heavyD
I don't know about other Mazda owners but my wife bought her 2002 Protege 5 new and it was problem free for exactly three years. One week after the warranty expired (Nov. 8), the car started getting hard to start. We took it to Sunridge Mazda and they looked it over and said it was the idle air control valve ($700.00) and it wouldn't be covered under warranty because the warranty expired Oct. 29. From my knoweledge, the idle air control valve is only used to let more air in the manifold when loads are placed on the engine like A/C or other accessories, not to start the car. I've replaced the one on my eclipse when I had idle problems and it was only $250.00. Hell alot of the DSM owners take them out and block them out with a plate.

So anyway I ask the service guy what that valve has to do with starting and the guy says: "you must know more than our mechanic, then. He is the top rated mechanic in Canada. You must know more about cars then him." as he points to a plaque on the wall in a condesending way. Rather than cause a scene I keep my mouth shut and tell them we don't want to buy a new one for $700.00. They supposedly cleaned out the existing one instead and the car worked fine. I told my wife I would never deal with that asshole again or Mazda period.

A week later the Brake light starts flashing on the car which according to the manual means you are low on break fluid of there is a problem with the hydraulic system. The fluid resovior is fine. Again if we take it in we have to pay because it is out of warranty.

Same week she found a rust bubble on the hatch on a 3 year old car that I wax for her twice a year.

On another note the car never used any oil for three years and two months ofter the last oil change, the car is down a liter.

It's like when the odometer hits 60K, the car just starts to fall apart. Be very weary of Mazda's new products, especially that they are using alot more of Ford's engines, chassis (Mazda 3 is built on a Focus platform), and parts. If you want real Japanese, buy a Honda, Nissan, Toyota, or even a Mitsubishi.

Finished venting.:whipped:

Weapon_R
Are you sure that your rust protection isn't longer than 3 years?

As for the new Mazda products, it's going to be very interesting to see whether or not their entire line is plagued with problems. It's still a little early to tell, but most p5 owners will probably be in the right period.

dsmer

i thought most of mitsubishis shit was made in Illinois? not really a jap car at all.

but shitty to hear, i was actually thinking of an rx8 up until i heard it consumes gas like a damn viper and puts down only 200 rwhp. :rofl:

86max
My mom has a P5, hopefully it doesn't go sour, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for problems. That's brutal man, it kind of reinforces the idea that cars are only made to last a certain period of time. Disposeable cars.:thumbsdow

heavyD

Take a look at the latest Automobile magazine. They have a long term report on their RX8. They said something like "You should never have to change the oil in these cars because they burn a quart exactly every 1000 miles. We have added so much oil that it should be new. We called Mazda and they said it is one of the quirks with owning a rotary engine." They had a ton of unscheduled oil additions. This is on a one year old car. Can you imagine how much oil it will use after 100K. These cars will definately not age well.

Primer_Drift

^^ that would be MMA, a division of Chryco, I don't consider them really japanese but they're more an import than the new For...err Mazdas.
Sorry to hear about your mazda woes HeavyD, sounds like time for a trade in.. gotta keep that warranty running with those mazdas or you're bound to be hit up for parts. I remeber needing a tiny plastic continuity sensor for the top of the radiator on my Rx7. Turns out a fine thread bolt with a the wire sodiered on works just as good and doesnt cost $180:eek:

dsmer

:werd:

anyways how much was it to fix the brakes? i guess mazda isnt a really good investment the one by chinook already closed down :dunno:

heavyD

We are trading it in right away. I really feel sorry for the person who ends up with it.:(

awd
A friend of mine with a Protege5 recently told me a similar story -- needless to say, he sold the car and is shopping for a non-mazda.

I am curious to see how these new-gen mazdas fare over the next few years. Although, I don't think these post-warranty problem situations are mazda-specific.

heavyD
Oh yeah. Even the POS Dunlop tires that came with the car are bald after a woman driving it for three years.

Akagi Redsuns

They closed down and moved to a huge place by Anderson and MacLeod Tr. Just noticed it when I drove by the other day. Seems like Mazda is doing well judging from the size of the new dealership and the endless Mazda 3's and Mazda 6's I see around the city.

New car rust warranties are a joke. Mazda states " body sheet metal perforation for 5 years and unlimited mileage" .....of the course the keyword is perforation, aka a hole. I had a rust spot on my brandnew car after only a year and asked about it at the dealer....no help at all. Basically said come back when a hole appears. Gee thanks.



HeavyD: I am suprised that the faulty vavle is not under the powertrain warranty. Most be a pretty sparse list of components it covers.

Z_Fan
Well, I'm a little disappointed.

I thought those cars were nice looking little cars. So, do you think this might apply to the Mazda 3 as well?

I've had a base base model Cavalier for a get around car for almost the exact length of time as you've had the Protege. Other than a braking problem, it's had nothing at all go wrong. I thought I was buying the biggest POS on the market. Guess not.

JAYMEZ_STi
HeavyD I think you need to fight more for your warranty coverage, sure the warranty is up , but shouldnt that part have shown some signs last time they checked up on it. Isnt it there fault that they didnt find anything ?? JUST fight... for your right... forrrr warranty :rofl:

ninjak84

HA HA!

What a load of shit.
Sunridge Mazda has a bunch of grease-monkey's in their shop.

GQNammer
Omg this really scares me!

I just bought a mazda 3 gfx like 3 months ago. :(

JAYMEZ_STi
^^^ it might only happen to the freak ones of the bunch.

Kor
Never owned a Mazda, but you guys gotta admit the new Mazdaspeed 6 is awesome. 274 hp @ 5500 rpm, 280 lb-ft @ 3000rpm turbo 2.3L. Supposedly faster than the RX-8 and with more room.

DUBBED

But if the build quality is anything similar to Heavyd's situation what's the point?

Kor
Maybe just got a lemon? I drive a VW so we've had our fair share of build quality criticisms too.

Akagi Redsuns

Too bad it's not RWD.

JCX

Sorry Initial D, no luck.

It's supposed to be AWD.

JCX

So are you going to blame that one on Ford too?

heavyD

Why not? Ford is the majority owner of Mazda.:whocares:

Akagi Redsuns

Well, Mazda is correct though, it is a quirk to owning a rotary. It has a oil metering pump and oil injectors that inject oil right into the combustion chamber. This helps in lulbricating the apex seals since unlike piston rings, the seals seperate combustion chambers and not the crankcase and a resoivor of oil.

To see this kind of oil cosumption in a piston engine is another story though. It's scary to see what the manufacturers consider "normal"oil comsumption though.

fast95pony

60K on one set of tires sounds normal.

"Woman driven" doesn't mean much. How often did she check the tire pressures ?? How often did she check the oil ??
Did she hand wash the car or run it through an automatic one ??

You have a brake warning light on.Has the brake fluid ever been changed ?? What shape are the brake pads/rotors in ?? Is the car auto or manual ?? after 60k , the brakes could need servicing,especially if it's auto. Was the car serviced by the dealer?? When did they last inspect the brakes ??


Basically after 60k , you almost had to replace a $700 part that was not required (dealer fault ) , a brake light warning , and a rust bubble. That's not great, but it's hardly "falling apart".

method
my p5 had tiny little bubbles of rust on the b pillars... they fixed it under warranty, but it makes me wary.

I'm never buying another new car again.

Fobby
Just to clearify. Ford does not OWN any part of Mazda, though Ford has 33.33333333% of controlling interest in Mazda. It's true Ford and Mazda shares parts and platforms, but mind you, it's the euro focus platform that the mz3 and volvo are sharing with, not the same platform in NA. The euro focus is highly praised and highly rated compare to the one we have here.

my $0.02

RickDaTuner
If the Vin doesnt start with a J then it isnt worth buying:poosie:

its to bad taht you have has all this trouble with your car:thumbsdow

SAiamNE
Which Mazda dealership did you goto?
I've gone to a couple and all of them treat you with no respect at all EXCEPT North Hill.. They treat you VERY NICE!
I suggest them if you have to go back again..

BMWilli
Sorry to hear about your problems HeavyD

Mazda's suck ass! after saying that, i'm on my second mazda now.....man the first one...problems right from the start

...first no power steering ( they told me that have the wrong power steering fluid in it...it had fluid that was for warm temps in japan BS!!!)

then my radio stopped working....then something happened with idle where everytime i went to brake the rpm's went down close to 200 and almost stalled the car......then i had suspension problems one of the sway bar end links broke......and then one of the switches for the power window stopped working...and blah blah blah.

i vowed never to buy another mazda....but what do i do? i go and buy another one. so far i havent had any major problems with it except that i have trouble putting the shifter into reverse......the mazda guy said i have to put it into first then into reverse......who has ever heard of that? then just a few days ago i had troubles starting once or twice.

anyways hope i don't have any more problems .

Good thing i have another reliable car!!! Go BMW!!!

NickGT

^^My exact thoughts too. :nut:

cocoabrova
I've enjoyed my MSP since May 2003, and for any probs I had with the car, Sunridge Mazda replaced/fixed all the warranty and even a non-warranty prob......

Warranty/recall items fixed to date:
-Blown rear sub
-noisy rear stabilizer bar bushings (these have been replaced twice already because Mazda hasn't produced ones that won't sqeak when it's cold)
-right/rear ABS wheel speed sensor faulty (more common on P5's)
-coolant elbow recall...replaced

Non-warranty
-My w/w sprayers and lighter weren't working. Seems that one of the wires that was powering my aftermarket gages grounded (which I also happened to splice into the sprayer/lighter power) was grounding out somewhere. They traced/fixed it and haven't had a problem since.

Although I love the car, I will probably tradeup for a MSP-6 (can't say no to 274hp and AWD)

As for dealer service, I've never gotten better treatment from another dealer until I went to Sunridge Mazda. Hell, I wasn't even into Japanese imports back then. But in the last 3 yrs., I/my family have purchased 5 vehicles from them, and will continue to go there in the future for sales/service.

heavyD

I'm alot older than most of you and have owned many cars as I have been driving since the 80's so I can tell when a car is on it's way out. The car is starting to use oil, 2nd gear synchros are starting to wear, the front end has more rock chips than the original paint on my 1988 Mazda 323 GT. I can tell that this car isn't built to last.

I drove my last three Hondas (91 Accord, 94 Civic Si, 95 delSol VTEC) past 160 000 kms and between the three of them I replaced one water pump outside of regular maintenance. So you can see I am used to cars lasting a little longer than 60K.

I've also dealt with many dealerships and Honda West was by far the worst ever but Sunridge Mazda is second worst. They are selling Mazda 3's faster than they can get them in (partly because they combine nice styling and come fully loaded cheaper than Civics, Corrollas, Lancers, etc) so they couldn't give a shit if they piss a few people off because business is good. The way that service guy treated me, normally I might have lost my cool but I was so shocked that I was speachless. It was that unprofessional.

I'm sure that they treat buyers well or they would be out of business but good luck when your warranty expires.

fast95pony

I might have you beat..;)

Sounds like the dealers are treating you very poorly.
Do they have a regional office you can complain to ??
I'm sure if you shout loud enough you will get some
help from Mazda.

dsmer
i think rust after 3 years is quite harsh!!! i have seen cars 15 years old with no rust. who know whats going to happen next. i say get rid of it asap before the real problems get to you! oil loss is sign that things arent going to well (unless its the pan gasket problem something small)

JAYMEZ_STi
^^^ Ya I was going to say , maybe you should take it higher then just the dealer , its always worth the try. I mean you might have more luck than us younger people , cuz your an older man (muaahh) j.j. But seriously , I find it really disrespectful of them to be rude to you , you defiantly need to do something about it.

Just get the whip out , and demand shit be done:whipped:


Oh ya as for rust , my 1993 RX-7 has not one spot of rust on it and its 11 years old , so your paint job must be completely whack!

noodles
kay, ive owned a 92 323 since it was new, two spots of rust, not one problem ever, never burns a drop of oil.....and your sayin mazda is shit? what are you drivin thats so hot?

Team_Mclaren
lot of well said stuff on here, I can only tell by my own experience.

Owned my mx3 for 2 years now almost, no major problems, alternator went once and that was the biggest repair bill i've had. (100 rebuit, installed myself). Got the car with a new rebuilt engine (assume, but sure its not the orginal motor). Everything runs great. Some rust along wheel trim, which is pretty normal consider the first owner of the car didnt really take that good care of it, and he lives in a small town (gravel and stuff).

anyway, the only big problem i found is that the engine does tend to consume a bit of oil, didnt keep track on exactly how much, but dip stick shows. Talked to one of the guy that used to work at a mazda dealership, and was told that even when car was new, they do tend to eat a bit of oil. so probably a design flaw for that year or something. But overall, i've been happy with the little mazda.

sorry to hear that you got some brutal service from the dealership... but seriously, most dealerships are like that, especially with calgary booming like crazy, they dont really give a shit if they lose a constomer or two...:dunno:

t-im

did you READ the first post?

S14maniac
every car company came out with some good and some bad! mitsubishi made some shitty cars, but they also made evo! mazda made rx-7! nissan made skyline!

noodles
ya, i read it, it said his WIFE has a protege 5...... maybe you need to read what i said......

and good call S14maniac..........

CKY
for the last 2 months i've been looking into getting a car and when i thought the protege 5 was my best choice for the money and then i run into this thread.............

blitz

My Mazda3 was built and assembled in Japan.

Shouldn't the title of the thread be "P5 runs flawlessly for 3 years"?

Now I'm a little bias based on what I drive, but taking an experience with one car and applying it to an entire brand seems a little harsh. I've heard of lemon SER Spec-V's, so that rules the whole Nissan brand out. I had a crappy CRX, that means Honda's suck. My sisters Toyota died early, so I guess those suck too. Damn, we're just running out of brands now, arent we?

heavyD

I'm not running out of brands to hate. Toyota & Honda build near (all cars have problems) bulletproof vehicles that happen to be quite bland. Mazda builds cars that are more sporty while not as well built. Deal with it. They rank below average in reliability according to JD Power and my car justifies it.

funkytuqe
Hmmm, i will take your caution to note. However, i don't hear this story on the mazda forums, this could just be a few isolated ocurrences. The next few years will tell though, there will be a lot of P5's comming off of warrenty in the next while. I just hope that your suspitions are not true or i will be selling my P5 in 2 years when the warrent is up. I would just like to say that i think the P5 is a fantastic car with great handeling out of the box, it is a versitile vehicle with it being a wagon and all, plus they look hot in my opinion.:love:

heavyD

I definately agree that the handling is great and the car has decent styling. The engine is pretty weak in the power department which is too bad considering how great it handles. Rust bubbles on a 3 year old car is pretty weak in this day and age as well as the tons of rock chips on the front. Hopefully your car fares better than ours.

SRH
I've got a Mazda 3 as well. So far things have been great, no problems at all. I come from a Toyota family...had 3 of them before the Mazda.

I'm sad to say I made my purchase at Sunridge Mazda. Those ass-holes were great until they handed me the keys. After that I was treated like crap. I bought the car with understanding that I could get a bike rack to fit it in the summer. (I'm an avid mountain biker) When spring rolled around I found out that nobody made a rack for the Mazda 3 yet. I called Sunridge and confronted them. They danced around the fact that they had lied to me. And told me not to worry, something would come out to fit my car by August. Yeah thanks alot! Then I went in a few weeks later to ask a couple of questions regarding warranty and upgrades. The guy that sold me the car sat me down in his office and then noticed a few potential customers walk in. (The place wasn't busy and he wasn't the only guy working.) He left me there for 15 minutes while he chatted these people up. I was pissed so I left and haven't been back since.

As far as I'm concered ALL of the Mazda dealers in Calgary stink.

Fobby
Really? damn...I have had nothing but great services from Sunridge.

CKY
i talked with one guy in kramer and he seems like a nice guy considering all i did was browse around for 2 hours with little intention of actually buying a car at that moment

Moe Man

thats because its a GM :thumbsup:

legendboy
Mazda parts are as expensive or more than toyota parts. Very pricy.

SRH

I went to Kramer before I had gone to Sunridge. At the time I was looking at the Protoge 5's they were clearing out to make way for the new 3's. I had called before going in and made an appointment with a sales guy. When I got there he made me wait 25 minutes. When he did come over, he showed me a couple of cars and asked me what kind of money I was looking at spending. I told him between $18 500 to $21 ish...depending on what my monthly payements looked like. He asked me what I was going to trade in. I told him I wasn't doing a trade and that I would sell my 1994 Toyota 4-Runner on my own. He laughed at me and told me I wouldn't get very much for it and that I probably couldn't afford a new Mazda anyway. My truck sold a few weeks later for $8000.00. Not great but not bad. And I ended up buying the NEW and more expensive Mazda 3 hatch at Sunridge. Again, it's unfortunate that I purchased at Sunridge. They will not be getting any referals or return visits for maintenance from me. Because of all of this and the fact that I live in the South end of the city...I did visit Kramer again for an oil change. They were pretty decent with me as far at the service department goes. I'm not sure if that sales guy is still there or not...I wouldn't think he would be selling very many cars with his attitude.

Fobby
that's interesting. Wonder if we bought it from the same guy.

If Kramer didn't move to the god damn boonies.. I would bring my car there for services.

Akagi Redsuns
The boonies is Anderson and McLeod Tr? :)

Seanith

The boonies as in the non ghetto area of the city lol

marc
heavy D u got screwed i guess lol, me and my family has owned alot of mazdas and have only had one problematic mazda (b2200 and a bad engine). maybe u got a lemon cause i know alot of people who own proteges and havent had any major problems (one nearing 150 000 km!!).

As for buying a 'real' japanese car good luck! Nissans are mostly built in the US (only exceptions are 350z's and Xtrails), and as for toyotas alot of them are built in the US too (echo's and corolla's to name a few), and yah mitsu's are built in North america too! so good luck finding a late model import built in Japan that would be in the same class as a protege.

Oh and the mazda 3 is built on a focus chassis but u gotta remember that the focus was designed by the European (german i think) part of ford which has designed some of the best rally cars in the world.

Good luck wit the protege! :nut:

heavyD

Protege is gone. Traded in on a car 100% built in Japan.:D

blitz

So you bought a Mazda3? :thumbsup:

Seanith
Isn't the focus based on the mazda3 chassis and not the other way around? :dunno:

blitz

It was a joint development deal. Volvo S40, Mazda3, Euro Ford Focus were all designed on the new chassi. All of them are slightly different (i.e. Volvo used different materials to improve crash absorption), but the basics are the same.

CKY

like previously mentioned about mazda 3s, thsoe bastard dealers are so busy clearing 3s off the shelf they don't give a shit about other customers, definetly not the way to do things. but then again, its not like theres that many good car salesmen in calgary in the first place

heavyD

No. I don't care for Mazda badged Focuses.:rofl: :rofl:

SRH

I agree, I was shoved aside pretty fast when those other customers walked in the door at Sunridge. It's amazing the change in service I got as soon as the papers were signed. I haven't seen any sort of follow up from them either.

As for the sales person comment...True, there aren't many good sales people...

If you want an exceptional car sales person, see Jen at Platinum Mitsubishi in the North. She's got a great attitude, no pressure, actually knows her stuff and won't dish out any BS. I can tell you that I'll be purchasing my next car from her. Don't get me wrong, I don't disslike my Mazda 3...But I cringe everytime I think about those ass-holes at Sunridge getting my money.

heavyD

I agree. Those pricks at Sunridge Mazda take their lips off your ass as soon as you sign the papers and after that basically tell you to bend over because they could care less about your future business. I hope that it comes back to bite them in the ass.:whipped:

rockym20

Actually, my car (a Hyundai) is exactly like that. Usually, you either have to put it into first or double clutch while in neutral to get it into reverse.

funkytuqe
go to Northill mazda, it's alot closer than driving down to Anderson and the sevice so far has been first rate for me!:thumbsup:

SRH

Yeah but I live in the South, Krame Mazda's new location is actually quite close to where I live. However, I think I might visit Northhill for my regular service next time.

GQNammer
I also currently own a mazda 3. It seems like we've all been treated like shit after we signed the papers for the car. I purchased my car from kramer. At 1st the sales guy was all nice. Once I signed some papers he basically just took off. I had to run around the place to know what was the next step (1st time buying a brand new car).

SRH

Yeah it was my first new car too. I think they tried to take advantage of that as well.

BTW...Did you get the recall notice for the impact crash zone sensor housing in the mail yet?

9kbeyond
Well, Mazdas are definitely more prone to problems than their Honda and Toyota rivals. I have owned 2 mazdas and 2 toyotas that were of the same year. The toyotas are definitely more reliable. Mazdas' reliability aren't as good as expected as Japanese Cars although they aren't very Japanese anymore with their platform sharing with FORD.

Once again, if you want reliability, you WILL have a better chance with a Honda or Toyota. I am sure ppl don't buy Mazda's because of their reliability, so be prepared to do more maintenance when you do own one.

CKY

are they giving you guys a new car or just gonna take it in the shop and replace one for you?

gorillam
I know you are worried about this car, but 1 error code (brakes), and eating some oil aint too bad..

As for the rust, do you notice any problems in the paint / primer?
Are the rear trunk seals gone, honestly I think It could just be back luck with the metal. Not all metal that the dealerships are brand spankin new and perfect...



As for the tires 60k is great for factory tires.
My pickup's tires only lasted 45k and they were goodyear rt/s, expensive ass tires.

As for the syncro feeling like it's sordof going :>
Remember it's a girl driving.

It's sad to hear you are unsatasfied with your vehicle but if you add it up to fix a rust spot well that isnt going to be very expensive even done correctly. If you are getting a new vehicle, tax, registration etc..


It's just imo but I think you are serioussly over-reacting with the whole dont ever buy a mazda, cause I know lots of people that are 100% satasfied with their mazda's

SoSlowDx

hmm? Kramer was actually pretty nice throughout my purchased.

There's a recall notice???
:dunno:

Fobby
i think everyone should get that letter if they own an 04 mazda 3. It's just the design of the air bag sensor might crack, hence water can get in and case a short circuit.

I don't have the problem right now, but i think they will go ahead and fix it at my next service interval.

if you want more info about your mazda 3. go to www.mazda3forums.com . Lots of goodies on there.

Akagi Redsuns
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=19&sid=122555

It's only for early Mazda 3's regarding the airbag sensor. It will throw the airbag light on and basically they need to replace the sensor. Seems like a production hiccup.

Bones21
you are not alone Heavy-D. I have a 2003 P5, and its been in the shop for 3 out of the 15 months i have had it. The fuel system went, my tranny fell apart, and one of my coil packs decided to quit. So I can agree with you that the new line of Mazda's do blow, but I have also owned an N/A '86 RX-7 GXL, and I didnt have near the problems I do with this one. So if you want a mazda, just go pre-'00. As far as the 3's go.......loads of problems. I feel sorry for all the people buying them. Go into any one of the dealerships shops, and you will see over half of the bays with P5s and 3's on the lifts.

heavyD

Yeah it sucks man. While I'm sure that some of these cars will run fine and reliably I've started to hear more and more about how bad these cars really are as they age. Worst of all the parts cost more than Honda parts and I thought Honda parts were pricey. Mazda is selling tonnes of the new 3 models. I'm sure we'll find out in a few years how they last.

88CRX
so glad i didnt get a 3 like everyone else lol

CRXguy
Every manufacturer has a few bad cars from production. I owned a 2003 P5 for almost a year and there was nothing wrong with it. I drove it out of town on many occasions and it went through hell at one trackday. :rofl: I guess I got lucky, or maybe I didn't own the car long enough.

I would've kept it if I didn't take my uncle's Stage 2 WRX for a rip. I would not hesitate to buy another Mazda. SoSlowDx's GT is holding up fine as well, but he drives like a woman. :rofl:

Chiggles

I wouldn't be able to give you an opinion about what the reliability of newer Mazdas are like. But what I CAN say is that personally, I DID buy my 95 MX-3 based on their RELIABILITY and their uniqueness and have had no complaints yet. For a 95, it's got just over 115,000kms on it, running on the stock K8 engine (sure, it's tiny and underpowered, but I haven't had problems with it yet either) and original tranny. Also, a buddy at work has had his 96 MX-6 for a little over 2 years now and hasn't had any issues with his ride either.

Perhaps Mazda's build quality has gone downhill since the mid 90's then? :dunno: Who's to say? Point being, every make or manufacturer has it's drawbacks and problematic areas (some moreso than others), but if you're aware of what those issues are and take preventative measures before the problems arise, and as long as you don't abuse your ride and push it to its limits every single time you get behind the wheel, then as long as you maintain it well, it should stay healthy and last you a while.

heavyD

If only that was true, we wouldn't be having this discussion.;)