Not sure if this is the right forum or not. Move it as necessary.


I've had my 8 for over a month now and have some issues that I'd like to point out. If anyone has comments/ideas, I'm all ears.
[list=1][*]When backing out of my driveway, and then turning the wheel back towards the street, I get a single, semi-loud THUNK from underneath the car. Anyone else hear this thunk? It doesn't happen every day, but I'm afraid I won't be able to duplicate the problem in front of the mechanic. The sound appears to come from the front.[*]When making left hand turns on curves, I hear a rapid ticking coming from the right front tire. Again, it can be sporadic. I did cirlces in a parking lot while 2 friends listened. After clearly hearing it, we yanked the wheel and found nothing out of the ordinary. No rocks or nails stuck in the tread. No debris in the brakes. The lug nuts seemed loose and putting the wheel back on tight seemed to help for a while, but it's back.[*]Low Oil Warning light came on at 1700 miles. The Mazda Service Advisor says the rotary engine uses "oil injection" and that it's normal to burn oil. He said it's probably 1/3 quart low. I went ahead and let him do the oil change. I'm new to rotary engines, but I didn't expect to sign on for adding oil every 1500 miles.[*]Check Engine Light came on Tuesday morning. The tech said this was due to a false alarm from the ECU and until Mazda publishes a "patch" for it, I have to stare at that light.[/list=1]

 

hi ATL, welcome to the Tech Section.

• reports of thunks have been many, and has since been chalked up to the ABS diagnostic self-check on startup. if you're truly concerned, do your best to reproduce it for a mechanic.
• this is certainly something i'd get checked out. i have no idea.
• the oil light problem can occur from simple acceleration/deceleration because of inadequate baffeling in the oil pan. check up with your dealer to get your oil pan replaced if it was one of the affected cars (those with VIN #'s after a number i can't remember already have the new pans, but yours sounds like it doesn't)
• peice of electrical tape. did you happen to get the diagnostic code from him/her??

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about the oil pan thing. My VIN was affected and the replacement is on order. Duh!

I have a printed screenshot of the check engine thing. Does P0128-PCM ring a bell? He mentioned something about an overtemp, or a thermostat staying open (which it actually wasn't). He didn't scroll down in the window on the screenshot. I may scan it for you and post it tonight.

 

After the autocross on Sunday, several folks reported hearing a clicking from the front end of my car as I braked and turned for a fairly tight right-hander near the main spectator area.

I seem to recall that someone else mentioned a similar noise previously, but I can't seem to find the thread. Does anyone recall if it was resolved? I'm certainly going to have it looked at while the car is in for its alignment later this week.

 

I hear it on tight hard turns too, sounds like a brake pad touching the rotor, I could be wrong.

 

ah, this is becoming a popular problem...

*MERGED!!*

 

Hope it's nothing serious. I haven't noticed any noise like that.

Just wondered, though... why are you taking your 8 in for alignment so soon? Because of the noise?

Also, where was the autocross event?

 

The event was at Tech Ridge (the site of the old Executive Airport on the east side of I-35 just north of Palmer). Forthcoming local events are posted at www.spokes.org.

It's getting aligned because I'm heading up to the SCCA Solo II National Championships in a couple of weeks, and I'm cranking on some more agressive numbers to improve the transient response and lateral grip levels in preparation for that and a practice event at A&M this Sunday.

 

i also heard that clicking noise while making a right turn in a parking garage. any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

If it's using a standard OBD-II code then apparently P0128 indicates the engine didn't get up to operating temperature, or something like that... Seems kinda odd.

Here's an interesting link with a bunch of OBD-II codes in it:

http://www.nology.com/pdfandzipfiles...usermanual.pdf

It may not be applicable but AFAIK the OBD-II codes are common across all ECUs

Of course, I could be wrong.

Simon.

 

i get the ticking also. i think its linked to DSC. it sound alot like the noise that abs makes minus the tire screeching...well to me anyways. btw, i can't hear the ticking if my windows are rolled up so it's pretty subtle, i doubt most people even hear it.

and about that thunk you were talking about, you can try this to determine if it's the layshaft spinning up or not. while still, press clutch, put it in first somewhat quickly (should get thunk), then try hold clutch down for a bit, then put in first, (should be less of a thunk if at all)

3 and 4, i don't have an answer for =)

 

I'll certainly suggest that when I take it in this morning, but I suspect that's not it - I had the DSC fully disabled during all my autocross runs.

 

Mine also makes the clicking sound when taking a hard right corner. It started at 800kms and is much more frequent now at 2000kms. It now sometimes does when driving straight. The dealer found nothing visibly wrong, but something surely is...