels and looks for all the world like the rear shocks are shot. But if you push down on the back of the car it's all very firm and the car only has 50K km on it.

The car has 17 inch rims and 45 series tires. Is this a factory setup? Seems like big wheels for a car this size. I'm not up on the specs for the various 3 models. They do look factory though and the car was advertised by the dealer as a GT if that helps. I wonder if it's those 45 tires. Maybe those low sidewalls are just too stiff for the suspension and so launch the relatively light rear end over rough pavement?

Anyway, that was my first thought. My second was that perhaps the air pressure was too high. The door sill says 32 psi and I discovered they were closer to 40. Letting them back down to 32 has hardly made a difference at all. My third thought was that perhaps the previous owner did a bad job of installing some performance suspension mods. The car's suspension doesn't appear to have been lowered or otherwise altered, however.

I'd love to hear any other ideas. Other than some complaints about front wheel hop on previous pages, no one has mentioned this particular problem.

 

[hworth18]

Not a serious issue but I think the cloth and carpet are quite crappy. My interior is subject to abuse from my 5 y/o daughter but still. It looks like its 10 years old and my car is only a year old.

Yeah, I noticed that after about a year.. The drivers side carpet is REAL thin and already had holes in it after 3 years along with the factory floor mats. The leather seats seem fine, but I have the same typical rattles and annoying squeaky brakes. BTW, will aftermarket pads fix the squeaky brake problem?