spork

That's the opposite of what Mazda suggests.

In one of their pamphlets (or the owner's guide don't remember which) they tell you to help improve mileage you should just let the car run until the engine settles then drive. That's what I've been doing recently. Let the engine settle a bit, then drive at < 3.75K rpm until the engine warms up.

Rasputin

The first thing I'd check, after a quick OBD check of course, is the catalyst. If it is clogged or melt down, you'll get low performance and awful mileage.

Also, find a new dealer. A good one this time.

silver1.3

Wouldn't a CEL come on if the Cat was going bad. Wouldn't some reading be off?

Rasputin

A CEL will come up if it does not convert properly anymore, based on the upstream HEGO sensor. It might be clogged, but perfectly convert the exhaust gases going through.

Does your car feel slow and reluctant to rev under load?

silver1.3

I dont think so. But I am getting horrible gas milage (11.8 +/-)

The way I drive isn't what I would concider grandmama style. I dont floor it off the line often. Most the time i shift around 4-5k - sometimes 6k. get on it 3-5 times a day hard. By that I mean 7k-9k in gears 1 and 2 primarily.

Is this considered bashing it. I dont know. Doesn't seem that way. I also tend to blip the throttle at idle at red lights b/c Im not a big fan of the vibration at idle. I only really do in city driving and mostly stop and go.

I'd like to know what kind of driving people do vs. their MPG.

salituro64

My manufacture date on the door says 9/03, I purchased the car new in 10/04 w/20 miles on it. Whether it flooded before I got it, I can't say. I did however get the CEL and that's is when they did the M-Flash. The CEL came on the day I drove it home and I had the flash done 5 days later.

FYI...They also changed my CAT because they said it was failing. Everyhting has been OK since.

foxman

Hard driving should still get you 17MPG. I think the worst I ever got was 16 something. Usually average 17.5 with 50/50 city/highway driving and plenty of high RPM shifting.

salituro64

The black on the tailpipes is normal, but I'm saying if it appears more than normal. The first week I drove my car before the M-Flash and CAT were updated/replaced, the smoot was heavy. It's been more subtle now.

Gambit

Regarding the black on the tailpipes, someone a yesterday or so said he Zaino'ed the inside of the tailpipes and the black buildup didn't come back

Howard

If it was an issue like this wouldn't it show up on emissions output when the computer shows that. At least that is what my service dept tells me.

Howard

I never said I would not let them have the car. I just said it seemed a week was a long time. 30 years ago they had equipmet that would test mileage in a day. I had arranged to take the car in when I am out of gas as they asked.

G8rboy

Not sure... I don't know if it would since the readings aren't necessarily out of range when tested, just too high for a given airspeed. Since I don't have a CZ unit I'm not as up to speed on the tuning differences because of the MAF... I think I'll read up on this more, and play with with my CanScan to compare readings.

zoom44

no the extra fuel is burning just in the cat instead of the engine. so its clean as far as emissions tail pipe sniffers are concerned.

zoom44

the most common reason we are seeing for failed cats is previous flooding. your car was probably flooded in port or when it was first moved around the dealer.

zoom44

exactly. the problem is geting the service people to drop the exhaust and actually look in the cat without a cel code. personal opininion- if it were me and i was having this kinda mileage i would offer to pay for the labor to have them actually look at the cat if it turned out to be ok. of course i'd want a look at it myself too.

zoom44

no at least one i know of did not throw any cel but the catalyst was litterally falling apart inside. the little bits that were crumbling off of it were clogging the airflow but not in a way that would cause the sensor to know about it. i wish i had pics. ill see if i can get some.

philodox

When I first got my 8 I was getting 15+mpg.. At the 2000 Mile mark I was getting 13-14mpg.. 4000 mile mark 13mpg.. now that I have almost 6000 miles on it I'm getting 10mpg.. This is insane I have kept a milage log, so I do have some leverage when dealing with my dealer... but they won't do anything.. guess I should find another dealer as well.. heh

zoom44

the problem you will face is that you are in jersey and you are (i think)on oxygenated gas now. that could cause a 2-3 mpg drop right there.

philodox

I know.. I think that's why it dropped from 13mpg down to the 10mpg range pretty much overnight.. but still.. 13mpg is pretty crappy.. i'm going to mention the cat thing to my dealer when I bring it in for the seatback recall on Dec 16th. Maybe I'll get a new cat out of the mix.. and my mileage log should help my side of fence too

zoom44

uh care to share. this is news to me!

philodox

zoom44.. here is the link:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cs/09_034.html

philodox

Well, if anyone cares.. attached is an excel doc of my gas milage log.. Just change the file extension to .xls

zoom44

ok so not a recall- its a standard TSB. i dont think of that one in the context of "seatbelt" i think of it as the "chips and scratches" one

philodox

Oh, my bad for using improper terminology

RotaryNoob

My mileage has gotten worse in the 4000 miles I've had it also. I now get 14MPG but I also have a CEL that comes on every 3 days and turns back off. Sometimes the car smells like rotten eggs also. I really think my CAT is jacked up but I'd hate to bring it in and have them blame my intake (K&N cone filter in stock gutted airbox) and not cover it.

I also went to Auto Zone but the OBDII reader didn't work with the car. Guess I need a CanScan. I wonder now if the bad gas mileage is related to flooding incidents and bad catlaytic converters...