Well, I posted a few bits in the issues section about a mysterious knocking that the engine developed at about 54,000 miles. It had been in and out with various attempts to resolve with no improvement. (At 60300 now) They suggested it was cause I wasn't using OE Filter and Oil to getting a decarb and new flash......etc,etc.... Nothing helped. I should note that prior to this, the car has had a history of hard starts that basically just got no real fix, but reflashed and told it was good to go. This happened until I was over the limited warranty. Once that happened, I had to fight to get the TSB for the uprated battery and starter performed after having a regional rep approve it. Well, they had a rep come in and look at my car.... Now they say my modifications void my warranty and will do nothing further. The thing is, these parts have been on my car for the last 40000 miles- -through other warranty work no less! Even more, others in our club with intake/exhaust mods have had their engine replaced without question. At this point they still don't even know what the noise is, but void my warranty because of my mods?!? Shouldn't they have to prove that the mods caused the issue? I know the service manager said they "raised an eye brow" when they saw the mods, but no more than I raised mine when I had 3 flashes in the life of this car to increase output to the OMP as it was insufficent according to Mazda!

Before we go anyfurther, my engine mods include:

Modified OE intake box with K/N filter (1screen)
RB Ram Air Duct
B&B Mid-pipe
Hymee SS exhaust

Thats it. All else is OEM.

I really am looking for advice on how to proceed. I will be calling MNAO, but what would be my best approach to getting this resolved. I know during the last "emissions" recall (R flash) I did not get tested for vacumm and drive test, even though I had complained of hard starts and a rougher idle. I think Mazda really F'd up the programing on the car and I shouldnt have to eat its mistake. I took exceptional care of my car. Oil changed at under 3K and ran 5-30 for its life past 20K. Which brings up another point, this car spent its first 20000 miles in Joplin, MO, where summer temps were in the 100+ range. I didn't start having the hard starts till after the first summer. We all know how these cars faired under the old flashes in hot climates. So... Please offer your advice or input. Thanks

Jeremiah

 

Take your midpipe off and go to a different dealer in a different region. The midpipe is ****** you over. All the dealers Ive went to said if I touched the cat my warranty would be voided. I have all the same mods as you, trust me. Now with that said, by law they still have to prove the mods caused it. But a midpipe isnt even street legal so youre shooting yourself in the foot already by battling this with that still on your car.

 

whats the noise? I had a loud knocking noise and I paniced and it wound up being that I needed new wires bc my wires were loose. Whens the last time you had an ignition tune up? Mine did this at 61K.

 

Definately take the mods off. You are fighting an uphill battle already.

 

midpipe = u got owned.

like Renesis07 saids, thats already illegal for street use. they probably took a picture of it already. its gonna be hard to fight

 

would an RP cat still = pwnage?

 

so yo u mod your car which impacts the engine and got pissed at Mazda for voiding your warranty. Mmmkay....

 

what is this sound- have you been able to isolate the general area its coming from? when in your car driving does it sound like its coming from the passenger footwell area? what do you mean by "knocking". like the sound of someone knocking on the door? someone knocking on a water pipe with a wrench? did "they" agree with you about hearing the noise? WHAT DID "THEY" SUGGEST it was?

 

yes, you're not allowed to touch the cat. if it breaks, the dealer would give you a new one. I don't know if there is any legit reason for you to change it till you're out of the emissions warranty.

 

Which is replaceable for 100,000 miles. ^

 

lol it sux for you guys. it must be all up to how much of i dick they want to be, like ive said b4 my car is in the shop right now getting a new motor and has had previous warrenty work done to it and they have said nothing to me not even once about my midpipe, ud pulley, airbox mod, sts, mazport ignition ect. they even let me come and take my stuff off of it yesterday in their lot so they can put the new motor in and i can put my mods on the new motor... so pretty much your getting pwned.

 

I thought it was 8 years/80k miles?

 

It is... 8/80k...

 

Ditto on the pics taken.

 

+1. I've told people time and time again not to mess with the cat but they go and do it anyway. They then wonder why the dealer voids the warranty. Some people get lucky and it is overlooked but 9 times out of 10 it is not. The short answer is that you are screwed.

 

My dealer asked why I had an aftermarket high flow cat (RP) told him the stock one broke and it was cheaper then OEM. He said OK Midpipe=screwed, HF cat= cheaper then OEM.

 

OP, you are fighting an uphill battle but they still need to prove your mods caused the failure. Not saying it will be easy but you do have a fighting chance. Some people just cave in to easily, stick with it and good luck.

 

It's much easier to cave in.

Not to cave in, you have to pay for the repairs yourself, at full price and hire a lawyer. At this point if they cannot prove that it is your mods that caused it, you may have a sympathetic judge that will force MNA to pay you back for your repairs and legal fees.

 

Jeremiah..this is right up my alley! I sent a detailed letter to Mazda, certified, return receipt. They stepped up, covered everything AND extended my warranty to 100,000 miles, adding roadside assistance as well.

 

I'm not really mad so much as a little "put-off". I have had the mid-pipe on for a long while now and all the times it has been in the dealer it has never been an issue - including the time they tested the compression due to hard starts and the uprated battery starter TSB that required rep approval. I understand if they wont cover any emmisions related component for sure... Seems funny how they don't know what it is, but they are sure the parts caused it. Just a little consistancy would've been nice. Oh well, this is a battle not worth fighting at this point.


The noise is not really like the loose plug wire ticking on the video I found on YouTube. It is a little slower and louder. The techs and service manager all agree they hear it and do not know what it is. The service manager is the one who suggested I not stop here and call MNAO. The best description I can give you is it sounds like a collapsed Lifter. If any of you ever had an earlier year miata, you know exactly the sound it is making. Tock, tock, tock.... Even and at a rate of about 2-3 every second. I have a recording on my cell phone I will try to play and record on the laptop to post here. Oh, and it is coming from either the LIM or inside the engine itself as best as they can tell.

 

a midpipe is illegal, thats the end of it. you cant do **** because if you go to court they know the case will be over in a second. you'll get a hefty fine for it too.

put your cat back on, if you dont have it anymore. you need to buy a high flow cat. go to another dealership. say things like, "my faith in mazda is shaken" etc. you better hope they havent taken pics and flagged your car in mazda's database.

 

yep carbon build up in the intake manifold is causing the valve to stick. its not causing a cel because the cel triggers if it gets stuck OPEN. yours not opening correctly wont cause a cel.

 

Yeah cant he just clean it and WOT his car out a few times. That should work right?

 

But it has no powerloss and runs fine for the most part. It only knocks at idle. They did the Decard proceedure too. I don't know where to get a file host for posting the noise. Can anyone point one out to me, or even let me email it to them?

 

the problem is the decarb procedure is in the block and your carbon is in the intake manifold. its got to come off and be cleaned