Sure - The screen mesh you see in the one photo - which is almost Georgia O'Keeffe-esque - is the inside of a catalytic converter. That screen should be clear, and free from obstruction.

It's almost a ceramic honeycomb type of material coated with platinum and palladium.


See the chunks? Imagine those put together, on-end, so that when you looked at the side you got the impression you were looking at a screen. sorta...The exhaust gasses pass through those tiny 'square' channels. As those become plugged, the exhaust gasses can't flow adequately.

and stuff..

HTH.

 

My car is feeling sluggish or dead lately too. No power in any gear even in tiptronic mode.

How do I detect a bad cat or bad coil? Is there a way to check it without going to a dealer. I am afraid dealer will not find anything wrong and refuse to check.

 

I see, thanks for the explanation. So I guess the theory here is since there a lot of restriction in the exhaust, the enginecannot breath out properly right?

And also to "typeJ" 's question, how would one knows when it is the CAT getting clogged up or some Spark plugs problems ?

 

Eh? You seem to think EVERYTHING is O'Keefe-esque. Perv.

 

Right - the engine is an air pump. Plug one end, and the other side suffers.


If your car has symptoms like mine, you'd know it. Some times the Cat will trigger a CEL via the O2 sensors, but not always...as was the case in my situation.

 

 

right- no air out = no air in= loss of power.

Darin the letter seems good so far

 

Thanks - I went through anouther couple drafts, but the one I sent has the same info - just arranged differently. I mailed it Registered yesterday. After a few days, or after their reply I'll likely post up both.

 

Funny in a way...

Yesterday in the mail I got a card from the first dealership. It was signed by their Service Department:

"Thank you SO much for your business!"


It was post-marked the DAY AFTER I had confirmation of my letter being delivered to the dealership owner.

ha!

If I don't get a reply by thursday of this week, I'll post the letter in it's entirety.

 

wasn't the first dealership the one that COMPLETELY dropped the ball on this??

 

YES. While my car was there they DID manage to change the 0il, however...lol

 

I had a one hour conversation with Charlie about your issue today.

Sadly, all dealers do not step up and address customer issues. For that I am truly saddened.
All I can suggest is to never darken the dealers doorway again. I'm not sure if you know where I am but sadly we are many many miles apart.
Mazda pays dealers to test drive all vehicles if there is a drivability issue. The Tech can flag up to 1.8 hours if needed. (more drive cycle time requires DCSM approval)

Sadly the survey you get for the warranty repair will be the second dealers report card.

This thread should bring up how important the service department is when buying a car.

 

glad it's fixed for you, are you going to change to a happier avatar now?

 

Thanks Snap - yeah, I know you're far enough away to make it pretty impractical.

I'm going to take your advice - so far, no survey from the first dealership, but I did get a SECOND 'thank you' card. After my work was completed at the second dealership, I called and spoke with the GM to thank them for their work. When I got the Phone call about my service I bent over backwards to tell the lady how pleased I am with the dealership.



lol okay..just for you.

:D