Well my car is not doing so great. Lately it's been having a hard time starting when warm. Now it refused to start at all as long as the engine is warm. I've figured out that it won't start unless the engine temp is less than 180F. Anything over 180 and all it does is turn over until the battery/starter give up.

I've also noticed that it's running a lot hotter than usual. Last summer when it was 115F outside the engine might get to 215F when I'm pushing it hard. A couple days ago it was only 80F outside and my engine got to 220F real quick.

The dealership has my car right now. I'm thinking it's either the engine or catalytic converter. Anyone else been through this lately?

 

Have the dealership do a compression test. That will rule out the engine. If the car is out of warranty and you are looking for an alternative engine rebuild, we can do it for you. We are local and are currently doing a few. Just click the signature below.

 

They're going to be doing a compression test tomorrow to find out if I need a new motor. It only has 45K miles and is still under warranty.

If they do replace the motor I hope it happens quickly. The loaner they gave me is not fun at all. It's a new Mazda 3. At least they didn't give me a PT cruiser.

 

Okay the dealership sucks. They're telling me i have the old starter and it needs to be replaced. When I first bought the car, a couple years ago, I took it in and asked them to replace the starter because of the TSB and they refused. Now that it actually has a hard time starting they want to replace the starter and charge me for it since it's no longer under warranty.

Another issue is some sort of intake manifol solenoid that needs to be replaced. He says that the solenoid doesn't cause the hot start issue but does contribute to the engine running hotter than it should.

In summary the starter will be replaced, and I'll hold off on the solenoid until I can get more info on it.

 

I had the same issue 2 days ago. My Car would only start after 20 mins of cool down. I have 61k and only the extended warranty. I had my dealership run a compression test and they confirm it's my engine. They worked with a data tech from Mazda headquarters and I'll be getting a new engine in 10 days. Everything is covered expect a loaner. I would have them do a compression test. This will make you feel better in the end.

 

They performed a compression test and the car passed. The fix was to replace the spark plugs and starter. It now cranks at 264RPM instead of 164RPM.

The only outstanding issue now is the intake purge valve. They're telling me it's going bad and will sometimes stick. Apparently it's not critical but I should replace it sometime.

The car still pulls real strong and idles nicely.