Ok guys, I'm not sure this is the right place to shoot this or not, so I will just shoot. So the car shuts down in the middle of the road after shaking like some one's drilling the ground. My wife was driving it so I went up to rescue her. I tried starting it up but it woudn't start , it sounded like a sawing machine while trying to start. The battery and every thing seemed to be ok. So we towed it to my old mechanic shop and he found out that the ignition coil wasn't working, The dealer had it replaced last year due to the recall. So we got the dealer and the shop mechanic talk and fight with each other and the dealer has agreed to tow it their shop and check it out. So after all that the dealer is saying that the timing belt went off and the drive belt and all that needs to be replaced. It's not under warranty since it expired so obviously it will cost $hit load of money from the dealer. But is this normal? 60K MIles on it, no problem till now, I never heard of a car only 3 years old timing belt goes off, I mean I know the belt it slef is nilon and rubber and all that. Has this happened to any of ya? Just for the information is the motor under the hood is Ford, Chryslar or real Mazda? I tell ya, I wouldn't buy another Mazda after this.

 

YES....the belts will NORAMLLY last a bit longer....but if you will locate your manual for the car....i think you will find in the maintenance section that you are supposed to replace that belt every 60K miles.....so that it WON'T brake on you going down the road...

just be thankful that mazda designed a "non-interference" motor....other wise when your belt broke it would have bent about half of your valves in the head and made a SERIOUS mess out of your engine.......

oh and btw.....Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

 

Timing belts are fairly simple to change and the cost might not be as much as you think. good luck.

I also have a 2000 ES. I guess ill change my belt sooner rather than later. I usually wait until around 80K

 

Its real mazda, as you put it...

 

I recently had my timing belt on my 2000 ES replaced at about 72,000 miles. It cost me $292.20 at the local Mazda dealer.
Now if you have to pay for the coils- that seems a bit odd, and probably more expensive. I don't think the timing belt breaking would cause the coil to fail. You'ld think they would just cover that side of it since there was recall work done to it. Usually Mazda is pretty good about warrenty or recall work. If you have a problem with your dealer, don't hesistate to call Mazda America's cutomer service (number found in your owner's manual). I have worked with them before and they can help *mediate* your case if your dealer gives you a hard time.

Good luck,

 

Good question. Sounds like you need a new mechanic.

If you have any mechanical experience and a decent set of tools, change the belt yourself. Labor charges are ridiculous.

 

Well, here 's how it went at the first shop. Two mechanics trying to identify the problem, first they put the car thru the diagnostic (power check) test. The power failure first occured on the ignition coil. Then One person was cranking and the other was checkin whether the cam shaft moves or not. It was moving as the other person was cranking. Based on that the first shop concluded that the timing belt wasn't off. So I told this exact incident to the dealer, well, the dealer told me they are not going to go with what some other mechanic says, they will only agree with what their mechanic says. A typical dealer behavior, I'll be honest, I don't like this dealer and I don't like the fact that a timing belt has to be replaced at as early as only 60k miles. I remember when I had the Civic (1992) I replaced the timing belt at 102K miles. any way, Guys, I greatly appreciate your inputs. Thanks a bunch

 

I only got charged 200 bucks and what I would recommend is to look around, because about 3 months ago I got a coupon from the mazda dealership that said that to change the timing belt would only be $199.98 which I thought was a joke but was true

 

Maybe your dealer is full of crap and theres nothing wrong with your timing belt? Its very hard to trust any mechanic these days, which is why you have to learn to do your own auto maintenance, unless you dont mind throwing dollars away.

Call the first mechanic and get verification that the belt was not broken, then go from there.

Also, a lot of mechanics are clueless, so keep that in mind. Just because a guy wears a white coat doesnt mean hes a good doctor. Just because a guy has a rag in his pocket doesnt mean hes a good mechanic.

 

Oh I have no doubt that the dealer is full of crap. I know my first Mechanic for as long as 6 years. What ever else he is, at least he is not full of crap. I could take it back to the first shop but simply didn't wanna deal with towing back and forth, the car has already been towed twice and the money is going off of my pocket. It would be nice if it was only 200/300 bucks. But the dealer is Not only replacing the timing belt, they are replacing the tensioner, drive belt, spark plugs because they think the oil got in the spark plug for cranking too much. Total cost is $750.00 bucks including towing. I 100% agree with woking on and knowing your own car inside out, that's why I work on my Xterra (mostly mods) and know the truck pretty good. I just wasn't expecting to have a major break down on the protege. Oh well, there ain't gonna be any Mazda on my drive way, ever.

 

So they are replacing a few more belts and spark plugs and they are now charging $750.00!

Man, run from that place, dont walk, and dont look back.

 

I was a master svc. advisor in a Mazda dlrship for 2 yrs.; don't know how many times i had cars come in on the hook 'cause the owner didn't change the timing belt when it was recommended. Factory recommends new timing belt on Protege at 60k; read the owner's manual. As for cost, my shop could do timing belt, cam & crank oil seals, valve cover gasket, all accessory drive belts, AND oil & filter change for about $350.00. I'm fixing to do my '99 ES; my price on all pts. listed above plus a belt tensioner (strongly recommend it) is abt. $150.00; got a buddy I'll pay $150.00 to do the work--voila, no timing belt worries. Yes, Honda recommends 90k & Nissan 105k but THEY AREN'T MAZDAS. Follow the mfr's. scheduled maint. list, & your ride will have a better chance of trouble-free svc. Good luck dude.

 

yea i have a 99 ES that has been nothing but trouble!! and i have a 03 ES with turbo that's hitting the $hitter too and i didn't do any of the work on my car! THIS IS MY LAST MAZDA!

 

Just looked around the replies and i was wondering if the whole tensioner, timing belt and coils thing can make a car sluggish when they wear away. I'm asking this because my pro 99 LX 1.6L has some weird sounds like friction coming from the tensioner that only appears at about 2200 RPM. Guys from Mazda thought it was the alternator but we removed all the straps and the sound still persists. So i'm wondering if my power loss could be from the tensioner or am i just gonna pay 100 US to get the tensionner and the Idler to get rid of a sound...

My pro has 73K, the timing belt has been changed at 60K

Thanks in advance