Skyactiv engine/transmissions & long term reliability

R

raded

Member
I'm strongly considering buying a Mazda3 Skyactiv, but I'm a little worried about reliability. Brand new engines tend to experience some growing pains over time. Have any patterns emerged yet as to problems that could come up over time with the engine or auto transmission? Any speculation as to things that might become problems over time?

I'm looking to get a car that my fianc and I can rely on for 10+ years if we end up needing to. Right now we're down to a Mazda3 Skyactiv HB or the new Focus HB. Mazda is currently in the lead because of the jerky A/T and the baffling "infotainment" system in the Focus.
 
yea ford is having issues with the transmission..
Mazda's AT is a bit jerky at starts too but Mazda just doubled the output of the skyactiv engine from 400,000 to 800,000. I personally haven't heard from anyone having an issue yet.
 
I have the 2012 Mazda3 i,
I've put on 2500 miles so far and have had no problems and the fuel saving is great too.
 
Mazda3UR said:
yea ford is having issues with the transmission..
Mazda's AT is a bit jerky at starts too but Mazda just doubled the output of the skyactiv engine from 400,000 to 800,000. I personally haven't heard from anyone having an issue yet.
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Yeah I read that a few minutes after I posted. I've been looking around for any reports of problems but I've had trouble finding any. I suppose that's a good sign.
 
Take a look at the NHTSA web site for customer complaints. You can search on make, model, and year to get an understanding of owner's problems. I've been comparing a '12 Cruze 2LT RS with a '12 Mazda3i Grand Touring, but after 18 months of comparing, a Mazda3 is way ahead in terms of problems, dealer service support, and personal likes. Of course having an '03 P5 in the garage that has never been to the dealer for problems helps. Here's the link to NHTSA:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/complaintsearch.cfm
 
I've just turned over 6,000 miles on my 3i Touring and it's still running like a champ. It seems to have broken in nicely and the throttle response is getting better, plus I've been averaging in the mid-upper 30's for miles per gallon with a heavy right foot.
 
I 2nd armycop.

I have just over 1,300 in about a month and a half. The car drives beautifully; engine, transmission, and handling have all improved a lot after break-in.

I average 27 city 35 hwy with A/C and 31 city 38 hwy without A/C. I have been taking it easy on the car during break-in (first 1,000 according to manual) but starting to explore its capabilities now.
 
Decided to pull the trigger after I saw the new incentives. Mazda3i Touring HB. Freshly shipped, only had 5 miles on the odometer when I test drove it. Been trying to go easy on it until the engine's broken in but it's tough because I've been driving anemic GM products for the past 8 years.
 
5000km plus on my M3 Skyactiv 4 door and so far no problems or any indication that there will be.
The transmission is a little jerky on a soft launch but nothing to really bother about. Hammer it and you don't notice :)
Looking now to replace the original radio with one of the DVD GPS units, but a hard decision to make.
 
SkyActiv, in and of itself, is not actually much in the way of a technology; it’s an engineering approach that emphasizes saving weight and maximizing efficiency without sacrificing performance.
 
raded said:
Decided to pull the trigger after I saw the new incentives. Mazda3i Touring HB. Freshly shipped, only had 5 miles on the odometer when I test drove it. Been trying to go easy on it until the engine's broken in but it's tough because I've been driving anemic GM products for the past 8 years.
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What did you end up paying if you don't mind.
 
I have the 2012 I Touring HB Skyactiv 6 sp MT and sticker was $20150 I paid $19300 plus tax doc fees was $20660. $850 incentives $3k down for $16810 financed at 0% for 60 months thru Mazda/Chase $280.57 a month...not too bad.
 
Hey everyone new to this forum first post actually. Anyways I had to post here because I have had my Skyactiv since October 23 2011 I have since put over 30000 miles on it! This car is amazing! Recently we took it on a road trip from San Diego to Stockton and got 40mpg average thats with going through the grape vine and sitting in LA traffic. Change oil at the the regular interval myself. Only had to bring it to the dealer once but that was for manufacturer recall, recalibration of the ECU. I'm now looking into getting some mazdaspeed3 springs to bring it down a little and possibly a rear sway bar to tighten up the handling.
 
I've had my 2012 Mazda 3i Touring hatch 6MT for about ten months and over 17K miles now and I have had ZERO issues whatsoever. Other than the driver's side power window sounding like it's getting a bit loose when partially open (I have yet to even bring this up to the dealer because this has not affected me in any way), everything has been smooth sailing and let's just say I've been driving spiritedly just about every day hoping to wear out these Bridgestone Turanza tires. Coming from a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3, this car, despite the inch higher ride height and lack of turbo, is just as much of a pleasure to drive. I actually prefer this car over the Speed for its fuel economy, livability, practicality, lower insurance costs, and being able to push it to the limit more in daily driving. With the Speed, there was NO WAY in hell I would be doing 155 MPH putting people in danger and taking off like a muscle car at every stoplight... hahaha.

All in all, in my more spirited driving, I'm still averaging EPA fuel economy figures or better. When I'm going easy on the car, it does even better (as high as 42 MPG all highway going 70-80 MPH on I-95 North on the way home from Richmond, VA). I soon plan on installing a Corksport SRI for slight power, response, and fuel economy gains. I think I could get 45+ MPG out of this thing easily and actually have fun while driving.
 
I'm still averaging EPA fuel economy figures or better. When I'm going easy on the car, it does even better (as high as 42 MPG all highway going 70-80 MPH on I-95 North on the way home from Richmond, VA). I soon plan on installing a Corksport SRI for slight power, response, and fuel economy gains. I think I could get 45+ MPG out of this thing easily and actually have fun while driving????
 
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