I think my 8 is flooded. Should I try myself or tow to dealer right away?
12-07-2007, 09:25 AM
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I think my 8 is flooded. Should I try myself or tow to dealer right away?
Sigh, 2007 has been a bad year for my 8 especially with regards to incompetent dealers and now this...
2 weeks ago I went in for my 2 year inspection/maintenance. I was a little wary cuz last time they changed my oil they over-tightened the oil filter which cracked and leaked oil everywhere until I figured out what was going on.
Anyway, got my car back, drove it for a couple days and then parked it in my garage and left it there for about 10 days while I was out of town. Got back, went to start it...
SCREECHING noise, burning smell and won't start. Battery seems fine, it's cranking but won't start. The noise/smell scared the hell out of me so I quit. It was fairly cold, but nothing crazy. And it was in a garage.
I'm assuming it's flooded although I am ALWAYS careful about shutting it down cold. However the last time I shut it down was right before I went out of town and it's possible I did a short errand that night and didn't wait long enough. It was cooooooold outside the day before I left. However the dealer also worked on my car shortly before it sat and as I said, they have not been great lately.
Cpl quick questions for the gurus here (who I still need to thank for you advice re: new brakes! Which I will do in the proper thread):
1. Does it sound like it's flooded? What's with the screeching? I didn't see any fluids under the car but I need to take a closer look.
2. If yes, should I try to start myself using the instructions in the manual (haven't read it yet, but did a forum search on flooding here and read some stuff about holding the pedal down, etc.).
3. Is the fact that it's been sitting for 10 days after being potentially flooded a bad thing?
4. If it is flooded, should I be insisting anything that needs to be fixed is covered under warranty? I've already had the PCM flash and the new plugs put in as part of the recall.
Ugh. Here we go again. Thanks for your help!
2 weeks ago I went in for my 2 year inspection/maintenance. I was a little wary cuz last time they changed my oil they over-tightened the oil filter which cracked and leaked oil everywhere until I figured out what was going on.
Anyway, got my car back, drove it for a couple days and then parked it in my garage and left it there for about 10 days while I was out of town. Got back, went to start it...
SCREECHING noise, burning smell and won't start. Battery seems fine, it's cranking but won't start. The noise/smell scared the hell out of me so I quit. It was fairly cold, but nothing crazy. And it was in a garage.
I'm assuming it's flooded although I am ALWAYS careful about shutting it down cold. However the last time I shut it down was right before I went out of town and it's possible I did a short errand that night and didn't wait long enough. It was cooooooold outside the day before I left. However the dealer also worked on my car shortly before it sat and as I said, they have not been great lately.
Cpl quick questions for the gurus here (who I still need to thank for you advice re: new brakes! Which I will do in the proper thread):
1. Does it sound like it's flooded? What's with the screeching? I didn't see any fluids under the car but I need to take a closer look.
2. If yes, should I try to start myself using the instructions in the manual (haven't read it yet, but did a forum search on flooding here and read some stuff about holding the pedal down, etc.).
3. Is the fact that it's been sitting for 10 days after being potentially flooded a bad thing?
4. If it is flooded, should I be insisting anything that needs to be fixed is covered under warranty? I've already had the PCM flash and the new plugs put in as part of the recall.
Ugh. Here we go again. Thanks for your help!
12-07-2007, 07:26 PM
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If your car is still under warranty, then following the instructions in the manual would be the way to go.
FWIW, I've had cars make all kinds of strange sounds when they've sat 10 or more days. I've got a AR Spider sitting in the garage which has sat more than a year...it will most likely call me names when I next run it.
FWIW, I've had cars make all kinds of strange sounds when they've sat 10 or more days. I've got a AR Spider sitting in the garage which has sat more than a year...it will most likely call me names when I next run it.
12-07-2007, 07:42 PM
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Cars that sit in the cold without runnning for prolonged periods often experience a loss in battery power. This condition can lead to a voltage drop affecting the cars ability to start properly. The screeching sound and accompanying smell may be caused by the alternator belt slipping against the increased load? I suggest a deep charge or a jumper battery to get it going. A shot of starter fluid into the intake might be a good idea as it has a much lower flash temp. Good luck
12-08-2007, 12:47 AM
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i have the same exact problem for the first time when i tried to start my car tonight. i think its flooded too. anyone have any suggestions? i kept trying to start the car and it let of a bad smell and my battery started to die so i quit. is this covered under mazda's extended 5 year powertrain warranty?
12-11-2007, 08:15 AM
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Hey guys, thanks for the advice. As it happened the dealer couldn't see me until today anyway so it had to sit for ANOTHER 5 days (luckily I have access to an alternate vehicle). I'm waiting for the flatbed tow to take my 8 over there now.
I was going to try jumping it myself as per mbrule6465's suggestion but I can't really get a 2nd car close enough to reach without pushing it into the street and trying to maneuver it to the curb with no power and my GF pushing (I guess in theory *I* could push..... naaaa) ;-)
The car is only 2.5 years old, so whatever is wrong should damn well be covered. I have had issues with this dealer and I have been VERY nice about them but today the teeth are coming out if I get any grief. My car was parked outside ALL winter last winter and there were days I had to start it at -19c covered in ice. It's never flooded once in 2.5 years so even if it did somehow no way I'm paying for any damage as a result.
A 2 year old car SHOULD be able to sit for 10 days without dieing (in a garage no less, which is cold but not THAT cold). It's -3 right now but in the garage it can't be colder than around 0 or -1. So unless a mouse ate something vital... I'm not impressed. And like I said, the dealer JUST did a complete 2 year service incl. changing all the fluids and checking everything like 2 days before it sat. A part of me thinks they messed something up during that service. Too bad they are the only dealer in town...
Anyway, enough ranting, I'll keep you posted what happens and thanks for the advice everyone!
Justarius
I was going to try jumping it myself as per mbrule6465's suggestion but I can't really get a 2nd car close enough to reach without pushing it into the street and trying to maneuver it to the curb with no power and my GF pushing (I guess in theory *I* could push..... naaaa) ;-)
The car is only 2.5 years old, so whatever is wrong should damn well be covered. I have had issues with this dealer and I have been VERY nice about them but today the teeth are coming out if I get any grief. My car was parked outside ALL winter last winter and there were days I had to start it at -19c covered in ice. It's never flooded once in 2.5 years so even if it did somehow no way I'm paying for any damage as a result.
A 2 year old car SHOULD be able to sit for 10 days without dieing (in a garage no less, which is cold but not THAT cold). It's -3 right now but in the garage it can't be colder than around 0 or -1. So unless a mouse ate something vital... I'm not impressed. And like I said, the dealer JUST did a complete 2 year service incl. changing all the fluids and checking everything like 2 days before it sat. A part of me thinks they messed something up during that service. Too bad they are the only dealer in town...
Anyway, enough ranting, I'll keep you posted what happens and thanks for the advice everyone!
Justarius
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