Broke_Apex_Seal

Well, I got my car back. The dealer reflashed the new updated flash. They said it was the cause of all the misfires (p0300). 5 miles away from the dealer it started to flash. So I called the tech on his cell and he said "I think your gonna need a motor". This is really gay. I spend so much time going back and forth to dealer I am sick of it. The tech is super nice and the service guys are awesome but mazda is just throwing bullshit reasons not to replace my motor. I have been saying since day one from the first misfire it going to need a motor.


Anyhow just wanna keep you guys abreast of my current situation.

Gomez

Yeah, it will pull up the same code again, the CEL can either flash or stay lit. Coils, plug leads, or plugs IMO......

RX-Nut

Aw man, new motor.. that's major. I wonder what brought them to that conclusion. Did they say, or are they giving up and just want to replace it. I hope it doesnt come to that for me.

Broke_Apex_Seal

I think there is an issue with the side seals. once in a while it will pour smoke out the tailpipes(blue/gray) colored. So I think they are sticking under extreme heat. IMO of course. Also it has been 1 quart of oil every 600-800 miles.

zoom44

probably didnt go thru all of the steps to determine the cause of the misfire. nut you should send him what i sent you.

RX-Nut

If you want Broke, PM me and I can send you zoom's goodies.

Man I've been reading threads on engine replacements... its getting me all worried. Ack. I need to stop reading the forum. Haha.

Broke_Apex_Seal

for sure. I will take what you got. thanx guys.

davefzr

Well I thought that my car was fixed but apparently it's not. I took my car to the track today and it was fine for the first session. The next session started and just after a lap I got a CEL and I could start to smell the fuel smell again. The CEL was blinking for the next 5 laps so I started to take it easy. Needless to say, my day was done because I didnt want to push it after that. Sucks.... I'll have to take my car back in to see what the problem is...

RX-Nut

Dang.. this is a start of an epidemic.

RX-Nut

The plot thickens... my dealer is holding the car overnight because they can't fix it and need to call some Mazda National Repair line or something.. aw jeez.

Am I screwed yet?

davefzr

Yeah well I also took my car into a new dealer hoping that they would find the problem and I got slapped with a 150 dollar estimate. I never got an estimate until the end of the process at my old dealer.. These guys also want to run an oil consumption test and charged me 40 dollars for that. What the heck is that? They are going to check the oil twice and call it an oil consumption test. Or is there more to it??? I doubt it.. but dont know.

RX-Nut

Wow, you're being charged?? Isnt this warranty work?

davefzr

I thought so.. They told me that if Mazda covers it I would not be charged.. As far as the oil consumption test, I need to ask them what is involved with the test. I hope to goodness they dont tell me, check the level with the dipstick... haha.. we'll see.

RX-Nut

Ok here we go.. I havent picked her up yet, but this is their latest prognosis.

Apparently my spark plugs were bad so they replaced them. Something about copper fouling on the plugs. They say it could be caused by my driving habits and how I might have driven too much at high rpms, and that I should possibly shift sooner at high rpms.

Man I swear I'm getting the crap end here. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

One, I rarely drive my car hard, but when I do, I dont hold the car at 8K during a shift for longer than even a second.. And even if I did, what's the problem here??? Are they saying I shouldnt be driving the car up to 8K?

Somebody save me from cracking some skulls.

zoom44

AHH F-IT. GO CRACK SOME SKULLS!!!! fouling BECAUSE you reved it? wtf is that. lots of low rpms travel and rich a/f cause carbon build up which causes fouling of the plugs. one way to "clean" it out is to do some good hot hi rpm runs to burn it out. i have never heard of "copper" fouling. ima google it.

zoom44

google found nothing under "copper fouling" but problems with rifles. 2 articles i just read on spark plugs that included info on maintainence etc only talked about carbon fouling from too rich a/f conditions and not heating the engine up by driving alot of short trips. there was no mention of any kind of fouling from running it up into hi rpms.

here are some links

http://www.centuryperformance.com/spark2.asp

http://www.advanceautoparts.com/engl...0030701sp.html

http://www.autosite.com/garage/encyclop/ency04e.asp

rotarygod

You foul plugs by flooding them with unburned fuel when they are cold such as trying to start a cold engine or a flooded engine repeatedly or running very rich at low rpm's and loads for a long time. You don't foul them when under power. High rpm's clean the engine out.

zoom44

thats what i have always been taught but it doesnt hurt to have the confirmation. there's always more to learn

davefzr

Get this guys, the dealer tried to tell me that a P0100 was a good trouble code..

GET THAT.. A GOOD TROUBLE CODE...

This guy is getting me pissed off.

RX-Nut

Hmm. Never flooded the car before, so I dunno how it would be fouled that way. Maybe all these different flashes caused the fuel mixture to be different left and right causing it to be lean, rich, lean, rich, who knows...

Anyhow, I saw the plugs they pulled and it looked like carbon fouled plugs, but instead of the blackish fouling, it was orangish rusty color.. So I guess thats why they said it was copper.. copper in color. Odd fouling if you ask me.

The good news is that the car seems to be OK now. Punched it through to 8k on the way home on two different occasions and the car didnt CEL or stutter as before. I really hope that was the problem.

The work order says they checked the coils (OK), then the plug wires (OK), then compression (rotor1: 1 - 6.9 2-6.9 3-6.8 / rotor2: 1-6.8 2-7.2 3-6.9 : OK) {are those values good??}, then found the rusty looking fouled plugs and replaced them.

The advisor then told me what the optimum shift range for the car is, as if I didnt know (4K-6K). Made me feel as if they thought I shift every gear at 8K all the time.. jeez... how rude.

Anyhow, I guess I need to try a couple more runs up to 8-9K so I can be assured its OK. Wish me luck that its OK, otherwise I'm going to post more b1tching and will definitely crack some skulls.

davefzr

Well.. I got my car back and the dealer said that because I used an aftermarket CANScan tool I am getting U error codes on the WDS tool. They also didnt find any of the P0100 or P0003 codes that are listed from my CANScan tool.. HUH? Anyone know what a U error code is?

zoom44

i have know idea sorry dave. the car wouldnt know what device is querying it for codes. then again anything is posible with this pcm but i havent heard anyone else havign trouble. as far as not finding the codes. many codes will go away if the reason for them doesnt occur after so many drive cycles etc. so the codes could be gone now.

davefzr

OK guys.. here is my situation. Please help me out here as far as what I should do. I got my car back yesterday and they basically didnt care that I had a P0100 that I obtained from the CANScan tool and said that because their WDS didnt show any codes at the time they scanned it, it must be something wrong with my tool. So basically, I am screwed and dont bother them with things you may have messed up.. Wonderful huh?

OK.. So if I know that I am getting some codes and I have modified my car, is there anything that Mazda should do to help me or am I on my own for this one since I have done updates to my car. Some of the updates I have done are pulleys, high flow cat, exhaust, flywheel and clutch.

Do you guys feel that Mazda should work with me in order to find out what the problem is or do you think that Mazda is in the right here since they dont know what I have done to my car and they are not liable here. I have no idea what to do anymore. It seems that nobody wants to fix it. I tried taking apart my air box and cleaned out the intake and the MAF unit, but I still get my CEL at high RPM's.

This all started after I got my 30k mile service at the Mazda dealership and now basically I feel like I need to figure this out on my own. What do you feel I should do? I thought about causing the CEL and then when I know the codes are active to take it into Mazda at that time. I dont know.. I kind of feel like even if I did that they would still tell me it may be because of some of my mods.. which is bull crap because I have had these mods on my car for over a year and the smell of gas/trouble codes only started happening after I got my 30k service.. Rrrrrrrrrrrrr Should I call Mazda NA and ask them? What should I do?

snap-on

Do you actually have a CEL?

The WDS will not even show a P0100 since it doesn't have it on the list of possibilities..

I'd love to tell you otherwise but calling Mz to complain about a code they don't have will be a tough sell..

davefzr

Yeah.. I have a CEL. It comes on when I push the car hard in usually 3rd gear into 4th. I can make it happen all the time. I know when the CEL is about to happen because the smell of fuel gets worse. How can I get a P0100 from the CANScan tool if it isnt a Mazda code?

The CANScan is just an interface to the PCM that relays data. It doenst modify the data that it receives from the PCM.. just puts it into a pretty interface. P0100 has to be coming from the PCM no?