And so it begins....

stillflat4 · May 3, 2006

Between a Subaru Forester with 60K miles and a Saab 9-2X (also basically a Subaru) with 16K miles, I have yet to need to bring in either one to the dealer for anything other than scheduled maintenance (knock on wood).

So this morning I get into the Speed6 and it's got a CEL. Lovely. Anyone else get one (this car is totally UNmodded) and what was it for?

Thanks...

NRRfrogmanP5 · May 3, 2006

is ur gas cap securly tightend....my gram has a car and her cel was on ...and that was the problem surprisingly..lol. hopefully its something easy like that

stillflat4 · May 3, 2006

NRRfrogmanP5 said:
is ur gas cap securly tightend....my gram has a car and her cel was on ...and that was the problem surprisingly..lol. hopefully its something easy like that

Filled up this morning (after I got in the car & had the CEL). Cap seemed tight. In any case, it sure was tight after I filled up (I thought that might be it too). Light didn't go off.

If the cap happened to be loose and I tightened it, will the light NOT go off because it needs to be cleared by a dealer?

And any thoughts whether or not I should ask for the software update as long as I'm bringing it in?

NRRfrogmanP5 · May 3, 2006

as long as ur there i would get the update..the light on my grams car went off as soon as i tightend it so it shouldnt have to be cleared by the dealer

Kansei · May 3, 2006

Does the car drive normally though? No loss of power or anything like that?

I'd definitely take it in just in case it is something serious, but you could always disconnect the battery for a little while and reconnect it and cross your fingers hoping the light doesn't come back on.

good luck with it!

stillflat4 · May 3, 2006

KanseiZM said:
Does the car drive normally though? No loss of power or anything like that?

I didn't notice anything. Seems fine.

KanseiZM said:
I'd definitely take it in just in case it is something serious, but you could always disconnect the battery for a little while and reconnect it and cross your fingers hoping the light doesn't come back on.

I think I'll let the dealer handle it. Sheesh, I hate going to the dealer. They're 30 miles away through unpredictable traffic and open at 7:30 and if you don't get there first thing, you'll be sitting a while.

I have an appointment for the 9th. I'll post the results of both the CEL and the software update... Interestingly enough, the service dept didn't seem to want to talk about the software update. I said something like, "as long as I'm in, would I be able to get the software update that came out recently for the overzealous knock sensor." He just said "huh..." in a matter-of-fact tone... Then he said, "um, we'll see you on Tuesday."

This doesn't seem like it's going to be a whole lot of fun.

I hate dealers.

crossbow · May 3, 2006

It's probably the purge solenoid. A very common problem on the 2.3 engines. They didn't change it for the speed6, its the same part.

Some vehicles may exhibit a MIL ON condition with DTCs P0442, P0455,
and/or P0456 stored in memory. See the following list for possible
causes.

Capture freeze frame data, then clear all DTCs. Run the WDS evaporative
system test to confirm the leak. If vehicle fails, use the Mazda
approved, EVAP Tester (Model #134-01049) to further diagnose. Activate
Mode 8 to manually close the Change Over Valve (COV). Note that
the purge solenoid valve is Normally Closed. Run the gas leak test and
the smoke test to confirm leak location.

On Mazda3, the following conditions have been found:

o STUCK OPEN PURGE SOLENOID VALVE - Confirm by removing purge
solenoid control valve hose at the intake manifold, then inspect
to see if smoke exits from the hose. If smoke is seen, this
indicates a valve that is stuck open.

Note: If hose is not removed, smoke may not be seen anywhere, and
it will appear the vehicle has no leak.

o MISSING "BASKET" SEAL - A smoke test will reveal if a basket seal
is missing from a quick disconnect fitting.

genericuser · May 3, 2006

yeah, that CEL from the gas tank is annoying.. I got a few of those.

stillflat4 · May 9, 2006

seanmcsean said:
yeah, that CEL from the gas tank is annoying.. I got a few of those.

And that's exactly what it was. Service guy said diagnostic test came back OK after clearing the light and the error code pointed to a loose cap. Also said never fill the tank while the radio is on, or the car is running because it could run a "self-test" at that point while the cap is off and you're filling.

I asked him why the light didn't go off eventually, and he said it usually takes a particular type of driving for a certain amount of time to clear the CEL. 40mph for ten minutes or something like that. Most of my driving is either local stop-and-go or highway.

Ugh... what a waste of a morning.

Can't they just have a sensor that says, "your gas cap is loose" instead of an overall CEL that requires me to drive 30 miles to the dealer and be there at 7:30am just to get it cleared?

seanw · May 9, 2006

[QUOTE . . . .Ugh... what a waste of a morning.

Can't they just have a sensor that says, "your gas cap is loose" instead of an overall CEL that requires me to drive 30 miles to the dealer and be there at 7:30am just to get it cleared?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's dopey. And running a self-test while the key is set to ACC is stupid, too. I gotta wonder about that one. I mean how many people leave the radio on for passengers or themselves while filling up? It's got to be a lot.

Did you try to get an ECU re-flash and get blown-off or decide against it for now? Anyway, thanks for updating us.

DeanSweet · May 9, 2006

drop by Autozone, they will pull the OBDII Reader out and tell you what the code is, or just buy one. they are only like $40 now... I have spent that is gas driving back and forth to the dealer having mine looked at in the MPV.

stillflat4 · May 9, 2006

seanw said:
Did you try to get an ECU re-flash and get blown-off or decide against it for now? Anyway, thanks for updating us.

I haven't noticed the problem recently, so I didn't ask again. They were pretty busy this morning and I didn't feel like pestering the service guy, lest he put me at the back of the line. I wanted to get in and get out ASAP.

stussy2870 · May 9, 2006

stillflat4 said:
And that's exactly what it was. Service guy said diagnostic test came back OK after clearing the light and the error code pointed to a loose cap. Also said never fill the tank while the radio is on, or the car is running because it could run a "self-test" at that point while the cap is off and you're filling.

I asked him why the light didn't go off eventually, and he said it usually takes a particular type of driving for a certain amount of time to clear the CEL. 40mph for ten minutes or something like that. Most of my driving is either local stop-and-go or highway.

Ugh... what a waste of a morning.

Can't they just have a sensor that says, "your gas cap is loose" instead of an overall CEL that requires me to drive 30 miles to the dealer and be there at 7:30am just to get it cleared?

Did they update the CPU?

stillflat4 · May 29, 2006

stussy2870 said:
Did they update the CPU?

See prior post... But today, for the first time, I experienced the issue and there was no doubt it was the powerloss "feature." I use Shell 93 exclusively, so it's not the gasoline.

It's been pretty hot here on Long Island for the past few days. Today I went to Lowes to get some stuff and on the way back I was at a light and when I went to take off, there was... nothing... Felt like maybe just a little boost, but the car was absolutely not its ordinary self. I'll be putting in a call to my local Mazda dealer to get the CPU flash taken care of.

I'll have to look through the boards to see if anyone else has had this done and what the result was (haven't been here in a few weeks)...

Does anyone know if this throttle reduction is something that's noted when they check the computer for codes?

Da 6 · May 29, 2006

obdII scanners also have the ability to datalog te vehicles behavior. See if you can find someone with one(autoxray or someting obdII can Bus Compliant) that knows how to use that feature. May help you some. When the dealer said it was the fuel filler cap, did they tell you to turn it 3-5 clicks or 10-15 clicks?

AWD6 · Jun 6, 2006

i asked the dealer about that software update and they told me they would look into it and get back to me. that was about 2 weeks ago and i still haven't heard anything...how shisty.

Da 6 · Jun 7, 2006

AWD6 said:
i asked the dealer about that software update and they told me they would look into it and get back to me. that was about 2 weeks ago and i still haven't heard anything...how shisty.

Which dealership? I got laughed at when I asked for one and haven't got my car serviced there since.

AWD6 · Jun 7, 2006

pearson mazda

stillflat4 · Jun 28, 2006

Time to make my 5K oil change appointment. I am definitely going to push the issue this time and will NOT be blown off. Got a survey recently directly from Mazda about the dealership and I was not kind. First they make me wait two hours to 'diagnose" a loose gas cap, then they brush me off with the firmware update. Mazda is this dealership's only make, and they're the only ones in a very large area of Long Island authorized to work on the Mazdaspeeds (or that's what I was told at the dealer -- am I naive or what? They were the only dealership around here selling the MS6, so I believed them)...

My point with the Mazda questionnaire (it wasn't the big survey from JD Power or whatever the research group was, this one was asking purely about the dealer) was to note that if they're going to be a MS dealer, they better keep up on the tech bulletins. Was kind to my salesperson in the survey, but not the service dept.

We'll see what happens.

Why can't I find a decent service department no matter what kind of car I buy? Interestingly enough, the only common denominator would be me... Hmmmm... Perhaps I'm the problem?

MS6freek · Jun 28, 2006

very easy , just disconnect the negative on your batteri turn the light switch on and wait 2 min. then plug the negative of the batterie back , close the lights . start the car and voila no more check engin light

And so it begins....

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