So here is the story. I have an '04 manuel 8, that I bought new in March of '05. I have always had a proble with the car shaking when it idles and I have taken it in a few times for it, in the past they have replaced my battery and spark plugs. Recently I have had a problem with the car dieing on me, I took it in 2 weeks ago and they replaced my coils. I though it was fixed but it happened to me again this weekend so I took it in again this Monday, I talked to the service advisor today and he told me that after talking to Mazda USA they told him to replace the wire harness, so that is what they are in the process of doing. He said it would be ready tomorrow, so i am wondering what yall think. Has anyone had this problem too? or has anyone had their wire harness replaced?

Thanks for any info,

--Weecho

 

i know of one person in the past that had it done... it did not fix the problem...

have they replaced the fuel pump harness? or the motor mounts or the motor?

beers

 

They'll eventually replace the PCM. It's funny that they are swapping out harnesses because they aren't hard at all to diagnose if you know how to use a DMM. Then again, we're talking about dealer service techs.

 

No they have not replaced the fuel pump harness or the motor mounts, but i dont think it is the motor mounts, I dont see how they would cause my car to stall.

I will ask about the PCM, thanks to both of you for your imput. I am just anxious to get my car back. I have been without it since Monday and they put me in a Toyota Tundra of all cars.

 

The PCM is next on the list of troubleshooting in the service manual. They'll discover the harness to be fine and then swap the PCM. The point to my comment is that the dealer and Mazda are simply swapping parts because they have no idea what is wrong. I also wouldn't be surprised to find that it is something simple like a dirty or bad MAF sensor when all is said and done.

 

I always wonder how much money any car company would save by simply investing more in training and compensating their techs enough to retain them. It can't be cheaper to keep throwing parts at problems - since it leads to more manufacture, inventory/warehousing, logistics, employees, etc...just a whole domino effect caused by incompetence.

 

That is a whole other dynamic and conversation. If one had the brains to truly diagnose problems such as these would one want to work in a dealership? chickenwafer, in an attempt to help me move to Arizona, gave me a heads-up that with ASE certs I could work in a dealership makng $75-125K out there and there are ads saying as much. I don't have the certs and I am not sure that I am properly trained to get them, but I would be bold enough to take the test. However, I still would rather open my own shop with my own perspective on what a shop should be about being the biggest and strongest attraction to the customer. Of course, competence is a given in this example.

 

Ah, but if you design the troubleshooting part to rule out the cheapest parts first...

And, you make people come back 2,3,4,5 times for the same complaint...

They may just give altogether, or give up before getting to the really expensive part, go to an independent garage and pay for the repair out of pocket. Or, they'll just sell the car.

In addition, position your mechanics to claim they "couldn't find anything wrong". Less training = plausible deniability.

Sure, some people are stubborn and will insist on real repairs. As long as you keep that to a manageable level, say 15 to 20 percent, your shop will be making... "Mo' Money,... Mo' Money,... Mo' Money......"