Stumble @ Idle

Now that I think about it, my P5 used to do similar stumbles, especially when cold. Best bet is it just try and let your car warm up as much as possible before driving.
 
paging_drburgos said:
That's what i'm sayin. I've had mine actually turn off twice in the morning when accelerating from a stop. Since then i've had it stutter a few times.

Oh and mines an auto and it seemed like it stalled in between 1st and 2nd


Mine is an auto as well...

Having the car actually stall out is my biggest concern...I haven't been in that situation yet, but I can't imagine how scary it would be to stall making a left turn while oncoming traffic barrels toward me...I told my wife she's going to be bound to our Scion xA until the cold season passes...

What really gets me though is the techs at the dealership (and this is a great dealership that I would easily recommend to anyone from my previous service there) said that this is "normal" until the engine reaches its "optimum performance temperature"...My reply to the tech was "Okay then seeing as my car is going to be placing additional risks while driving for me and my family, how about getting Mazda to install something to let the driver know exactly "WHEN" that temp has been reached and it is safe to back the car out of a driveway or parking space???

I feel really sorry for all of our friends in Canada and in the mid-West and East coast...In Northern California we dip into the low 20's at best, but you guys get rain, snow, and hail this time of year with temps well below zero...

Drive carefully and stay safe out there everyone...

DAN
 
stupid question, what octane gas are those who are having the stumbling running, 93? My 5 hates anything over 87 octane so thats what I run (book says thats what the ECM is setup for). The reason I ask is my hyundai has a somewhat similar problem with high octane gas and cool temps, because its ecm is setup for low octane fuel. My issue was not very bad but I'm anal so I felt it. I stopped wasting money on higher octane fuel (after learning more about octane, fuel, and ignition maps) and the "stall" problem went away. Octane + cooler temps = higher resistance to burn. Just a thought, don't know if its even close to what the problem actually is.
 
mine has never stalled (probably cause it never gets that cold here, or at least not very often or for very long) but I've felt that heart stopping hesitation. Takes me back in my mind to driving my old 84 honda accord which I finally got rid of after it caught fire! That thing stalled out all the time due to a bad carburetor ruined by a faulty fuel filler tube that let water get in and ruin it. Even though it was a long time ago, I still have flashbacks...

I agree stalling out at any time cannot be considered "normal"
 
Wytchdctr said:
stupid question, what octane gas are those who are having the stumbling running, 93? My 5 hates anything over 87 octane so thats what I run (book says thats what the ECM is setup for). The reason I ask is my hyundai has a somewhat similar problem with high octane gas and cool temps, because its ecm is setup for low octane fuel. My issue was not very bad but I'm anal so I felt it. I stopped wasting money on higher octane fuel (after learning more about octane, fuel, and ignition maps) and the "stall" problem went away. Octane + cooler temps = higher resistance to burn. Just a thought, don't know if its even close to what the problem actually is.

Very interesting that you bring this up...I use nothing but 91 octane gas in my 5...I always figured it would give me the best burn off and performance...Wow is it true that our 5's are rated to be driven at 87 octane???

Oh and I know this is going to sound stupid and all, but please forgive me I'm nowhere near mechanically inclined when it comes to modern motors...Would my switching to 87 octane gas now after running the 91 in the tank since I purchased the car in April of this year have any adverse effects on the engine??? Also, how does the car perform for you with the lower octane gas???

Thanks!!!

DAN
 
book actually says no lower than 87. Normally what they put in the manual is what the ecm is setup to run.

If you ecm is mapped to run high octane, run it. With new engines you wont hurt it running lower octane but the ecm has ways of knowing("hearing" slight knock etc) and will pull back ignition timing, run rich, and possibly in our case change cam timing to protect itself. If its a turboed engine the effect on performance will be VERY noticeable and in hot conditions could be dangerous. All of that would cause a drop in performance and crappy gas millage. Any resistance to burn (octane rating) over what the ecm is setup for will not increase performance. The ecm will run on whatever maps mazda gave it. There is no way for it to know,.. o hey I have good gas lemme turn up the timing. If you go way over the set rating you might not get a complete burn. Like one idiot I saw at the track who put 110 (i think) into a stock focus and had some issues starting/ran like crap once the lower octane fuel was out of the system.

So will you hurt it, not at all. If you want to get the best fuel in your car follow these two tips. Run Top-Teir fuel at your ECMs octane rating (same gas as cheapo stations but better cleaning agents) and find a station that doesn't keep fuel very long. If its a busy station that is always refilling its tanks there is less of a chance the gas you are getting has moisture in it from condensation in the tanks.

I tried running high octane in my 5 and to me it didn't seem to like it as much as when I pumped 87 into it.
 
forgot to mention that I've only ever put 87 into mine. No way I was buying a car that required anything more for all my trips to the grocery store ;) Now, someday I will get my mid life crisis car, and it will probably require something better :D
 
Wytchdctr said:
book actually says no lower than 87. Normally what they put in the manual is what the ecm is setup to run.

If you ecm is mapped to run high octane, run it. With new engines you wont hurt it running lower octane but the ecm has ways of knowing("hearing" slight knock etc) and will pull back ignition timing, run rich, and possibly in our case change cam timing to protect itself. If its a turboed engine the effect on performance will be VERY noticeable and in hot conditions could be dangerous. All of that would cause a drop in performance and crappy gas millage. Any resistance to burn (octane rating) over what the ecm is setup for will not increase performance. The ecm will run on whatever maps mazda gave it. There is no way for it to know,.. o hey I have good gas lemme turn up the timing. If you go way over the set rating you might not get a complete burn. Like one idiot I saw at the track who put 110 (i think) into a stock focus and had some issues starting/ran like crap once the lower octane fuel was out of the system.

So will you hurt it, not at all. If you want to get the best fuel in your car follow these two tips. Run Top-Teir fuel at your ECMs octane rating (same gas as cheapo stations but better cleaning agents) and find a station that doesn't keep fuel very long. If its a busy station that is always refilling its tanks there is less of a chance the gas you are getting has moisture in it from condensation in the tanks.

I tried running high octane in my 5 and to me it didn't seem to like it as much as when I pumped 87 into it.

Thanks so much for all of the feedback!!! I'll try and run 87 octane on my next refill and see how it runs then on colder days...And of course, I'll post my findings right here too :D
 
Some people really think that higher makes there cars feel better. Ive seen dyno proof that high octane does nothing on a hyundai, yet we have people on our boards that will argue all day about it, lol.
 
Mine stubles but dealer cant reproduce it so no fix. Even after its warmed up sometimes cold or hot, its when you go to take off from a stop and I apply about 40% gas all of the sudden it sometimes hesitates.
 
Very interesting to find this thread. Yeah, ours stumbles too. My wife didn't notice it, but of course I did. 1200 miles and it's still there.
 
It started happening more often since our morning temps have dropped into the 30's-40's. Same thing, only happens once and it's back to normal. Sheesh!!
 
Got a reply back from MazdaUSA and they gave me the somewhat expected canned line of Were not technically trained, take this to your Mazda Dealership to get checked. I tried to emphasize that the issue is pretty widespread, but didnt seem to make a difference. Oh well
 
Does anyone here have access to pull up TSBs? I found one description for the 5 that may address this. This is the only detail I could get without paying for a subscription to the website
0100206 JUL 06 Engine Controls - Rough Idle/Hesitation/DTC P0300 Set
 
jandree22 said:
Got a reply back from MazdaUSA and they gave me the somewhat expected canned line of Were not technically trained, take this to your Mazda Dealership to get checked. I tried to emphasize that the issue is pretty widespread, but didnt seem to make a difference. Oh well


I got that same dang reply to my question about the oil level vs. the book. I was thinking about replacing my elantra with a MS3 next year. With the problems everyone seems to be having without being answered. New SI is looking nicer by the minute,
 
Wytchdctr said:
New SI is looking nicer by the minute,
Sat in a Si Sedan last night at the PA Auto show... very nice. Looks awesome, cept for the ricey "DOHC VTEC" stickers on the rear doors. Then again, the MS3 is perhaps one of the sexiest cars EV4R! :D
 
My done the same thing a few times in about 8 months since i got it, most of the time when the weather is foggy and temp. is below 50.
 
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