Mazda 2 idling problem

cjohnw

Member
:
Mazda 3 SP23
Hi there,

wondering if someone can help us.

My wife purchased a new Mazda 2 in October 2008. For the first few months the car was running great. Then around the 6,000 km mark the car developed an idling problem.

When stopped at an intersection with a foot on the brake the idling would start to decrease and eventually the car would start to shudder and shake. At times it felt like it was going to stall.

The dealer said there were no problems appearing on the computer so he couldn't fix anything. After some complaining they replaced the engine mounts, which certainly helped but didn't completely eliminate the problem.

I suspect it is more to do with the engine management system.

So, has anyone else had this problem? If so what was done to fix it?

Our dealer seems pretty disinterested about it now.

The car is 2008 Mazda 2 Auto, currently approx 11,000 km.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I am also experiencing this kind of problem here in the Philippines.. My 2 is over a year old now and the dealer told me that it might have some mechanical problems..

I will post some updates as soon as I brought the car back..
 
Hi there,

wondering if someone can help us.

My wife purchased a new Mazda 2 in October 2008. For the first few months the car was running great. Then around the 6,000 km mark the car developed an idling problem.

When stopped at an intersection with a foot on the brake the idling would start to decrease and eventually the car would start to shudder and shake. At times it felt like it was going to stall.

The dealer said there were no problems appearing on the computer so he couldn't fix anything. After some complaining they replaced the engine mounts, which certainly helped but didn't completely eliminate the problem.

I suspect it is more to do with the engine management system.

So, has anyone else had this problem? If so what was done to fix it?

Our dealer seems pretty disinterested about it now.

The car is 2008 Mazda 2 Auto, currently approx 11,000 km.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am also experiencing this kind of problem here in the Philippines.. My 2 is over a year old now and the dealer told me that it might have some mechanical problems..

I will post some updates as soon as I brought the car back..

Are you guys running the Auto or Manual Transmissions. If it's an Automatic, try shifting into neutral at a standstill and see if that helps. If so, it's likely a transmission issue. I'm only saying that because you are describing the exact issue I had with a 1995 Saturn about 10 years ago.

Hopefully not, but it's something to check out.
 
Yes, am driving an AT.. I drove the car for around 400kms on it when I experience this kind of a problem.. I have tried putting it to neutral but it eliminates the problem for only a moment..

Also, this only happens when am stepping on the brakes.. and not moving.
 
I had the same issue here in Malaysia. it happened when my M2 was just 7 months old.

My problem: Engine and battery light suddenly turned on, engine totally die off. Restart the car. Back to normal. The car was a bit jerking when the engine dies off. It happened at the traffic light, traffic jam.

I sent to the service centre for 4 times !
for the 1st- 2nd time, they could not find the issue, and they just released my car by saying there is nothing wrong with my car.
3rd time, they have reset ECU and was under observation for 6 hours. It was fine when I collected my car but the following week it happened again. so, for the final time, my car was in the service centre for 1 week and i was able to fight for a courtesy car. They thought it might be the petrol issue but turned out to be not. Finally, they have reprogrammed the ECU and change the BCM. According to my dealer, that my case is their first M2 model with such issue. Normally it only happens in M3.

I am still disappointed with Mazda Malaysia that they are so reluctant to release investigation report just because my car is under warranty. Customer deserves every right to know it at least we would know what changes/modifications done. Right now, my m2 is 10 months old, *touch wood*, still zoom-ing smoothly.
 
I noticed the same thing recently where my idle would get rough while i was stepping on my brake at a stop light and the a/c compressor was not active. The service advisor recommended i check my air filter and if it was dirty. I thought this was a little odd, but i did it anyway. I pulled the air filter and it was somewhat dirty being i have only 5,000 miles. So i put in a new air filter and the rough idle is gone, plus my MPG is back up to where it was before (avg 33 mpg or so).
 
I noticed the same thing recently where my idle would get rough while i was stepping on my brake at a stop light and the a/c compressor was not active. The service advisor recommended i check my air filter and if it was dirty. I thought this was a little odd, but i did it anyway. I pulled the air filter and it was somewhat dirty being i have only 5,000 miles. So i put in a new air filter and the rough idle is gone, plus my MPG is back up to where it was before (avg 33 mpg or so).

hmm, for my case, air filter looks fine. when the technician tested drive my car, it did not show any sickness! But when I drive, it did happened on and off.
It happened again few days after i posted my reply here. The battery and engine indicator were both on while slowing down at the traffic light. I quickly change it to N mode and pressed gas pedal and it was back to normal again.

Sigh.. not sure when it will be happening again. Does anyone in other regions manage to solve this mystery?
 
First thought is, were there any major weather changes (temperature or air pressure) just before it occurred? It may be that the ECU was still working off of its previous adjustments.

Also in another thread there was some thought that the factory sparkplug gap setting might be on the wide side and that the plugs should be gapped to .048 (1.2 mm) rather than the wider setting. A wide gap, which gets wider with usage, is harder for the ignition to fire.

I'd also look to see if the MAF sensor needs cleaning or if there are any vacuum leaks or air leaks between throttle body and intake manifold.

John
 
If this is occurring only with the brakes applied I would start by checking for vacuum leaks. The first place I would look is from the booster back to the engine.
 
freakking mazda!!!!!!!

i have an issue where when i am stopped in my mazda 2 and my foot on the break.. my car begins to vibrate quite a bit.. as well as the revs drop below 1.. it drops to 0.5and the major issue is that my car makes this reallllyyyyyyy annoying constant loud chirping noise when stopped and in gear 'd'whats funny is when i turn the air con on.. my revs slowly start creeping up to near 1.. and the noise disappears!! my car has done nearly 19,000k..

ive been to mazda probably 4 times so far.. with every trip a bigger fail than the next..they are unable to locate what is causing these issues.. they have changed some pullys and belts but with no success.

i have another appointment coming up where they have booked me in at a time when the rep of mazda is coming in, so i can show him the issues..

feels like mazda is such a big fail..

any one else have these issues..??
 
If they cant fix it lemon laws get you a new car! (for the guy that has had it less than a year)
 
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If they cant fix it lemon laws get you a new car! (for the guy that has had it less than a year)
I had a vehicle with a radiator leak & they just couldn't get it to stop. After 4 times (maybe 5) I found a law firm on the internet. All I did was fax them some stuff & fill out some paperwork & ended up getting near $5,000. They don't even make you pay a cent. They get their fee from the manufacturer. It was extremely easy. I'm not sue-happy or nothing; I was just really stressed that my new vehicle was screwed up. After it was all done I went to the store & bought a different brand of radiator cap & never had another problem. I'm not sure if the dealership was playing games to get warranty money for the repairs or what the deal was.
 
Most dealerships have parts-replacers and lack any real technicians who can diagnose a problem. So if the computer isn't throwing a code, they just shrug their shoulders and say they can't find the problem. So off to diagnosing 101 - if it's repeatable then have them drive with you. If not, then you are left to finding the issue or the dealership just does the generic billable stuff - reflash, air filter, tune-up type items, etc in most cases that can run up to $500, not solve the problem and then they shrug their shoulders again stating these are general maintenance items not covered under warranty.

A dirty air filter at 5k causing the issue as someone pointed out is very early if you drive paved roads. The MAF needing to be cleaned (properly) can be suspect. Fuel filter is suspect too since this issue is "typically" a fuel/airflow ratio. I haven't looked at the MAF placement but any CAI or oiled filter can generally play havoc with the MAF getting dirty.

Sorry that I don't have anything specific but I have a stick with only 2k miles at just over 3 weeks. We'll see if mine has an issue when I hit 6k miles or so in another 2 months.
 
Hello,

I own a 2011 Mazda (just rolled out in States last year) and I am having the same issues after 10K miles. Shakes at 70+ miles per hour and when idling at stop light. Has you situation improved or gotten worse or stayed the same? My service place is doing the usual- balance and rotate tires. Next come the motor mounts... I would love to know how yours is performing today.

Thanks,
Worried new owner
 
we get that from time to time on our 2012 sport(manual tranny) , but have noticed it goes away after fueling with shell fuel(now we are only using shell to see if it comes back) , car has about 3,100 miles on it.
 
FWIW, our cars Acura, Mazda and Honda all run better on Shell.

If no codes are being thrown, I'd try throwing Techron fuel injector cleaner in for a couple tanks and see if that helps.

BTW, there really is such a thing as "Bottom Gas" which is sold at No Name gas stations and it should be avoided for things like deposits, detonation, clogged filters, etc, etc.

Ask my father-in-law, who's poor Civic detonates like a popcorn machine. AT 82, he can't hear it pounding itself to death. Sigh,,,,,,,,,,,,,

John

John
 
My old Maxima -- I used to clean throttle body (all those electromagnetic valves, etc) with carb cleaner about once a year. Helped a lot. The injector cleaner wouldn't do it, because injector cleaner is about cleaning injectors and the fuel system, and in this case it could be the air delivery which is clogged with some gunk. Especially if changing air filter or turning on A/C helps. Turning on A/C brings up idle -- and how's it done with the throttle closed? Most likely some kind of electromagnetic air valve activated somewhere with A/C on.

Haven't really dug into the M2 intake construction, so these are just my guesses. But the idle on these cars is very low (is it 650 rpm?), which makes it very easy, if something is clogged, to drop it below the threshold where vibrations start. The idle is low most likely to improve fuel consumption, but I'd try to bring it up a bit. Little higher idle rpm would make for higher oil pressure (happier engine).

I miss shop manual -- need to get one soon. Then I could play with all that stuff...
 
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