Yeah I get something like that too ... if I push it much over 3k rpm within the first few minutes of driving.
Canadian 2002 P5, only about 3000 Km on it.

 

wwwoooohhh..........my car difinatly doesn't make that sound, i would notice someting like that

 

...maybe someone else has already mentioned this (i've been reading MOST of these posts/threads about this 'rattle` - but not ALL)

anyways, it seems the canadian owners DON'T have the 'noise', whereas the US DO...

emission laws are diffrent, right?? then IT SEEMS it is something related to emissions...

sorry if its already been brought up, just me thinkin...

bty, when i test drove a P5 3 months ago, i DEFINITELY noticed the rattle at the 2700? range; in fact i was thinkin of askin the salesman about it, but didn't...

 

oh well...THOUGHT i had noticed a trend?!!
...and i looked back through some of the posts,

catchme in quebec says he has the noise - and a few in the US say they don't; so its not as clearcut as i thunked...

 

My mom's Protege does that!

 

That is exactly the same noise mine makes.

It sounds brutal. I let my brother here it (licenced mechanic) his first impression was heat shield. Then I said ok what if it is not any kind of metal outside the engine rattling. He said it could be anything, valve train noise, lack of oil, bent vavles, incorect timing,....etc.

Man tommorow I'm going to the dealer and complaining. I hope its REAL cold tommorow.


I wonder what's going on inside the engine. I hope this doesn't cause long term damage.

 

I have the same noise in mine. I'm beginning to think it is a piston slap. I only hear it under accelleration. It isn't there on mine during decel going through the same RPM range. Anyone know if they went to short skirt pistons in these engines?

 

I am from Canada and I also have that noise when I start driving my car after it has been sitting for a while. I also notice it lacks a lot of power when the noise is there but when I hit 3000 RPM the noise smooths out and the power kicks in (feels I hit a powerband). Once the engine temp gauge hits the midle the motor is quiet with normal orperation. This noise has bugged me for a long time, actually ever since I bought my car back in October. If anyone gets any info to this matter I think a lot of people would be glad to hear about it. I know I really don't like driving my car when its cold and I feel I have to really baby it and it is imbarassing cause it seems really loud from inside the car.

 

My 2002 Protege ES just started doing this yesterday... I've only had it for 2 weeks, 800 miles. Never did it until yesterday. Rattles around 2700+ rpms for 10-15 minutes after startup. And it hasn't even been that cold lately, above freezing. Has anyone had any success with the dealers?

-Mark

 

omfg!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....i guess i dont have a rattle...that sounds bad

 

I have had the noise since I got the car back in November. The noise started about 1800 miles and has gotten progressively worse. I haven't pursued it with the dealer yet as the wife drives it mostly. Not hearing it on a daily basis is not much of a reminder to get something done about it and she wouldn't know the difference anyway. Well today, out of curiosity, I called about 6 Mazda dealers in the south Florida area. 5 of the 6 confirmed knowledge about the problem but didn't have a fix. That prompted me to call Mazda customer service. Not suprisingly, they said they weren't aware of any problems. I described it in detail and that the dealers have confirmed knowledge of it then ended my call. I got a call back within 5 minutes with them confirming knowledge of the problem and that they are still investigating but not 100% sure of the cause. Experience shows that they probably know exactly what the problem is but trying to engineer the most cost effective repair. The customer service agent seemd to agree about the piston slap theory. As far as my car goes, I WILL be hounding the dealer about it. Calling the customer service number to bring awareness should help too. Squeaky wheel gets the grease theory....

 

we need to do something guys. It not terrible, but enough to make me mad

 

My 2002 ES GT Sedan makes that noise on cold mornings too...it is really bugging me, cause my civic never used to do that, even on the coldest of mornings....Sure cars sound a little different when they are cold...but they shouldn't sound like the ENGINE IS GOING TO FALL APART...

In God we trust!

Zoltan

 

Everyone compose a complaint letter signed and dated, documenting their "Engine Rattle at Cold Temperatures", then we send it to ONE person, and have that person send an envelope FULL of letters to MAZDA, with an included cover letter, that if there is not a response, we are going to take it to the Consumers board.

Letter should include Make, Model, Year, Odometer reading and Country of purchase. What do you think of this idea? Bulk letters will have more of an impact then regular ones...and we can even post this on other MAZDA boards to make our numbers greater.

TIME TO TAKE A GROUP STAND....all in favor?

 

I'm in. Let me know who wants to send them all in. Here's what mine looks like.

2002 Mazda Protégé 5
ODO reading: 2200 miles
Bought at Byers Mazda
Columbus, Ohio U.S.A.
2-28-02

Dear Mazda,

I’ve got a really annoying buzzing noise coming from my engine between 2000 and 4000rpms. I’ve talked to at least 40 other people with the same problem, so it’s a Mazda problem and not just mine. Something needs to be done!

Sincerely,

Brennon Williams