Are there any Mazda3 owners on PPOT?
 

I just bought my son his first car. It's a 2005 Mazda3 with just over 77,000 Km. It runs quite well but I'll admit that we bought it without having a PPI done. It was a private sale. The previous owners had just had a baby and felt that the car was no longer large enough for their growing family.

The only issue I have with the car is the oil consumption. We've put on around 1500 Km and we've had to add almost 1L of oil. We are using a synthetic SAE 5W20 oil as recommended by Mazda Canada. I've logged on to some Mazda forums and this seems to be a common issue.

What has been your experience?:confused:

Cheers!

Alex

Wife has a 2011 Mazda 3, with about 30K on the clock, no oil issues.

Brad (Vipergruen) on the board and PPOT has one. With a spun bearing ...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/691977-mazda3-think-i-spun-bearing.html

I had an MS3. No complaints aside from the torque steer.

G

yeah, I had a 2005 Mazda 3 with 75,000 miles and sold it after getting the engine rebuilt after I spun a bearing.

I had switched to 5w20 synthetic on the prior oil change. I drove the car pretty hard. I was low on oil when I spun the bearing. Probably at least a quart low after 2500 miles and I had not checked. My fault. However, while researching the issue and hearing from other members here, it appears these engines are sensitive to oil level. i have also read about others changing grades of oil and not using synthetic.

What does this mean to you? Dunno..but I would consider a different weight and check the oil frequently. Being in a cold climate, I am not sure what your options are. Be diligent.

I purchased a new Mazdaspeed3 and love it.

My wife put 130K on her 2004 Mazda3 S 5 speed before trading it. She drove it hard. I did all of the oil changes and it never used a drop.

Synthetic is fantastic
5W is okay in winter, migrate to a 10W in Summer
Go to a -W30 in either, year round

That will slow your oil consumption and protect the bearings better

Also consider a high-detergent additive a hundred miles before an oil change

The oil consumption is a oil-vapor/condensation issue due to very tight PCV/EGR
The rings can gum up as well, typically from the EGR passing that oil vapor back into the combustion chamber

I'd maybe consider using Rotella. I've have great results in the past using that oil on cars with EGR/oil consumption problems.

My gf has a Mazda3 2007/2007 and the recommendations around the oil changes are brutal for any modern car..
I mean she has to bring the car in every 6000 kms or 6 months or Mazda will not honour the extended warranty.. Is pretty stupid IMO but I guess Mazda are nervous about the oil thing in their cars..

I've seen several comments like this... Given I've never driven an MS3, but my corrado had pretty wicked torque steer, and I felt like it added to driving sensation of a FWD boosted car. Helped give it that raw feeling when you really gave it the beans. I never had it cause me any issue in ice/snow driving or when on the autocross track...

I like my brother's car, despite the 2 pedal manumatic thing it has for a transmission. He has the hatchback one, 5 doors, plenty of pep with two sub-200lb guys in it. I think he burned up the brakes, but that is more on him than anything else. I tried to get him to come to one of Trek's auto cross things

no turbo :)

turbo http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/blah.gif

263 hp / 280 ft-lb torque on my MS3. What did the Corrado have?
Quite the turbo lag on the MS3 too. I found it to be dangerous in canyons / uneven roads, accelerating out of turns. Sure, you can handle it, but it would have been so much better with AWD or RWD.

I liked the car for being a sleeper - grocery getter looking thing that was pretty darn potent when you stepped on it. Reported 0-60 was just over 5s.

G

Great handling cars, not too much power in the standard 3. If you're using oil and you can't find a leak, I would check the PCV valve. They are known for going and sucking a lot of oil through. If left long enough usually the #4 bearing goes first. The problem is that the valve is located under the intake manifold, so it's not easy to get to, but if you're handy with a wrench it's not difficult.

Thanks to all who posted!

.....though it's been said....many times, many ways.....Merry Chr.....
Oh, yeah, Christmas is over!

Thanks guys....Pelicans are the best!

Alex