This car is already pissing me off.

M

mSHOCKERp

:
Mazdaspeed Protege 2003.5
Let me start off by saying that I really want to love my 2k3.5 MSP. Within 1500 miles I have had already five problems with this car and I am not pleased at all. The first two problems were hesitation and the alarm was very sensitive and crazy. Took it to the service center and within two hours the car was reflashed and alarm adjusted. The alarm works great now but I'm one of the few that feels the flash did almost nothing but make the engine louder. Flat spots in the acceleration are still very present and although I have never owned a turbocharged car, I think it should be smoother. Now, just a day ago my glorious Kenwood headunit decides to only flip around half way, leaving me with a completely unusable head unit. I am fairly experienced in car audio and I am doing nothing wrong. I just pushed the button to eject the cd, took a cd out, put a new one in, and then it wouldn't go back up. It freezes in the position to remove the face, I do that and put it back on, nothing happens. The only movement is when I turn the car off the face goes from the faceplace removal position to normal usage position but I can't get it to power on. My rear bumper skirt is also coming unglued near the exhaust tip but I'm guessing that is an easy fix. I am also hearing the clunk quite a bit now, especially going into my driveway or slowly going over speedbumps. I bought this car because my 92 Jetta was acting up all the time and I am financially able to buy the car. What I was looking for was great performance backed by a warranty which this car just hasn't given me yet. It has a warranty but the performance just isn't there and too many things are going wrong. The real kick in the balls is my service center is backlogged and can't get me in until the 28th. At that point I can almost guarantee that they have to order a head unit which will take at least a week. **** them, commuting about two hours total 4-5days a week requires at least some music. Oh well, I guess I'll just listen to my overly loud engine...

Mike
 
Try pushing the reset button on the headunit. (radio issue)

As far as the "flat spots" I will tell you this, that is your ic pipes expanding. They are plasitc, and once the engine gets warm, and heats those pipes up, they will expand, even before you hit boost. Myself, and Forcedfed have seen this firsthand, as have many others. The only cure for that, is hard pipes for the IC.

As far as you not being happy, I feel for ya bro, Im happy with my car though, but the need for more power has bitten me. :D
 
hmmm

The flash made the engine sound louder? I can't imagine how changing the timing would make the engine louder, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I take my car into University Mazda in Seattle to get the flash done.

That sucks about all the other problems. When you put down this kind of money, you expect a decent product, at least I do! Fortunately, I haven't had any problems except the stumble and the clunk.
 
Did you disconnect the battery to reset the ECU after getting the flash done? If not, try that.
 
So, find a good dealer and get the problems fixed. Problems aren't supposed to happen but, they do.
 
Sorry to hear that..... I think I'm about to have a problem with my rear Bumper skirt as well.... I think its an easy fix also..... As far as the radio... the reset button should work.... and I already BLEW my 8in sub.... Mazda has replaced the sub with a completly NEW rear deck with amp and all.....remove & replace... I was told they did this to do research on the WHY???? I'm happy!!!! I thought it was gonna take forever but it didn't.... although it may suck..... Be NICE to your service advisor... They hear COMPLAINTS all day..... they work better with a smile!!! As far as other things..... such as POWER..... didn't everyone get a chance to TEST DRIVE.... In my opinion SPEEDS are not Fast & furious until you make some changes...... but don't blow the motor.....LOL!!!! My car was also flashed & I'm totally HAPPY with it... even though I plan to make performance changes.... my car PULLS Smoothly through the gears, makes me wanna challenge ANYTHING out there... but of course, My skills are SUPERIOR so when I'm lurking if they don't know what they're doing...............
I"M GONE!!!!!!!!!
 
boostisgood said:
Try pushing the reset button on the headunit. (radio issue)

As far as the "flat spots" I will tell you this, that is your ic pipes expanding. They are plasitc, and once the engine gets warm, and heats those pipes up, they will expand, even before you hit boost. Myself, and Forcedfed have seen this firsthand, as have many others. The only cure for that, is hard pipes for the IC.

As far as you not being happy, I feel for ya bro, Im happy with my car though, but the need for more power has bitten me. :D
Click to expand...

Yes! RESET the headunit!
My damn radio does the same s*** all the time!What sucks is fixing the settings after the reset!Hell I went as far as keeping a little tool to press the damn reset button in my cup holder for when it does it.I have a new head unit sitting at the dealer that has been there for about 2 months now,but I just havent had time to go to them to get it installed.I asked if I could pick it up and put it in myself but they said no.Every time I go to the dealer for something to get fixed they **** up something else.All I need is a bunch of gouges from a new radio install!
As for the piping?
MAD FLEXAGE FROM THE SOFT PIPEAGE!
Whether or nt this causes flat spots in the power curve I have yet to determine as I have not installed the hard pipes yet to see if they will correct the problem.
But yes they expand like a god damn balloon!
Matt;)
 
Thanks to boostisgood and the others for the radio reset button. Looks like I need to carry a pen on me at all times. I am very nice to service people because I am in the cell phone industry and I know being pissed gets you nowhere. Now I just have to invest in hardpipes, although I'd like to not void my warranty. About the MD meet, I'd love to go but I work every Saturday, weekends are big business for cell phones:) Thanks again everybody. Oh and I will try the battery terminal thing to reset the ecu, I did hear that sometimes it needs to be done.
 
mSHOCKERp
Go to summitracing.com and order ENS-9-5157G and that will fix the clunk. Its polyurethane bushings for the rear sway bar.
The hesitation goes away with joep stuff or an exhaust.
 
I had bad hesitation until I got the flash. It's alot better now, a helluva lot smoother. My dealership works closely with the club so getting the car in & outta there is always a breeze. So far, no other problems to report. I'm happy with the hp and handleing of the car. Of course, like most of us, faster is always better so upgrades will be forth coming.....soon hopefully. But with the price range of the car, what did you expect? A porshe? lol
 
GREATG said:
mSHOCKERp
Go to summitracing.com and order ENS-9-5157G and that will fix the clunk. Its polyurethane bushings for the rear sway bar.
Click to expand...

NO, poly bushings also fail given enough time. They also squeek unless regularly greased, and when cold.

GREATG said:
mSHOCKERp
The hesitation goes away with joep stuff or an exhaust.
Click to expand...

NO, hesitation does not go away. Even the flash is failing now after about 1000 miles. I am reinstalling the FPR kit today to see if that helps in conjunction with the flash.
 
Yeah I wasn't quite sure that hardpipes would void warranty but my theory was anything that isn't stock may void it, I didn't want any hassle. Clunk is least of my worries, I was just pissed in general, I'll wait for an official Mazda fix. And no I wasn't expecting a Porsche, but for around 20g's and brand new, I expect a car that won't have major faults within 1500 miles especially. I can deal with quirks, I drove VW's for years, and the head unit seems to be a quirk. I will just hit reset, fine. But the hesitation has me a little peeved still.
 
I had a 1994 Jetta that I loved. But as they age, things start going wrong here and there. Too much maint. upkeep for me. Had a 2003 Corolla a few months ago. Sometimes it would give out a sulfur smell that was AWEFUL and had an a/c problem. Took it to the dealership twice. The sulfur smell could not be fixed. Something with the fuel mixture Toyota told me, same problem that was with all their other line of cars as well. This time, I'm ready for almost anything, but hoping that it wont be TOO much that I'll have to worry about. Anytime you get a performance car, things are bound to go wrong. Especially with the Speed. Welcome to auto ownership. lol
 
mSHOCKERp said:
Yeah I wasn't quite sure that hardpipes would void warranty but my theory was anything that isn't stock may void it, I didn't want any hassle.
Click to expand...

It all really just depends on the dealer you go to. I've heard of some people getting hassled by their service department over a turbo-timer. On the other hand, the last 2 times I took my car in, I had warranty work performed, with no hassle at all. This is with a lot more than some hard-pipes:D
 
mSHOCKERp said:
Yeah I wasn't quite sure that hardpipes would void warranty but my theory was anything that isn't stock may void it, I didn't want any hassle. Clunk is least of my worries, I was just pissed in general, I'll wait for an official Mazda fix. And no I wasn't expecting a Porsche, but for around 20g's and brand new, I expect a car that won't have major faults within 1500 miles especially. I can deal with quirks, I drove VW's for years, and the head unit seems to be a quirk. I will just hit reset, fine. But the hesitation has me a little peeved still.
Click to expand...

Hell for 20 G's you wouldn't expect your motor to blow at 3800 miles either?
BUT MINE DID!
Now,How bad are your problems again?
Matt :p
 
ForceFed said:
Hell for 20 G's you wouldn't expect your motor to blow at 3800 miles either?
BUT MINE DID!
Now,How bad are your problems again?
Matt :p
Click to expand...

Wow, what caused it? Were you totally stock or had you done any engine mods? I can't touch 14's in the quarter mile so, maybe you're pushing the car a little too hard?
 
505zoom said:
NO, poly bushings also fail given enough time. They also squeek unless regularly greased, and when cold.



NO, hesitation does not go away. Even the flash is failing now after about 1000 miles. I am reinstalling the FPR kit today to see if that helps in conjunction with the flash.
Click to expand...
Damn I feel for the guys that have the hesitation I never really had it other than some pulsing under WOT. Sometimes it would stumble in 5th at 2900-3k on the highway when I accelerated.
I have over 2k miles on the car post flash running 12 PSI for about 1000 miles and the car is so smooth it's almost sickening.
It makes more torque for sure especially at part throttle but it's like my car is on ludes faster but way more sedate.
 
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