Brake dust is ridiculus in the rear. 6 disc in-dash cd player doesn't play CDr's for ****. Im glad I got the dashkit to take that bitch out. Mobile Video time. AC doesn't blow all that cold. Fabric on the inside of the doors are a bitch to keep clean. Other than that it's almost as nice as my old Lexus IS300.

 

How do you go from a IS-300 to a 3? The IS-300 is such a nice car. Was there something wrong with yours or something?

 

Is-300 lease was up!!!!!!!!

 

I have 700 or so miles on mine, no problems yet. Except for the the bugs, I have the same problem as the other person. The damn car seems to attract them to the front, and with all that paint up front (not much grille), they are very visible.

I am noticing a lot of brake dust, simple fix, wash your tires/wheels once a week with soapy water. Will also probably fix any squealing (that can't otherwise be fixed mechanically).

Gas mileage far exceeds my expectations. I couldn't be happier with the car.

 

GOT THE DUST ALSO. 1 ENGINE LIGHT.GAS SENSOR. ANOTHER ENG LIGHT TODAY. GOING TO SHOP FRIDAY.ALMOST 6000 MILES.THATS THE ONLY ISSUE. MAZDA3 5 SPEED MNUS THE XENON/NAVIGATION.RUNS GREAT.

 

We got a Mazda 3 sedan recently and it's been relatively problem-free other than this rattle thing in the rear.

At first we thought it was from the new spoiler but after thorough investigation, the dealer thought it was something to do with the rear shock assembly causing this.

What would happen is that , especially on cool morinings, you would start driving it and you would hear this tink-tink noise from the rear, sometimes left sometimes right and back and forth. After driving for several miles it would go away.

Like I said, we thought it was the spoiler, since we first started hearing it after it was put in but it wasn't. Anyway, they are ordering new rear shocks and hopefully that will solve this. Apparently there was one other complaint about this and that solved it. Anyone else here have that problem?

The other minor thing is a small rattling in the driver's side door when you hit bumps--not sure if that's worth trying to solve.

 

This is my first Mazda - probably not my last - I have 3k miles on my 3s and the only problem i have so far is with the auto switch on the driver window not letting the window down all the way - it stops an inch or two early. The brake dust drives me nuts on the rears but overall ive been very happy with it -------so far-------- My wife has a 2000 civic and i wish we would have looked at the mazda protoge - The Honda looks cheap all over compared to my Mazda. Its a good car just not anywhere nearly as nice as the Mazda.

 

the window problem is one i have as well, though it hasn't done it in a couple of weeks now, so i am not sure what to think, also i had a noise in my passenger side door it was really bad if i was driving fast and had the tunes up, but not to bad otherwise i brought it in, they said they found a loose screw/connector, it is way better now, only time i hear noise is with the music and i think that is the speaker.... dam oem pos!

 

I've had mine ( 5door, silver sunlight metallic, at, abs, roof, xenons) for about 3.5 weeks, put about 1800 miles on it, and i haven't had any problems. the rear brakes do give off more dust than the fronts and i can't drive to the corner store without getting bugs on the front, but it's really nice and sturdy feeling (even at 100mph ) . the xenons do seem to shake when i hit a bump, but i've read reviews of bmws that do the same thing- maybe something with the bulbs being fragile or something so they shake as opposed to absorb shock ? the xenons DO rock though- i get lots of compliments/questions on them, and i love them- can't imagine going back to them yellow halogens ever. and you can go like 80 with the moonroof open and not get a lot of wind and noise. i really am happy with this purchase, and have no regrets or buyer's remorse- it's really everything i wanted in a car- a fun to drive, reliable (mazda's are usually good, on par with honda and toyota, at least according to consumer reports) great looking car with plenty of room to carry crap (i was afraid i'd have to get a small suv). the stock stereo is okay, but i am currently trying to figure out how to get sirius in there- once you get satellite radio, you're hooked, especially on long drives (i drive a lot, as evidenced by my mileage). i recommend this car without hesitation.

 

Anyone know what replacement Xenons cost?
I'm looking at purchasing a 5-dr 5-sp with ABS,
and the only one that the dealer has in stock in my
preferred color (Ti gray) has the Xenons. I'm not too
thrilled about spending the extra $$ for the HID, and
particularly if they are expensive to replace if they go
out. Does the 'shaking' mean that they are more fragile
and would not last as long as halogens?

 

I didn't spring for the Xenons. I didn't want to spend the money and I hate when other cars shine them in my eyes - and I didn't want to be a hypocrite about it!

BUT anyway - I did notice in the owners manual that you can adjust the tilt of the darned lights! So I suspect the mount they are in has some play in it and that's what you're seeing.

Personally I can see fine with the stock headlights -- if/when a bulb blows I'll just replace it with whatever the brightest/whitest bulbs that are available.

Eg. my volvo eats an H7 halogen every few months - I shopped the internet and found some "street legal" bright blues that are 100% compatible, but a bit brighter and bluer/whiter than the usual replacements. Also cheaper than buying them at the local parts store and certainly cheaper than have the dealer replace em.

 

yeah, there's a dial on the dash to adjust the height of the xenons depending on the amount of passengers, how much of a load you have, whatever... and fyi the high beams are NOT xenons (but they work real well). when i looked online i found replacement xenons for like $35 (i think). a guy i work with has a 350z with them and he's had it for close to a year and he hasn't had to replace them yet, and a guy on another board said that he'd had them for 3 years in a leased car and they didn't need replacement once, so i wasn't too concerned. i've always liked the look of them on other cars, so when i was able to get the package for about $300, i jumped on it- the tire pressure monitoring system is nice too, but that alarm is loud- scared the hell out of me at 3am.

 

I haven't had any problems with my 3 but the dealer I bought it from is pissing me off!!!!

 

well I've had my mazda 3(silver hatchback) for 6 months and just barely hit 10,000 miles and i've had no problem what so ever with mine and i hope it stayes that way

 

I bought my mazda 3 5 speed hatch in April. I have 12k on it, and up until yesterday the only issues I had were with my squealing brakes and the rattle coming from the passenger side door. This morning, my check engine light comes on. I call service at my dealer and they tell me to keep an eye on things and that it's probably nothing. A few hours later, when I get back in the car, the light is still on, and now the car is stalling out when it idles (at stop lights). I had to keep reving the engine to keep it from stalling. I took it in and their stupid diagnostic machine is broken so they couldn't determine what was wrong .

I've had nothing but bad experiences with Mazda. I really like the car, but the things that have happened with the dealer, the feeling that something has always been wrong with the car, and now this has got me thinking that I'd like to get a new car. We'll see I guess. If they don't fix this I may look at the Lemon Law to see what my options are.

I should have never sold my Honda