Fkin motor blew! (stock '07)
 

So we have had the Mazdaspeed3 a whopping 45 days, I just made the first payment, and the motor blows up!

Now, keep in mind the car has 58k and the warranty is good through 60k.

Tuesday March 16, I was driving home from work and was accelerating to get on the highway at around 4-5k rpms. All of a sudden the CEL starts flashing, the motor hesitates and the car bucks around a bit then it dies. I coast to a stop on the side of the road and it won't restart. The first thing I am thinking is the assholes at Jiffy Lube better have put the drain plug back on right because we just had the oil changed. So I call Mazda roadside service and they send a tow truck our FOC.

I've called several times about the car and no answer from my service adviser. I needed to get a rental car. I went up TO the dealer (can't avoid me when I'm in yo face!) and got a status and rental the following Friday. I talked to the tech that was working on the car. He said he dropped the oil pan, saw metal bit in the pan, looked further into the motor and saw that one piston had a hole the size of a dime in it. WTF??

So aside from me being pissed that I JUST bought the car, it was pre-certified, and I've been given the run around and have to go TO the dealer to get an answer, I find out that the regional Mazda rep has to come out and inspect the car before he approves a motor replacement, even if it's under warranty.

Fine.

But now I am STILL getting the run around, no one will answer my calls. I just want a goddamn status on if the Mazda rep has come by, if the motor will be ordered soon, ad how long it will take. I went up to the dealer AGAIN this past Wednesday the 24th. No one was available because they were in a meeting.

FINE.

Asked for a callback. The receptionist said she would have my service adviser call me back. No call back as of Friday March 26th.

FINNNNNE. I'm fucking PISSED now.

I emailed the sales manager and the service manager about our car-buying experience:
I did put my contact info but took it out here.

Here's the story on the guy I referenced that had to have his motor replaced:

North Park Mazda hits home run responding to man's car troubles | kens5.com | San Antonio News, Weather, Sports, Traffic, Entertainment, Video and Photos

The poor guy was given the run around for 3 mos then contacted the new. I like the positive spin they put on it. The things you don't hear about is the fact that the guy was given the run around about his motor install and his car was hit while in the shop!! heads fkin ROLLED over this because the dealer owner does NOT want bad press.

So the service manager called me within an hour, apologized profusely for the service adviser's lack of communication and said he will personally be handling my case from that point forward. He also said that regardless of if Mazda denies warranty on my car, that the dealer will pay for it (better had, it's certified pre-owned). He also said as soon as we got off the phone he ordered the motor. I asked that for the inconvenience, that they fix the radio media input.

We'll see how things go...

Damn, someone unloaded an abused car it seems. Did you check around the motor for modifications etc?

EDIT: Nevermind about vibrations - did this car hesitate at WOT? I guess you weren't monitoring fuel pressure. Maybe an injector stopped working because it sounds like it went lean.

stay on their ass

Now thats were the dime fell when u were changing sparkplugs

If darksun had traded his car in any sooner and my money would bet on this car being it haha but forreal tear Mazda a new one they're a real PITA when it comes to mechanical probs with our mazdaspeeds

lol can u try and get the dealer to take picts of the piston that was fried? i find it hard to believe u can make a hole in a piston w/o shattering it.

so the car lasts for 58k miles and it takes a shit on a new owner within a few weeks.

hmmm......well, unpopular as my comments may be at times, i think driver input plays and will play alot in engines failures. ignoring situations like this and just blaming the previous owner is not necessarily the complete story.

shit happens for a reason and for me i wouldnt be so gun ho about putting it all on the guy b4 me (which might very well be true) , it just pays off more to analyze EVERY option.

fortunately like you stated you will be taken care of .

so who said we haven't had any piston failures yet???
interesting.

yes, i do recall that being said on another thread were i recommended the lad swap rods AND pistons if he was going to crack th4e engine open........

A hole in a piston requires some major heat and/or usually pre-ignition. Deposits, lack of fuel, etc etc.

i didn't ask what you answered.
thanks lex.

If you have a big hole in a stock piston, you'll have a smaller hole in a forged one. The motor wasn't running right. This isn't a case of too much torque bending a rod.

And can u tell us the cel or is it too late? Bc if it threw a lean code before failing that would mean detonation and that equals hole in piston not shattered piston

That sucks that you had to bitch them out via email to get a response. At least now you are getting your new motor. What kind of timeframe did they give you for getting a new one in?

No I wasn't monitoring fuel pressure. I *thought* before that a stock car would not require gauges to closely monitor the motor. IMO it's helpful to know what's going on but vital? Sounds like a lot more work than what should be necessary for a dependable, stock daily driver.

ha!

Devil's advocate. I'll bite. In my 18 years of personal automotive experience (working on cars and racing them) I have not seen a motor blow at such low mileage even if raced.

I understand that you do not know me so I will be fair in saying that I am not just some girl who bought a car cuz I thought guys would like me for it. I prefer performance oriented cars and have owned/raced cars for quite some time (drag and autocross).

Seeing from all my research here and on other forums, personally with MS3 owners, and with dealer service managers who I personally know, these cars have a high failure rate if modded. That seems like a more logical deduction than to blame my driving habits, which are normally calm considering I have job preservation in mind (read: I don't race on the street).

wat??

That's a true and obvious statement.

Here are the facts in this case:
• I owned the car for about 45 days

• I changed the oil with synthetic once per the manufacturer recommended interval

• I haven't street raced it (retarded imo to state this, but it seems to run rampant for the demographic for these vehicles' owners)

• The CEL DID flash (possibly knock, idk because I did not personally pull codes, I just had it towed to the dealer)

• I always let the car run for 1-2 minutes before shutting it down if I was in boost within 2-3 miles before shutdown

• I religiously ran Chevron 93 octane in the car

Other facts, perhaps related:
• Pre-detonation can occur if the engine has substantial carbon buildup on the tops of the pistons, even if high octane gas is used

• Pistons don't get holes blown in them from a single instance of pre-detonation; if that was the case a lot more motors would have catastrophic failures as this one did

• I am not sure (nor is anyone else I have asked) if the MZR 2.3L was modified specifically for the Mazdaspeed cars with forged internals

No time frame was given, but having worked for a dealer, I know it can take over a week to get a motor in if they have one in stock and ready to roll; longer if one has to be ordered by the Cali warehouse.

the Mazdaspeed3 is the best.
Zoom zoom boom never gets old.
You have to be thinking mang we will mine BLOW???
And yes it will blow!!!!
Stock or not

sorry to hear about your experience - hope the dealer pulls through and keeps their word. GOOD LUCK and update us on your progress.

lol that will be my mission then: highest milage on an MZR 2.3 without being blown :D

Will do.

Im at 47,000 miles, stage 2, abused like hell and shes staying together fine.

I just knocked on wood for u haha

The DISI motor has different internals.

There aren't many cars with holes in pistons but this failure is a clear evidence that something was wrong with this motor. Dying fuel pump, injector no longer opened well, injector stuck open, very heavy carbon buildup, carbon falling into motor from valves etc.

I would venture to say that in another scenario a similar failure could have resulted in a hole in the side of the block.

Dang that sucks after a short time owning the car. hope they fix it for you!

Makes me glad I got rid of mine.

Same here... I put her through her paces EVERY time I take her out and no problems thus far, been bolted and BT since 25,000, have 44,000 on the clock now and Ive been raping her since I brought her home with 33 miles....


I think she likes it....:nanahump:

Seems like the majority of the cars with issues are the ones where the owner "babies" it all the time...

That's all fine and dandy you don't race on the street but what does that have to do with the car blowing or not? And how is racing on the street vs. the track any different in terms of the motor blowing or not?

Bottom line is this. You bought a pre-owned high performance turbo car with 58k miles on it. No body but the original owner knows what this car has been through so the cause of the problem could be almost anything.

It just the risk you take when buying a car of this nature, especially with so many miles. 58k miles is far from just a “little bit” that’s easily 3 years worth of driving and God knows what modifications, how it was taken care of, etc before you bought it.

This is why I would never even think about buying a used turbo 4cyl car. And especially not one with relatively new tech such as direct fuel injection. Anyways, you’ll most likely get the motor replaced under warranty so I wouldn’t worry about it to much.

Wow. Something tells me this car was NOT stock before it was traded in. I'm at 38K miles on my MS6, with just a short shifter and the MSCAI, but I worry constantly about what the previous lessee may have done to it.

Good luck -- hope they fix you up!

True about the original owner. That'd be my guess. It causes me worry all the dang time.

You don't take the same risk when buying a turbocharged WRX or STi. They seem to hold up fine. Same with Audis. 335is. Etc.

And 58K miles is a lot more than three years. The AVERAGE American driver puts 10K miles a year on their car, so that's nearly six years of driving on that car. That's a lot.

Sucks.. hope they dont dilly-dally on the motor replacement.. when you do get the new motor though, drive it like you stole it!

Look at the bright side, when all is said and done you'll have a brand new motor and you basically bought a new car. Be glad it happened so soon and not 2,000 miles later. I hope you get there with $0 out of pocket cost.

Also, isn't it pathetic that MS3 owners have this mindset?

Hope this never happens to me.

except that it's only three years old.... and i drive almost 24k a year in my ms3. high milage late model cars typically mean highway miles.. typically.

Yeah, I know. I put 90K on my 6S in 3 years of commuting. And while highway miles are easier on engines, they're still miles. Wear and tear, especially since she has no idea if the previous owner maintained the car well or not.

so how's your driving style? do u accelerate at high gear, low rpms (~2kish)? which gear and what rpms do u go WOT? do u boost at PT? do u accelerate hard and shift early - (5-10 psi on 1st-2nd-3rd-4th then shift at ~2500 for example)?

72,000km...hard driven...mods in sig, and should be updated....tracked, stop and go, WOT, PT, autox, time attack, TRACK DAYS!!!!...heat-soaked newb-ass Friday night test and tune drag racing...stupid dyno dyno dyno...50+ map changes...slapped silly off the lot, slapped silly daily really...she loves it, and it's in the shop now getting rewarded with more power...better handling is called for and on they way...

sorry for your loss...but like lex said, that engine had something wrong with it to begin with...at least it let go the proper way.

I was talking to a tuner friend and he said usually pistons go before rods, unlike our cars...so you should count yourself lucky the dealer "missed" it...now you get to properly break it in yourself...

lmao at blaming the build quality. I have owned two, never had a problem with either one :)

Yes this will be a big hassle but look at the bright side - you probably got a really good price on a car w/58,000 miles and now you have a new engine that hasn't been f'd all up my the previous idiot who owned the car.

Life will be good again in a week or two. Enjoy.

i hope she buys a dashhawk at least to monitor things

I am sad you decided to get the oil changed at Jiffy Lube considering what an enthusiast your are (nice miata!).

Likely the quick lube place was in a hurry and perhaps the engine was leaking oil due to loose drain plug or more likely they broke the plastic cap on the cartridge filter.

Enjoy the new engine but find a better mechanic or try changing your own oil it really is not that bad.

fag, wtf...47k u stopped driving it?? shit im at almost 70k fml

Yep. I know that's what I get for buying a used "performance" car.

I bought my RX-8 brand new and it was a POS. I WORKED at the dealer when I owned the RX-8, so I knew full well that it wasn't just mine that was having issues. The RX-8 enthusiasts turned a blind eye to the issues thinking it wouldn't happen to theirs either. ha!

I don't buy the hole in the piston story from the dealer. The piston is probably busted from the busted rod hitting it. They removed the plugs and shined a light down and saw a busted piston and told the girl it has a hole in it.

Well, if the rod was busted you'd have oil all over the road.

Shit runs deep:

Blown Engine - Mazda CX-7 Forums
2007CX-7 needs new engine!! - Mazda CX-7 Forums
what do i do?? - Mazda CX-7 Forums
Engine died: no compression - Mazda CX-7 Forums

sooo lex...do you use seafoam occasionally?

and another one bites the dust. this car is failboat

my buddy is trying to source the wynn's DIY engine treatment. he's pretty concerned about carbon build-up since his wife has a GTI as well....hope he'll post that info on here soon.

Nah, meth is my poison

http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...1&d=1269922397

Wheres all the guys saying stock motors dont blow, and asking why we dont see cx7's blow up? Where are they at now?

No two cars are alike and while most may be ok, sometimes there are lemons.

I'm currently researching what preventative mods I can do for the new motor.

That was the hubby (I call him my wifey ;) ) It was a last minute decision right before a road trip. I still need to find out what tool I need for the cartridge oil filters. I have done much more to cars than you know. I change the oil all the time on the miata, replaced the clutch, tranny (for fun cuz I had a spare 6spd), water pump, timing belt, alternator (just the other day), put in a new built motor (built by a spec miata shop), among other small things like o2 sensors, intake, exhaust, etc.

There was no oil leak nor any other fluid. I looked.

lawl

Hiding in fear of the inevitable...

ugh thank god... now how do we get rid of you?

good luck to the OP, i hope you get everything straightened out!

I'll bite on this. ::flame suit on::

There's only 4 cross links, maybe there's more but from what I've gathered reading on them, they're all pretty bad cases imo. Only one of them seemed to hold water and even then, not much information was posted on it other then "it blew up".

1 was taken in as a used car, like our poor girl here, another was driving on 87 gas, and the last one supposedly went through 4 motors in 3 years.

Still, not gonna say that none of the stock motors blows, but at least SOMEONE finally posted up some examples, albeit not very good ones. It still seems like a relatively rare occurrence though despite these examples.


Grass is greener on the other side (at least from trolling a STi/WRX forum)

Blown Engine Please Help!!! - IWSTI.com: Subaru WRX STI Forums
2009 sti engine blows up! - IWSTI.com: Subaru WRX STI Forums
2009 Impreza WRX motor issues - Page 160 - NASIOC

Wankel engines are a bitch when it comes to maintenance. I do recall from lurking on the 8 forums that it's more or less a requirement to top off on oil every other gas station stop since they drink the stuff. That and they really need to be abused fairly often to properly set their seals iirc. The general consensus was that too many people were babying them/not checking their oil levels and they ended up zoom zoom booming. Still, I also remember reading either here or elsewhere that Mazda is (hopefully) doing something about the RX-8's engine issues.

Couple things about CX-7 failures; they're almost never catastrophic, rod busts through the block, trail of oil down the highway fails. They're usually "the car wouldn't start, I took it to the dealer and they told me I need a new engine" fails. Failed rods and holes in pistons are not an issue.

Honestly, the majority of CX-7 drivers are not enthusiasts. They do their oil changes at the dealer and take their recommendations as fact. I mod on that forum and I can't tell you how many people have come on saying "the dealer says that 5w20 is fine for my car" or do oil changes every 8,000 miles. The fact that there are so many timing tensioners failing on CX-7 suggests that maintenance is a contributing factor to the failures you see. You also have the shady dealers that tell people with smoking turbos that they need a new engine. "That'll be $10,000, please."

Not saying that if you look, you won't find people who's engines exploded, but it'd be like finding a unicorn...

Nah, it's just you...! lol

Nice to have a CX-7 mod around here. Was there a known issue with the CX-7 timing chain for early engines? I remember reading something about that. Seems that the complete loss of compression some CX-7s have is due to a broken timing chain or skipped timing.

That being said, a hole in a piston of a stock car does not sound like a power related failure because:

1. It likely happened within a short period of time. The car did not just run with a hole in the piston for any amount of time so it was not a progressive failure now can be blame the hole being there when the OP bought the car.

2. The car was stock when this happened.

3. Hole in piston failures on a stock motor indicate something was wrong with the motor - either fuel delivery or some sort of strange preignition due to debris in the chamber.

In any case, there's no sense in being paranoid because if this is going to happen to you it will happen stock or modded. So just enjoy the car while you have it!

just purchased my car and running it hard everyday. although keeping it stock for a few months just in case something turns up (i bought it used). then the real fun begins lol! :silly:

What I meant by that you little Twat was that my car was having issues thus I got rid of it. Oil leak from the head to be precise and a sinking feeling in my gut that she was going to blow at anytime. I drove in fear of every hill I came across for over 6 months. So I traded her in with 59k on the clock and it feels so damn good to not have to worry anymore.

And don't worry about getting rid of me. I was only on to sell my AP. I have been done with this forum for a long time due to proliferation of twats like yourself. There has always been good information here as long as you know how to wade through all the childish garbage this site contains.

To the OP, I feel your pain and sorry for your loss but in the end you will be better off with a new motor and a new warranty to go with it (assuming they will give a 12 month warranty on their work).

Nothing documented, but yeah CX-7's see timing chain issues; mazdaspeeds see rod issues. Amazing, really, when you consider they're mechanically the same.

I've been convinced for the longest time that the torque converter is saving CX-7's from putting a rod through the block (no crank walk)...

The CX-7 also has a smaller turbo compressor along with a different torque curve/peak and lower boost limits, etc. I can't say for SURE, but I would think that practically ALL the ECU tables are different as well.

plus its driven at much lower RPMs in general.

I don't think either of these work in the CX-7 bottom end's favor. Smaller turbo, huffing hotter boost at nearly the same pressure (14 psi vs. 15 psi), driven at lower rpms, spooling even earlier, with a tranny constantly trying to maximize mpg. If low rpm boosting was really the killer in this engine, I'd anticipate MORE failures on that application! Point taken though; obviously there are more differences. I was just saying; mechanically the engines themselves are the same...

And now, I've officially jacked this thread. Sorry for all of the CX-7 talk. Good luck to the OP...

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I am SUPER happy with the outcome. I just got a call from the service manager and the Mazda rep: the motor will be in today and they are going to replace the turbo as well due to damage from the metal shavings when the piston got a hole blown in it. They went on to say that an over rev in the car's history caused the damage. The valves were bent. I'm not sure if he meant to imply that I over revved the motor but I know I have not. No worries though, I'll have a new motor soon and will baby it the same as I started with the old motor.

North Park Mazda wins a well deserved high recommendation from me.

I've had a few older rotary vehicles in the past: a 76 REPU and an 84 fb RX-7, so I know a bit about rotaries; enough to know pushing 238hp out of one N/A is a bit much. Having worked at a Mazda dealer when the RX-8s first came out I saw many a car get the motor replaced including mine. You don't want to know all the other stuff that was done, but the engine and transmission rebuilds were the largest. I was privy to inside info, so I saw that on my car alone Mazda spent over $7600 in repairs.

The thing about the RX-8s original problem was the fact that A) Mazda tried to make them as clean as possible, a hard thing to do since the motor is designed to burn oil to keep the Apex seals lubricated B) As such, the Oil Metering Pumps were starving the motor of oil in efforts to keep the emissions clean. There were other miscellaneous problems, but none as catastrophic.

You are right in saying rotaries have to be driven at high RPMs to keep them healthy. The reason for that is that if too much carbon builds up it can damage the engine/seals. Revving the motors high keeps the carbon from building up. That being said the biggest problems with motors failing was with the automatic cars because the transmissions kept the motors at low RPMs.

Jeez, maybe looking at all this I should get away from Mazda and go to Toyota, where the cars run forever...literally! The damn things won't stop! LAWL

To the OP you got victimized it happens. Check behind the glove box for your note.

Although you're angry and probably consider yourself unlucky here. I consider you the luckiest person alive!!

Brand new engine right before the warranty expired. And don't they re-extend the warranties again on new engines? Wow, you are incredibly fortunate. If I was you I would have been hoping it blew before that warranty expired b/c you HAD an unknown on your hands. Now you don't.

Wow thats awesome that they are going to give you a new engine. Thats damn lucky it didn't happen just a couple thousand more miles down the road.. +1 for basically a brand new car at the used car price!

wat??:33:

New engine AND turbo. Turbos don't last a lifetime either ;)

I'm not angry I am very happy. This could have turned out much worse, and as you guys have pointed out, I'm better off than if I'd just have the old motor. :)

The said the warranty on the new motor/turbo is going to be 12mos or 12K. Believe me, I asked.

get that chick who bent over the miata to bend over the ms3


and congrats on the new ticking time bomb!

So the valves were bent on top of there being a hole in the piston? This is sounding fishier and fishier. These cars have solid lifters so there's no valve float damage. How the hell are the valves going to bend due to "over-rev"? If you were driving around with bent valves you'd know it.

The only other possibility is jumped timing.

So here's my take on it. There was no "hole in the piston." You had a sweet bent or broken rod that sent the piston into the head which bent the valves and shattered the piston.

You sure you didn't see a trail of oil down the highway?

I would be skeptical of someone's blown motor analysis that tells me at some point in the past, the motor revved to the point that the valves bent and not mention timing being off. It's not related to hole in the piston either - a piston does not get a hole in it by touching a valve unless it is pounded by a broken rod.

Something is not adding up but glad you got taken care of.

I'm sure her info was coming from the Service Manager who are more natorious than the "techs" for being litteral dumbasses. By the time the tech explained it to the SM, and the SM tried to remember what to tell the customer, it was even more wrong.....

Congrats on the new motor but why are you going to "baby it"?

I got the info about the hole in the piston directly from the technician working on the car. I stated that in a previous post:
The info about the "over rev" :rolleyes: came from the regional Mazda rep that had to approve the motor install. It's all speculation after the fact anyways. How can you over rev a motor at well under redline?

Seriously? Why would I NOT want to run synthetic? Why would I NOT want to change the oil at sooner than manufacturer recommended intervals? Why would I NOT want to run Chevron 93? Why would I NOT want to let the turbo cool before shutdown?

I could go on, but maybe you have a different idea of "babying it" than I do. :eek13:

Who said anything about performing general routine maintenance / letting the turbo cool??? You said you're going to "baby it" which typical means you're going to pussy foot around for a prescribed period vice driving it like normal. No one was asking why you wouldn’t perform routine maintenance and put fuel in your car, etc. Yeah I suppose you could “go on” typing a bunch off topic crap but then again that wouldn’t make much sense.

I’m having a difficult time figuring out how you actually confused my question the way you did but anyhow you did, big time. If you do have plans to “baby it” meaning, not running the engine hard for a prescribed time; I would advise you do some research on other methods that have proven to be much better for engine break in. They don’t include “babying it” though. There's a thread here on the forum about it.

P.S. What makes you think Chevron 93 is any more superior then say Shell 93 or others?

I'd completely disagree. Changing your oil every 5,000-8,000 miles if your using synthetic SHOULD NOT cause blown motor damage at under 100,000 miles. ESPECIALLY a motor build in 2007-present. I change my oil every 3,000 miles because 1. I'm OCD 2. I beat on it. Like you said...most CX-7 owners are not enthusiasts...they drive "nice". So there is NO excuse for blowing motors at under 100,000 miles unless your literally NOT changing your oil.

There is a obvious problem with the motor. It kind of makes me feel a little better that the problems are occuring with stock vehicles as well...because now I know I'm not digging my own grave by modding (I did blow up last year...but the cause was known). I guess ya just gotta hope for the best and that you have the super duper rods :D

I agree on the not babying it. I'm a firm believer in breaking an engine in (properly) hard. You only have a short time on a new engine for the rings to seat properly. Probably less than the first 30 miles. In that time I recommend several hard runs (probably don't need to go over 5k rpm's though) through the gears. Don't abuse it, but definitely run some good hard runs to seat those rings right. If you don't do it by then, then you missed your opportunity. You get ONE shot at it! Don't miss it.

Doing it this way yields some really nice benefits. There is a thread here, but Google it and there are websites that go into great detail.

p.s. I agree the term "babying it" has absolutely nothing to do with maintenance and usually means putt-putting around.

Like I said, you guys must have a different personal opinion on the definition of the phrase. Perhaps I should have said "pamper it".

You're going to put diapers on it?

Funny, b/c that one actually makes me think of good maintenance. lol Guess we're ass backards. ;)

For an over rev to affect the valve timing you would have to rev it to over 8500rpm, there would be a hole in the block long before there are any issues with valve float.

I doubt the rod bolts are even rated to 8500rpm.

The "drive it like you stole it" break-in mentality is nothing but a theory perpetuated into the auto sector from the small engine segment of the auto sports world of old. Older 2 and 4-cycle small displacement engines never went through fine honing processes like some modern small engines and ALL large displacement engines do. The fact that you don't have to beat the shit out of a car to properly seat the piston rings is affirmed by numerous engine R&D experts throughout the auto industry.

Essentially, you can do one of two things: follow break-in instructions that were written and published by engine techs with 100's of years of experience combined, or follow the advice of a handful of internet self-proclaimed performance gurus.

Here's a good read:

Car & Engine Performance - Technologue Editorial - Motor Trend

Well, it's always worked for me to great success. You have to believe someone at some point. Pick who you will.

hahaha huggies with extra absorbency so when the motor blows again no oil will be spilled.

Hmmmmm...

Two things:

1. When your engine goes, the quest for "evidence" or common feelings that the engine is inherently a faulty design etc etc...is pretty easy to do. Its like buying a car, then somehow noticing TONS of the same cars on the road.(Not the case with the Speed3 I know) In essence your sensitivity goes wayyyyyyyyyyyy up...you start thinking that the blown motor issue is perhaps more common than it really is. I think the motors in these cars is generally fine, BUT, I think they demand some respect wiith regard to care/maintenance and especially the fuel quality/Octane rating The "pinging" many people hear (that dont know what it is/turn the radio up to drown out) is an absolute killer, that most dont even know shouldnt be happening. (not so much in the performance crowd)

2. Given the description of a "hole in the top of the piston", I cant imagine any design flaw that would cause this!?? This motor has been "pinging" or "knocking" for A WHILE! No other explanation....

I think the OP reaped the misfortune of a previous owners mistakes. I also think the OP "panicked" a bit....(understandable) and that turned into "they better.....etc." I read the first post and thought, "No problem, that will get covered". How quickly?...thats another story...but this one was obvious.

I would also wonder if the previous owner had something else going on with regard to aftermarket parts etc, that he didnt tune for properly.

Piston with a hole in the top....is not Mazdas fault...they will get it fixed, but Im sure they are wondering what the previous owner did/didnt do as well. This wasnt a design flaw from Mazda.

Ken

And...whoever the idiot is that said you have "less than 30 miles" to break in the piston rings....and said he likes to break an engine "in hard (properly)????...trade your car in for an Introductory lesson on internal combustion engines!!!

Take an engine apart and look at allllll the bearing surfaces (relatively soft in some cases) and quit focusing on the stupid "rings"....which by the way, need "expansion/contraction" cycles in conjuction with with their up/down motions, to properly seat....especially in todays high expansion/contraction rate aluminum motors.

Where do these guys come from?????????? "Break it in hard"?...= Break it

Ken

Yeah fuck you too. This opinion is held by a lot more people than just myself. And yours is no better than mine. You reek of superiority complex. Good luck with that. :P But here's a few articles describing the process and the benefits if you feel like reading any...

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

http://www.ntnoa.org/enginebreakin.htm

http://motorcycles.suite101.com/arti...in_controversy

...and I and many others (including some old timer mechanic's who originally told me) have been doing it this way for decades with exceptional success. Hell, there's another guy in this very thread that said it too. It's not some mystical bullshit I imagined just recently. This is a long debated (and heated) subject. To each their own and chose what you will... but you can stop acting like a prick and keep your insults and I'm smarter than you to yourself. You're not going to "break it" by doing so. lol! And when I said "proper" it wasn't meaning what you thought... it meant doing a hard break in properly (ie not beating on it, but warming it up completely and doing some nice smooth, even, hard pulls that use the entire rpm range but not redlining it).

First off, I did not use any profanity towards you..so the "---- you too" makes no sense. You are imagining things.

Not a heated subject at all. I read the moronic crap that you linked here. Piston rings arent the only consideration for "breaking in an engine". The guys that wrote those pieces need to go back to school as well! You basically quote the one guy like hes God. "One shot at it"? Some of these engines will need thousands of miles to seat, settle and establish tolerances...some coatings are so damn hard they wont "seat" (make the best mating between the two materials) for up to a year!

Seems like "piston ring seating" is the only thing thats important!?? I guess all the bearing surfaces dont matter at all!?

Tell you what, you do it your way...but certainly you should not give advice on doing these bullshit break-ins to other people. Otherwise, like you, they might just use the internet as their "Expert".

As for your "old timer" Meachanics, my brother and I have over 60 years between us in experience...he's still in the business busting knuckles. Find me even ONE...old time mechanic..(trained, schooled and experienced with 25 plus years or more of Automotive 4 stroke experience, not motorcycles) who will agree with "your method" over the Factory recommended method...(those mechanical engineers are dumb as rocks huh?)..and I will concede that "your method" is right....ready...go!

Good luck with that:)! Sometimes superior intellect and experience need not be tempered to save an idiots feelings. I simply dont suffer fools...especially when their "advice" might ruin someone elses car.

Oh yeah, heres a qoute from one of your almighty sources that sums it up pretty well. "I think that they (referring to the really stupidddd engineers and manufacturers) take the cautious route that works over time (1000 miles, or about 20 hours of break in) versus a faster route that can be more easily screwed up." ( I would add most likely screwed up)

Have a nice day....

Ken

Lets see... who on this forum just traded in their car during the last month? Come on guys be honest... anyways it's never easy dealing with Mazda, but I hope they'll give you a break.

grreat, so we need to treat this motor like its a rotary. haha. fuck this car, if my shit blows-so be it.

i care for it nicely while beating the shit out of it. she likes it. but ive had enough 'noia with this car. the search for a 335i has begun

quite a bit

Perhaps, but I think you would too if you heard the words "Well we're not sure yet if Mazda will warranty it". :pirate:

The car was a one owner car, bought and resided in Las Vegas, no wrecks, the wheels were put on by my dealer. It was traded and sold at auction several times before it made it to North Park Mazda.

:bad:

Thats why I said (understandable). Been down that road before.

Youll really like the car I think, once they get your new motor in. Bought mine used too, just with alot less miles on it.

Glad they got it figured out.

My Avatar likes your Avatar! Ha!

Ken

Haha, you don't suffer fools. Your ego is amazing. Well, I can and will do it my way and I certainly don't need your ok to do so and have done so with many others to great success. And I can and will give out whatever advice I choose with or against your demand I not do so. lol! I mean, do people actually obey you in this imaginary world you've created in your head? lollerskates

Anyhow all your posts do is remind me of the GIFT of the internet.

http://fishbowl.pastiche.org/archive...wad_theory.jpg

Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory

werd.

yeah, I love the car, that's no doubt :) It's just going to be one of those high maintenance cars. I want to pick up a MSM too to further my Mazdaspeed collection ;)

uhh ok.. that's kool... i guess... lol! ;)

hahahaha

Buying a used car like this with so many miles not knowing if it was modded is a gamble. I'd recommend getting a dashhawk or something similar to monitor the vitals once the replacement is in.
I'm approaching 70k and the engine runs strong as ever. Good luck.

First off, this isnt a disagreement, just a perspective.

I think its interesting the different perspectives taken on dependability, "high maintenance" etc as we discuss this stuff. When I was a 16 yr old car nut, there was soooo much maintenance required for ones car if it were to perform at its best...hot rod or not! We did tune-ups (think 2 sets of points, condenser, sandblasting our plugs (cuz we were broke), valve adjustments (oil everywhere)... and if you had solid lifters...forget about it!...at almost the same intervals as most manufacturers recommend oil changes now! Suspension parts wore fast, bearings needed more frequent adjustment, damn brakes auto adjusters would screw up your attempts to get even braking...etc etc.

These "hot rods" we drove, pushing out 300-375 hp ie. from a 350 Chevy small block,(300-375 hp from 5.7 litres) pale in comparison to the all aluminum, horsepower making machines we currently have (263 hp from 2.3 litres). A slightly modded MS3 back when I was growing up, would have been king of the hill in ALL categories of performance!!

I have watched and marvelled at the improvements in brakes, wheels, tires, drive belts, valves, engine block materials, fuel delivery, ECU advances, and suspension, over the years. The expectations people have of these cars, sometimes floors me.

My personal opinion, is that these little pocket rockets are miracles of modern engineering. I am shocked at the performance, creature comforts and price of the MS3. (If it helps you understand my perspective, I had a new 1984 Rabbit GTI when it was being praised and drooled over by every Car Magazine you can think of...in fact check out the review of one from back then..it will have most of you falling on the floor laughing!:))

I dont think they are high maintenance at all. I think they DO require that we pay attention to the things we generally ignore in other cars. (Fuel quality/Octane and tire pressure for starters) My weekly routine is pretty simple. (My MS3 is stock) I check tire pressure, oil level, give the motor a good listen with the hood open and closed, (already had two pulley bearings replaced under warranty with 16,000 miles?!...thats unacceptable for sure and is in agreement with the OP's take on "High Maintenance") and check fluids.

Now, there are some things that we are supposed to observe with ALL cars, that I especially do with this car. (or any high performance car/vehicle) I let this car warm up...and I do mean warm up, not watch the temp gauge. I also let this car cool down at the end of a days drive, or after pounding it thru the gears.

High maintenance these days is really just keeping an eye on things that we have been lulled into ignoring over the years, due to a substantial increase in general reliablity. Is my perspective true in all cases? Nope. Is it the only right way to look at things, Nope.

But let me give you an analogy....when I see kids complaining about their newest computer game "lagging" on their computer...I smile the same smile...and think back to the days of playing "online" with 2400 baud modems, Doom, and computers with hard drives with the same amount of storage as the memory card in my point and shoot camera! They are lucky and dont even know it. Its just that they have a different perspective/expectation.

As one gets closer to wringing out maximum performance from a mechanical system...running the ragged edge, reliability and sustainability become more worrysome...its the nature of the beast. There IS a point of diminishing returns in this performance game. Its not an infinite gain game.

My experience tells me that most people (likely not people on this board) with standard cars, literally drive them until something goes wrong. With the exception of oil changes, todays modern cars can easily attain 50,000 miles before they need tires, brakes, tune up, air filters, etc etc. I have seen people angry that their brakes had to be replaced at 58,000 miles, as they thought the cars brakes should last as long as the "100,000 mile tuneup" interval! Preventative maintenance, for the majority of drivers, is long gone. Most dont even check tire pressure for the life of the tires...unless they get a nail in it/have to figure out why its flat!

Those of you modding the car...you get to deal with what everyone that mods for higher performance gets...reliablity concerns! Especially when the methods for extracting the power are still (in my opinion) being learned.

The non-modded cars, keep the car from sucking low octane fuel, warm it up/cool it down, and enjoy a dependable and high performing car.

Geez, thats a long post...sorry folks...I think I got carried away with nostalgia!

Ken

I'll look into this Dashhawk. Thanks!

Oh yah, I gotcha there. I started out with old classics and hot rods. Some of my cars (stock especially with I-6 motors) would get well over 100K and still run strong as ever. Some of my hot rods were high maintenance by comparison. So I agree with your statement about the new hot rods vs the old.

However, cost of maintaining these new lil pony cars is where the biggest difference lies. I built a 350 for an old camaro and installed it in my back yard for just under 1500$ (complete with chrome accessories and other chit. I *don't* think I could even get close to that low of a figure with an MZR 2.3L. heh My built 1.8L miata motor cost me around $3500 to build. That was a new block, but I pretty much got that for free.

Guys, regarding the DashHawks.

I read an obscure post somewhere that talked about a DashHawk intoducing or causing issues with engine management. (ECU) Is this BS? Like to hear from those that have actually had one hooked into their vehicle for a while. it is a passive system for all I have read about it.

It is one of a few items I am looking at for my MS3. Frankly, I will likely use it to monitor boost and AFR almost exclusively, (And maybe not leave it hooked in all the time...as I can get stupid anal abhout "noticing things") just to get a feel for what this electronically dominated motor is doing.

Ken

I've had a DH for a long time (~2 years) now and it stays plugged in 100% of the time. No problems from the DH from MSD. Not sure where you got that obscure info, but it is bunk.

I'll second this. I've had mine hooked up for at least a year and no issues whatsoever.

Cool, thanks!

Ken

lol
 

Is there a chance he lives in San Antonio, and he got rid of his MazdaSpeed3, and she bought it. Seems far fetched but she said 58k and he said 59k...

Just my observation.

No I don't think so. The car was a one owner car. I have the Carfax. It was originally bought in Las Vegas. The car was sold from auction to one dealer, then my dealer bought it at another auction.

I was nice to the porter at the dealer ;) and took pics of the damage to the block and head, and then got pics of the new motor which is completely assembled and ready to go in!

I will post the pix later...

Talk about getting lucky!

Buy the car for dirt cheap because it's used with 58k miles

Blows up right before warranty expires

New motor