Have the auto center tech check your oil pressure switch. Is it in two pieces? See my post above.

 

I have read in some other forums or threads that there is a part in the oid sensor itself that is prone to blow out without warning instantly draining all oil from the engine without warning in some cases. Frequency of oil changes does not seem to be a factor but rather a design flaw Mazda refuses to accept responsibility for.

In my case there was no oil sprayed over the engine, no oil drips at any time and no white smoke coming from the engine compartment or the exhaust. So where the h e double hockey sticks is the oil suddenly going in these engines.

 

I have a 2007 mazda 3 we have had to rebuild motor three times. It keeps jumping time. Started making a loud noise and then just quit.

 

Not sure if this could be related to repeated rebuilds but one place that sold rebuilt engines emphatically emphasized the need to install a new "harmonic balancer" and correctly or the engine would develop timing chain failure. I think it may have been JDM? They had a link to a video showing how to make sure it was done correctly.

It sounded like that without installing a new harmonic balancer when an engine was reinstalled the engine would over time vibrate or move somethings out of the proper orientation and throw the timing belt off alignment. I was skimming and am not mechanically knowledgeable but that one site for rebuilt engines made a point of emphasizing the importance and that their warranty required that a new harmonic balancer be installed by a "qualified" mechanic.

 

Seems that this is now becoming a common problem with Mazda 3. My 2006 2.3 has 94K miles, and just started a loud clicking noise when accelerating. I immediately brought it to my dealership. Five days later and they tell me I need a new engine. No low-oil or engine warning lights, just total engine failure. All service done by the dealership.


I am mad a hell. I have gotten 4 friend to buy Mazda 3's from this dealership.


Mazda has a technical service bulletin. TSB number 01-053/09, issued 12/01/2009 on this, but are refusing to do a recall.


There was a class-action lawsuit brought in New Jersey, but the judge dismissed it because it was not considered a SAFETY problem since no one has died from it yet.

I saw something about other possible class-action suits being brought, but haven't gotten confirmation. The New Jersey suit applied to Mazda 3, Mazda 5, and Mazda 6 vehicles with th2.3/2.5 engines.


Any one else in on one of these?

 

I had only read about a petition in Canada for their government to force Mazda to recall these engines with some kind of solution.

IF a class action lawsuit moves forward in the US would second hand owners likely be covered or only those who bought their M3's new? Not holding my breath but curious.

 

I have been with out my own vehicle now for around 3 months. No one locally believes that the Ford engine block can be installed in the Mazda 3. I even forwarded a list of links to my mechanic and he made some calls for me and they all say it can't be done.

Been looking on CL, paper, word of mouth requests and haven't found anything that has the balance of cargo space (Mazda 3 hatchback), performance and decent MPG in the $5k-$6K price range I would even make an offer on.

I'm starting to lean back to getting a remanufactured engine from Power Train Products

Mazda 3 Engines

4 year standard warranty and an optional 4 year No Fault warranty for $299 more. The technicians there claim no knowledge of unusual engine failure rate on the engines they rebuild and that due to the warranty support costs they weed out engines with high failure rates from their product line.

He did indicate that the oil sensor plug itself is "not part of the engine itself" and that this part itself would not be a warranties part. I can't find anything else for sale that meets my criteria for $6K or less so the remanufactured engine sounds appealing. After re-reading all the engine failure stories however I am feeling hopeless as I see no good options.

Would like to hear if anyone has bought a remanufactured 2.3L engine from these guys and how it worked out.

 

I just recently purchases a used 2008 Mazda3 with 134,000 miles and th engine threw a rod with less than 5000 miles of driving. i have been told by a mechanic the transmission is too powerful for the engine and when changing from 1st to 2nd gear you should have high RPM. Im in the process of finding a used engine because the warranty was only good for 3k. Mazda needs to fix the issue.

 

Yes Mazda needs to fix it, should have fixed it with a major recall many years ago and has had ample opportunity to fix it with newer models but chooses not to. I feel your pain but wouldn't hold your breath.

My mechanic is so disgusted with sudden catastrophic engine failures for his customers he advises against purchasing anything by Mazda and basically said he wouldn't even replace the engine in my Mazda with remanufactured one.

There are reportedly class action lawsuits in the USA and Canada however I don't think even if successful it would provide any damages to anyone who bought them second hand. Going on four months plus without a vehicle now having to borrow cars and try to scrap up money on LTD fixed income that I don't have.

 

I have just been told that my engine is a gonna.

60,000 miles

2005, 5 speed, 2.0L sport.

I have done 4,000mi in 8 months since I bought it and have used 15L of oil.

I cannot see smoke out the back, unless I am on the motorway and chop down a gear.

I took the oil cap off, and it sounds like a tractor when idling.

The mechanic replaced the oil separator 3 weeks before I took it back as the oil usage got much worse.

Is it true, with the information provided? I have been looking a new one and taking the oil cap off as test as well and they all have sounded like mine, not AS worse. Just wondering if it was normal?

Mechanic says the blowby should be like a whisper. But as I say mine is blowing crazy. But the other mazdas I have tested since are similar....

they all can't be on the way out?

Cheers

 

I am so sorry for your situation and feel your pain. I only got three weeks out of my 2004 Mazda3 with the 2.3L but bought it used with 190,000 miles on it. Stupid decision on my part to by one with that many miles but the seller swore how reliable it ran.

From all the research I have read the major offenders are the 2.3L and later 2.5L engines while the Ford engines from the same Duratec block don't seem to have the high failure rate. Other than the turbo charged 2.0L Mazda Speed engines from earlier years I'm really not familiar with 2.0L engines in the 2006.

My mechanic however said he has had multiple customers who had Mazda's with good routine maintenance less than 8 years old experience sudden catastrophic failure without any warning on multiple different models of Mazda's and Mazda engines.

It probably doesn't apply to the 2.0L engine you have but from all the horror stories I have read, the existing class action lawsuits against Mazda in process (and/or continuing efforts to do so) plus some service bulletins Mazda sent out to their dealers it is clear they were aware of at least one prominent issue (defectively weak timing chain pin) that should have resulted in a recall but didn't.

The three major issues with the 2.3L and 2.5L engines I have found multiple complaints about are;

1. Faulty plastic oil pressure sensor that experiences sudden premature failure where it basically falls into pieces followed by all the oil in your engine while driving.

2. Defective timing chain pin that was not strong enough to reliably last. Mazda did come out with a newer version with a stronger metal or alloy composition at some point which should have produced an immediate recall if Mazda had any integrity.

3. Piston rods coming loose with no warning and no way to prevent. This is what happened to mine. It was fine the night before when I parked and when I started it the next morning I heard a horrendous rattling sound consistent with the RPM no engine should EVER make.

My mechanic had just checked it out a week or two before, I had him put in new plugs and it needed struts up front. I wanted to start off with everything in tip top shape. I wish I had found one in town as I planned of having him do a pre-purchase inspection. Instead the best I could do is get a multipoint inspection at a smaller college town Ford dealership.

Besides having a $4,000 paper weight parked in the street it is such a shame because it is so hard to find sporty 5 door hatchbacks with decent performance, handling and gas mileage. The Mazda3 was the ONLY one I found that covered all the bases for me while provide more cargo space than a sedan. I LOVED driving those three weeks especially after replacing the struts up front and was tempted to put a warrantied remanufactured engine in it IF the company could convince me that they had eliminated or fixed the short comings of the original design.

Although they offer a four year no fault warranty they denied any knowledge of these particular Mazda engines having a high failure rate. There is no way they couldn't know but he claimed they have less than a 4% failure rate in the four year warranty period and that they drop remanufacturing and sales of problematic engines.

I have a link to that company either in this thread or a separate one here. My mechanic (who is a personal friend) still refused to have any part with installing even a remanufactured engine if it was for anything made by Mazda. He tells all his customers to avoid buying anything made by Mazda because of what he has seen.

 

This sounds weird. My Protege had 185k on it before i sold it. Always used a Fram Oil and air filter and changed it every 5k. Now my 2011 Mazda 3 is nearing 100k and runs as strong and smooth as always and this too, i use Fram oil filter and air filter. I'll post back if my engine blows, but in all those miles never a problem besides the usually maintenance. Sorry to hear all youl folks with bad engines.

 

Very sorry to hear about your car. I received the bad news on mine about 3 weeks ago, moderate rod knock developed suddenly, car was low on oil even though dip stick indicated the level was fine. No warning lights, so it's done. Mine has 118K but this car should have been able to give me another 80K-100K before anything severe like this. Needless to say I'm extremely disappointed no longer a fan of Mazda. Realistic value for private party sale in my area (San Diego) is $4,600-$4,900 so a new engine not a feasible option. I will be unloading this as a mechanics-special, used engines online in the $1,100 range, so giving a reasonable discount for another engine plus R&R, remaining optimistic it will yield around $2,500 for me.

 

dont buy this car... absolute garbage build.. i read this forum a few months ago and decided to buy a used one i was looking at anyway with lower mileage.. (stupid) motor just blew..
theyre all junk...
thats why replacement motors are so much/not as available..
supply/demand.... lotta people need em/ not alot available b/c so many already blew..
mazda your dead to me!

 

I wish I read this forum even a few months ago and sold my Mazda back to the dealer I bought it new from in 2007. It's a Mazda 3 sport manual and has 204k on it. It has been a fun car to drive, but with little warning it starts to make a rattling sound. My mechanic tells me there are pieces of metal in the filter and oil pan. That it's burning oil ( no warning light, no leaks) and all this after routine oil changes.

So now I have a blown engine and no car. My mechanic like all you folks out here, cannot find a used one to install and has no desire to resurrect it as he says the engines are even difficult to remove without breaking. I don't want to drop 6000 on a new one if this is just going to happen again.

Has anyone put a new engine in and had any success?