Is it ok/better/worse to skip gears while accelerating in a manual car? Example would be starting from a stop in 1st and going strait from 1st to 3rd gear. , I have a mazda 3 and i usually run 1st up to 3500 rpm or so and when i hit 3rd its around 1400 when I let the clutch out.
View 13 RepliesI hear a noise- what I can best describe as a metallic plucking sound - like a low metallic chord being plucked- when my automatic transmission 2008 Mazda3 shifts from first to second gear. It only happens the first time. I don't hear it after the car ihas been driving and is warmed up. Any thoughts on what could be happening?
View 2 RepliesTook my car in for oil/filter change and in some odd circumstance, the young mechanic managed to drain 1 liter of transmission oil out of my car (which I didn't know at the time). After driving for 10 minutes (~5 km), I noticed my reverse gear wasn't shifting properly. After ~30 minutes of driving, my car was smoking from the exhaust pipe (turns out he had overfilled my engine oil too!!). Took the car back in to complain the mechanic supervisor claims my transmission is still fine and all I need to do is refill the lost fluid. Another independent mechanic later tells me my transmission line is likely fried if I had experienced what I did, and those guys should be responsible to replace everything. Since fluids have been topped up, I have no proof of who is right. So my question is, if I only drove for maximum 50 km after my transmission fluid was drained and engine oil overfilled, would that be enough to cause serious damage to the car?
View 10 RepliesI hear a weird humming sound when I press the gas pedal.it goes away when I press hard. Also it sounds while shifting gears...
View 3 RepliesI was having a discussion with a few friends and some think skipping gears when driving is bad and some say that its fine. For example going from 2nd to 4th and skipping 3rd gear. Which one is it?
View 11 RepliesI have a 2005 Mazda3 with a 2.0 engine & a five speed transmission and 94,000 miles. Since June the car has twice not started, and so far three trips to two different Mazda dealers have not resolved the problem. The car had sat overnight, when I tried to start it the engine it turned over normally, and sounded normal, for just a second. Then it sounded like it started turning over much much faster than normal and the turning over sound changed to the sound of a high speed "whirl" (I don't know any other way to describe it).
In both cases the car just turned over and over and never sounded like it was going to start, resulting in a tow being needed. I've now found out that the dealer started the car by pushing the gas pedal to the floor, then cranking over the engine and then very slowly releasing the gas pedal until the engine started to fire. In the three months in between the non start days the car has started fine and it drives fine, lots of power, constant power with no surges or bogging down. The dealers have checked the compression, fuel PSI, and run computer diagnostics and everything appears to be normal. They also removed the value cover and say that as far as they can tell the fuel injectors seem to be functioning normally.
I have a 2006 Mazda3 with about 112K miles on it and what I have noticed recently is that the steering shakes a lot. I looked up online for a possible cause and have found that wheel balancing could be a reason. I got wheels balanced and aligned but still there is still some vibration in the steering, so what do you think could be the reason? I have got rotors machined once before, like a year ago.
View 10 RepliesI have a 2004 Mazda 3. I just had it inspected and cabin air filter replaced. Now, my car makes a loud noise when the a/c is on and I'm accelerating. The noise sounds like a fan is vibrating /something is blocking it or like a motor is rev-ing that shouldn't be. There definitely is something wrong that wasn't there before the filter/s replaced. I watched a Youtube video on it... a real pain to replace them, but it looked like the fithad to be pretty tight... Could the filters have been installed incorrectly or some part not put back together correctly?
View 2 RepliesMy mazda 3i is cutting out while driving. I added fuel injector additive to gas and it still cuts out. Battery check is fine. What the issue can be. RPM loss
View 5 RepliesI've noticed this winter that my Mazda 3's heater is barely working using fresh air. It definitely gives out warmer air than the outside temperature, but not by a whole lot. If I turn on air recirculation, then the air becomes appropriately warm. What would cause the heater to work one way and not the other?
View 3 RepliesI own a mazda 3 6 speed and im curious as how to test my clutch for slippage. I read on a old forum that to put the e brake up and put the car in 1st gear and release the clutch. When i did that my car tried to move but after a couple seconds i put it back in neutral. Another forum said to do the same but put it in 3rd as i released the clutch it stalled right away.
View 5 RepliesMy mechanic told me today that one of my struts on my 2006 Mazda3 (with 110k miles) is leaking and that the strut needs to be replaced. Is this something that has an impact on safety, or is it something I can stretch for a while longer? Is the strut going to break if it is leaking? Also, wouldn't I have to replace both of them?
View 19 RepliesI have a 2008 Elantra with 50,000 miles. I know I was overdue on the tranny fluid change and the car was getting bad gas mileage and skipping gears. I brought it in and had the tranny flushed and refilled and now its running good. I thought it would be good to get a price on spark plugs because the book said replace at 60,000. I called the dealer and he basically told me he has not sold many of the plugs and they should last 100,000.
I seem to be getting conflicting info on what should and should not be done at the maintenance books written schedule. I looked for a price on Fuel Filter air filter which is in the maintenance to replace but again conflicting info stating that should not be changed unless there is a problem. Anyway, what should and should not be replaced at specified intervals? I know the tranny fluid change should have been done at 30,000 because it was very dirty and causing issues for me.
My 2007 Mazda3 2.0 engine had the CEL on. took to autozone... gas cap code cleared. After the code was cleared next times I filled up, whether empty or 1/4 tank, car wouldn't start unless gas pedal is pushed to floor. Took to dealer. Dealer said code was for gas cap and maybe a vacuum hose. Did something to gas cap and cleared code. Light back on 2 days later with hard start still there. Replaced vacuum hose... CEL off, now 2 days later CEL off but still has the startup after fill up problem. At $90/hr I'm hesitant to return to dealer.
View 3 RepliesLast weekend we noticed that the engine temp was spiking. I still does. Sometimes it's a matter of just 8 blocks of driving before it's up, during which the heater doesn't want to blow hot air. Or, it will have a normal operating temp around town, and then start to spike when we hit the highway, and the heater works fine then (it even seems to take some of the temp off of the engine, like it should.) I took it to Autozone to have them run codes and it came back with a faulty coolant temperature sensor (I don't remember the CEL code.)
I have the replacement sensor and can replace it, but I'm not convinced that this is the problem anymore. Yesterday I had the coolant flushed, but I still have overheating issues. In fact, it seemed to be worse on the ride home from the coolant flush. Anyway, I noticed riding back from Autozone today that it felt like the engine was braking, as if my car were a manual. Now, I've ridden a few manuals before, and the braking I felt wasn't as heavy as the braking you feel when you release the accelerator and the clutch is still engaged, but it's similar. I think I'm a little overdue for a transmission fluid change. Could that be it?
My Mazda3 is a 2008 automatic with the smaller engine. It's stock.
I have a 2005 Mazda 3, with ABS. Recently, the brakes on this car began to fade about halfway through the pedal travel, then firm up. This is while driving, (ie, with the engine running). When the engine is off, the pedal pumps up high and firm. I bled the brakes, eliminated the possibility of any hydraulic problem such as a leak, no change. I then reasoned that since the problem only appeared when vacuum was applied to the power assist, that must be the culprit. Replaced the power assist, problem remains. Next suspect is the master cylinder, but, as I said, with the engine off, the pedal is fine. Usually cars make sense to me, but this has me questioning my instincts.
View 9 RepliesI had a trans flush done a few weeks ago and when I picked up the car there was a strong smell in the car( I assumed it was from the flush and that they spilled fluid). The smell was coming through the vents. I needed a cabin filter change and that improved the smell, although occasionally I still get a mild whiff of that same smell through the vents. What this could be? I guess I should have complained about it immediately. It is so hard in the area I live on to get competent mechanics.
View 4 RepliesI have a mazda 3 and i just tried to start it but its just making a clicking noise. The radio works so does that rule battery out....
View 4 RepliesYesterday I just started noticing a clicking from my 2008 Mazda 3 sedan's fan. When the blower is set to "1" it is very quiet and inaudible when on the highway. As the fan speed increased from 1 to 4 the volume and rate of clicking increases. There is no difference with A/C compressor on or off or set to warm or cold. Is it the blower motor? Could pebbles be stuck in the fan? My repair expertise is almost non-existent (I changed the lightbulbs!) but I want to learn to do more with my car.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2008 Mazda 3, and I have been bringing it to the same car wash for about a year now. It's the kind where the guys take it, while I sit in the lil' cafe and read. Eventually they drive it around front, wipe it down, clean the inside and hand it over. The last two times, the car needed to be jump started, because the battery would not start after the wash. The manager assured me this was normal, but the other guys at the car wash always seem surprised. Should I be thinking about getting a new battery? Is this really normal?
View 9 RepliesFirst thing in the morning 2 things happen with my car.
1)When I press the brake the first time after turning it on the pedal goes right to the floor with no resistance. The brakes work, the pads move, but there's no resistance in the pedal.
2)Usually within first 15 minutes of driving there's a gap in braking. There's resistance in the peddle but as the car gets near to stopping there's a... whump where the car acts as though there was a gap in the rotors. It brakes smoothly til near the end then suddenly seems to release and then half a second later it bites again and the car stops.
I've had the pads and rotors checked and they found nothing.